Santa Marta

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Minca Full Day Tour

Badge of ExcellenceSanta Marta, Colombia

6 to 7 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Lunch
Private transportation

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Minca, Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia
In Minca main square at 9:30am Tovar Extreme Adventure offices

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

The pickup will be at 8:30 am at the address provided, if the client is outside the pickup area (Rodadero or Pos Colorados) an additional 15 USD surcharge will be charged for the transportation distance. Show less

What To Expect

Minca

4 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

ANDREW_M

Are tour guide was Mario. First class and very knowledge about the forest and surrounding area. Loved the day and a fantastic experience. Would highly recommend this trip .and be sure to ask for Mario

Reviews

5.0

117 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 117 reviews

Minca

ANDREW_M, Apr 2024

Mixed bag

Shawn_S, Feb 2024

It started out great, Mario was very entertaining and informative about coffee production, and ended great with the chocolate demonstration at the Minca viewpoint. But lunch was soso and served slowly at 1:30 or 2, and we did not have an English guide to the waterfall or coffee plantation, as was advertised.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hello, it is impossible to serve lunch at an exact time, and as for the work staff, not 100% of the employees speak English. We have some kids in the waterfall who only speak Spanish, but that's why there is Mario who can translate whatever you need.

Interesting experience but not accurately described…

daniel_m, Feb 2024

I think I would not recommend this particular trip although I did enjoy the drive up into the mountains ( they sent a taxi, not a guide) and seeing the interesting little town of Minca and the surrounding forest and streams. I just want to point out some facts without going into specifics about every little thing. As an experienced Airbnb host, I think the description of the offering should be specific and accurate and the description I saw was not. The picture on the website of a waterfall is not what you visit, although we did visit a different site with very small waterfalls and had a nice swim in the river. There is no visit to a coffee or chocolate plantation, both demonstrations are given sitting at a table in a restaurant and are about 20 minutes each of talking. We did not see a coffee plant or a cacao plant at all. Friendly and informative presenter, but hardly an immersive experience. The promise of “ make your own chocolate bar” consists of mixing a blob of paste on your palm (no napkin or utensil) and licking it off. Not professional. Most importantly, the walk through the jungle did not have an English-speaking guide although he was a nice guy and did try. A bit. Therefore those who had no Spanish could merely follow along and pretty much the only information given was the name of a few fruits, which I think anybody would have already known. I was hoping to learn about the area and other interesting info, but no. And the hike, about 30 minutes in and 30 minutes out, had some challenging spots including crossing a wide rapidly flowing stream and scrambling over some difficult rock formations. No problem for the people in our group but this really should have been described in advance. There are other Minca trips that include hikes but this was not described as one of them. That is some info you should have. Nice people, but the tour needs various changes to merit 4 or 5 stars in my opinion.

Mario was an excellent...

Darla_G, Jan 2024

Mario was an excellent guide for this all-day tour. The coffee and cocoa information was top notch, and Mario was meticulous about the preparation of both, which made the tastings even more of a treat. The highlight for me walking to the Oido del Mundo waterfall and spending time enjoying the area. I appreciated that there was a little time to see Minca and a few of teh vendors in town. Also, the traditional lunch provided was delicious.

Great taste of Minka

Natalie_A, Jan 2024

Excellent explanation and different coffee products to try, followed by a swim in beautiful refreshing waterfalls, a tasty lunch, and short but fun cocoa workshop where we made our own truffle ball (to eat immediately). It was a fun trip and nice to escape Santa Marta for the day. Only negatives were the delay in arrival time due to confusion about the pick up location of other passengers coming into our car (their hotel was in the next suburb and not the Santa Marta one we waited at), and our group was made to choose between swimming at the nicer waterfalls or visiting the coffee farm - majority picked waterfalls but a couple of others were disappointed.

Minca tour

Paul_F, Jan 2024

Awesome tour, our tour guide Mario was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and this tour exceeded our expectations!!!

An amazing way to experience Minca

Daniel_A, Jan 2024

We went as a couple and got lucky enough to get a personalized experience as we chose the tour to be given in English and we were the only ones that day. We arranged transport from Playa Salguero for an additional fee, and transport by taxi to Minca was punctual and the driver Didier was very good. Our guide Mario made the experience unique, by being super kind and patient, taking tons of pictures of amazing spots, and in general just being a great host and guide. He answered all of our questions and told us so many histories and explained both coffee and cocoa processing in a very fun and interactive way. The spot at the Arimaca waterfall is a lovely spot to visit, and we learned a lot about plants and the region along the way. We also were suggested and even tried some local shops produce, like a bakery and ice cream on our way from Minca to the waterfall. The viewpoint where the tour ends has wonderful views of Santa Marta. I would definitely recommend this tour and specially Mario!

