Santa Marta · Sports & events
SPORT & SEASON
Top-flight football in a new stadium, the cheapest dive courses in the Americas, and a four-day trek.
Unión Magdalena
The city's club plays at the Estadio Sierra Nevada, built for the Juegos Bolivarianos. Colombia's league runs Apertura January–June and Finalización July–December.
Coastal baseball
The Caribbean coast, not the interior, is Colombia's baseball country; the professional winter league plays at Barranquilla and Cartagena from October to January.
Diving from Taganga
The bay's dive schools have long undercut the rest of the continent on open-water certification. Visibility is moderate, the wildlife better than expected.
Ciudad Perdida trek
Four or five days up the Buritaca valley to a terraced Tayrona city, run by a small number of licensed operators at a fixed price. Hard in the wet months.
Fiesta del Mar
The city's sea festival, held around July, puts on swimming crossings, boat races and beach sport along El Rodadero and the bay.