Blueprint Travelers - Travel SiteBlueprint Travelers - Travel Site
  • Destinations
    • Latin America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Mexico
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • Oceania
      • Australia
  • Resources
  • Get Travel Advice
  • Who We Are
    • About Us
    • Our Travel Updates (Our Blog)
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
Blueprint Travelers - Travel SiteBlueprint Travelers - Travel Site
  • Destinations
  • Resources
  • Get Travel Advice
  • Who We Are
Search your destination or topic...
  • zDummyLatin America
    • Argentina
    • Bolivia
    • Brazil
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Ecuador
    • Mexico
    • Paraguay
    • Peru
  • zdummy-Oceania
    • Australia
  • Travel Blog
  • Get Travel Advice
Follow US
ColombiaLatin AmericaSanta Marta

How to Best Experience Tayrona National Park, Colombia

All the information you need for visiting and spending the night in Tayrona National Park outside of Santa Marta, Colombia.

Last updated: June 3, 2025
12 Min Read
Cabo San Juan beach area in Tayrona National Park
Jump to
How Tayrona National Park Is OrganizedHow to Get to Tayrona National ParkWhere To Stay in Tayrona National ParkWhat To Do in Tayrona National ParkWhat To Bring to Tayrona National Park

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.

A map of Tayrona National Park - made by Blueprint Travelers
A map of Tayrona National Park - made by Blueprint Travelers

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

The bakery within the Tayrona National Park with delicious breads

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.

The Piscina beach within Tayrona National Park (in the morning before all the day-trippers arrived)

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.

The beautiful beach area of Cabo San Juan in Tayrona National Park

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.

You can read more about how to spend your time in the Santa Marta region here. 

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.

The tents lined up at the Cabo San Juan campground

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

The hiking path through the jungle of 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.

The coastline of beaches in Tayrona National 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!

The beach at Cabo San Juan in Tayrona National Park in the morning
Share This Article
Facebook LinkedIn Copy Link
Contents
How Tayrona National Park Is OrganizedHow to Get to Tayrona National ParkWhere To Stay in Tayrona National ParkWhat To Do in Tayrona National ParkWhat To Bring to Tayrona National Park

You Might Also Like

Buenos Aires skyline at dusk
Argentina

Why Argentina Is Our First Destination for Full-time Travel?

Travel Blog

Update 38: Hiking Along The Caribbean Coast To Discover The Santa Marta Area Of Colombia

Chile

Easter Island (Rapa Nui): Here to Answer Your Burning Questions

Four people smiling at the camera during a Lake Titicaca homestay
Peru

A Lake Titicaca Homestay: Everything You Need to Know

Contact us and we can help you with your next adventure!

Looking for help or advice for planning a trip?

Wondering what the best destination for you is?

Have a question about an upcoming trip?

If you need help planning your itinerary, reach out with your questions. We could even coordinate a voice or video call to help you build your ideal itinerary, give you tips for different destinations, and give you recommendations based on your goals and budget. 
Contact Us For Help

Our Privacy Policy

|

Our Terms of Use

Join our newsletter

Once a week, we will send you an update on our travels along with some travel tips.

Search This Website:

Destinations:

  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Ecuador
  • Mexico
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Uruguay
Travel Article Archive

About Us:

Who We Are
Our Travel Updates
Our Privacy Policy

|

Our Terms of Use

|

Instagram Links

Copyright © 2024 Blueprint Travelers LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?