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tayrona, CO

This is just one of the most amazing things that you can do in Colombia. In my opinion this is the best coastal thing to do in the country and nothing else really even comes close to comparing. It’s the Parque Nacional Natural de Tayrona. The Tayrona National Park. It’s a large swath of coastal jungly land that has been thankfully protected by the Colombian government. It is only inhabited by the indigenous groups who have been there for centuries. The Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa, and Kankuamo are the four indigenous communities that live in the park's sacred ancestral lands. Once in the park you will see them throughout. The land within the park is stunning lush jungle and mountains that lead to pristine blue waters and white sand beaches. One after the other. There are a number of beaches and I will get into them below. The only way to get into Tayrona is to walk, or take a boat from Santa Marta. Most people walk though. Walking directly from the park entrance is about 5 or 6 hours in. I highly recommend you take a motorcycle taxi for about $5 to the inside entrance of the park. From there the walk is about 3 hours. The walk or hike but its really a walk is beautiful. It runs along the ocean much of the time and you will likely see monkeys and tons of birds and other wildlife along the way. A lot of people go in and out for the day. 3 hours in, 3 hours out. But what you should do is stay here for the night in the primitive accommodations that they have. There are a number of camp spots I will outline below. You can either rent a hammock or a tent, some places even have little huts. But the tent or hammock should do honestly. They are super cheap, comfortable enough, and the best part is you get to avoid the crowds in the early morning when you wake up for sunrise. Tayrona is hands down the best coastal activity in Colombia. I cant recommend it enough. Make sure you spend the night in the park as well.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

  • LOCATION - Tayrona, for being a national park, is extremely conveniently located between a lot of really popular places to stay and visit. For the most part, people who come visit the park will, the night before the enter, be staying in one of the nearby towns of Santa Marta, Minca, or Buritaca. Or somewhere around there. From any of those locations you can take a bus to the front gate or an easy taxi or motorcycle taxi. The main entrance to the park is located here. Theres another entrance with a harder hike in if you want to get adventurous here but I didn't do that one. Getting to the entrance is the easy part, there are busses that will drop you off or motorcycle taxis. Once you are there is where you need to make a decision.

    • GETTING IN - When you get to the entrance to the park you are going to have to pay your fees. There is a park entrance fee of about 80k COP ($20USD) depending on the season. You will also have to buy insurance (standard for Colombian parks) which is like $2 per day. Also at the front you will have to book your accomodation in the park if you haven't already. Once you arrive there will be someone almost immediately to come to you and try to sell you the accomodation. They arent trying to screw you so just use their help. KEEP ALL YOUR RECEIPTS!! They check them throughout so keep them all. 
    • GETTING TO TRAIL HEAD

      • Walk in - If you decide to do this its a 9 hour round trip instead of 6. Start at the park entrance and walk down the dirt road for 4-5 kms until you reach the trail head. 

      • Motorcycle Taxi In - I highly recommend this. The moto taxi will cost you about $5 from the entrance to take you 4-5 kms into the park. This will save you about an hour and a half of walking down a relatively boring stretch of road in terrible, terrible heat. The point where the moto taxi will take you to is here. It's a small parking lot at the trail head. ​

    • HIKE ONCE IN​

      • When you reach the trail head here then you follow the simple path in. Its about a 3 hour walk in to the most popular beach Cabo San Juan. For the most part its flat with some hills and such. There are beaches and breathtaking views along the way. The all-trails link is here​.

      • THE BEACHES - Theres a bunch of beaches to stop at along the way. Below are the outline:

        • Playa Arrecifes - The first big stretch of beautiful beach that you will see along the trail. Its beautiful, sprawling, and you will really feel like you have arrived. No accomodation, or facilities here. Just good to look at. ​

        • Playa Arenilla - A little after Arrecifes you come up to this beautiful white sand beach. Theres a few little restaurants here and will be people relaxing on the beach. Its a stunning one. But at this point you're only about 10 minutes from Cabo San Juan so I kept going. 

        • Playa La Piscina - Big stretch of beach right before Cabo San Juan. Very popular spot. 

        • Cabo San Juan - This is the famous one with the big rock that sits outside of a sand peninsula with the hut built on top of it. The beach you have seen the pictures of and is on the top of this page. It gets really crowded during the day. It has a full camping and food set up so theres everything you need. Best part of the day here is sunset and sunrise when the day tourists have all left. 

        • Boca de Saco - Really beautiful and quiet beach if you continue walking past Cabo San Juan. Its technically the nude beach as well and usually there are far fewer people. 

        • Other Beaches to the South - There are other amazing things to see to the south. But these require a significantly larger amount of walking. 

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  • ACCOMODATION -  Once you are in here you have got what you got. There are some hotels in here I have heard but everyone that I knew just stayed in tents or hammocks. The tent vs hammock argument is really up to you. If you are traveling solo I would say hammock for sure, they are comfortable, have mosquito nets and you'll be fine. If you are traveling with a partner then a tent might be a better option. A few of the camping options are below:

    • Cabo San Juan - This is the camp sight right at Cabo San Juan. By far the most popular. I would recommend booking online the day or two before you go so you can book ahead of time here and that will ensure you get a good spot up on the point. ​You can wait until you arrive to book your accommodation but you might get stuck with a shitty hammock spot. A hammock for the night costs 40k COP ($10USD). If you get a hammock up on the mirador then its 20k COP more but its totally worth it. There is a restaurant and facilities on site. 

    • Camping Don Pedro - Another place that people camp. Its cheaper, and not on the beach. I personally dont know why you would camp here unless you are really pinching pennies. 

    • Cabanas Playa Arrecifes - Another spot here on Arrecifes. Its going to be a lot quieter if thats what you are looking for. A really good option actually. Tents and hammocks and some nicer glamping options available as well. Restaurant, facilities and all on site. 

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  • EATS - I would bring food in yourself. Other than that there are some options along the way. But the food is kind of expensive just given you are really out there. ​

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  • NIGHTLIFE - you are in a national park.   

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  • SIGHTS - I kind of went into all of it above. The beaches and the nature. Keep your eyes out for monkeys and other types of amazing natural wildlife.  

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  • SURFING - Nothing.

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