The hostel is in the center of town, not far from restaurants and a supermarket. The personnel pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful, the rooms large and well equipped, bathroom was large and clean, the bed good. A nice breakfast is included (a better one for those who rented a single/dbl room). But not to fear, there's a kitchen available and a nearby supermarket where one can buy all that's needed as well as buy hot food. There's an ATM. Additional info and reviews from Hostelworld.

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The taxi ride from airport to hostel runs less than $10. Rising gas prices may affect that. Once inside the walls of the old-town, it's easy to get around on foot.

Note: Moviltours, a Peruvian bus company that I traveled with in Peru, does a door-to-door pickup for those who move from Cartagena to the Santa Marta area. The hostel can arrange for the ride. If you want to travel on your own, there are regular buses, then you will find bus stops outside of the city walls.

The hotel is away from the center of town, offers an excellent buffet breakfast and has an in-house restaurant. The personnel pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful, the rooms large and well equipped, bathroom was large and clean, the bed very good. You lack nothing and can understand why people spend their vacation here. I saw even families lodge here. There are games and parties, but come midnight, it's lights out. Because the place was so excellent, and I spent quite a few days there, before and after my Tayrona Park tour, I have a page on my website dedicated to this hostel.

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I arrived from Cartegena by Moviltours bus, which dropped me off right in front of the door of the Dreamer hostel. When I departed from there, I took a taxi to the local airport and flew from there to Bogota.

On another note. I think that I had been extraordinarily fortunate in my choice of hostels during my South America journey, and this is no exception. The Dreamer is an outstanding place to stay with a large, modern shopping mall just a five minute walk away. But this place is all about the greater area and the national parks, beach and Tayrona, and it's the perfect base camp for that.

The hostel is in La Candelaria district, not far from restaurants, bars, clubs, and shops and a supermarket. However, just away enough to give you a quiet night of sleep. The personnel is very pleasant, knowledgeable, and very helpful. I had a private room ensuite which was large and well equipped, bathroom was nice and clean, the bed excellent. Breakfast is available for a reasonable amount.

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This is probably right near the top of all of the places I stayed in South America. When I got there I thought the place was new, but it was actually a meticulously rebuilt and reconditioned historic building, with modern upgrades that made it a true pleasure to stay there.

When in Bogota, do not miss out on the walk up to Monseratte. You can see it from almost anywhere. Also, if you stay here, go down the street to the main promenade with the canal in it, cross to the other side, and there are coffee shops and a couple of food courts. I think the hostel has a map that shows all of the pertinent places, e.g. stores, ATMs, restaurants etc.

On another note. I know that there's a bus to the vicinity of this hostel, but I opted for a taxi from the airport. I returned to the airport for my flight to Quito the same way. .