Between Santa Marta and the La Guajira Desert, North Coast.
The Caribbean of Colombia has a wealth of natural beauty - the coast is punctuated by wide, shallow rivers which run down from the mountain peaks of almost 6000m high to the sea just 42km distant, making them the highest coastal mountains on the planet. The river beaches are stunning, like Los Naranjos and Mendihuaca, a popular surfing beach, a few kilometres east. The Sierra Nevada mountains, knows as 'The heart of the World', have protected areas for various migratory bird species. What a paradise!
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Between Tayrona Park and Palomino is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever travelled to (even on a budget). I first visited the Tayrona park area in December 2019 and liked it so much I decided to stay for 7 weeks into 2020, and then I came back for 7 weeks from early Jan 2021 to avoid the pandemic lockdowns and work as a social media manager and yoga teacher in a hostel.
When to visit
This area has 30 degree weather all year round, but there are rainy seasons. Rainy season is April, May, October, November, and dry season is usually in December, January, July, August, although it can vary a lot. Peak holiday season is mid December to mid Jan when all the Colombians take their annual holiday and you’ll find that in this area, you likely need to book accommodation before November and that prices will go up at this time.
The attractions
Tayrona Park
Tayrona is a heavenly, magical, beautiful place. Don’t underestimate it though - the trek in from the main entrance to the most popular beach, Cabo San Juan is a punishing 3 hr trek each way, on a variety of surfaces from sand to rocks in hot sun.
On the day I went in mid December 2019, I arrived at 9.30 to a 1.5 hour queue, and apparently it’s possible to buy tickets in advance, which I recommend, because then you can skip that que. Being so delayed, meant I had to half jog to Cabo San Juan, only had an hour to enjoy it and then had to leave so that I would make it out in daylight. I was not impressed with the organisation or signage.
Also be aware that all the food and water in the park has to be carried in, often on thin-looking horses, and that also makes it about 6 times the price of items on the main road. So stock up with as much water and food as you can carry.
A note on those horses - they also carry tourists. I was told in local hostels that the horses are not well cared for and that I should avoid riding them. There are other horse tour businesses in the area who look after and feed their horses better, check those out instead if you want to ride a horse. Try @horseshoetours on instagram, they were recommended to me. I recently got in touch with the owner who said "We have the purpose to give our horses a healthy and happy life or work together by renting horses from local people that treat their animals right, in return for fair rental prices. We will be opening again from June 1st 2021"
There are hostels and hotels in the Park, and you can stay overnight, they are very popular and it’s a good idea to book in advance especially in December and January.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM - Closed Jan 28th to Feb 28th in 2021 and likely every year! Check the website at https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/ for more information and entrance fees.
In December 2019 I think I paid about 60mil to enter for the day (€14.15 at the time of writing)
Ciudad Perdida - known as The Lost City Trek
In pandemic times, a PCR test is needed to do this 3 or 4 day trek which is available in Santa Marta. I haven’t done this trek, it looks lovely, but knowing how many spiders there are all over the floor at night in the tropical rainforest means I will probably wait until I can get a helicopter ride there! (Not in a million years I guess)
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The Beaches - Los Naranjos Beach, Costeńo Beach, Cocos Beach, Koralia Beach and others
Minca
Waterfalls
And some activities:
Surfing
Horseriding
@horseshoetours
Paddle boarding
Tubing
Often around 30mil (€7.20)
Motorbike Tours
Sunrise & Nature Tours
Best places to stay
Top $$$
Los Naranjos beach hotels, Cayena on Costeńo beach, Guitana del Mar, Buritaca (which also holds retreats)
Middle $$
Bohemia Beach Hostel, Costeno Beach Hostel, El Rio Hostel Private rooms
Budget $
Camping, or the above in dorm rooms
A very easy way to book is Hostelworld for Hostels. I never had any problems finding a bed or with booking or cancellation. You may get the booking for less if you contact the hotel directly however.
What to avoid
Palomino - because they've overbuilt the beach area and now the beach is completely eroded.
Flashing around fancy belongings or jewellery, especially in city areas where it’s dangerous.
Walking home alone late at night in a lonely area (like everywhere in the world!)
