Santa Marta Street Food Tour: Taste the Caribbean Coast

Bollos, ceviche and fruits you've never seen before

A 2-hour guided street food walk through Santa Marta's Historic Center where you taste bollos with local sauces, Costeño cheese, cassava, tropical fruit drinks and Caribbean shrimp ceviche at the spots locals eat them. The guide speaks English or Spanish and leads you from Plaza de Bolivar through the cathedral district, stopping at key vendors to eat and learn the stories behind each dish.

Step-by-step itinerary

Santa Marta street food tasting tour

• Meet at Plaza de Bolivar at 10:00 am
• Taste bollos with sauces
• Eat Costeño cheese and cassava
• Visit street food spot near Cathedral
• Taste various street foods with tropical drinks
• Try iconic Caribbean Coast shrimp ceviche

The experience

You meet at Plaza de Bolivar at 10 a.m. and walk into Santa Marta's Historic Center with a guide who knows which stalls have the best versions of each dish. The first stop is bollos (corn dough wrapped in palm leaves) served with the sauces that make them work, then Costeño cheese and cassava, the starches that anchor Caribbean eating. This is not a museum tour. You're eating as you go, tasting what people in the neighborhood actually buy for breakfast and lunch.

The walk moves to a street food cluster near Santa Marta's Cathedral, where vendors sell dishes that change by the season and by who's cooking that day. You'll drink tropical fruit beverages made from fruits you may not recognize. The guide will tell you what they are and where they grow. The final stop is shrimp ceviche, the dish the Caribbean coast is known for, prepared with avocado, octopus or stingray depending on what came in that morning. You eat it at the place in Santa Marta that does it best, which is the kind of detail a local guide actually knows.

What’s included

• All the foods and drinks you taste at each stop.
• a knowledgeable guide in your choice of English or Spanish.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 09:30 and 14:30

Book up to12h before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Impulse Travel

Is this one for you?Two hours is short enough to fit a free afternoon or a morning before other plans, but long enough to taste five different dishes and learn what makes each one matter to the coast's food culture.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What time does the street food tour start and where do I meet the guide?

The tour meets at Plaza de Bolivar at 10 a.m. to begin the walk through Santa Marta's Historic Center.

What kinds of food will I actually taste on this walk?

You'll taste bollos with local sauces, Costeño cheese, cassava, tropical fruit drinks, and shrimp ceviche prepared with avocado, octopus or stingray. Each stop is a different vendor in the Historic Center or near the cathedral.

How long is the tour and will I have time for other things that afternoon?

The tour runs 2 hours, leaving your afternoon free for other plans once you finish eating.

Do I need to arrange my own way to the meeting point?

Public transportation options are available near Plaza de Bolivar. The tour does not include hotel pickup or drop-off.