Amazing tour!

Anthonia_O, Jan 2024

Had an amazing tour with Christina and Frederico. They were so welcoming and took the time to show us everything we wanted to see and educate us. Definitely a great team and made me fall in love with Minca!

Great day trip in Minca!

Eric_B, Jan 2024

Cristina was a great host, we really enjoyed the tour. Wonderful combination of coffee, hiking and chocolate! The lunch was delicious too. My only concern was the food pickup at our AirBnB was late and nobody was answering the phone at the local host, then we had to split up our family into multiple taxis, which wasn’t clear.

Mario was such an amazing...

Sean_M, Dec 2023

Mario was such an amazing tour guide! Could not recommend thus your more, just make sure to wear your mosquito repellent!

Unforgettable Minca Experience

Mario_G, Nov 2023

Great activity for a day. We went to the town of Minca which is about 35 mins from Santa Marta. We were greeted with an explanation of history and where coffee comes from. We had the opportunity to enjoy a cup of local Sierra Nevada coffee. Thereafter, about a 2-mile hike towards the waterfalls, the cool water certainly was welcome after the hike. Once we were done, went back to the town of Minca and enjoyed a typical Colombian lunch. Lastly to cap-off the activity, we had the chocolate experience, from being able to make your own chocolate bar and enjoy a cup of chocolate. The whole experience was great, and the staff was truly amazing. Highly recommended.

Wonderful Time 👍❤️👍

Alfredo_Z, Nov 2023

👍Nelcy Olivera the tour Operator was Great we had wonderful time in Minca Colombia 🇨🇴 love ❤️ It I will Recommend to My Friends 👏

Great tour guide

Eric_G, Aug 2023

Great tour and even better tour guide Sam, but we were collected 35 mins late and due to the size of our group we were very delayed by hours.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

hello we are glad you enjoyed the tour

Great quick view at Minca

Damiano_M, Aug 2023

Well organized tour to spend few ours in beautiful Minca. If you are short on time (ie. do a day excursion to Minca) then this tour is ideal as they take great care of you and will share the essentials of Minca. The guide is very kind and professional and will make your experience unique. Minca is also worth a longer stay but you need to plan to spend a night.

Magical Minca

Jackson_M, Aug 2023

What a memorable experience. We were promptly picked up at our hotel in the morning and driven to Minca from Santa Marta. We arrived at a cafe in Minca where we met our Tour Guide, Mario. Mario was fantastic, informative, and spoke very good English. The coffee was amazing and the subsequent bread shop that we visited were delicious. Next we went on a beautiful walk to a waterfall. Mario told us about the indigenous customs and about the current economy of Minca. The waterfall was definitely the highlight. The water was so refreshing and we joked that we felt like we were at the spa all day. Lunch was very good and the chocolate making demonstration was very neat.

Minca is great!

Anthony_A, May 2023

Loved the tour. Christina was waiting for us as we made our way out of the cruise terminal. Started the tour right away. Beautiful places, lots of fun. Well worth it.

Amazing day and...

Heather_F, Apr 2023

Amazing day and experience. We would do it again. Waterfall was refreshing and cool after the hike there. Good food and coffee.

wow!

Daniel_M, Mar 2023

First the tour started with a knowledgeable talk about of history and processing of coffee. we had to delicious coffee along with other products that the coffee was made from. After the tasting we were guided by Federico who walked us through the town of Minca to the waterfall where we spent time at the water and showed others the clay to make a clay mask to exfoliate the skin. We headed back to town to grab a wonderful lunch at a restaurant in town which we then learned more about the town of Minca and the surrounding areas to check out. we finished the tour by learning about the process of making Cacao and made our own chocolate ball. Overall, very impressed with the tour from the information we learned, to the views and hospitality that we experienced.

Tourist trap! Beware

Leo_K, Mar 2023

a) problem: the experience is not correctly described. Tour not as described. The presentation was in spanish and then translated into english... it takes a lot of time and can be boring. Go for one language tour b) Tourist trap! Beware - see below c) There was no * Visit to the coffee farm * Visit to the Cocoa museum Instead there was an on-site discussion of coffee and cocoa production, quite interesting, but not the promised "visit"

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Our tours are in English and Spanish, that's why the tour is in two languages and I tell you that we are the only ones with a coffee laboratory where we prepare a coffee in method, we will take into account your recommendations to improve, thank you

I loved walking to the...

ariel_w, Mar 2023

I loved walking to the different parts and seeing all the beautiful places. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable fun and entertaining.