Tayrona Park: a jungle and beach adventure in Colombia

When the opportunity to camp in a jungle, on the side of a mountain, overlooking a beach in Colombia came up, the obvious answer was YES!

Now I should clarify that this was glamping and some very nice glamping at that! We stayed in the Ecohabs in Tayrona Park. Tayrona offers stunning expanses of beach, dotted with huge smooth rocks to the backdrop of a dense, lush jungle. It’s a not so hidden gem on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Getting to Tayrona Park

Tayrona Park is about a 45 minute drive from Santa Marta, Colombia. There are buses that run this route, but for ease of travel we took a taxi.

You need to show a passport or ID at the entrance of the park and pay the 39,500 COP entry fee. Online says you need proof of yellow fever vaccination, but we were not asked for it, although it’s a good idea to have.

Ecohabs

The Ecohabs are the most expensive option in the park, so we only stayed one night. Personally, it was well worth the experience for us. The rooms are double level huts set into the side of the jungle. The bottom level has the dining area, bathroom and a place to relax.

The top level is the bedroom. There is no air condition, but we had a beautiful breeze off the water during the day. At night, make sure to close up the shutters from the bugs!

There is a lovely restaurant on site and it’s the only place we ate, as the Ecohabs are remote. The Ecohabs have a private beach with cabanas and beds for massages. The water is dangerously rough here though, so there is strictly no swimming in this area of the park.

Other accommodations

If you want to save money and rough it, you can also camp in the park. There are two camping locations at Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan beach. At both you can rent a tent or bring your own. Show up early so that you do not miss a spot! We passed the camping at Arrecifes and it looked nice enough with basic amenities – it was not on the beach though.

The other option is renting a hammock in a large communal room on the beach. This will get you the beach experience much cheaper if you do not mind sharing a room with several people. I did hear they can get cold at night with the wind off the water.

These are the three options for accommodations in the park, although there are some nice hotels/hostels just outside the park on the beach.

How to get around in the park

Once you arrive at the park gates, there are shuttle buses to that start of the hike for 3000 COP. You can choose to hike this yourself, which will take about an hour.

Our taxi to the Ecohabs took us as far as the starting point, where the road becomes nearly unpassable for small vehicles. The hotel sent a large vehicle to get us and the luggage from here.

Hiking and horseback riding

Once you have found the start of the hike you can continue on foot to both Arrecifes and Cabo San Juan or hire a horse to the beach.

When we visited in December, the hike was VERY muddy and wet, and we both decided we didn’t really want to hike it. We opted to hire a horse to stay out of the mud and for the adventure.

The horseback ride was also VERY adventurous from the perspective of a hunter/jumper rider. We walked up river beds, scrambled up rock canyons and went for a short gallop on the beach. If you want to go for a more adventurous ride, try and get in a small group. With a slap on my horses rump, and being told to stick to the path we were off with only two other riders.

Overall, Tayrona and the Ecohabs were a perfect adventure into a natural setting in Colombia. I would choose this option over any of the charted day trips if you enjoy travelling at your own pace and with a bit of adventure. As is the case with most of Colombia, not many people spoke English, so knowing some Spanish is beneficial. I would highly recommend the park!

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