Santa Marta Street Food Tour: 7 Tastings With A Local Guide

It was an amazing and you really get to see different parts of Santa Marta! Our guide Al took us all over to see the open fish and fruit and vegetable markets. We tried juice drinks and food from local people! Great

WOW! Amazing tour! Hugo is the best guide ever. He is a wonderful, caring and extremely knowledgable guide. He went above and beyond, devoting his whole day to us. Thank you, Hugo! His love for the English language comes through his happy and funny stories. I am a retired English teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Hugo's English is better than mine. My wife and I have taken tours all over the world. Hugo is the best guide we have ever had. Do yourself a favor, book a tour with Hugo!

We had a wonderful experience with this tour. We got to see some of the city outside the historic center and experienced some local food that we wouldn't have tried on our own. One word of caution - go hungry. This is more that just a tasting tour and we had plenty of food and drinks for a nice lunch. Our guide spoke perfect English and the pacing was just right. It was a lovely tour and a highlight of our few days in Santa Marta.

Tour led us to many sites in Santa Marta, fruit markets, fish, meat etc. We made many stops to taste fruits, local dishes, and wonderful juices and coffee. Meanwhile Hugo was giving us much background on food, Santa Marta and local culture. Fun and informative. Hugo was a great guide, very dedicated, friendly and fun.

Great walking tour of the fruit/veg stands, trying fruit along the way. Also the fish market and meat market. Ate amazing arepas, green banana cayeye, plantain crust with cheese and shrimp. Add lemonade and wonderful coffee to make a wonderful time. Only 4 of us with Al and Hugo - their knowledge was shared freely and made me appreciate so much about Colombia. My only warning is that we walked at a good pace which might make this not a great fit if mobility is an issue.

The food tour was enjoyable. A lot of great options. We snacked on fruit on the way to the market, and got to try many foods typical to the region. My favourite thing we tried was the arepa con huevo. Our guide Alvaro was fantastic. He has a lot of knowledge of Santa Marta and the surrounding area. The tour lasts for 3-4 hours. Although there are many stops in between , bring good walking shoes. Sidewalks and roads are uneven.

If you’re looking for a nice way to see this city, this is it. Our guide did a lovely job. We were able to eat like locals, and we had a lot of food, including ice cold beers. I will do it again when we are next in Santa Marta.

We went to so many places, amazing street food and nice restaurant at the end. Our host answered all our questions. Overall about 4 miles walking over 4 hours. I would highly recommend.

The walking food experience was well paced, informative and provided excellent tasting opportunities. Our guide, Caroline was superb. Knowledgeable, friendly and professional.

Awesome tour with Carolina. Really enjoyed the fruits and different fresh juices. Would recommend as Carolina also gave us a good overview of Santa Marta and some of the history of the area.

I had an incredible time on the Santa Marta Street Food Tour! Al, the guide, was super friendly and really knows his stuff. I was traveling solo and joined the tour with someone who’s currently learning to lead the tours. Both were so welcoming that I immediately felt comfortable. What really stood out was how thoughtful Al was—he even looked up a few German-related facts after learning I was from Germany. That personal touch made the tour feel special. Al also took fantastic photos of the food and of me along the way, which was a great bonus! The tour itself was a perfect mix of street food, markets, and cozy stops at restaurants and cafés. We spent 4 hours exploring the local food scene, walking about 13 kilometers, and eating so much that I was completely stuffed by the end. As a vegetarian, I was impressed by how well the tour worked for me. Al really knows everyone in town and has such a friendly way of showing you around. He also shared insights about the architecture and local culture, but never rushed us—everything felt relaxed and easygoing. If you’re in Santa Marta, definitely come hungry and take this tour. It’s a fun, delicious, and memorable experience. Thanks, Al, for making it so great!

Álvaro was an excellent guide! He was so and helpful. He made my experience tasting all the local foods so fun!

My parents and I had a wonderful time on the tour. As others have said, there is LOTS of walking, but that is necessary as you will eat so much food at the start that you need time to digest. The tour is a mix of street food (at the beginning) and then the restaurants get nicer and nicer. You walk through areas you would never go as a tourist, but our guide (Al) made us feel safe and taken care of the entire time.

Our tour guide was very informative, easy to follow. The stops were appropriate to take a break, enjoy the surroundings. He was accommodating for us to stop and take pictures when we wanted and always had extra tid bits of knowledge to share. Excellent experience!

Our guide was excellent. Our food stops varied from the local market, street food vendors to restaurants. Great variety of food and drinks typical of Santa Marta cuisine. Small group and the guide went out of his way to ensure we all enjoyed this experience.

Great foot tour of Santa Marta and opportunity to taste the local food and drink. Alvaro was very friendly and an excellent and knowledgeable guide and host. Fun tour!

Walking through the city and trying the different foods was a great experience. The tour guide however seemed a bit like a robot and his English wasn’t so great so i really could not understand what he was saying. The tour was a bit long and because it was so hot and we were walking it was a bit difficult to stay focused. The guide did not offer to stop anywhere for us to get water and I asked him if we could get water and he said yes but he must have forgotten or didn’t understand me.

What an excellent experience! Our guide was so kind and knowledgeable. We enjoyed our day learning about the culture and history of Santa Marta and its food. If you have difficulty walking longer distances, this is not the tour for you.

