San Andres y Providencia (Colombia)

Flanked by sandy beaches, the seahorse-shaped island of San Andres is the archipelagos main island and prime tourism centre for Caribbean Holidays. Covered in lush coconut palms, this ancient volcanic landscape buffered with layers of coralline built up over many millennia counts 27sq km.

Visitors arrive and depart from the airport and jetties, flying out of Providencia and the mainland and journeying to the surrounding cays. Scenic paved road circles the island, providing sufficient infrastructure to get around with the brightly painted single-storey wooden houses of the local population sit amongst palms in the centre of the island.

Surrounding coral beds, with nicest beaches located on the islands’ eastern shore, offers an excellent scuba diving and snorkelling opportunities all around the island, with visibility and temperatures nearly unrivalled in the Caribbean. This beautiful array of oceanic hues is described by the locals as”The Sea of Seven Colours”.

Located 90km north of San Andres, much smaller and quainter island of Providencia feels not only like a world away, but like a different country entirely. Traditionally known as Old Providence, the island covers an area of 17sq km. As the second-largest island in the archipelago, Providencia offers the same turquoise sea, extensive coral reefs and rich underwater life making entire archipelago a paradise for snorkelers and scuba divers.

Providencia beaches are small, beautiful and often deserted. The main ones are at Bahía Aguadulce, Bahía Suroeste and Bahía Manzanillo at the southern end of the island. Numerous other tiny white-sand bays and idyllic stretches can easily be found dotted around the shoreline. Calypso-shrouded open-sided restaurants care little for world-class service. Food comes served with a generous helping of good humour. Life unfolds at a leisurely pace and time is an unimportant detail in this laid-back island that offers stunning views for your dream wedding ceremony and honeymoon.

The nearby cays, less than two kilometres from the island, are two spectacular islets of Johnny Cay and Haynes Cay that break the line of the horizon on the north-eastern side of San Andres and may be easily reached by small boats. Sixteen nautical miles southwest of San Andres island the most beautiful islet of Bolivar Cay is located. Surrounded by extensive coral barrier this islet it paradise for divers and snorkelers.