Trip Report Isla Providencia
I will preface this by simply stating that Providencia is not for everyone. If you want a fancy hotel with concierge service, all inclusive treatment, and air conditioning, you are better off at San Andres or Isla Rosario outside Cartagena. While Providencia is most definitely paradise of the highest caliber, you have to accept the fact that paradise takes work.
Getting to the island is no small task. We flew to Bogota on Friday, stayed overnight, then flew to San Andres and then on to Providencia. Two hours from Bogota to San Andres, 25 minutes from SA to Isla Providencia. Thank god that last flight is short because there is no air-conditioning on the airplane. Satena has larger planes that sit about thirty people while San Germain only fits around 12. Flight cost from Bogota to San Andres is roughly $160 and is about the same from SA to Providencia.
Getting around Providencia is a little challenging. Rental of a moto is around $20 per day while golf carts are $50. Some places have newer vehicles, but most are on the “worn in” style. The only road that circumnavigates the island is in pretty good shape but riddles with speed bumps, cracks, and some dystopian potholes so take your time and be careful if you decide to get yourself around the island on your own. Taxis are around but can take up to 2-hours to pick you up. No, it is not the traffic. We just ended up walking to most places as there really is not a whole heck of a lot to do other than go to the beach and dive.
We stayed at a lovely home stay called Hi Hill House with the owners Claudia, Currumba, and their three awesome dogs. It was a short walk to Southwest Bay (best beach on the island, in my opinion (Freshwater was decimated by the hurricane) and Pash Bay which is a tiny little secluded beach with some cool volcanic caves you can swim into.
Restaurants offer basic food as everything besides fish has to be shipped to the island from Nicaragua or Costa Rica. Seems like the fish is mostly deep fried until it turns into jerky but if you luck out and someone has barracuda that gets grilled for some reason. Divino Nino is right on the beach at Southwest and is decent but pricey. Pizzeria Jesus has great crab pizza and is located in the little hamlet of Freshwater next to the mercado. Markets on the island are rudimentary and you are more likely to get cookies than staples like rice and milk. Eggs are fresh, though. So fresh they sometimes come with butt feathers.
The geology of the island is stunning and looks like the South Pacific. Lush, pointy mountains make up the core of the island with only the shoreline occupied by homes and the scant posada accommodations for tourists. You will see a few houses up in the hills but those are scant and hardly accessible. I won’t go into too much detail here but here isla providencia - Google Suche and here are some pretty good representations of the island landscape. The video was shot by one of the other divers on the boat and shows not only the island and diving but also the kind of weekly horse race on Southwest Bay.
We did our dives and snorkeling with a wonderful family business, Anda di Wata. Sandra and Halbert are absolutely fantastic people and know the reefs and surrounding waters as intimately as anyone on the island. While Sandra is from Switzerland, Halbert was born and raised on the island. I cannot say enough good things about them as people and as a dive shop. Their rental gear is all new (they set up shop one week before Covid hit and then the hurricane hit…) and very well maintained. They offer full concierge if you bring your own and set everything up on tanks before getting on the boat. The boat is a single engine (Yamaha 150 hp) 28-footer and is set up for a max of eight divers plus crew. Time to dive sites is usually less than 10 minutes. Their crew consists of Kelly, the boat captain, and Kwaser and Connie as dive-masters. I loved all of them. After two weeks of diving, I felt like part of the family. It is that kind of place. Sandra and Halbert have arranged with a restaurant right down the street to provide fresh fruit juices gratis after the morning dives. The absolute best way to finish a couple of beautiful dives (ok, maybe not as good as a beer but mos def damn close).
The diving was enjoyable with plentiful reef sharks and the shallow reefs were abundant with fish and fry. There are many deep wall dives along with the beautiful reefs that will satisfy all you “push the limit” junkies. There is typically little to no current on the sites and entry / exits are easy. As I mentioned earlier, the dive sites are all within walking distance of the deportation point. Entry onto the boat is from the beach. The water was calm as glass while I was there and the barrier reef way off the coast does a good job of keeping the seas generally calm.
All in all, this has become one of my favorite places on earth to visit and dive. If you can manage the modicum of roughing it and the fact that you can’t flush toilet paper, I highly recommend visiting this little jewel of the Caribbean. Isla Providencia will not disappoint.