What to pack
Don't overpack - a 50 Litre bag is the most you should need, even with a large hammock
50L backpack with wheels
Whether you’re moving around a lot or not, I find the best bag is a 50 Litre convertible backpack with wheels which means that on rough ground (or even on a horse) you can wear it on your back, but most of the time you’ll be able to wheel it in airports and on the street in Latin American towns. The backpack straps usually zip up on the flat back side. I pack mine to about 75% and leave room for apples, muesli bars and sandwiches for journeys so that I don’t have to have that plastic bag to carry on top of the big bag. It’s best to keep all your valuables with you in your daypack, and put only the clothes in the main bag because it will often be put into the hold underneath the bus so you won’t have your eye on it all the time.
Daypack and small (canvas?) bag
For travel days, days out at the beach, hiking to waterfalls, to carry your water, food, insect repellant etc. A smaller bag for evening is also handy if you have the space. If you’re visiting in rainy times you might want to pack the clothes inside your big pack with plastic bags and a waterproof daypack is also handy if you do a lot of water fun like tubing. If you're bringing a big hammock, make sure you can fit that in too - it's one of my favourite ways to pass an afternoon, swinging between 2 palm trees on Mendihuaca Beach. This bag is stylish to use day and night as you won't need anything fancy in the beach bars.
Hammock (optional)
Great to sling up on trees or just as a beach rug, and best of all if you get really tired you can sleep in it. Sleeping on the beach at night isn’t recommended both due to insects and personal security, unless you can string it up at a friends place! I took a full cotton hammock with me, like the one below, but there are also thinner travel hammocks around, which wont take up a quarter of your pack, made of nylon/tent material and those are good too, although you'll wish you had a cotton one when you're on the beach.
A thin yoga mat (optional)
Many hotels and hostels have yoga classes, but they charge an average of 25mil per class although they do provide mats. If you do yoga and want to freestyle like I do, try this thin, light mat below, and strap it to the outside of your big bag in a thin bag as it will otherwise get dirty when you're on transport.
Plenty of swimwear
If you’re near the sea, rivers or accommodation pools, you can exist mostly in this and it’s easy to wash in the shower each night and fast to dry. If you want to fit in on Costeńo beach, go for the Bohemian look - check out @bohemiabeachhostel on instagram to see what I mean.
One pair of good running and/or walking shoes & flip flops & flat sandals
Trust me, your feet will get really sore from all the walking you’ll do and all the rocky surfaces. Don’t be that person scrambling up the sunrise trek in your slippy flip-flops! - the flip-flops pictured below are the recommended type, sturdy with thick soles, not thins straps or soles - your feet will thank you for looking after them!
I prefer canvas boots with a solid tread or running trainers if I plan to jog. If you’re jogging in areas which are 30 degrees in the daytime, you’ll want to be jogging at sunrise (5.30-6am). Don’t bring heels at all, not even platforms, unless you plan to be only in swanky hotels. Pictured below are Swiss brand 'ON's' - I've had mine now for 4 years, and they're still going strong after thousands of km's - black is recommended for travel in this area, as it can get muddy if you get caught in a rain shower!
Clothes
Bring light dresses, shorts, t-shirts, vests, something to sleep in when in a dorm, socks, underwear, sports wear if you run or do yoga, which is also handy to travel in. Note that I find (for woman) that one bra which converts to a strapless is enough, since often bikini tops are worn, the one below comes in skin colour, which is the ideal to go under everything such as white t-shirts.
No towel
Towels get smelly really fast and you can hire them in all accommodation. I bring a thin sarong for any towel emergencies and also to lay on at the beach if I don’t want to carry the heavier hammock. I’ve found that even the travel towels get smelly fast, but a very thin sarong dries faster.
A lightweight, hanging toiletry bag, Toiletries, makeup & medications
Bring plenty of your favourite products from home, because you’ll only get supermarket products in and around Santa Marta. I bring a good mineral sunscreen for both face and body, moisturiser, large shampoo and conditioner which I fill into small bottles to carry to the shared bathrooms, insect repellant (the natural ones you can buy here are great and much cheaper than in Europe, and some people here use coconut oil) any medications you take, antihistamine pills for bites, painkillers just in case, tweezers, scissors, nail file, comb and if you wear it, the usual small bag of makeup items. You won’t wear much makeup here because it will either sweat off or swim off fast.
