Updated on 04/23/2024
Dear reader,
I would also like to recommend our Colombia travel guide, which provides a perfect overview of the tourist attractions in Colombia. Enjoy reading it!
Santa Marta is a coast city in Colombia that will make you fall in love with its beaches, nature, and culture. If you want to visit it without depending on the schedules and routes of commercial airlines, charter flights are the perfect solution for you.
Airports in Santa Marta
The main airport in Santa Marta is the Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), located approximately 10 miles from the city center. Some features of this airport include:
- It boasts an asphalt runway spanning 1,700 meters in length, equipped with Instrument Landing Systems (ILS).
- It can accommodate medium and large commercial aircraft, as well as smaller private and charter planes.
- Services provided include migration, customs, security, fueling, maintenance, hangars, and parking for private and charter aircraft.
- It features a passenger terminal equipped with waiting lounges, check-in counters, VIP lounges, shops, restaurants, and ground transportation services.
Santa Marta Charter Flights Overview
Santa Marta hosts several companies offering charter flight services, both domestic and international. These companies operate a diverse fleet of aircraft, ranging from executive jets to turboprops, single-engine planes, and helicopters. Some common aircraft models include the Cessna Citation, Beechcraft King Air, Piper Seneca, Cessna 206, and Robinson R44.
Available Aircraft Fleet
The available aircraft fleet typically ranges from small planes like Piper and Cessna, ideal for short flights and remote destinations, to larger and more luxurious aircraft such as Beechcraft and Embraer, offering greater capacity and amenities for long-distance flights.
Cessna Fleet
Cessna aircraft are small, single or twin-engine planes capable of carrying between 2 and 12 passengers, depending on the model. They are well-suited for short flights and remote destinations, as they can land on short and unpaved runways. Examples include:
- Cessna 172
- Cessna 208 Caravan
- Cessna Citation
Piper Fleet
Piper aircraft are similar to Cessna, with one or two engines and a capacity of 2 to 10 passengers, depending on the model. They are also suitable for short flights and remote destinations. Examples include:
- Piper PA-28 Cherokee
- Piper PA-31 Navajo
- Piper PA-46 Malibu
Beechcraft Fleet
Beechcraft aircraft are medium-sized, with two or four engines and a capacity of 6 to 19 passengers, depending on the model. They are faster and more comfortable than Cessna and Piper aircraft but also more expensive. Examples include:
- Beechcraft King Air
- Beechcraft Baron
- Beechcraft 1900
Embraer Fleet
Embraer aircraft are large, with two or four engines and a capacity of 19 to 120 passengers, depending on the model. They are the fastest and most luxurious but also the most expensive. Examples include:
- Embraer ERJ 145
- Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
- Embraer Phenom 300
Charter Flight Destinations to and from Santa Marta
From Santa Marta, charter flights can reach various destinations, both within and outside Colombia. Some popular international destinations include:
International Destinations
Some of the most popular international destinations for charter flights from Santa Marta are:
Santa Marta – Panama
Panama, bridge between two oceans, is a cosmopolitan city that combines modernity with tradition. With its skyscrapers, canals and natural parks, Panama is a destination that offers cultural and ecological diversity.
- Flight duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Landing at: Tocumen International Airport
- Speed: 410 mph
- Distance: 559 miles
Santa Marta – Cancun
Cancun, located on the east coast of Mexico, is a popular tourist destination known for its white sand beaches and turquoise Caribbean waters. The city offers a unique combination of luxury and natural beauty, with world-class resorts, exciting water activities and a lively nightlife.
- Flight time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
- Landing at: Cancun International Airport
- Speed: 447 mph
- Distance: 1677 miles
Santa Marta – Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city. With its rich cultural heritage, historical monuments and lively nightlife, Santo Domingo is a destination that combines tradition with modernity.
- Flight time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
- Landing at: Las Americas International Airport
- Speed: 372 mph
- Distance: 838 miles
Santa Marta – Curaçao
Curaçao, Caribbean pearl of the Netherlands, is an autonomous island with a rich cultural heritage. With its capital Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its white sandy beaches and coral reefs, Curaçao is a destination that combines natural beauty with ethnic diversity.
- Flight duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Landing at: Hato International Airport
- Speed: 372 mph
- Distance: 652 miles
Domestic Destinations
Here are some of the most popular domestic destinations from Santa Marta.
Santa Marta – Bogota
Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is a vibrant and diverse city located 8530 ft. above sea level. With its rich history, culture and unique blend of modernity and tradition, Bogota captivates visitors from all over the world.
- Flight time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Landing at: El Dorado International Airport
- Speed: 298 mph
- Distance: 397 miles
Santa Marta – Cali
Cali, known as the Salsa Capital of the World, is a city located in the southwest of the country. This lively metropolis is famous for its vibrant music scene, contagious energy and salsa festivals. In addition, the city has charming parks, historical monuments and a varied gastronomic offer.
