How to get to Tayrona Park

Tayrona National Natural Park is a very beautiful place that you could not miss, it is characterized by his wonderful beaches with different profiles and different views for each of its beaches, it is decorated with huge rocks submerged in the sea and the splendid landscape of the Sierra Nevada, there are different ways to get to Tayrona, all are different but very simple,

Remember that the entrance to the park has a separate cost (except for the tour that includes the access), in this post i will show you 4 ways to get to Tayrona from Santa Marta.

1.- by boat

2.- Direct transportation

3.- On a Tour

4.-by your own

How to get to Tayrona Park by boat

This option is an easy option but you have to keep in mind that if you are one of the people who get dizzy easily, it would be a hard trip for you since they are 40 minutes of movement depending the sea conditions. If you go by boat the first thing you have to do is get to Taganga, a small fisherman village located 15 minutes from the city. taking the public transport from the Rodadero to the center of Santa Marta ($ 1800 COP), you take this bus from the main road of the rodadero, it has a tablet that says: Centro / Mercado, you get off at the Carrera Quinta, 20 minutes of travel aprox, then in the same place you get off, you take another bus 15 minutes approx. To Taganga, you can take a taxi from the Rodadero ($ 25,000 or 15,000 from Santa Marta) to the beach where the boats go to Tayrona Park, the price is $ 80,000 COP one way, the departure is at 10:30  and return at 16:30, the trip by boat is 40 minutes approx. And you can enjoy the scenery of all the beaches of the Park, I remind you that it is only transport, the entrance is paid when you leave the boat$ 72,000 COP for foreigners and $ 42,000 COP. for Colombians.

This is the most easy but more expensive option of the 4 ways to get to Tayrona from Santa Marta.

Boat trip: 1 hour.

Boat price: $ 80,000 COP.

Departure: from Taganga at 10 am.

How to get to the Tayrona Park by direct transport

This is the second option of the 4 ways to get to Tayrona from Santa Marta. This is a bus that leaves from Taganga or Santa Marta at 8:00, they pick you from your hotel and the cost is $ 40,000 COP, you can book with Tayrona Tour, it lasts approximately one hour until the Tayrona park entrance where you will pay the ticket ($ 72,000 foreigner or $ 42,000 Colombian pesos), then the bus will follow the course inside the park 5 kilometers more and leave you at the point where you will start walking for forty minutes in the jungle until you find the beach Arrecife , then you walk to the left bordering the beaches of: Arrecife, Arenilla, Piscina natural and Cabo San Juan, is one of the most beautiful beaches of Tayrona Park, here you can camp or sleep in hammocks, the prices from $ 40,000 in hammocks to $ 40,000 in Camping, you can return by boat or in and return to lase at 16:30 from the same point where I leave you.

Duration of the bus: 1:15 min.

Price: $ 40,000 COP.

Departure: from Taganga between 8:00 am

How to get to Tayrona Park by Tour

The third option of the 4 ways to get to Tayrona from Santa Marta. The good thing about a Tour is that you do not have to worry about anything, the guide will do everything for you, you have a direct bus, the guide pays the tickets a day before, so you have to book the tour early and you do not have to worry about how to get there, the guide will explain you the history of the park and the natives that inhabited this place and I swear it is very interesting …

They looking for you up at your hotel from the Rodadero, if you are in Taganga you have to get to Santa Marta to a point where the agent that sells you the Tour will tell you, I recommend Tayrona tour, you can book from the page: https: // tayronatourcolombia. com /tour-destination/tayrona-park / is an agency with very good service and good guides. They leave at 7:30 and will be in the entrance  at about half past nine until they pass the ticket control and a small talk they make before entering for the conservation, management and security of the park, then you begin the 40 minute walk through the jungle and 40 more minutes of touring the beaches of: Arrecifes, Playa Arenilla, Natural Pool and Cabo San Juan, you will have between two and three hours to have fun on the beach and return by the same road that came to the bus that takes you back to your hotel. The price of the Tour is at 100,000 COP for Colombians and $ 140,000 cop. for foreigners, the Tour does not include meals but there you will find restaurants where you can eat fresh fish and more options.

Duration of the Tour: 10 hours

Price: $ 150,000 COP.

Departure: 7:00 from the Rodadero and 7:20 from Santa Marta.

How to get to Tayrona Park on your own

The fourth option of the 4 ways to get to Tayrona from Santa Marta.

The good thing about doing it independently is that you are not limited to anyone, you take your time and decide how long to stay on each beach and you can return whenever you want.

First you have to go to the Central Market of Santa Marta on 10th Street with Carrera 9 you take the bus to Palomino and go through the Tayrona Park, you get off in the entrance in a sector called «El Zaino» (10,000 COP) and you arrive at the ticket office of the Tayrona Park where you will pay your entry ticket ($ 72,000 foreigner or $ 42,000 Colombians).

In front of the office you will see some cars that will take you for $ 7,000 cop. To the Park area (where you started to walk to playa Arrecifes), there are two paths: to the right, the way  takes you to another different place (Cañaveral) and to the left that takes you to Arrecife, you also have the option of rent a horse for $ 60,000 cop. But you can download it up to 50,000 if you are a good businessman 😉 you can also walk 40 minutes to the first beach «Arrecife» and forty minutes more until you reach the beach of the Cabo San Juan passing through the beaches of Arenilla and the Piscina Natural, upon returning You will take the same route back to the parking lot, take the car to the exit and then the bus that brings you back to Santa Marta.

Bus duration: 1:30 min.

Price: $ 10,000 COP.

Departure: every 20 minutes from 6:00 am.

What to take to the Tayrona park:

In times of high season, tickets are limited so you have to buy tickets online because the demand is high and there is a possibility of not finding tickets, you can do it through the Tayrona National Park page or buy the Tour directly with us here.

Take water and snacks because everything is more expensive there.

Buy a mask and economic snorckel because it is very nice to do skirts.

for option 2 direct bus or 4- independently, keep in mind that the park closes at 17:00 so you have to start walking back from the reefs at 16:00 so you can find the transport you take to the entrance.

Bring repellent, sunglasses, sunscreen and / or a cap.

Recommendations to visit the Tayrona Park:

• The entrance and exit times of the park are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• Make your reservations in advance. The daily load capacity of the Park is 6,900 tourists.
• Vaccinate against yellow fever ten days before your trip and carry your current vaccination card.
• The environmental education talk is mandatory.
• Respect the established schedules to use the showers and effectively use the water.
• For safety, you should be informed in advance of the sites suitable for swimming and bathing only in authorized sites.
• Bathing in the sea is allowed until 6 p.m.
• Within the Park there are sacred sites of the four indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which are demarcated and entry to these areas is prohibited.
• If you are hiring a guide, make sure hi is certified for such activity.
• When you take a boat, make sure you have a life buoy.
• The entrance of plastic bags and Styrofoam objects is restricted.
• The entry of musical elements is restricted.
• The entry of pets is restricted.
• The entry of alcoholic beverages and psychoactive substances is restricted.
• The entry and carrying of weapons is restricted.
• The entry of surfboards is restricted.
• It is forbidden: to make bonfires, throw cigarette butts, burn garbage, carry out logging and capture wild animals.

When leaving the protected area you must remove the garbage that you produced during your stay (that includes shells, seeds or other residual products of vegetable or animal origin); failure to comply with this measure deteriorates the landscape and can cause diseases for wild fauna and flora.

The parking of vehicles in camping areas is prohibited. When authorized parking spaces are covered, cars will not be allowed to enter, only visitors.

You can buy your ticket to Tayrona park here: entrances Tickets