Tayrona National Park

The entrance fee depends on low/high season and is

• COP$62,000/73,500 high season (Mar 2023) for foreigners
• For Colombians the fee additionally depends on the age and whether you were born in Santa Marta.

The entrance can be booked in advance on the park website. That allows to avoid the queue at the entrance and to be sure to be able to enter in the park since the number of entrances are limited. Bags and personal belongings are checked for drugs and glass bottles at the park entrances.

In addition to the entry fee, there is a COP$6,000 insurance for every day that you spend in the park. It’s used to support the seven first-aid tents scattered throughout the park

The prices for food and water are very high inside the park compared to Colombian standards. For example a can of coke costs COP$6,000, a beer COP$7,000 and a 1-liter bottle of water is COP$7,000, although prices do vary from site to site (Cabo is a bit cheaper, Arecifes a bit more expensive since many more people stay there).

A jeep or other vehicle can be caught from El Zaino entrance which will take you to the start of the hiking trail. Mules and donkeys can be hired to transport you and your luggage to Arrecifes, but are mostly used for transporting groceries (fruit, food, drink and water) to the local restaurants in the park. The walk to Arrecifes is about 45 min-1 hour, depending on how much you stop to observe the local fauna and flora. It is recommended that hiking boots or trainers are worn for the duration of this walk, as it can get really muddy and slippery during the rainy season.

The walk from Arrecifes to La Piscina is about 15-20 min, the majority of the walk is along the beach and sea edge with some palm forested areas. The walk from La Piscina to El Cabo is another 30-40 min, but well worth it once you arrive.

To avoid the crowds, enjoying a more solitary experience (if not more adventurous), you can hike in from the entrance at Calabazo and exit at El Zaino. This also avoids you having to retrace your steps. The route is about 18 kilometers with 582 meters elevation gain. More details and a GPX track can be found here.

• 🌍 El Zaíno. Most of the tourist attractions are located in the east of the park. So everybody has to enter the park through the gate of El Zaíno. It is on the highway between Santa Marta (36 km), Palomino (63 km) and Riohacha (134 km). At the gate unofficial guides are offering cheaper prices for tours. But most of the tours can be done on your own anyway. 
• 🌍 Cañaveral. Cañaveral is the only place which can be reached by car. A jeep or truck is running on this 4-km-long road for COP$2,000 per person. In Cañaveral there are a camping ground, exclusive cabanas and a restaurant. The beach is nice, but sometimes dangerous for swimming. The beach of Castilletes is a little off the road with the first accommodations in the park at the beach. 
• 🌍 Arrecifes. Arrecifes is the place with most of the good budget accommodations. It is as 45-min hike from Cañaveral to reach there. If you don't want to walk all the way you can go by horse (COP$20,000) or rent a donkey to carry your luggage. The beach is nice but dangerous for swimming. Instead head another 10 min to La Aranilla or 20 min to La Piscina. (updated Mar 2017)
• 🌍 La Piscina. La Piscina is the safest place to swim and a great beach to hang out. It has a beautiful accommodation where you can enjoy your stay in Tayrona National Park. 
• 🌍 El Cabo San Juan de la Guía. A pair of spectacular beaches separated by a rocky outcrops. There is a large campground and restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is surprisingly good and affordable. Besides there is also a basic but exclusive two-story wooden bungalow for rent on the rocky point. From La Piscina it's a 10-min walk and from Arricifes around 30 min of easy hiking. (updated Mar 2017)
• 🌍 El Pueblito. An archaeological site similar to Ciudad Perdida only much smaller in size. It is a 1-2 hour uphill walk from El Cabo.
  
  Since March 2019 the path to El Pueblito is closed, a local restaurant owner said it will be closed for the next 10 years (unverified). (updated Mar 2019)

• Swimming. In La Piscina a reef in front of the coast forms a natural swimming pool. Other than Arrecifes it is safe to swim here. 
• Snorkeling. Snorkeling at El Cabo is also a great pastime, provided the visibility is good. A variety of marine life including tropical fish can be seen nearer the rocks and on the reef further out into the ocean. It is recommended to bring one's own snorkeling gear. 

Food in Tayrona is a bit more expensive than other places in Colombia, especially considering the meals' quality. An average meal in the park can cost COP$50,000 (Mar 2023). A seafood-focused menu, the costs of transporting ingredients to the park, and marking up for tourists means eating on the beach is not cheap.

Travelers can get food from the different native or local restaurants present in Arrecifes, El Cabo and La Piscina. There is a variety of sea food, such as the tropical fish plate with rice and salad. Seafood dishes are also usually served with pataconés (fried plantain). Similar to bananas, plantains are usually firmer and not as sweet, with a neutral flavor like a potato. They are usually cut, fried and smashed into small pancake shapes, when they are fried again and served with food or as a snack on their own.