- Flight time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Landing at: Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport
- Speed: 261 mph
- Distance: 435 miles
Santa Marta – Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga, the Beautiful City, is the capital of the department of Santander, Colombia. Surrounded by green mountains, this city offers a pleasant climate and a mix of culture, nature and urban development. With parks, cultural spaces and a rich gastronomy, Bucaramanga is an attractive destination in the Colombian Andean region.
- Flight duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Landing at: Palonegro International Airport
- Speed: 223 mph
- Distance: 261 miles
Santa Marta – Barranquilla
Barranquilla, located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, is a dynamic and multicultural city. Known for its lively culture, especially during the Barranquilla Carnival, the city offers a unique combination of tradition and modernity. Its strategic port has contributed to commercial development, making it an important economic center in the Caribbean region.
- Flight time: 15 minutes
- Landing at: Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport
- Speed: 149 mph
- Distance: 37.2 miles
Santa Marta – Pereira
Pereira, known as the Querendona, Trasnochadora and Morena, is the capital of the department of Risaralda, Colombia. Located in the coffee region, this city offers a pleasant climate and mountainous landscapes. Pereira combines the coffee tradition with modern infrastructure, parks and a vibrant cultural life, making it an interesting destination in the Colombian Eje Cafetero.
- Flight duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Landing at: Matecaña International Airport
- Speed: 223 mph
- Distance: 335 miles
Santa Marta – Leticia
Leticia, Colombia’s Amazonian pearl, is a border city full of cultural diversity. Leticia is a place that is distinguished by the peaceful coexistence of three countries: Colombia, Brazil and Peru, and by the presence of numerous indigenous communities that preserve their ancestral traditions.
- Flight duration: 2 hours and 45 minutes
- Landing at: Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport
- Speed: 223 mph
- Distance: 615 miles
Restrictions on Charter Flights in Santa Marta
Santa Marta, located on the northern coast of Colombia, is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world’s highest coastal mountain range. This implies:
- Charter flights can enjoy the beauty and diversity of the landscape, from beaches to snow-capped peaks, passing through the jungle.
- Charter flights should be cautious of turbulence, air currents, and pressure changes caused by the mountains.
Migratory Process for Charter Flights in Santa Marta
If you’re traveling on a charter flight to Simón Bolívar International Airport, you should know that the immigration process takes place where the plane lands, as the staff of Migration Colombia attends to you in the private hangar. Thus, you don’t have to queue or waste time to board. Below, we outline the charter flight traveler control process by Migration Colombia for your reference:
- Arrival, document verification, and presentation: Before landing, migration personnel head to the private hangar where your plane is. A crew representative presents the properly filed General Flight Declaration via the entity’s web channel to the migration officer.
- Document review and migration control: Migration control involves document review and verification, checking information such as digital seal, flight date and details, aircraft registration, crew, and passenger names.
With the reviewed and accepted declaration, the officer conducts migration control, verifying that the individuals subject to migration control are those registered in the General Flight Declaration. - Document delivery: Once the control is complete, you’ll receive your travel documents with migration stamps. All information will be recorded in the Migration Colombia system.
- Alerts and feedback: Staff will dismiss alerts and provide feedback. Migration movement registration won’t be allowed if the traveler isn’t facing the migration officer. If there are movements, the officer records updates and notifies the coordinator or shift leader and the CECAM (Joint Strategic Center for Migration Analysis).
- Air operator obligations: The compliance with air operator obligations according to Resolution 3167 of 2019 regarding the Advance Passenger Information System APIS will be investigated.
- Sanctions and compliance: In situations where obligations aren’t met, the flight supervising officers will inform the operational staff about possible economic sanctions and potential non-attention to the flight by the migration authority. Therefore, ensure to hire a company that can fulfill all the aforementioned processes to guarantee a hassle-free experience.
With that said, remember to fill out the Check-Mig form 24 hours before entering or leaving the country.
More about Charter Flights in Colombia
- How To Get Around Colombia Like A Pro: An Expert Transportation Guide
- Finding the Top Charter Flight Service in Colombia: A Comprehensive Guide
- Your Complete Guide to Colombia’s Airports: Where to Land and What to Expect
- Travel to Colombia on your Private Jet – Hassle-Free Guide
- Charter Flights in Santa Marta, Colombia – Travelers Guide
- Charter Flights in Santander, Colombia – Travelers Guide
- Charter Flights in the Coffee Triangle, Colombia – Travelers Guide
- Charter flights in Meta, Colombia – Travelers Guide
- Charter Flights in the Amazon, Colombia – Travelers Guide
- Charter Flights in San Andres, Colombia – Travelers Guide