This tour was worth the money. You try different foods, meet the locals, and you’ll be extremely full. There is A LOT of walking. I didn’t mind cause I enjoy walking and it helped balance out all the food intake. however if you’re not interested in walking about 5 miles in the heat be prepared to pay for transportation to get you and the guide to your different destinations…

The guide was clearly not passionate about the food. i had hoped to be able to talk about the ingredients and cooking a bit. The food was too greasy and heavy to eat on a scorching hot day. Just not that great overall

This was a fantastic tour! We were warned to come hungry but we didn’t believe them so we had breakfast at our hotel. We recommend you arrive hungry! Al was a wonderful guide - knowledgeable about the city and the places we visited were excellent. The walk between stops was leisurely and on flat ground. We highly recommend this tour. I’m not sure how they make money on the tour - it seems we eat all the profits!

We had a great time walking around the city with our guide, Al, and trying several different delicious Colombian foods and drinks. This was a great way to find some of the local places that we never would have found on our own, and Al shared a wealth of information with us as we walked. We ate so much on this tour that we didn't need anything else for the rest of the day.

I had a great time with our small group and Paula was a wonderful and warm guide. We went through different locations and never got into a haste, so we could enjoy each one thoroughly. The foods and drinks are from small local vendors, made with heart and tasted excellent. Thanks a lot!

Alvaro was an excellent guide! He walked us all around the city to see different sights and try different flavors for 4+ hours. Soooo much food and good info about Santa Marta!

We were a group of 6, and we all LOVED it! Our guide was super nice and we had a great time. The food was authentic and delicious. We highly recommend it!!

My guide was Al and he was very friendly and knowledgeable about the different food cultures within Santa Marta. Definitely I would suggest not to eat breakfast before the tour because you will get more than enough food on the tour. I actually had to take the last dish to go because I was so full. I tried some fried foods, sweets, and juices among other things.

I highly recommend this tour. Paula took us through 6 or 7 different locations. I won't reveal them as I think it's nicer if you get the surprise! But it was diverse and a nice walk around the city, including the colourful meat, fish and vegetable market. Our guide was friendly, energetic and knowledgeable. It's well worth the price for the amount of food you'll get. Skip breakfast!

A great way to try the local food! We even got to make our own Arepas which just automatically made the whole experience more immersive! Our guide Paula was wonderful. She would explain the history of Santa Marta and the process of how certain foods were made as we went along. Definitely recommend this if you want to try local food and meet new people.

Paula was a wonderful guide and took us around a number of different street food and restaurants in Santa Marta. It was interesting to understand the background to some of the dishes and the highlight was making our own arepas!

The food was great! Saw a part of Santa Marta I would not have seen otherwise. Everything explained well.

Great as always - love this tour. Was a bit too much walking for my parents, but the guide modified the tour so my parents could meet up with the rest of the group at the last stop. My girlfriend and I enjoyed the whole thing - definitely worth the time/cash

We really enjoyed this food tour experience, the wife and I were able to try some amazing unique foods. Things we didn't even know existing were on this tour and you just couldn't believe what it was made from. The host was amazing we really enjoyed his knowledge about the foods and Santa Marta. I would highly recommend this tour, however be warned that there is a lot of walking on this tour. By far the most walking I've ever done when I compare it to other food tours I've been on. Per my wife apple watch we just did about 5miles of walking. My wife loved all the exploration of the city and the ground we got to cover/see on this tour. Myself on the other hand, well I was just was about done with 2hrs of the tour still left to go. I still made it through though, LOL

Loved this tour with Al! So much food! We walked the city and learned about the local produce, recipes, and people.

Fantastic value for fantastic tour. You get to try a little of everything: street food, fruit and juices, coffee and deserts, and lunch. All of it is wonderful. Alvaro, the guide, couldn’t be nicer or more knowledgeable. Great way to see the old town, highly recommended!

The trip was a blast - like other reviewers, the food sampled was both high in quantity, and items I probably would have never ordered myself. Everything we had was off the charts good and the walk around Santa Marta was pleasant (definitely nice to have a guide). Al was very knowledgeable about the cuisine and even provided some historical insights into Santa Marta itself. I would go on this tour again if I were to travel here with someone who had never been.

Absolutely loved the walking food tour in Santa Marta. We got to try many authentic and delicious dishes, and even go inside the kitchen of one of the restaurants and watch how they make their arepas e huevos. The guide (Fredy) was super knowledgeable about the history of the places and food, as well as very accommodating. At one point it started down-pouring and he bought umbrellas for us and restructured the tour so we wouldn’t have to walk in the rain for too long. My favorite part of the tour is how diverse it is: you’ll go everywhere from a small mom-and-pop lunch spot, to a beautiful boutique hostel, to a man making and selling juices on the side of the street. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Santa Marta!

Awesome tour with a very good guide. We visited places, we would never have visited without the tour. It’s amazing how much you can learn about culture, when you are attending a good tour. I highly recommend it. Please come hungry. :)

A terrific way to sample the local flavors and try some things you may not have ordered on your own. Seven stops starting with aeropress style coffee and ending with a ceviche stop and dessert, made sense as a large progressive meal and also geographically bringing us near our hotel after the final stop. Angelica was a fantastic guide who is fluent in Spanish, English, and French. Local and knowledgeable, she was a treat to spend the time with. At a little more than three hours it was well worth the reasonable price point and didn’t consume an entire day. We liked it a lot

Trying street food here is an authentic experience. From freshly made stuffed arepas to tropical juices served with a smile, every bite has the taste of the Caribbean. Ideal for those looking for something local, economical and delicious.

Superbe expérience .Nous commençons avec un déjeuner ,des jus,du café ainsi que un lunch ,désert et nous terminons avec un jus . Superbe itinéraire ,super généreux,l’anglais du guide est extra .