I’ve travelled all over the world running my online businesses and I can say that Santa Marta is one of my favourite places to be a digital nomad.
While the nomad community is much smaller than digital nomad hotspots like Medellin and Mexico City, there is a small, tight-knit group of digital nomads, expats and locals that hang out together and regularly plan fun events each week.
The combination of beaches, mountains and infrastructure in Santa Marta is hard to beat. If you’re looking to live by the beach with excellent fast wifi, an international airport 15 minutes away and modern infrastructure, my top choice is the El Rodadero neighbourhood of Santa Marta.
This area is also incredibly affordable. For example, you can rent a 4-5 bedroom house near the beach for $600/month, which is less than you may pay for just a room these days in an apartment or coliving space in Medellín.
Many foreigners I have met here liked it so much that they bought an apartment. You can easily find a beachfront condo for under 100K, especially in the emerging beach neighbourhoods between El Rodadero and the Santa Marta’s Simón Bolívar International Airport.
Santa Marta is one of the sunniest places in Colombia with year-round sunshine most of the day and late afternoon showers in the rainy season. Unlike in Bogotá and Medellín, you don’t get socked in by clouds in the rainy season.
It gets hot in Santa Marta during the middle of the day but there’s usually a strong breeze (what locals call La Brisa Loca) that keeps the air fresh and clean.
Plus, whenever you want to escape the heat, you can be in Minca’s cloud forests at elevations similar to Medellín in about an hour.
The Outdoorsy Lifestyle In Santa Marta
Santa Marta is Colombia’s oldest city (the second oldest in the Americas). It was founded on July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas and in July of 2025 the local Costeños will celebrate the 500th anniversary of their city.
Sitting between the Caribbean Sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, Santa Marta is perfect for adventurous people who want to lead an outdoorsy lifestyle.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the world’s tallest coastal mountain range and it has the highest peaks in Colombia, Pico Colón at 5,775 meters (18,947 feet) and Pico Simón Bolívar at 5,775 meters (18,947 feet).
On the beaches east of Santa Marta, like Palomino, you can sit on a tropical beach and see these glacier-capped mountains less than 80 miles away.
I first discovered this area when I watched the excellent documentary Aluna about the spiritual wisdom of the indigenous Kogi people and their fight to protect their homeland in the Sierra Nevada. The BBC filmmaker Alan Ereira has the best description I’ve heard of the importance of this area:
“Imagine a pyramid standing alone by the sea, each side a hundred miles long. It’s a mountain nearly four miles high. In its folds imagine every different climate on earth. This is the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the people hidden here call the Sierra the Heart of the World and themselves the Elder Brothers.”
If you love being outdoors when you’re not working, it’s hard to beat the weather and outdoor recreation opportunities around Santa Marta.
Whether it’s scuba diving in Taganga, relaxing on the beaches in Tayrona National Park, surfing in Palomino, hiking the clouds forests in Minca, or spending a couple of days unplugged in an indigenous village, this area of Colombia is one of the best places in Latin America for nature lovers.
Why Digital Nomads Might Choose To Live In Santa Marta:
While Colombia offers a lot of great options for digital nomads and expats, Santa Marta is unique in its combination of great beaches and mountains.
I like to describe the area as a combination of Mexico and Costa Rica. The area around Santa Marta is sunny and arid with cacti like Mexico City but it also has beaches and jungle like Costa Rica in Tayrona National Park as well as cloud forests with great hiking up in Minca.
Here are some the key reasons why digital nomads are drawn to Santa Marta:
Much lower cost of living compared to Bogotá, Medellín or Cartagena Warm, tropical climate year-round with consistent sunshine and a sea breeze Proximity to nature with jungle, mountains, beaches and national parks nearby A relaxed, small-city feel with fewer distractions and slower pace than big cities A growing community and a lot less annoying “hookers & drugs” foreigners
However, Santa Marta isn’t as developed as Medellín when it comes to remote work infrastructure, so knowing the right spots for living and working is essential.
Why I Chose To Live In El Rodadero Beach
While I enjoy the historical center of Santa Marta, it can feel unsafe at night if you walk down the wrong block (it changes fast).
By the beach in El Rodadero it feels very safe and you can also walk around at night because this is probably the most popular year-round beach for Colombians, so there are lots of people around enjoying their vacation at all hours of the night.
From El Rodadero, it’s an easy 10-minute drive or a cheap Uber over the mountains that separate El Rodadero from the city of Santa Marta.