I will preface this by simply stating that Providencia is not for everyone. If you want a fancy hotel with concierge service, all inclusive treatment, and air conditioning, you are better off at San Andres or Isla Rosario outside Cartagena. While Providencia is most definitely paradise of the highest caliber, you have to accept the fact that paradise takes work.
Getting to the island is no small task. We flew to Bogota on Friday, stayed overnight, then flew to San Andres and then on to Providencia. Two hours from Bogota to San Andres, 25 minutes from SA to Isla Providencia. Thank god that last flight is short because there is no air-conditioning on the airplane. Satena has larger planes that sit about thirty people while San Germain only fits around 12. Flight cost from Bogota to San Andres is roughly $160 and is about the same from SA to Providencia.
Getting around Providencia is a little challenging. Rental of a moto is around $20 per day while golf carts are $50. Some places have newer vehicles, but most are on the “worn in” style. The only road that circumnavigates the island is in pretty good shape but riddles with speed bumps, cracks, and some dystopian potholes so take your time and be careful if you decide to get yourself around the island on your own. Taxis are around but can take up to 2-hours to pick you up. No, it is not the traffic. We just ended up walking to most places as there really is not a whole heck of a lot to do other than go to the beach and dive.
We stayed at a lovely home stay called Hi Hill House with the owners Claudia, Currumba, and their three awesome dogs. It was a short walk to Southwest Bay (best beach on the island, in my opinion (Freshwater was decimated by the hurricane) and Pash Bay which is a tiny little secluded beach with some cool volcanic caves you can swim into.
Restaurants offer basic food as everything besides fish has to be shipped to the island from Nicaragua or Costa Rica. Seems like the fish is mostly deep fried until it turns into jerky but if you luck out and someone has barracuda that gets grilled for some reason. Divino Nino is right on the beach at Southwest and is decent but pricey. Pizzeria Jesus has great crab pizza and is located in the little hamlet of Freshwater next to the mercado. Markets on the island are rudimentary and you are more likely to get cookies than staples like rice and milk. Eggs are fresh, though. So fresh they sometimes come with butt feathers.
The geology of the island is stunning and looks like the South Pacific. Lush, pointy mountains make up the core of the island with only the shoreline occupied by homes and the scant posada accommodations for tourists. You will see a few houses up in the hills but those are scant and hardly accessible. I won’t go into too much detail here but here isla providencia - Google Suche and here are some pretty good representations of the island landscape. The video was shot by one of the other divers on the boat and shows not only the island and diving but also the kind of weekly horse race on Southwest Bay.
We did our dives and snorkeling with a wonderful family business, Anda di Wata. Sandra and Halbert are absolutely fantastic people and know the reefs and surrounding waters as intimately as anyone on the island. While Sandra is from Switzerland, Halbert was born and raised on the island. I cannot say enough good things about them as people and as a dive shop. Their rental gear is all new (they set up shop one week before Covid hit and then the hurricane hit…) and very well maintained. They offer full concierge if you bring your own and set everything up on tanks before getting on the boat. The boat is a single engine (Yamaha 150 hp) 28-footer and is set up for a max of eight divers plus crew. Time to dive sites is usually less than 10 minutes. Their crew consists of Kelly, the boat captain, and Kwaser and Connie as dive-masters. I loved all of them. After two weeks of diving, I felt like part of the family. It is that kind of place. Sandra and Halbert have arranged with a restaurant right down the street to provide fresh fruit juices gratis after the morning dives. The absolute best way to finish a couple of beautiful dives (ok, maybe not as good as a beer but mos def damn close).
The diving was enjoyable with plentiful reef sharks and the shallow reefs were abundant with fish and fry. There are many deep wall dives along with the beautiful reefs that will satisfy all you “push the limit” junkies. There is typically little to no current on the sites and entry / exits are easy. As I mentioned earlier, the dive sites are all within walking distance of the deportation point. Entry onto the boat is from the beach. The water was calm as glass while I was there and the barrier reef way off the coast does a good job of keeping the seas generally calm.
All in all, this has become one of my favorite places on earth to visit and dive. If you can manage the modicum of roughing it and the fact that you can’t flush toilet paper, I highly recommend visiting this little jewel of the Caribbean. Isla Providencia will not disappoint.
