How to get to San Andres and Providencia travel guide

This is a preamble to our future discovery of the islands of San Andres and Providencia. And in this post we start at the beginning: all the information you need to know about how to get to San Andres and Providencia.

As we’re planning to go there on our next trip and are in the process of gathering information, we thought it would be a good idea to share it with you!

The islands of San Andres and Providencia are a small paradise in the Colombian Caribbean, attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world for their colors, beaches and magnificent sunsets.

San Andres entry requirements

How to get to San Andres and Providencia

Although more than 800 km from the Colombian coast, the archipelago of San Andres and Providencia is part of Colombia, so you’ll need a valid passport to enter San Andres (or your current visa for travel within Colombia).

But in addition to your passport, you will also be asked to pay a “tourist tax” which will give you access to a “tourist card” allowing you to visit San Andres and Providencia. This system is used in many of Colombia’s hard-to-reach destinations, such as Nuqui and Bahia Solano.

How much does the tourist tax cost to enter San Andres?

The current cost of the tourist card to enter San Andres is $146.000 COP.

When to pay the tax

This is a simple procedure to be carried out at the departure airport where you will take your flight to San Andres. The airline must be able to allow you to pay the tax and give you a “tourist card”.

Each airline is expected to check that passengers are in possession of the “tourist card” before boarding.

What is the Tourist Card for in San Andres?

The tourist card entitles the holder to enter the San Andres and Providencia archipelagos as a tourist. In addition to serving as a migration control, the card aims to generate resources to ensure the sustainability and development of the island. The money collected is earmarked for social projects in the resident community, as well as investments in the destination’s tourism development.

How to get to San Andres

Visit San Andres Island

San Andres Island is one of Colombia’s most popular tourist destinations. Despite its remoteness from the mainland, it’s a favorite vacation destination for Colombians, especially during Semana Santa (April).

The island is therefore particularly well served by Colombian airlines.

Which airlines fly to San Andres Island?

A number of airlines operate regular, direct flights to San Andres:

• Avianca: direct flights from Bogota, Medellin, Pereira, Bucaramanga, Cucuta and Barranquilla
• Latam: direct flights from Bogotá, Cartagena, Medellin and Cali
• Wingo: direct flights from Cartagena and Barranquilla (two flights per week only)

It is, of course, possible to depart from other Colombian cities with connecting flights.

Which cities offer direct flights to San Andres?

Many Colombian cities offer direct flights to San Andres:

• Bogota
• Medellin
• Cali
• Pereira
• Cartagena
• Bucaramanga
• Cucuta
• Barranquilla

The island can also be reached from Panama City.

How much does it cost to fly to San Andres?

The price of a flight to San Andres depends on the time of year you fly, the city you fly from and the airline you choose.

Prices range from $200.000 to 400.000 COP for a single flight, depending on the departure city.

Please note: prices rise during Colombia’s high season, especially Christmas and Holy Week.

How long does it take to fly to San Andres?

Again, this will depend on the departure city of your flight to San Andres, but on average the flight time to San Andres isaround 2 hours:

• Flight time from Bogotá: 2h10
• Flight time from Cali: 2h
• Flight time from Cartagena: 1h25
• Flight time from Pereira: 1h50
• Flight time from Medellin: 1h50
• Flight time from Barranquilla: 1h50

Now you know how to get to San Andres! Now we’ll give you all the information you need to get to Providencia. The distance between the two islands is long enough (100 km) to require some real organization.

Providencia can’t be reached by lancha, as would be the case, for example, between Isla Mucura and Tintipan. It’s also worth noting that the cost of transport to Providencia is not cheap.

Where to stay in San Andres

Visiting Isla San Andres

While we’re waiting to recommend our favorites, you can find hotels to stay in San Andres on Booking.

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How to get to Providencia ?

Visit Providencia Island

Currently, the only option for getting to Providencia from San Andres is by plane.

Are there direct flights to Providencia from the mainland?

No, there are no direct flights from Colombia (mainland) to Providencia. You must first fly to San Andres before you can fly to Providencia.

Which airlines fly between San Andres and Providencia?

Only one airline operate regular flights between the two islands: Satena

But in Colombia, connections between smaller destinations are sometimes subject to change. From one day to the next, airlines decide to operate or stop flights for budgetary reasons.

Flight conditions and aircraft type

The type of aircraft operating between San Andres and Providencia are very small propeller-driven planes. They are known as “avionetas”. These are very small aircraft that can seat between 10 and 20 people.

Satena conditions

• Authorized in cabin: Handbag max. 10x15x20 cm and suitcase max. 43×34 cm and max. 5 kg
• Authorized in hold: Suitcase up to 15 kg

How much does it cost to fly to Providencia?

The cost of the flight from San Andres to Providencia depends on the airline you fly with:

With Satena, prices depend on comfort:

• Single flight from $250.000 COP

How long is the flight between the islands of San Andres and Providencia?

The flight from San Andres to Providencia takes about 20 minutes.

What are the departure times and days for flights to Providencia?

Flights between San Andres and Providencia are daily.

Satena

Satena operates three routes a day:

• Flight departures from San Andres to Providencia: 7.05am, 11.40am and 3.10pm
• Flight departures from Providencia to San Andres: 8.20am, 12.40pm and 4.20pm

So, answering the question of how to get to Providencia , we realize that, unfortunately, flying is the cheapest option at the moment…. not very eco-friendly… But be warned, flying between the islands doesn’t have all the advantages, especially when it comes to luggage.

Where to stay in Providencia

Visiting Isla Providencia

While we’re waiting to give you our picks, you can find hotels to stay in Providencia on Booking.

Booking.com (function(d, sc, u) { var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; s.type = ‘text/javascript’; s.async = true; s.src = u ‘?v=’ ( new Date()); p.parentNode.insertBefore(s,p); })(document, ‘script’, ‘//cf.bstatic.com/static/affiliate_base/js/flexiproduct.js’);

Agency for a stay in San Andres

Guide to visiting San Andres

Conclusion

How to get to San Andres and Providencia

We hope this post will help you understand how to get to the island of San Andres and its little sister Providencia .

We’ve seen how easy it is to get to San Andres from any major city on the Colombian mainland. On the other hand, it was not possible to reach Providencia directly without first passing through San Andres.

We also realized that this was already a hefty transport budget. Of course, we’re still 800 km from the mainland, and if we want to go to Providencia, that’s twice the price of transport.

Finally, we’ve seen that flying to Providencia from San Andres is the simplest and cheapest solution (for the moment)