I traveled to Santa Marta, Colombia by car in early November 2003. The area was absolutely beautiful. The view of the Sierra Nevada mountains was lovely. However, this is an area of rebels so one has to be very careful. There were several army check points along the way and at one point my passport was carefully scrutinized. But I found it to Santa Marta safely. There are two basic beaches. There is one that is public and used by the locals and there is another that is used by the hotels. These are divided by a couple of steep ... (more)