Bukap - Exclusive travel experiences in Santa Marta, Colombia — Attraction in Santa Marta

Exploring the History and Culture of Santa Marta with César Mera

During our February 2025 cruise, my wife and I had the pleasure of booking a private shore excursion through Bukap in Santa Marta, Colombia. Our guide, César Mera, was exceptional, providing us with a personalized and deeply informative experience that we’ll always cherish.

César crafted a perfect itinerary focused on Santa Marta’s rich history, particularly the last days of Simón Bolívar. Our first stop was the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, a historic hacienda located in the Mamatoco neighborhood. This was the site where Bolívar spent his final days before passing away in 1830. Today, the hacienda serves as a museum and cultural center, showcasing art and exhibits that offer a fascinating glimpse into Bolívar's last moments and legacy. If you’re a history enthusiast or simply curious about Bolívar's life, this is a must-visit.

Next, we explored a small but captivating museum dedicated to the region’s indigenous populations before the arrival of the Spanish. The museum beautifully displays the artistic work of these early peoples, showing their evolution in craftsmanship over time. This museum also holds historical significance as it was the place where Bolívar was initially housed while battling what is now recognized as tuberculosis.

A particularly memorable moment came when my wife discovered a beaded yellow butterfly necklace at the Gabo Museum in Cartagena during an earlier visit. The necklace was behind glass, and no one was available to assist with the purchase. César, going above and beyond, took it upon himself to find not one, but three local stores in Santa Marta that sold similar beaded jewelry, ensuring we could bring home the perfect souvenir.

If you’re planning to explore Santa Marta and want a guide who is knowledgeable, personable, and attentive to your interests, we highly recommend asking for César Mera. He turned what could have been a typical shore excursion into an unforgettable journey through history...

Research on tripadvisor found Bukap Travels as a possibility for a private road transfer from locations east of Santa Marta over 250km to Cartagena. But first I needed collection from Santa Marta airport to El Zaino for a hotel there and Tayrona park. Contacting Bukap for the two trips together produced a slight discount to their advertised price and I con-firmed reservations, the first one month away, the second 9 days later. The price and agreement was by email and WhatsApp. Nearer the date confirming the arrangement I was asked to make payment via a link on an email. This naturally did raise some concerns but is actually quite common on our travels and credit card payment for both trips as one total was made. From then on the arrangements were excellent. A WhatsApp message 2 days before being met at Santa Mar-ta airport. Drivers name and car registration details. Driver with my name at the airport. Polite driver, uni-form, clean good vehicle. Nine days later, Buritaca to Santa Marta. 10.00 am pick up from the hotel. Advised of the driver and car de-tails the day before. The driver was there at 09.30 to wait, liveried car, uniform, polite efficient driver. Five hours later dropped outside our hotel in Cartagena. No buses, dragging luggage between terminals or bus plus taxi etc etc. Instead an excellent door to door service that gave us an extra afternoon at our destination compared to buses. Well...

I was looking for a private tour because I wasn’t sure if the group tours would return me in time for my flight. So glad I came across Bukap Travels. The co-founder Juan Carlos was personable and allowed me to amend my tour to add another person last minute and pick up hotel. It was such a pleasure dealing with him. Our professional bilingual guide Andres Salcedo had us so entertained and was such a great guide through Tayrona. We learned so much from him about everything. He’s also pretty funny too. Our professional driver Hernando Martinez was a fantastic driver and was wonderful to talk to. Highly recommend booking...