Tayrona National Park has, without doubt,
some of the finest beaches in all of South America - this is a tropical
paradise. It's hard to put into words quite how beautiful the empty
beaches of Park Tayrona are - you'll have to visit. This is one of
Colombia's real travel highlights - there are miles of unspoilt
beautiful rainforest backed beaches - the only complaint might be that
most are not safe for swimming.
There is only one high quality hotel in
Park Tayrona (the luxury Eco-Habs), though there are various places for
camping, and many sites offer hammocks for rent. Most of the campsites
have small rustic cabanas that you might be able to stay in, if there
is room upon your arrival. There's also a few great places to stay just
outside of the Park (see the final section for details).
Note that technically you need a Yellow
Fever certificate to enter Park Tayrona. In reality, this is very
rarely requested at the Park entrance gate. If a Yellow Fever
certificate is requested and you don't have one, try coming back the
next day, or just take a boat from Taganga or Santa Marta and avoid the
entrance check (though the boat will be expensive).
Canaveral &
Eastern Park Tayrona
Canaveral, in Eastern Park Tayrona (see
map), is the most frequently used, and convenient, access point - it's
less than 1 hours travel by car / bus from Santa
Marta or Taganga (a taxi costs 60,000 pesos). At Canaveral is
the luxury Eco-Habs hotel (book through
Aviatur, the travel agency who operate the hotel). This luxury spa
hotel offers guests beautiful individual cabanas - make sure you
request a room with an unobstructed sea view. Eco-Habs is expensive at
440,000 pesos per night for two people (2008 price) - though
interestingly is is exactly the same price for a group of four people,
and it's a special place to stay (indeed it's one of my favourite small luxury hotels in
Colombia). There are some lovely beaches near Eco-Habs, and
this section of Park Tayrona feels far more civilised than the beaches
further West - there's excellent food and cocktails served by Eco-Habs
on La Piscinita beach for example (relatively safe for swimming).
Camping can conveniently be done in this
Eastern section of Park Tayrona - see www.campingtayrona.com
(click their English language tab) for useful info on the park and
prices.
Arrecifes (Eastern
Park Tayrona)
Having arrived by taxi, or collectivo, at
Canaveral, most visitors travel onwards to the campsites a short walk
West of Canaveral. 45 minutes walk West is Arrecifes, the best base to
explore Park Tayrona. Donkeys can help transport your bags to your
campsite, though the fee is not particularly cheap. Walk a little
further West (in the direction of Cabo San Juan) to find La Piscina
beach, which is Tayrona's only truely safe beach for swimming.
Aviatur (who run the luxury EcoHabs hotel
mentioned above) operate a campsite called Yuluka at Arrecifes, which
also offers hammock spaces for 16,000 pesos - this is by a mile the
best campsite in Park Tayrona - it's like luxury camping with boutique
bathrooms. The restaurant here serves great food at totally reasonable
prices - if camping were always like this, everyone would be a convert!
See the Aviatur website, though little
info is provided about the actual campsite.
If the Aviatur campsite is full, the second
best camping option in Arrecifes is Finca El Paraiso
- it's slightly cheaper, has a restaurant and is a little closer to the
actual beach. A ten minute walk further West is Bukaru,
a campsite run by the same people (Finca El Paraiso). Finca El Paraiso
and Bukaru can be booked in advance through their office in Santa Marta
(tel: 0057 5 431 3130, address is Carrera 7B No 28A-103, Santa Marta).
If all others are full, you could try the third (final) camping option
in Arrecifes - Finca Don Pedro, which is the most
basic option, with a restaurant, and found a little before you arrive
in Arrecifes (a 200 metre detour off the main trail).
Cabo San Juan
(Eastern Park Tayrona)
You'll be lugging your bags with you unless
you've help from a donkey, but a further 45 minutes walk West of
Arrecifes is Cabo San Juan - another campsite and restaurant is present
(called Camping Cabo San Juan). The campsite here is poorly managed,
and the restaurant food rather dubious, however this is the most
beautifully set campsite, and is also one of the cheapest accommodation
options in the Park. The best hammock spaces are on top of the Mirador
(the large rock in the middle of the beach). There's also a couple of
simple cabanas that offer alternatives to hammocks here.During the
Colombian high season (Christmas to mid January, Easter Week and mid
June to mid July) it gets seriously busy at this campsite, and has a
party atmosphere. Don't expect any peace and quiet during the high
season at this campsite - considering that hundreds of people have to
share a handful of showers and a small restaurant, the experience isn't
for everyone. Stay at this campsite mid week in the low season, and
it's a totally different, magical experience. For me, it's the most
beautiful region of the Park - shame about the seasonal crowds!
