Taganga

Taganga is a small fishing village crammed into a cove just over the hill from Santa Marta, about 8 kilometres northeast of the city centre. It has been a backpacker hub for decades, and the main street has the usual cluster of hostels, dive schools, hammock bars, and cheap seafood restaurants that comes with that territory. The village has grown but it hasn't entirely lost its character.

The diving is the main draw. The water is clear, the reefs are accessible, and several Taganga dive operators run trips into the protected waters of Tayrona National Park, where the underwater scenery is exceptional. Budget dive courses here are legitimately good value. For non-divers, the walk around the headland from Taganga to the Playa Grande beach is worth the 20-minute effort, and the bay view at sunset from the restaurants on the seafront is one of the better evening options near Santa Marta.

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Taganga was a genuine fishing village when backpackers first started arriving in the 1990s, drawn by cheap dive courses that were among the most affordable in the world. The village still has a fishing fleet, and in the mornings you can watch the boats come in and buy fish directly from the crews. The dive schools remain — the reef at the entrance to the bay is still healthy enough to be worth exploring, and the access to Tayrona's underwater reserves from here is some of the best in Colombia.