Tayrona National Park is a treasure trove of Colombia’s natural beauty, blending pristine beaches, lush jungles, and breathtaking wildlife. Whether you’re an avid hiker, a beach lover, or simply someone who craves a connection with nature, this park offers unforgettable experiences at every turn. From exploring hidden trails to relaxing on some of the most beautiful beaches in South America, Tayrona is an adventure you won’t want to miss.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to plan the perfect trip: how to get there, where to stay, park logistics, safety tips, hiking trails, must-visit beaches, and even a bonus day-trip schedule. Save this guide and get ready to dive into the magic of Tayrona National Park!

La Piscina Beach

So you're wondering why visit

Tayrona National Park?

Maybe you've already dreamed of a visit, in that case skip ahead!

Why visit? Simple, you love; nature, unbeatable beaches, unforgettable hiking, and amazing wildlife.

Hiking trail

Getting to Tayrona National Park

If you’re also visiting Cartagena (recommended):

• Take a Marsol bus to Santa Marta

  • 4-5 hours - $15 ea, one way

• Take a taxi to your accommodation by one of the two park entrances

  • 1 hours - $30-$40, one way

If you’re just visiting Tayrona:

• Fly into Simón Bolívar International Airport outside of Santa Marta

• Take a taxi to your accommodation by one of the two park entrances

  • 1 HR - $30-$40, one way

People sometimes stay in Santa Marta but we skipped it and we didn’t feel like we missed out.

Accommodation

Two options:

1. Stay right outside the park and do a day trip

2. Stay inside the park and explore on multiple days

Both can be amazing, just depends on what you want.

Staying outside the park:

There are plenty of accommodation options within walking distance of the park near the El Zaino entrance. DM us on insta and we’ll send you the Airbnb listing of the hut we stayed in.

Staying inside the park:

A range of options from hammocks, tents, or nicer huts (probably gets pretty expensive). Most popular option is Cabo San Juan but we’ve heard of other less busy locations, so if you're interested in staying the park shop around. We know of a new spot within the park; DM on insta and we'll send you the details.

Staying inside the park is a great option to enjoy more of the park outside the limited entrance/exit hours, with less crowds, and to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. If we go back, we’d do this option. A lot of this information here is still helpful if you want to stay inside the park.

La Piscina Beach from above

Park Logistics

Despite being one of Colombia's most touristed national parks, Tayrona National Park comes with quite a lot of logistics to enjoy a visit.

Park Hours:

High Season (December 1st – January 31st, June 1st – July 31st, Semana Santa, and public holidays):

• El Zaino Entrance:

  • Open from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

  • Visitors must exit by 6:00 PM.

• Calabazo Entrance:

  • Open from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

  • Visitors must exit by 5:00 PM.
    
    

Low Season (all other dates):

• El Zaino Entrance:

  • Open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

  • Visitors must exit by 5:00 PM.

• Calabazo Entrance:

  • Open from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

  • Visitors must exit by 5:00 PM.

You have to enter between 8AM - 10AM and must leave the park by 5PM (changes based on the season so be sure to check).

We entered through the El Zaino entrance or what we've heard referred to as the "tourist entrance", as it is the most popular trek in terms of ease and access to popular locations.

We recommend to be at the park punctually at 7:30AM to avoid lines and maximize time

Most restaurants aren’t open early enough to eat prior so plan to make your own food at your accommodation.

Important Items:

You need to bring cash and your passport.

Need to know:

Bag searches are common and there are prohibited items.

You need to buy mandatory park insurance for the amount of days you’re spending, cash only. ($7,000 COP, about $1.60 USD ea). This covers medical help in the park and even helicopter evacuation if necessary.

While they didn’t check (despite reading they would), it’s recommended to have your proof of yellow fever vaccine for this area of Colombia.

After getting your insurance and park ticket, head to the buses that will take you up to the trailhead ($10,000 COP about $2.30 USD ea, round trip). Regardless of what you read online, it is not worth walking to the trailhead, take the bus, you aren't missing out on anything on this road.

Prep and Safety

• Be in good shape, the hike can be relatively flat but long and still challenging.

• Wear good hiking shoes/boots that you don’t mind getting very dirty.

• Wear or bring a bathing suit.

• Consider bringing a change of clothes

• Bring snacks as there are limited options along the hike.

• Bring strong mosquito repellent

• Carry a small first aid kit

• Bring plenty of water in a reusable water container.

• Despite plastic bottles being not allowed, we saw many people enter with plastic bottles of water/gatorade. Worth a shot.

• Bring cash! (really worth mentioning again)

Hiking

• Keep an eye out for wildlife, especially monkeys!

• Watch out for ant trails, they’re hard at work, and you don’t want to be bit.

• Be prepared to likely take off your boots/shoes to hike through mud.

Alternative: you can pay to ride horses, we came for the hiking but this could be advantageous if you want to spend more time at various beaches on your limited day trip.

Beaches

Playa Arrecifes:

Not accessible for walking on or swimming, so once you see this view, take a moment for photos and videos as it’s the best view point of it.

Arrecifes Beach

Playa Arenilla:

Swimmable and gorgeous but we recommend you take some pictures, skip it, and head straight to La Piscina.

Playa Arenilla Beach

La Piscina:

La Piscina is, by all standards, a perfect beach and if you follow the schedule provided later in the video, you’ll have it practically to yourself.

La Piscina Beach

Cabo San Juan:

An iconic Tayrona beach and most importantly where you can eat lunch. Despite the bad reviews on the food, it’s not absolutely terrible. It works. Enjoy this beach, swim, and explore different view points.

Cabo San Juan Beach

Day trip schedule

Bonus: We've made a schedule to maximize your time in the park on a day trip. This is useful for the low-season but you can easily modify for the high-season hours.

7:30AM - Arrive at park entrance

8:00AM - Park opens, purchase insurance, go through bag search, purchase tickets, jump on the shuttle bus

8:30AM - Beginning of the hike

9:15AM - First views of Playa Arrecifes, stop along the trail to take photos but since you can't enter this beach, keep moving.

10:15AM - You reach Playa Arenilla, we recommend you skip this and head right to Playa Piscina

10:45AM - Arrive at Playa Piscina, at this time you will likely have the beach almost to yourself.

12:30PM - Leave Playa Piscina

1:00PM - Arrive at Cabo San Juan, here you can have lunch, explore the beach, swim, and chill.

2:15pm ‼️ Hike 2.5 hours back, do stop for rest and water but keep moving to make sure you are out of the park on time

5:00 PM Last park exit time (don't worry if you are a bit late, it happens, we got to the bus at 5:00PM and left the park shortly after and it was okay but they were closing up.)

Alternative: stay for longer at Cabo San Juan and take a horse back to the entrance. It won't save you from getting muddy, but it will make the way back much more pleasurable.

Final thoughts

Tayrona National Park is one of the most beautiful and diverse parks we've visited. The hike was moderate, and especially tricky through the mud, but we had such a great time. We recommend it to anyone who sets foot in Colombia.

Did we miss anything? Let us know by sending us a DM on insta or through email at hi@chrisnflo.com.

La Piscina Beach

Cabo San Juan Beach