Further West from Cabo San Juan one finds
Park Tayrona's finest (empty) beaches - just follow the paths westwards
to find 3 fantastic beaches. The last beach one can walk to is a nudist
beach. Alternatively, as one leaves the campsite in the direction back
to Canaveral (ie. East), follow the path immediately on the left as you
exit the campsite, to find a tiny bay and beach a short walk away. Keep
walking round the coast another five minutes and you'll find yourself
at La Piscina beach - the largest, and most empty part of this beach,
which is only accessible by this route. See the map (with guide) of
Park Tayrona on the right for more information.
There's more than just beaches in Park
Tayrona - walk a little inland to Pueblito, a small but fascinating
indigenous village (the indigenous people in this region of Colombia
are called the Tayrona Indians). From Pueblito, there's a trail through
the jungle to Playa Brava, where you'll find the remotest campsite
called Teyumakke (tel 0057 315 480 0241,
email playabrava@gmail.com) - hammcoks, camping and a cabana are
available here. You can walk here from Cabo San Juan, or get picked up
with horses from Calabazo ( see the Park Tayrona map to the right - if
coming from Santa Marta, you'll need to get off before El Zaino at
Calabazo). This is a very remote part of the Park - great for
adventurous travellers!
Western Park Tayrona
The Eastern section of Colombia's Tayrona
National Park (Canaveral, Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan) is the most
visited, most beautiful, and also most geared towards tourism, but the
Western section provides an interesting alternative.
It's easy to arrange a boat tour from either
Taganga or Santa Marta to visit the Western region of Park Tayrona, at
a cost of approximately 300,000 pesos (US $150). The sea is usually
extremely rough, and rather dangerous. There are a few campsites and
restaurants in this region.
Furthest East from Taganga (but West of the
region accessible from Arrecifes) is Playa Cristal (the bay near Bahia
Cinto marked on the map), found in a large cove that is scattered with
numerous other small beaches. The water is very calm here, unlike the
rest of Park Tayrona, and there is also a spectacular salt plain. There
is also a campsite - but there is no restaurant, or running water.
Nonetheless this is a beautiful alternative to the more commonly
visited camping zones further East, and there are various small beaches
that can be walked to. Playa Cristal is accessed by boat only, though
once you do arrive, those wishing to leave by land might be able to do
so by following the trail to the main road to Santa Marta - it's a four
hour walk to the road, where it's easy to pick up a bus.
Further West in Park Tayrona lies Playa
Neguanje. This long beach can be accessed by road - collectivos depart
daily from Santa Marta, or you can arrange a taxi. At Playa Neguanje
there is a restaurant, as well as a camping zone, but again no running
water. Neguanje is a large beach, but can get busy on weekends as it
fills up with day trippers from Santa Marta.
Slightly further West from Neguaje is Villa
Concha (marked Bahia Conca on the map), where again there is a camping
zone, but with no facilities. Villa Concha can also be accessed by road
from Santa Marta.
Here's a travel tip - check out Google Maps
for detailed images of Park Tayrona - print them off before you visit,
and use them to find some truely empty and idyllic beaches in Colombia.
Getting to Park
Tayrona
The simplest way to travel to Park Tayrona
is by Taxi - from Santa Marta or Taganga, the cost is about 60,000
pesos to Canaveral, from where you'll need to walk deeper into the
Park. Alternatively, a direct bus to Canaveral departs daily at 10am
from Hotel Miramar in Santa Marta. Finally, you can take any minibus
headed towards Palomino, and get off at El Zaino, from where you can
walk (50 mins) or easily hitch a lift to Canaveral. The last
alternative is to come by boat from Taganga or Santa Marta (ask
locally).
Accommodation just
outside Park Tayrona
High quality accommodation inside the Park
itself is very limited - all that exist are simple cabanas or the
Eco-Habs hotel. Just outside the Park there are some other options
though:
Playa
Koralia - kind of a cross between a small boutique hotel and
a jungle safari camp, the slightly hippy-ish Playa Koralia is just 20
minutes drive East of Park Tayrona. The hotel can arrange day trips to
the Park everyday. There's no air-con at Koralia, and rooms and
amenities are relatively rustic, plus there's a campsite for
backpackers. This isn't for everyone - if you like nature and want to
get away from everything you may love it, but this is definately not
your typical beach side boutique hotel. You'll either love it or hate
it!
Mendihuaca
Resort - a reasonable option, though the food is very poor,
just outside of the stunningly beautiful Park Tayrona. Gets lots of
poor reviews.
Posadas Nativas - there's various
Posadas Nativas (Natives homes) where you can stay just outside the
park. You can stay with local indigenous Tayrona Indians, and explore
the Park with them. This is a very different experience, and great for
the more culturally minded. You can visit remote Kogi indigenous
villages this way, as well as access the remotest of the beaches of
Park Tayrona.
