Does San Andrés Get Sargassum?

San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina · Colombia

Sargassum in San Andrés by month

What to know before you book

• •The island's east side, from San Luis down toward the south end, faces the trade winds and catches incoming mats. A 2018 Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute paper measured an April-May event across that whole coast. Spratt Bight in town and the west coast face away from the prevailing wind and are generally better protected.
• •Coralina has warned visitors not to handle stranded sargassum, which releases hydrogen sulfide as it rots. In March 2024 its advisory said Providencia was hit first and the San Andrés beaches followed.
• •Removal is basic. Officials have said the usual practice of burying sargassum in the sand has not kept up with the volumes of recent years, so there is no Cancun-style fleet of barriers and boats.
• •Many of the island's best water days are on the reef and cays rather than the hotel beach - Johnny Cay, Haynes Cay and the Acuario - so a bad day on the San Luis shore matters less than it would on a beach-only island.
• •No 2026-specific stranding reports for San Andrés turned up in Colombian press; the moderate rating comes from the island's history plus the record regional bloom, not from a confirmed 2026 event.

Last checked October 2, 2026 · Sources: GCFI Proceedings (Sargassum influx to the shores of San Andrés Island, 2018), Radio Nacional de Colombia, Mar 2024 (Coralina sargassum advisory), Radio Nacional de Colombia, Jul 2024 (burial no longer sufficient), USF Optical Oceanography Lab, Sargassum Outlook, Sep 2026

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