There’s a great community of young expats and digital nomads in El Rodadero while I found Santa Marta to attract either a very young crowd of backpackers or more of an older crowd of retirees.
I’m usually in Santa Marta in the winter so I can escape the cold in Canada but it’s also quite nice in the rainy season when you get refreshing showers in the late afternoon.
Finding Coworking And Coliving Spaces
Here are some of your options for coworking and coliving in Santa Marta:
1. Flamingo Coworking – A great coworking space that shares the building with a hostel and the biggest rooftop club in Santa Marta called La Brisa Loca.
2. Caworking – I never checked this place out but it’s in a mall and there are a lot of great reviews.
3. Masaya Hostel – This well-designed Colombian coliving-like chain of hotels has a good coworking space and a pool.
4. Republica Hostel – Another hostel with a good workspace setup, ideal for networking with other travelers and entrepreneurs.
5. MuchoSur Santa Marta – This place has a nice rooftop pool and restaurant but I disliked their coworking space because it felt cramped and the ergonomics were awful with old chairs.
Best Cafés for Working In The Area
My go-to cafe for working remotely is Cafe de Pombo just outside of El Centro of Santa Marta.
1. Café De Pombo – This new upscale library-style cafe is my go-to place for remote work. The coffee and food is top notch, the washrooms are clean and the wifi is always fast.
2. Vívolo Café – This funky cafe on the waterfront causeway has beautiful art and good coffee with strong wifi.
3. Ikaro Café – Strong WiFi, amazing coffee, and a relaxed vibe. They have great vegetarian and vegan food.
4. Lulo Café – A popular spot with healthy food, good WiFi, and a central location. Can get busy, so morning hours are best for working.
5. La Canoa – A quieter spot with a good atmosphere for working, plus some of the best coffee in Santa Marta.
6. Arrecife Mall – This upscale mall near the beach in El Rodadero has a free coworking space with decent wifi on the second level overlooking the ocean.
Pro Tip: Internet speeds can fluctuate, so always have a SIM card with mobile data (Claro or Movistar) as a backup when working remotely. With Claro I pay 40,000 COP ($10) a month for $60 GB of data.
Where To Stay And Visit In The Area
Your choice of neighborhood will impact your experience as a digital nomad. Santa Marta has a mix of areas, each with its own vibe.
1. El Centro (Historic Downtown) – Best for culture, nightlife, and easy access to coworking spaces and cafés. However, it can be noisy at night and can feel unsafe if you walk down the wrong block.
2. El Rodadero – A more modern, residential area with beachside apartments, supermarkets and a quieter atmosphere. Good for long-term stays.
3. Minca – A peaceful mountain retreat with incredible nature and cooler weather. Internet can be slow, so it’s best for digital nomads who don’t rely on high-speed WiFi all the time.
4. Taganga – A small fishing village popular with divers and backpackers. It’s scenic but not ideal for remote work due to unreliable WiFi.
5. Palomino – A hippie surf town about 90 minutes drive from Santa Marta. The wifi here can be spotty but it’s improved a lot of in the last two years.
6. Los Cocos – I really like this small town on the beach just east of Tayrona National Park. It’s quiet, there’s lots of waterfalls and indigenous villages that you can visit on a short hike in the mountains.
Tip: If you plan to stay for a month or more, check out the Digital Nomads in Santa Marta Facebook Group for rental options or use Airbnb for flexible stays.
Networking And Social Life In Santa Marta
Santa Marta’s digital nomad community isn’t as established as in Medellín or Bogotá but it’s growing fast.
The best ways to meet locals, travellers and other digital nomads is through Couchsurfing or local Whatsapp groups. There is an excellent Digital Nomad WhatsApp group run by a great American guy named Tony.
You will also find some digital nomad and expat Facebook Groups and Meetups where people occasionally post events like brunches, language exchanges and workshops.
When I spend the day working at nomad-friendly cafés like Pombo, Ikaro or Lulo, I’ll usually meet at least one new person.
If you’re looking for nightlife, there is great dancing at La Brisa Loca and La Puerta. Colombians are really friendly so it’s easy to meet people here.
If you’re thinking of spending a few weeks or months in Santa Marta, I hope this guide has given you some ideas to get started once you land in the city. If you have any questions about Santa Marta, feel free to reach out.
I built DIY Genius to help entrepreneurial people find their sweet spot for deep focus and flow states where passion meets purpose and profitability.
I believe the future of education starts with helping people find their "zone of genius" so they can develop their uniquely human ability to create meaning, connection and community (that A.I. can't replicate).
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