Providencia island is one of Colombia's most laid back vacation destinations. As Providencia used to be owned by the British, most of the (extremely friendly) locals speak English, as well as Spanish and Creole. The island is a wonderful place to relax for a few nights on your vacation to Colombia. There are about half a dozen wonderful beaches in total on the island of Providencia - most of the beaches are beautiful and relatively empty. There's little to do other than relax, go snorkelling or scuba diving, or drink Caribbean cocktails from one of the beach bars. At the moment there is little tourism on the island, though visitor numbers are slowly increasing.
Miss Mary Hotel: Miss Mary has possibly the best location of all hotels on the island of Providencia. The hotel is located right on one of the most beautiful beaches. The restaurant serves good seafood. Miss Mary is affiliated with Decameron.
Miss Elma Hotel: Miss Elma is one of the few other hotels located right on the beach front. However, the beach here is not as pretty or clean as the beach at Miss Mary. There's just four rooms in this friendly hotel, which feels a little more private than Miss Mary. This is also booked through Decameron.
Sol Caribe: the Sol Caribe is considered by many as the best hotel in Providencia. The swimming pool and spacious rooms are plus points, though the hotel does not have a beach front location (though it is a sea front location). The Sol Caribe is one of the most expensive hotels in Providencia.
Other hotels in Providencia: Posada del Mar is another Decameron hotel that has a pleasant seafront location. Cabanas Relax and Cabanas Aguadulce are also Decameron affiliated, though as they do not have sea front locations we can see little point in booking them. Hotel El Pirata Morgan is located overlooking the sea but above a supermarket. Hotel Sirius specializes in scuba diving packages and is found close to the beach.
Things to Do
Other than relaxing on one of Providencia's beaches, there is excellent scuba diving and snorkelling tours available for those on vacation. The island can be explored by motocycle or golf cart, or you can charter a boat and driver to explore the islands and nearby Cayes for a day. There is also a laid back beach party every night (on Playa Manzanillo) where tourists can meet some of the friendly locals.
Flights
Providencia is only accessible by short flights from San Andres Island, which in turn is easily accessible from various cities on Colombia's mainland in addition to Panama City and San Jose (Costa Rica). Satena has two or three flights from San Andres to Providencia every day. Decameron also charters two or three flights to Providencia every day.
More Travel Information
The website Providencia Es Pasion has some very useful additional travel information about the island. They have info on almost all the hotels, tips on where to stay and eat, amazing photos and advice on getting there.
