How to visit Minca, Colombia
If you’re looking for a jungle town less than an hour from the beach, then Minca, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Colombia, is your place.
Minca is a world away from the Caribbean coast and feels removed from daily life. Think towering green trees, rolling rainforest valleys, and the tweet of tropical birds wherever you go.
I visited Minca in March 2023 and absolutely loved it. Therefore, I figured I’d write this guide to help you to decide if you’d also like to visit, and, if so, give you information for the logistics of the trip.
Ratings
Accessibility: 3/5 • Safety: 5/5 • Enjoyment: 5/5 • Value: 4/5 • Overall: 4.25/5
About Minca
Minca, Colombia, is a popular destination for backpackers and holidaymakers alike. Just an hour from the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the main city to the east, Santa Marta, it’s easily accessible and provides a refreshing contrast to all the other locations you might visit on a trip to the region.
I’ve read that Minca used to be an off-the-beaten-track destination. That is absolutely not the case now. When I visited, there were so many tourists in town. Firmly on the beaten track, it is.
People come for three things: the waterfalls, bird watching, and the local produce (coffee and chocolate). I can’t blame them at all – these are what Minca excels at. But just coming here and soaking up the ambience is a pretty good thing to do, and it’s a great place to relax and do nothing at as well.
The town itself is modern and developed. You’ll find a large variety of international food on offer, from Middle Eastern shawarma to pizza, as well as several bars, shops and cafes. There’s no shortage of good places to eat in between your exploring and relaxation.
How to get there
Minca is surprisingly easy to get to, given its location around 20 km south-east of Santa Marta, the biggest city in this area of northern Colombia.
Regardless of where you’re coming from, you will need to begin by heading to Santa Marta, as all transport to Minca goes to and from here. There are multiple daily flights to Santa Marta from Bogotá and Medellin, making it easy to get to from outside the country or from major cities. It’s also possible to catch a bus from Cartagena or other destinations along the Caribbean coast.
By colectivo
The easiest way to get from Santa Marta to Minca is by taking a colectivo. (A colectivo, by the way, is a shared minibus with a defined route common across South America.) The journey takes 45 minutes to 1 hour and costs 9000 COP ($2.20 / £1.70) per person.
To catch the colectivo, you’ll need to head to its start point at Carrera 9 by Calle 12, near the Mercado Central in central Santa Marta. The bus stop is around 15 mins walk from the tourist centre of Santa Marta and is generally safe to walk to from the tourist centre (although I wouldn’t fancy doing it in the dark!). However, given that you’ll have to walk through a busy market as the stop is near Mercado Central, be aware of pickpockets. It’s saved as a point on Google Maps as ‘Bus Stop to Minca’, which is handy for directions.
Each minibus leaves when it’s full, but I wouldn’t expect a long wait. We only had to wait 15 minutes on the way, and were the last people on the minibus on the way back. I believe they only run from dawn to dusk, so you may be better off taking a taxi if you needed to arrive in the evening.
It wasn’t the most comfortable ride I’ve ever had – the seats on the minibus are pretty cramped – but overall it wasn’t too bad. The final part of the journey as you approach Minca is stunning, if you can blag yourself a window seat!
By taxi
It’s also possible to take a taxi to the town. This is the best option if you’re pressed for time or are journeying to Minca in the evening (I believe the collectivo only runs from 6 am to 6 pm!). A taxi from Santa Marta should cost around 80,000 to 100,000 COP ($20 to $24 / £15 to £19).
How does Minca, Colombia rate as a destination?
As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that we can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit – those are the scores you see at the top of the page!
This is how Minca rated:
- Accessibility: 3/5 – on one hand, Minca is easy to get to from Santa Marta (itself an easy city to reach). However, the town is fairly hilly and most of its attractions involve walking or swimming and many trips outside the town involve taking a mototaxi.
- Safety: 5/5 – I felt very safe in Minca.
- Enjoyment: 5/5 – Minca’s a great town and we really enjoyed our time here!
- Value: 4/5 – whilst some accommodation can work out expensive compared to other areas of Colombia, overall we thought that transport, food and activities were great value for money.
Overall score: 4.25/5
If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.
What to do
Minca is a great base for a variety of activities, so rest assured that you won’t be bored. I’ve listed my favourites below:
1. Visit some waterfalls
One main river runs through Minca, eventually connecting to the Guachaca River to the east.
Given the mountainous nature of the region, the river gives way at several points to stunning waterfalls. The most famous waterfalls in the area are a motortaxi ride away, but generally they are easy to access.
We visited Marinka Falls, which is around an hour’s walk or 15 minute mototaxi ride outside the centre of Minca. Two waterfalls were accessible from my visit. The lower one is notable for being home to a natural pool that you can swim in, and has been set up with a boardwalk, toilets and changing rooms for convenience.
There’s many more waterfalls around, such as Oido del Mundo and Pozo Azul. Many of these are off the beaten track so don’t get so many visitors; you just need to know where to look!
