santa catalina and old providence

[soundman460]

Life is a surface interval....

Hi wondering how many people have been to santa catalina and old providence and how was your experience.
i am looking at going mid january and possibly going with a group. that being said, any travel advice or experiences with this location, would be appreciated. also anyone else who wants to go with,,,the more the merrier...i work on a cruise ship for 6 months at a time, so when i come home i like to take 2 weeks to relax..thinking that old providence would be a great place to do just that..

 

[Maxposeidon]

Hi,

just to be sure, you are talking about the Island close to San Andres which belongs to Colombia , right ? Please confirm and i can tell you details.

See ya
Max

 

[tadeotadeo]

Im ususaly there a two or three times a year. I also have a webpage that has a lot of information about Old Providence and what to expect traveling and when you get there.
Let me know what you want to know and I will fill you in.
Ciao
Tad

 

[drbill]

Living on the Santa Catalina Island off Lost Angeles, one of my bucket list items was to dive every Catalina Island in the world including the one you are referring to. Unfortunately that dream was shattered by the economic meltdown. Hope you make it to this one as I have heard good things about the diving there.

 

[soundman460]

yes that is the island that i am referring to. however i have heard that it is more often frequented by south american vacationers and just wanted to find out how it was before i fly out there. my options for vacation are, Florida keys, St. Croix. Dominican republic, Costa rica and Santa catalina and old providence. these are the ones that stick out as "close " to the US without a long flight.

 

[tadeotadeo]

Soundman
The majority of tourist coming to Old Providence are Europeans and Colombians. Most of the south Americans are going to San Andres Island. OP is not a big tourist destination, many more locals that tourist even in peak season. Although Spanish is the official language, English is the preferred language in OP.
Flying from Miami you leave 830 AM and be in OP by 3 PM. The return flight is not as easy leaving OP at 830 AM and arriving in Miami at 11 PM. Similar flights from Orlando, Houston, and LAX. There is a seasonal direct flight from Canada if you are in that area of the country.
Ciao
Tad

 

[Razial]

Providence is a verrrrrrrrrrrrry queite Island. Only about 6000 people compared to San Andres over 100,000. The spearfishing there is much better then San Andres. I have relatives there and English is spoken by 98% of the Razial people. Colombian main landers are not allowed to live there. In my opinion the waters are much cleaner there. Also the Island is much cleaner then San Andres. The diving is great. I prefer Providence over San Andres and would live there in a minute. Unfortunately my wife is a San Andres Islander and will not move.

 

[Pesce Leone]

Me and my Wife where there last january for bout a week and we loved it! absolutely great experience, we stayed in a guesthouse across the street from 'Filipe's diving' and did about 6 dives with them, very relaxed and fun (Pichi was great!!!)

The visibility was great allthough they told me it was actually better some months earlier!
Also we didn't dive arround the reef but did various wall dives...you absolutely have to do the 'felipe's point' dive very cool and particular!

got close to a sleepy nurse shark and swam with a seaturtle, one guy that was with our giude was hunting Lionfish... he killed about a dozen I think! They're a pest over there...

We rented a scooter for most of the time and went round the island, met the locals who invited us over to eat with them and listen to the local Reg/Dub/ragga tunes...
There were hardly any tourists and we felt safe 100% even going round at night... It was very quiet yes...but we didn't come there to party but to dive

San andres is really touristy and unlike Providencia has loads of big hotels everywhere...big boulevards and people hassling you at the beach.

We prefered the romance and privacy of Providencia

hope that helps...

 

[Razial]

Just an added note.

Creole English and Spanish are the official languages of San Andres and Providence according to the 1991 Colombian Constitution.
I know of no direct flights to Providence except from San Andres. The airport is small and does not accomadate large jets. Only prop planes. If anyone is interested in accurate info just let me know.

 

[Razial]

Living on the Santa Catalina Island off Lost Angeles, one of my bucket list items was to dive every Catalina Island in the world including the one you are referring to. Unfortunately that dream was shattered by the economic meltdown. Hope you make it to this one as I have heard good things about the diving there.

drbill, Fellow Islander


If you ever get here look me up. Although I don't SCUBA dive I do free dive for spearing fish and lobster. I also have a commercial fishing license which allows me to go to the outer keys were fishing is wonderful I know most of the dive commercial dive places and for a Scotch on the rocks I would be glad to help you and show you around. I am one of only two US born citizens allowed to live on San Andres or Provenience. My wife and child are original native born. Also have about 200 relatives in law so know or can find out just about anything pertaining to the Islands