Budget Hotels in Santa Marta

By Lorraine Caputo

Santa Marta has the full spectrum of lodging options, from inexpensive inns to luxury hotels facing the bay. Some of the dirt-cheap hostels have quite heavy and open drug use. For a few dollars more, you can find safer and quieter quarters elsewhere. An unusual feature of Santa Marta is that budget hotels can be found almost any place in the city, though most are concentrated on Calles 10C and 11. Most places, even in the luxury price range, have only agua al clima, or room temperature water bathrooms (which, in this climate, can be quite warm).