There are several hikes to do in Tayrona National Park. The hiking trails run through the jungle to some spectacular beaches , where you can enjoy nature, wild monkeys and beautiful views. The hike most travelers do is from Zaino -thru Arrecife- to the most beautiful (and busiest) beach Cabo San Juan. The hike from Calabazo to Playa Brava is a lot less popular. Here you hike off the beaten track and won’t encounter many tourists.

In this article you will find information and tips on these and other hiking trails from the Zaino and Calabazo entrance to Tayrona National Park. This will help you know which hike suits you best!

Trails – ZAINO ENTRANCE

Zaino (40 km. from Santa Marta)

Opening hours of the main entrance of Tayrona National park are from 7 a.m.-5 p.m., you can enter until noon. From Zaino, you can access the beaches Cañaveral, Castilletes, Arrecife, La Piscinita, Cabo San Juan, Arenilla, La Piscina, Playa Nudista and Boca del Saco

Cañaveral is the starting point of two trails: the hike to Cabo San Juan via Arrecife (around 2h one way) and the -not popular- 9 Piedras Trail (1h). From the Zaino entrance, you can start hiking right away (about 4 km) to Cañaveral, or take the shuttle (around COP5000).

The shuttle buses leave when full and you usually don’t have to wait long. The shuttle bus is recommended, because the path to the beginning of the trail is not spectacular. From here you can continue walking or horseback riding.
We ourselves had doubts about horseback riding and we ended up not doing it because we did not want to miss the experience of the hike and we doubted whether we would do any good for the well-being of the horses.

Cabo San Juan Trail via Arrecife
The trail to Playa Arrecife/Cabo San Juan is a well-maintained path that alternates between jungle and beach, over a wooden boardwalk and boulders. The path goes up and down but is not steep and is well manageable.


Several times we saw cute monkeys that we could observe very quietly up close.

Playa Arrecife can be reached (depending on your pace) in an hour.

Just before Playa Arrecife you will find vendors selling ice creams and coco frio.

At Playa Arrecife you can have some food and drinks in the restaurant.

Here you can find more info about staying near Arrecife. Just past Arrecife you will find Bera bakery, where you can buy delicious chocolate caliente (and go to the toilet!). From here it’s about an hour’s walk to Cabo San Juan, where you can swim and snorkel and enjoy the view of the bay.

At Cabo San Juan you will find a restaurant and a store. Here find more info about staying overnight at Cabo San Juan.

The 9 Piedras trail is located near Cañavaral and leads through some large boulders to a lookout point, from which you have a nice view of the park.

Since most people do the Cabo San Juan trail, this trail is generally very quiet. The hike takes about 1 hour. Update: When we were in the park in September 2023, the trail was closed for maintenance.

On this trail, you can camp at Playa Arrecife, Castilletes, Cañaveral and Cabo San Juan. Hotel Ecohabs Tayrona is located in Cañaveral at the beginning of the trail. You can also stay spend the nightat cabañas Arrecifes and Ecohabs Cañaveral.

Trails – CALABAZO ENTRANCE

Hike to Playa Brava

The Calabazo entrance (25 km. from Santa Marta) is a 10-minute drive before the Zaino entrance. Opening hours are from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. You can enter until 11 a.m. There are mototaxis in Calabazo, if you don’t want to walk the first 3 km. A mototaxi costs arout COP20,000/$5.

Calabazo is the entrance for the hike to Pueblito (approx. 2h) and Playa Brava (approx. 3.5h). From Playa Brava you can continue to Cabo San Juan (approx. 2h).  (update 2023: Pueblito is closed to the public, but you can pass it to go to Playa Nudista, about 4h from Calabazo). 

Because this hiking trail is much quieter than the hiking trail to Cabo San Juan from the Zaino entrance, you are more likely to spot wildlife here.

You can stay at hotel Playa Brava Teyumakke in a cabana or tent

In this travel guide Tayrona National Park, you’ll find everything you need to know for your trip to one of Colombia’s most popular national parks.

Tayrona National Park covers 150km2 and is located between Santa Marta and Palomino. Its location is spectacular, between the Caribbean Sea and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de St. Marta. In Tayrona national park you can do beautiful hikes on hiking trails that go through the jungle to some spectacular beaches run. On these trails you can spot wildlife, such as monkeys, which can sometimes be seen up close. At a number of beaches you can swim and snorkel, and there are several beautiful places to spend the night in the middle of nature. So you can chill in an ecolodge, camp in a tent and sleep in a hammock at Cabo San Juan. Also just outside the park there is a wide choice of atmospheric hotels and hostels.

Tairona Indians
Long ago, the Tairona Indians lived in Tayrona National Park and today their descendants, the Kogui, live in the Sierra Nevada. They -along with other indigenous groups- are closely associated with the park.

Closing dates
It is important to know, therefore, that Tayrona is closed 3 times a year so that the indigenous groups can perform spiritual rituals and the ecosystem can recover.

Closing dates for 2025 are:.

• Feb. 1 to Feb. 15
• June 1 through June 15
• October 19 to November 2

On a tour, Tayrona combines well with other places on the Caribbean coast, such as Minca, Palomino, La Guajira, Ciudad Perdida and Cartagena. Check the link for the trip we took along the North Coast of Colombia.

In this travel guide you will read everything you need to know to plan a visit to Tayrona National Park: what is the best time to travel, how to get there, prices, what are the best hotels and hostels in Tayrona National Park and beyond, what are the best hikes and which beaches are in Tayrona National Park.

What are the most beautiful beaches in Tayrona National Park? Can you swim at all the beaches? Can you stay overnight at the beaches and what are the facilities? Here you can find information about the best beaches in Tayrona National Park.

