Diving in San Andrés

Colombia´s small Caribbean Island of San Andrés, 2 hour’s flight from Bogotá, is a geat diving destination. Here’s some photos and information from a week of diving week in December 2023.

See also my post on the nearby island of Providencia, Old Caribbean Charm.

San Andrés and Providencia islands belong to Colombia, actually off the coast of Nicaragua, just small dots in the western corner of the Caribbean. In fact the islands are 800 kms west of Colombia mainland and 150 kms from Central America. Their remoteness makes them a great place to dive, with clear warm water (wetsuit shorties recommended), sealife (sharks, rays, lots of fish and coral), wrecks and plenty of dive shops to choose from (around 20 on San Andrés Island and a dozen on Providencia Island).

The two islands are 15 minutes apart by small commercial plane (several daily flights, book here with Satena) or slow catamaran (5 hourse, and no cheaper). See my blog here on Providencia. San Andrés has the main airport with international flights (Panama) and many local flights (Bogotá, Medellin, Cartagena etc) with Avianca and Latam. San Andrés is small:only 26 square kilometers, 12 kms long from tip to toe, with one large town, San Andrés Town, at the northern tip. Providencia is half as small again.

Is it worth it?

San Andrés ihas gained a tacky reputation in recent years, with mass Colombian tourism, drug cartels and human traffickers present (with a homicide rate to match, though tourists are not targets). For most visitors the main gripe is the crowding on Johnny Cay, a small atoll ten minutes by boat from the main island, or the impromptu parties on the seafront with blaring vallenato music and rum bottles strewn on the beach, and the rise of touts and scammers reminiscent of Cartagena, Colombia´s other premium beach destination. In fact, many of the laid-back raizal islanders (who speak English or Creole) have been pushed out of San Andrés town by an influx of illegal mainlanders. Que barbaridad!.

I would still recommend a visit for the following reasons:

• The diving is excellent, and safe, with usually very clear water over shallow (15 – 20 metre) seabed with relatively weak currents and tides, and good dive shops. This is a good place to learn diving and get certified (PADI).There are plenty of chill areas of San Andrés away from the bustling town. Check out the tranquilo south of the island.
• You can’t hear vallenato underwater.
• For foreigners with strong currency, San Andrés is relatively cheap compared to other remote Caribbean islands (unless you are Richard Branson or Princess Margaret).
• There are direct flights from Panama and main Colombian cities, with some bargain deals off high season.
• You can save costs by travelling out of the high season (late December – January and Easter Week are busiest).
• You could in theory travel to Colombia from Central America via San Andrés or vice versa ( I did it once on my way to El Salvador). Copa and Avianca have frequent flights.

To be honest, if you have already experienced chilling and diving in other areas of the Caribbean, then I wouldn’t recommend making an extra trip to San Andrés. But if you are already in Colombia, and a bit too chilled in Bogotá, then a week in the islands is a just, and if ou can afford it, then a week in Providencia and a week in San Andrés would be an ideal. Budget travellers can cram into a rented flat for the week in San Andrés town, cook fresh fish from the local market, and go diving.

Note that you can’t dive and fly the same day, and depending on your dive plan might need 36 hours gap. Plan accordingly.

Providencia or San Andrés?

Providencia or San Andrés? Both have good diving. The two islands are close but quite different, physically and culturally; Providencia is mountainous, less touristy and old Caribbean, English is more spoken (islanders are descended from slaves, colonists and pirates), but more expensive to reach (two flights from the mainland) and more limited in accommodation (boutique hotels). San Andrés is a larger but lower coral island, more touristy and caters for the tens of thousands of Colombian holiday makers that cram into the high-rise hotels. Having said that, there are many quieter corners of San Andrés Island and the south if the island is wild and beautiful. But San Andrés town itself makes a good base for a diving holiday: a walk away from the dive shops and boat wharfs, cheaper accommodation and restaurants. And since the island is only 12 kilometers (8 miles) long, you can easily rent a quad bike or golf buggy for the day to explore the whole island, or hike.

When to visit

In terms of crowds and high costs, avoid the high season (later December, January, Easter week) as the island gets very noisy and crowded, and flights are very costly.

In terms of weather and sea conditions, it can rain all year around but there is a drier season December to May, and more rain from June to November. Water clarity is usually better in the drier season, but you can also get high winds at this time. There are prevailing NE trade winds making the east side choppy, even with protection of the reefs, whereas the west side of the isalnd is calmer. We had very clear water in December, one of the best months for diving. Some dive shops recommend December-March and July-August as the best conditions, but in reality you can get good diving at any time of year.

Note that the islands are usually considered south of the Atlantic hurricane track (high risk season runs June to November) but both islands were clobbered by Hurricane Iota in 2020…see more on Iota my Providencia post.

Where to stay

San Andrés has accommodation to suit all pockets, from family home stays, luxury all-in hotels, cheap hospedajes, and rented apartments. We visited in early December and hired a small apartment for a week in San Andrés town, with balcony (good to dry wetsuits) and kitchenette (cooking cheaper than eating out). The town is hot and touristy, but we could stroll along the seafront at Spratt Bight beach, or swim there.

On an earlier trip we rented the top floor of a beach house, which was far superior to the town flat: but more expensive a long way from the dive shop, so would need a taxi twice a day. Providencia has simpler mostly family-run hotels, and some bargains out of season. Most advertise through booking.com.

Where to dive?

We chose Banda Dive Shop as it was in San Andrés town, and we could board the boat two minutes walk from our apartment. There are plenty of others, see Trip Advisor to compare. Banda was well organised, flexible, had a good boat and gear, and cost US$55 for two dives. Some dive shops are located on the calmer west side of the islands and do entries from the beach or rocks: these are cheaper but more limited in sites.

Banda was excellent and flexible, fitting in a refresher course in shallow water for my kids who were only recently qualified and nervous on their first dive. Each diver got their own dive computer for the week, to keep track of immersions, and we always felt safe and there was never any stress. Gear was good, but no wetsuits; you don´t really need them, but we had our own shorties.

The PADI site has an interactive list of dive shops and dive sites on San Andrés.

Dive sites are choses partly on experience of the dive group, weather and sea conditions, and recommended depth (ie if some divers have flights the next day). We dived at sandy bottoms, coral reefs, and the Blue Diamond wreck, which is spectacular and should not be missed.

You will see large shoals of fish, rays, moray eels, and turtles and sharks if you are lucky.

Very experienced divers might find the conditions underwhelming. But for us, less used to diving, it was the perfect week and we will be back.