2. Go bird watching
Minca’s location in the cloud forest means there’s great birdwatching here – some of the best you can find in this part of Colombia. Even just walking around on some of the tracks heading out of town, you can hear so much birdsong and see exotic birds in the trees.
There are several bird watching tour options, all of which are advertised on the main road and can be booked when in Minca. We went with Jungle Joe’s, which cost 50,000 pesos each ($12 / £9), and was good for the price. Expect to head out very early in the morning; ours was at 6 am. Our guide gave us binoculars and off we went! We saw a heck of a lot of birds, including toucans and parrots.
3. Coffee and chocolate tours
The area surrounding Minca is home to several coffee and chocolate plantations, so why not take a tour?
I have to say that I didn’t do this in Minca; we attempted a tour at Finca San Rafael but, after 90 mins of waiting for a tour to begin, we decided to abort mission. But the tours at other fincas in the area sound lovely and would be a great thing to do in the area if you haven’t had a chance to visit one yet in Colombia!
4. Eat, drink and relax
Minca is also home to a great range of restaurants and bars, and many of the hotels come with pools or river access. You’ll find lots of cutesy cafes perfect for a chill coffee or hot chocolate as well.
Therefore, it’s a great place to take things slow. Sample a range of cuisines, watch the sunset, souvenir shop, and take the time to relax, breathe it all in and destress…
Where to eat
You’re spoilt for choice in Minca. We didn’t have a bad meal here, and there are a lot of great options.
However, hands down, our best meal was Bururake, a grill fusion restaurant. It’s just off the main road so seemed a bit quieter than the other restaurants, but let me tell you: they have an open kitchen, and the care and attention to detail they took with our food was astounding! With mains averaging around 35,000 pesos ($8 / £7), the food was the same price as our hostel, but it was so delicious. If we’d heard about it sooner, I doubt we would’ve eaten anywhere else for the rest of our visit!
We had a great pizza meal at Nonni Pizzeria, which felt like the most authentic Italian food we’d had in a while of travelling. We also highly rate the outdoor terrace at the Lazy Cat, which overlooks the river and was atmospheric in the evening.
As for dessert, Nevao Gelato serves great ice cream and costs only 10,000 pesos ($2.40 / £1.90).
If you’re looking for a sunset drink, Casa Loma’s bar is perched on a platform above Minca town. Whilst drinks are pricey for this area of Colombia, the gorgeous sunsets make it worth it.
Where to stay
Minca is quite touristy so is home to a variety of hotels, lodges and hostels. However, there does appear to be a shortage of accommodation. When we stayed in March 2023, most good options were booked up a week in advance, and we ended up staying in a tent our final night just to have somewhere decent to stay.
Therefore, do not leave booking accommodation in Minca until the last minute, as options will otherwise be limited! I’d recommend booking a hostel at least a couple of weeks in advance.
We stayed at Rio Elemento Ecolodge. Although it was a bit more expensive than some of the other options in the area, with our en-suite double bedroom costing around 237,000 pesos ($55 / £45), it was pretty nice. There was a pool – the largest one I saw at a hostel in Colombia – as well as plenty of space for relaxation, with sunbeds and hammocks on the lawn. The hostel is also by the river so you can bathe in it or walk along it as well. It was a ten-minute walk into town but felt tranquil all the more for it.
Another option which many people we met took was a hostel called Casa Loma. Again, this is a bit more expensive than other hostels in the area, but we’ve heard generally great things. It’s perched up a hill above Minca town. On the upside, there’s great views and the sunset from their bar is absolutely stunning! On the downside, there are sooo many steps between it and the main road. Also, we met a couple who had bed bugs in their dorm; enough said.
A lot of the highest rated hostels and lodges are outside of Minca itself, so it’s worth checking exactly where you’re staying when you book. Depending on the location, it may be difficult to get mototaxis at night or bring your luggage to the lodge. Just check to make sure it’s possible to reach it!
Top tips
Staying in Minca soon? Here are my top recommendations for your stay:
- Bring plenty of bug repellent. There are so many mosquitos here and we literally got eaten alive.
- Bring cash. We saw one ATM in the centre but I think this is new, and we didn’t test it out. Otherwise there are no ATMs in Minca, so do yourself a favour and bring some cash with you from Santa Marta!
- Book early. The best accommodation is booked up weeks in advance, so don’t leave it until last minute to pick your hostel.
Conclusion
We loved our stay in Minca and thought 3 nights was the perfect time to explore the area and have time to relax as well. It makes a welcome change of scenery from the Caribbean coast and is so gorgeous, you may never want to leave!
Are you planning a trip to Minca? Let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
Not sure where to head next? Check out nearby Palomino, Tayrona National Park and the Ciudad Perdida trek!
More information
- Practical Wanderlust’s guide to Minca is a great and informative article.
- Pati’s Journey Within includes great information on how to visit Minca.
- South America Backpacker has a great article on what to do in Minca.
