Tayrona National Park is a beautiful natural environment along the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It is known for its beautiful landscapes, beaches, and water, making it a special place to spend at least a day, if not overnight.
How Tayrona National Park Is Organized
Below is a map of Tayrona National Park. Let’s go through all the different pieces of the park so you can best determine how to spend your time in the park.
El Zaino
This is the primary entrance to the park and the one that the majority of people will use when hiking into Tayrona National Park. You will want to use this entrance if you want to do the typical and beautiful hike along the shore of the park to Cabo San Juan. When you arrive, you will have to purchase insurance from the vendors right outside of the entrance based on the length of time that you will spend within the park. You will then purchase your park entrance at the ticket office. The park rangers will check all the bags that you bring into the park and you will not be able to bring in any single-use plastic bags (so make sure you put any food you bring into reusable or paper bags). Finally, you will approach the shuttles after the park entrance and take them up to the official reception area to avoid a pretty boring 3 kilometer walk. The shuttle will cost around 5 pesos and it is worth it! (Remember to bring cash to take the shuttle when hiking out of the park and if you want to purchase food or drinks from the vendors within the park.)
Reception
This is the start of the hiking area into Tayrona National Park. Here, you will find some vendors of the indigenous communities who live within the park.
Arrecifes
This is a camping spot within the national park and a location with some different vendors. One that stands out is the Panaderia Bere, a small spot where you can purchase delicious breads that are stuffed with different flavors, including chocolate, manjar (similar to caramel), tomato and cheese, and others. This is a great snack to get on your way in or out of your hike through the park. There are some campgrounds in this region but it is not the best place to stop to spend time at the beach. You should continue on to Piscina for a beach day or Cabo San Juan to get the best camping areas.
Piscina
Playa la Piscina is one of the main lounging and swimming spots within the national park. It is a long stretch of a beautiful beach along the coast with water that you can actually swim in. (A lot of the areas in Tayrona National Park have rough waters that you cannot enter but Piscina is one of the ones that is protected.) This beach is a great place to stop if you are visiting the park for the day. The main challenge will be trying to find any shade. There are some vendors here for any snacks, drinks, or lunch that you might need.
Cabo San Juan
This is the most popular beach area within the national park. This is a small peninsula with two sides, both of which have calm water that you can swim in. To get to this beach area, you can either hike 2-3 hours from the El Zaino park entrance or take a boat from Taganga. The boats are small fishing boats and the water can be rough between the two destinations. At the Cabo San Juan beach, you can find a place to lay out in the sun or in the shade but make sure to get there as early as possible before the larger crowds arrive, especially during peak season. The area has a campground and a restaurant where you can get breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, supplies, and drinks. This is one of the most popular campgrounds due to its location in the park. There are other campgrounds that have nicer facilities but, for one night, camping at this beautiful location is unbeatable.
Calabazo
This is the secondary entrance into Tayrona National Park and the entrance you will want to use if you want to go to Playa Brava and have a less-busy experience within the park. The hike to Playa Brava can take up to 3 hours through the jungle. While this hike is less picturesque than the one to Cabo San Juan, it will have fewer people.
Playa Brava
This is the other beach that can be camped within the park and can be reached from the Calabazo entrance. Unfortunately, at this beach, you will not be able to swim in the water. (And with the heat of this area, you may want to stay at a beach with water access to be able to cool down at the end of your hike.)
How to Get to Tayrona National Park
Taxis
You can have your accommodation in or around Santa Marta help you order and reserve a taxi to get to the entrance of Tayrona National Park. You will negotiate a fare with the taxi driver prior to the trip, making it an easy flat fare to get around. If you do not pre-negotiate a fare, make sure the taxi driver has a meter started prior to heading to your destination to ensure a fair rate.
Buses
To get from Santa Marta to one of the entrances of Tayrona National Park, you will take the bus from Santa Marta’s Central Market at Calle 11 and Carrera 11 and get off at the entrance that you want to use. The buses run regularly to and from the market but you will want to take a bus around 6:30 AM to get to the bus before it opens and beat some of the crowds. To return to Santa Marta, you will stand at the park entrance and wave down the next bus that is going in the Santa Marta direction. These buses run regularly and are very used to picking up and dropping off tourists on this route. You will need cash for these rides.
By Boat
The last way to get to Tayrona National Park is by boat from Taganga. Here, fishing boats can take you to and from the park. This is best if you are considering doing a day trip to the national park and do not want to hike two hours in and out of the park.
Where To Stay in Tayrona National Park
There are a number of different camping accommodations within Tayrona National Park. They range between glamping and tight campgrounds and really depend on the location you want to be at and the level of comfort you want to have. That being said, the tight campgrounds provide a tent with a mattress, fitted sheet, and loose sheet and they have facilities with restrooms and showers.
We recommend staying at Cabo San Juan’s campground. This location is far from the nicest in the park but it is at an incredibly popular location. You get to be on the beach after the day-trippers leave and before they get there in the morning. It can truly be magical. Many websites say that the camping is on a first come first serve basis. Yes, this is true but… you can reserve a tent in advance using the WhatsApp located on this website. You will still need to be there as early to check-in as possible to get a tent in the front row of tents.
What To Do in Tayrona National Park
This national park has beautiful beaches to lounge at. However, it is a true challenge to get to these destinations. You can either hike through the jungle or take a rocky boat to get to enjoy this tropical environment. The challenge with the hike is the heat that is constant in this region. The terrain itself is not the most challenging from a hiking perspective but it is the heat and humidity that will make the walk challenging, no matter where you hike within the park.
What To Bring to Tayrona National Park
If you are camping overnight in the park, you will want to pack as light as possible to make the hike easy. You will need a bathing suit, a towel, a change of shirt, underwear, and bra, water in a reusable water bottle, and sandals. Take as little as possible because it is hot (really hot) and you don’t want to have too much on your back. There are vendors throughout the walkways of the park who sell water and food (albeit a bit expensive for the region) so it may be worth it to bring more cash to purchase supplies in the park so you can carry fewer items with you. Just enjoy the water, the ocean, the beach, and the jungle going into and out of the park!
