Getting to San Andrés

Last year in Valencia, Spain I happened to talk to a Colombian woman who generously praised San Andrés as a destination. San Andrés y Providencia is an archipelago (and a departamento) in the Caribbean Sea belonging to Colombia. San Andrés, the main island, is located about 200 km off the Nicaraguan coast and maybe 300 km from Costa Rica (with Colombian mainland much farther away).

^{Location of San Andrés island. Image from Bing Maps.}

Not long after that, while in Costa Rica (and briefly Panama), I was interested in whether I could catch a boat to San Andrés, or if I'd need to fly (via Bogotá or something). I eventually discarded the plan as I only found flights which were very expensive and I was running out of time.

Now, in retrospect, I'd love to know the answer: What are your best options to getting to San Andrés, especially if you happen to be in Costa Rica? Are there boats or ferries of any kind from Nicaragua or Costa Rica (or Panama or Colombia)? Or are flights the only real option—and if so, are there direct flights from elsewhere than mainland Colombia?

(Also, if you've been there, feel free to share your impressions. Is it indeed something special, or just a nice beach resort for well-to-do Colombians?)

^{San Andrés, February 2006. Photo credit: Rockfan on Flickr.}