Mobile phone with a great battery (& camera)
There is no bigger pain when travelling, than to have your phone constantly die - no power. I travelled with the motorola G7 Power and now have the Motorola G9 Plus, and at around €200, I can say that I would never buy an iphone again!. Because: 1. The battery lasts for at least 3 days, 2. It does everything a normal iphone user would need - calls, internet browsing, email, apps and 3. Apple notes is rubbish! it's not encrypted, and it loses days worth of work. I now use an app called 'Standard Notes' instead, which is encrypted, has a basic free version AND is syncs my notes between the phone and the mac. I use notes more than anything else for my personal organisation and my work, and this app has been amazing!
A laptop with chargers and adaptors
If you’re a digital nomad, you’ll of course need your laptop, I always take an old laptop when I travel, the humid air can damage electronics - below is a refurbished mac-book air which could be a good choice - always go for the maximum RAM you can get if you don't like watching spinning wheels on your screen!
It can be really hard to find adaptors even in the big cities, and whilst they can be expensive in Europe, it’s a nice headache to avoid. I bought a local adaptor in Colombia in Cartagena, but it has no earth, and it won’t hold in the wall with the weight of the plugs I put into it. So invest in a proper charger - worldwide if you plan to go to other countries!
Perhaps a professional camera and/or a waterproof camera
A waterproof camera is a fun thing to bring for the beaches, kayaking, paddle boarding and tubing. If you need an adaptor for your digital camera to get the photos onto your laptop, also don’t forget that! I recently bought a 'Fujifilm FinePix XP130 Waterproof Digital Camera', and it's a pretty fun point and shoot for watery conditions, with plenty of features too.
Money
At the time of writing, €1 = 4240 cop or 1 cop = €0.00024. An easy way to work out the price of anything here in Euros, e.g. a draft beer for 12,000 cop is to user your phone calculator to do the calculation: 12,000 x 0.00024 = €2.88. Another easy way to deal with money on the street in fast situations is to say 5mil = €1.20 and 10mil - €2.40. Do these calculations up front so that you don’t get caught out on first arrival and end up paying 10 times too much - although having said that, I find the Colombians to be quite honest people in general, unlike some other places I’ve been like New York (airport cabbies) and Morocco!
Be armed with knowledge in advance and you will be much harder to be taken advantage of.
Wifi / Internet access
Wifi is often poor in this area. Even a hostel with a good connection can be slow by European standards and the electricity goes out often, and so then will the wifi be out unless they have a generator. The electricity can go out for 24 hours at a time in rare circumstances.
Before you go, and while you’re on good wifi, download everything you might need including:
Offline google maps of all the areas you want to visit or at least the first areas
maps.me - a great offline map app that shows walking tracks and attractions that google doesn’t
Audio books, music, other entertainment
Washing Clothes
All the accommodation I stayed in had a washing service, and for the cost it’s way better than carrying washing powder and trying to do it yourself with crappy results. It’s also hard to find a washing bowl and sometimes good places to hang washing. For quick washing swimwear, I found a big blue washing block in a Colombian supermarket, and I now cut a piece off that and bring it in my wash-bag to rinse swimwear under the shower. A small bag of powder works as well as long as it’s in your checked in bag at the airport!
A note to remember - if you don’t do air travel often, remember that any 100ml+ items will be taken off you at customs which can be a very expensive mistake, so leave 100ml+ bottles and makeup items in your checked in bag, ideally wrapped in tied up plastic bags in case of leaks during transit. I keep the smaller ones plus jewellery with me since checked bags can be delayed or even lost. It’s also a good idea to carry a light change of clothes and other essentials in your carry on bag so that you’re basically comfortable if your checked bag doesn’t meet you at the other end.
How to get there
Check google flights price graph for flights into Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. Sometimes they go via Bogota, it depends where you’re coming from. Cartagena is a beautiful place to visit on the way to the Tayrona area, but you would need to do a 5 hour minibus ride between Cartagena and Tayrona.
Barranquilla is much closer, and Santa Marta is the closest airport to Tayrona Park. After a long flight from Europe, either stay for a few nights in Cartagena, or one night in Barranquilla (it’s not special apparently) or just get a 45 - 1 hr taxi from Santa Marta directly to your hotel or hostel in the Tayrona Park area.
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