Experience In San Bernardo Islands
Written By: Elian Ortiz
Traveler, Networker and CEO of QuestHub WorldWide
My most beloved trip is Isla Tintipan: How's life in this Island?
In the next article, we’ll take you somewhere most travelers skip a place untouched by crowds, where time slows down and the ocean still remembers silence. Many have heard of Colombia’s islands, but few truly see them. Tintipán isn’t on the classic travel maps; it’s not built for mass tourism, and that’s exactly what makes it special.
This is your chance to step away from the usual routes to travel differently. To discover what’s real, raw, and quietly extraordinary. Because the most popular destinations aren’t always where the best stories live.
Stay tuned the next chapter takes you to Hostal Santa Lova, a solar-powered refuge among the mangroves, where travelers from around the world find something they didn’t know they were missing.
What it feels like?
The island is alive. It breathes.
Among the mangroves, you can lose yourself by kayak and feel part of an ancient, untouched ecosystem.
When the sun goes down bioluminescence appears:
millions of glowing particles that sparkle with every touch of the water.
You move your hand, and the sea lights up.
If you haven’t lived it, it’s hard to believe.
If you have, it’s hard to explain.
The House, the Food, the People
At Santa Lova’s restaurant, the fish comes straight from the sea to your plate.
Nothing frozen, nothing imported.
Garlic lobster (80K), crab (70K), catch of the day (35K).
Simple, honest, delicious food.
And for cocktail lovers: The Santa Lova vodka, amaretto, lulo, pineapple, and lime.
Music Sometimes, warm lights, unhurried conversations.
How did i get to this place?
After living in Cartagena for ten months, I decided to travel along the entire Caribbean coast before heading back to Bogotá. Along the way, I visited many places and Tintipán was one of them.
I drove from Cartagena to San Onofre, then continued to Playa El Francés in Rincón del Mar, where I caught a 30-minute boat ride to the island.
It’s not the fastest trip, but it’s absolutely worth it.
So much than i been on this island three times in one year.
I’ve been here alone, in couple, with friends.
I found the peace of nature when is not that high exploited for the human kind, when you respect the nature she respects you back and here you can feel that.
Travel Insights
Tintipán is made for slow connection a perfect, private environment where silence feels sacred.
Take a kayak together into the mangroves and let the world fade behind you.
There’s something about being surrounded by nothing but water, roots, and light that makes every word softer — and every glance mean more.
When my friends said they were coming to visit me in Cartagena, I told them, “We’re not staying in the city.”
As soon as they landed, I picked them up and we drove straight here.
Their first reaction? “Oh, it’s too far…”
But once they stepped on the island and felt it, they understood.
Every minute of the journey was worth it.
In a group, the laughter comes easier, the stories last longer.
History of the Island
Tintipán y las islas vecinas tienen sus primeras comunidades desde hace unos 200 años, cuando pescadores de la región comenzaron a asentarse en estos cayos. Un caso emblemático es Santa Cruz del Islote (islote artificial cercano), donde según relatos locales los pescadores decidieron instalarse al descubrir que allí casi no había mosquitos; fueron ampliando el islote con rocas y conchas hasta crear la comunidad más densamente poblada del mundo
. En contraste, Tintipán permaneció prácticamente despoblada durante mucho tiempo debido a su naturaleza pantanosa y la abundancia de zancudos y jejenes (mosquitos) que hacían difícil la vida cotidiana
. De hecho, la densa vegetación de manglar y las ciénagas actuaron como barrera natural que frenó el desarrollo de poblados, manteniendo la isla casi virgen y con sus ecosistemas muy bien conservados