Capurgana, Sapzurro, La Miel: Don't bother!

Question

You may be considering a visit to Capurgana and Sapzurro after reading Lonely Planet's new  Colombia book. Please don't believe the LP puff - it's really not worth the hassle of getting here.

I spent a week in Capurgana in January and was extremely disappointed by the village and that of Sapzurro. I don't know what the Lonely Planey guy was on when he visited but I wish I'd had some!

Capurgana and Sapzurro are basically holiday resorts for Colombians who like loud music and drinking on the beach, so unless you like ear-splitting reggaeton music all day and night, and snorkelling with litter, give this region a miss.

Be warned: wherever you stay, you're likely to have a poor night's sleep because there's booming music everywhere.

Don't be seduced by misleading photos and descriptions of the amazing beaches. There are no decent beaches in the area. Even the famed 'La Miel' (in Panama) which is about a 30min walk over a steep hill from Sapzurro is just a small, thin crescent of sand. Capurgana and Sapzurro beaches and small and dirty and not far enough from booming speakers.

The snorkelling is pretty poor but the diving isn't bad; go to 'Dive and Green' in Capurgana - that's probably the best way to spend your time here.

The food isn't great either as all everything is shipped in from the mainland. So don't expect lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Options for vegetarians are particularly limited and the food generally is fairly monotonous. Lots of fried chicken.

Just wanted to warn fellow travellers: you will be disappointed!!

Debbieonvacation · Accepted Answer

Using my wife's account: Thx guys for a decent,recent report .Our son is living in Medellin and we are planning on seeing him in April.We wanted some beach time,snorkeling,some decent food,friendly locals,hiking and decompress on our middle of a 3 week visit to see him. Our son mentioned these places when we told him that the places around Cartagena did not sound all that special including Isla Grande ,where they get pounded by day tourists daily. L.P. does make C.,S., & La M. sound enticing.We are having difficulty finding the flights from Medellin to the Sapzurro airport much less the Acandi airport that LP mentions. We are not up for the pounding ,lengthy boat rides. LP suggests Searca & TAC airlines but those sites are not much help ;there must not be enough business for them to go there. I would have thought that the end of January would have been a slow,quiet time also. Sorry to hear that the reef is filled with garbage.the local must have little understanding of how they impact the environment. Thanks for the truth on there not being fresh fruits and vegetables,which is kind of hard to believe. A lot of fried chicken is strange given that you would think seafood would be more common on the seashore. Thanks also for the true assessment of La Miel because they make that sound like it is a relief from Cap &Sap. You did not mention how pricing fit in even though LP warns you to bring plenty of cash because of the lack of ATM"S or non-use of credit cards which of course is good to know. Just wondering if that makes tourists a target or do the hotel rooms have safes for customers to use ? And after seeing that horses are the mode of transportation, is one able to rent ? - by hour,day,week,piggyback ? Probably no internet either right ? I'm sure that when you have a place that is hard to access and far from a lot of civilization , it is might not be practical to tick a lot of the boxes for everyone but the noise,lack of decent food and poor snorkeling are deal breakers for me, even if I was college age which we are not . Thanks again. Tommy

Jony G · Answer

Try Santa Marta instead, there are places around Santa Marta that are quiet and feel untouched such as Buritaca and environs. Again no ATMs so take cash.

Bicks_medellin · Answer

Nuqui and Bahia Solando are meant to be great places.

Kelly D · Answer

Tommy,we just back from our annual beach vacation in Santa Marta and had a super time.No snorkel this time instead we did a sidetrip up to Minca for a lttle hike,bird watching and a swim in a waterfall pool.

Golfo de Morrosquillo has many little beach towns and is a good steping stone to Islas San Bernardo.Both locations have decent snorkeling and see less tourists.

Don_Yoav · Answer

What R U TALKING ABOUT?!?!!?

With All the respect are you sure you did not made an error and continued to panama? Capurgana has everything you can ask from paradise on earth... and still (i emphasize Still) not too touristic. You dont need Lonely planet to see it. But I respect your view...

Ciarango · Answer

Hey...you are half right. Capurganá is the real Capurgana when there are few local tourists from the banana plantation region of Turbo and Apartado. Unfortunately during long weekends (in Colombia weekday holidays are moved to the next monday to encourage tourism) it fills up with rowdy people. Additionally the sea is quite diferent during sept-oct-nov (rainy season) when the waves dissapear and the water is crystal clear. During Jan-feb-march the surf is too strong, currents terrible and snorkeling impossible. Most of the fish consumed in Capurgana were usually fished in Panamanian waters in an area known as "el bajo del pargo rojo" or red snaper shoal but due to the wave of Cuban and Haitian ilegal immigrants tha Panamanian coast guard is not allowing fishermen to cross the border. The world humanitarian crisis is affecting the economy and well being of the peacefull community of Capurgana. For me november is the perfect month just before the end of the school year. The visitor must keep in mind that this region is isolated from the world because there are no roads, no roads means that almost everything is brought from somewhere else, from a coke to a tomato. Fruits are almost limited to the local produce and are only available during season. The darien region of Colombia and Panama is just like if it was located in the middle of the amazon. So TopherandMelba are right, this is a place only for nature lovers, not for everyone.

alessandra d · Answer

REALLY????!!!!I was going to book the flight Medellin-acandi to stay 4 days from the 25 of January in Capurgana, looking for crystal water and nice snorkelling. Please can you confirm if it really will be a waste of time in January because of the bad condition of the sea??

Mucura was an option but it seems to be already booked!! Thanks a lot for your advice!

soulrebel23 · Answer

My friend in Medellin did not recommend Capurgana. The guy who sits by me at work loved Nuqui and stayed at some eco hotel. I'm heading to Medellin tomorrow and we are going to spend some time at Hotel Punta Norte on Isla Tintipan (~2 hour boat ride from Cartagena). I'll report back on our thoughts but it sure looks like a beautiful place to disconnect from the U.S. election.

On a previous trip I visited Santa Marta which was nice but nothing special in my view as well as Taganga and Tayrona-the latter two places were fine but I did not care for the many drug using tourists-I did not want to be around their activities. Perhaps bad luck on the timing but I would not go back.

Jony G · Answer

You don't want to be around druggy tourists and you chose the hole that is Taganga of all places? The problem is your staying in hostels around the backpacker community which is what you'll find on every bloody corner in Taganga.

If you stay in a Nice Air B&B in Rodadero or Santa Marta city centre and go to other spots in Tayrona such as Bahia Concha or Playa Cristal, you won't even notice those annoying, hipster junkies.

alessandra d · Answer

Thanks a lot!!I will definitevely forget capurgana.

I rent a car in Bogotá and we will drive to the Caribbean Coast in no hurry at all. Our idea is to take 4/5 days for the travel with some stops in nice places. For the sea I was considering the area around Buritaca, in particular I was looking at Playa Piqua,it seems quiet and not crowded.

I was considering Isla Tintipan as well...I look forward to reading your comments!

At this point I would avoid Internal flight and enjoy the travel. The Ruta del Sol on one way and on the other Bogotá via Medellin. I still have to understand and plan details but in general after reading a lot of comments on internet I believe that it is not so terrible the driving.

Capurgana, Sapzurro, La Miel: Don't bother! - Capurgana Forum

Capurgana, Sapzurro, La Miel: Don't bother!

Capurgana Hotels and Places to Stay