The local restaurants have a varied menu which includes breakfasts (with scrambled egg as the basis) seafood, meat (particularly steak and chicken), chips (papas fritas) and pastas. It is advisable to get in early, to avoid the disappointment of being told the restaurant is out of the meal you requested. Meals are ordered and paid for before receipt.

Between La Piscina and Arrecifes you can find a bakery called Panaderia. There they sell freshly made bread with cheese and chocolate filling. During the day someone travels through the park and sells some of the baked goods, if you are lucky you can catch them for a nice breakfast at the beach.

• Jenna - On the hike from the entrance to Arrecifes, there is a campsite just before you reach Arrecifes. Here they make fantastic bread with chocolate or dulce de leche (caramel) baked in and it only costs COP$2,000.

• The restaurant at Arrecifes sells delicious freshly squeezed juices. Try a fruit juice mix of 'lulo' (a fleshy yellow fruit indigenous to the Caribbean coast) and banana or maracuya (a local brand of grenadilla or passion fruit).
• The restaurant at Cabo has a bar section where a few cocktails are offered at a price of around COP$25,000-30,000.

When you arrive at the park entrance, you may be approached by several persons offering you information; however, their main goal is to sell you accommodation. If you know where you want to stay, pre-purchasing accommodation will guarantee there is room for you but, despite what they may tell you, is not required.

Cañaveral

• Ecohabs Tayrona. Luxury accommodation with small or big huts from COP$800,000 night/double occupation including taxes and breakfast 
• Cabin Tayrona Park. From Cañaveral you can also go in the opposite direction, and instead of the ecohabs you will arrive to the beach of Castilletes, which is a beach without any crowds and you get a nice ensuite room for 60'000 per person. 
• Camping Castilletes. 

Arrecifes

• Yuluka. With the very nice bathrooms in the price range of the Cabanas this camping site is worth every cent. Camping site COP$11,500 pp, hammock COP$20,000 and luxury cabanas from COP$350,000 
• Finca El Paraíso. Finca El Paraíso is the closest to the sea. It is a campsite with a restaurant. Hammocks are available. 
• Camping Don Pedro, ☏ +57 317 253 3021, campingdonpedro@hotmail.com. A good choice in Arrecifes with a plenty of space under fruit trees. Cooking is possible, but there is also a decent restaurant with mains from COP$12,000. COP$12,000 if you don't bring your tent, COP$8000 if you do. A hammock costs COP$10,000 per night and a cabaña for 2 costs COP$80,000. 

El Cabo

• Camping Cabo San Juan de la Guía, ☏ +57 314 545 1606, audin77@hotmail.com. Check-out: 11:00. One of the most popular spots to stay the night. There is a large campground facing a pair of spectacular beaches separated by a rocky outcrop. You can either stay in hammocks, a rented or your own tent, or a cabaña. There is also a two-story wooden bungalow on the rocky point. This features two simple rooms with double beds on the top floor, and a bottom floor with premium hammock space for rent. Common toilets and showers are available. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at the restaurant, meals are COP$15,000–40,000. Electricity is only available for a few hours a day, but if so you can even pay with a credit card. Camping with your own tent: COP$30,000. Hammock: COP$40,000/50,000 normal/premium. Rented Tent: COP$40,000/80,000 s/d. Cabaña: COP$200,000. (updated Jan 2018)

Other destinations

• Finca Barlovento. One of the tourist's favourite cabanas next to the Tayrona Park is Finca Barlovento, with an amazing setting between the river and the Sea. 
• Las Pleyades. Las Pleyades offers also accommodation options outside the Tayrona National park at lower prices, but not more than 10 minutes by bus or car from the main entrance of Cañaveral or Pueblito in Calabazo. 

It is prohibited to swim in the sea near Arrecifes due to the danger of strong riptides.

It has been known for local thieves to listen to see if people are asleep in their tent and then open the tent and steal what they can find. Make sure to either use the lockers, keep valuables close to your person or do not bring them at all.

There are both hostels and private rooms in:

• In the south of the Tayrona National Park along the Highway 90 are the villages Las Tinajas, Calabazo, El Zaino and Los Naranjos. Being there does not require the entrance fee.
• Guachaca. It lies directly at a river and not far from an unspoiled beach.
• Buritaca in the east also at a river.
• Taganga - a backpacker and hippie haven in a one-time peaceful little fishing village just north of Santa Marta
• Minca – somewhat cooler 20km in the south of Santa Marta. It's 580m above sea level towards the mountain top Cuchilla San Lorenzo
• Santa Marta
• Palomino 45km away