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Travel guide
Tayrona National Park
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to April, and July to August
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Welcome
Tayrona National Park, in a few days
Between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Caribbean, Tayrona strings together pale sandy coves wedged between granite boulders and dense forest, reachable only on foot or by boat. The park caps daily visitor numbers, bans swimming on about half its beaches and closes three times a year to recover, which is precisely what has kept it intact.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cabo San Juan del Guía beach · half a dayTwo white sand bays split by a rocky point topped with a hammock hut; only the sheltered western bay is really safe for swimming.
- Afternoon · A night in a hammock at Cabo San Juan · an eveningHammocks under palm roofs and in the hut on the rock between the bays; basic washrooms, no power at night, waves for an alarm clock.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Tayrona National ParkBooking
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pueblito Chairama ruins · half a dayA Tayrona village of stone terraces, circular platforms and paved stairways in the rainforest, an hour's steep climb from Cabo San Juan.
- Afternoon · La Piscina natural pool · about 1 hA rock barrier breaks the swell to form a clear, shallow pool between Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan, good for swimming and snorkelling.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Tayrona National ParkBooking
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cañaveral beach · about 45 minThe park's first beach, huge and lined with rounded granite boulders; swimming is banned because of dangerous rip currents.
- Afternoon · The trail from El Zaino to Arrecifes · about 2 hThe main trail runs east along the coast from Cañaveral, through rainforest, over boardwalks across marshy ground and along stretches of deep sand.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Tayrona National ParkBooking
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Playa Cristal · a full dayA small western beach with the park's clearest water and a reef you can reach from the shore, ten minutes by boat from Neguanje.
- Afternoon · Neguanje Bay · half a dayA large sheltered bay in the quieter western sector, reached by road from Santa Marta, with safe swimming and boats to Playa Cristal.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Tayrona National ParkBooking
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Bandeja paisa: a heaped plate of beans, rice, minced beef, chicharrón, fried egg, plantain and avocado, from the Medellín region.
- Arepas: griddled corn cakes, eaten at every hour and made differently in every region.
- Ajiaco: the chicken and potato soup of Bogotá, served with capers, cream and avocado on the side.
- Empanadas: crisp fried corn pastries, most often filled with meat and potato.
- Coffee: grown on the slopes around Salento, and best tasted at the farm rather than in town.
- Fresh juices: lulo, maracuyá and guanábana, blended with water or milk.
⚠️ Best avoided
- No dar papaya, as the saying goes: do not make yourself an easy target by waving a phone or camera around in the street.
- At night, order a taxi through an app or ask your hotel to call one rather than hailing one in the street.
- Ask locally which neighbourhoods to avoid, above all after dark.
- Take your first day in Bogotá slowly: at 2,640 metres, the altitude can leave you short of breath.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Spanish
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hola |
| Thank you | Gracias |
| Please | Por favor |
| Yes | Sí |
| No | No |
| Excuse me | Perdone |
| Goodbye | Adiós |
| Do you speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| I don't understand | No entiendo |
| How much is it? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| Where are the toilets? | ¿Dónde están los baños? |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favor |
| Help! | ¡Socorro! |
| Cheers! | ¡Salud! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyColombian peso (COP)
BudgetAbout €75 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to April, and July to August
PlugA/B · 110V
Tap waterSafe in Bogotá and Medellín, bottled elsewhere
TippingA voluntary 10% is usually added to restaurant bills
Emergency123
EntryNo visa needed for stays of up to 90 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports, with proof of onward travel. Fill in the free Check-MIG form online between 72 hours and one hour before your flight.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Yellow fever vaccination is strongly advised since the 2025 outbreak, and some national parks ask to see the certificate. Malaria is limited to low-lying rural areas, not the cities on this route.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/tayrona-national-park
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.