Tayrona National Park stretches across a large part of the coast and has many beautiful beaches. Due to strong currents, not all beaches are suitable for swimming. Therefore, keep a close eye on the warning signs and flags at the beaches. Here is an overview of the beaches and facilities from El Zaino, Calabazo and the Neguanje entrance.

BEACHES – ZAINO ENTRANCE

Cañaveral

• At the beginning of the walking trail
• 1e beach after entrance Zaino
• Accessible by shuttle (10 min.) or walking from the main entrance (Zaino)
• Camping and eco-habs
• Swimming not allowed

Next to Cañaveral is “Playa Piscinita”, where swimming is allowed. This beach with sun umbrellas and sun beds belongs to Hotel Ecohabs Tayrona.

Castilletes

• A few minutes’ walk from Cañaveral
• Swimming not allowed
• Camping on a large finca. There are also a few private rooms
• Restaurant

Playa Arrecife

• Location between the Zaino entrance and Cabo San Juan: 50-60 min. walk from trailhead and 50-60 min. from Cabo San Juan
• Swimming not allowed
• Campsites
• Ecohabs Arrecifes
• Restaurant

Playa Arenilla

• Small beach with calm water
• 10 min. from Arrecife
• Swimming allowed
• No facilities

Playa la Piscina

• Small, quiet beach 20 minutes from Arrecife
• Between Arrecife and Cabo San Juan
• Swimming allowed
• Snorkeling
• No facilities

Cabo San Juan del Guía

• Most popular and busiest beach 30 minutes from Playa la Piscina. A photo of this famous beach, you will find in almost every article about Tayrona
• Accessible: on foot from Zaino, (around 2 hours) Playa Brava (around 2 hours) or by boat from Tatanga (approx. 1 hour)
• Swimming allowed
• Snorkeling
• Campsite and few private cabañas (private cabañas are currently closed, (Jan. 17, 2024)
• Restaurant

Playa Nudista

• Quiet beach 10 minutes from Cabo San Juan del Guía
• No facilities
• Swimming is allowed when the sea is calm, keep an eye on the warning signs
• Boca del Saco is a quiet beach 10 minutes from Playa Nudista

BEACHES – CALABAZO ENTRANCE

Playa Brava

• A secluded beach about a 3.5-hour walk from the Calabazo entrance
• Swimming is allowed
• Restaurant available
• Private cabanas at ecolodge Playa Brava Teyumakke. There are also glamping options and you can sleep in a hammock or tent (bring your own)

BEACHES – NEGUANJE ENTRANCE

Beautiful beaches in another part of the park are Playa Cristal and Playa Cinto, accessible through the Neguanje entrance. Bahía Concha is the beach in Tayrona, which is the closest to Santa Marta, 35 minutes away. These beaches are accessible by car, bus or moto-taxi or by boat or sailing trip .

How many days do you need for Tayrona National Park?

How many days do you need for Tayrona National park? Can you visit the park in 1 day or do you need to stay overnight? This information and more, you can find in this article. 

Tayrona in one day?
Want to visit Tayrona National Park in one day, do a hike and not spend the night there? It’s definitely doable, if you do the hike from the Zaino entrance to Cabo San Juan. The hike takes -depending on your pace and number of stops- about 2 hours one way. You’ll still have time to swim somewhere. However: keep in mind that the humidity is high, so the hike -in spite of the good hiking path- can be intense. If you don’t want to hike the whole route to Cabo San Juan, you can stop halfway at Playa Arrecife. There you can have a drink and walk back to the Zaino entrance from there. If you want to enjoy the park to the max, visit the various beaches and not have to be in a hurry, then it’s recommended to stay in the park at least one night. Another advantage of this, is that you can experience the park outside the crowds of day-trippers, who leave around 4 p.m. For the hike from Calabazo to Playa Brava, one day is too short. Better to stay overnight at Playa Brava and make it a multi-day trip.

3 DAYS: in/out of Calabazo

DAY 1: Sleep one night in a hostel or hotel just outside the Calabazo entrance, leave your luggage there and travel alone with a small backpack

DAY 2: Take a minivan or taxi to the Calabazo entrance. The entrance is open from 7 .00am. Hike to Playa Brava (about. 3.5h) and there you spend the night at Hotel Playa Brava Teyumakke

DAY 3: On Day 3 you can relax on the beach in the morning. In the afternoon you will hike back to the Calabazo entrance and from there you return to your hotel. There spend another evening relaxing or continue on to your next destination.

4 DAYS: in Calabazo/out of Zaino
If you have an extra day, then on day 3 you can do do the hike from Playa Brava to Cabo San Juan (approx. 2h) and spend the night there. NOTE: can’t reserve your hammock for Cabo San Juan at the Calabazo entrance, so you’ll have to do that right upon arrival in Cabo San Juan. On day 4 you will then leave the park via the Zaino exit.

Look here for more information about the hiking trails and  lodging in and around Tayrona National Park.

Continue reading our Tayrona National Park Travel Guide for information about beaches and more. Follow the link for an article about our trip along the North coast which we made from Barranquilla to Santa Marta.

Climate, busy periods and closing dates

What is the best travel time for Tayrona National Park? What is the climate like, what are the busy periods and when is the park closed? Here you can find more information and tips.

• Most important in your planning: check the park’s closure dates. 3 Times a year Tayrona is closed so that the indigenous groups can perform spiritual rituals and the ecosystem can recover. The closure dates for 2025 are: Feb. 1 to Feb. 15, June 1 to June 15 and Oct. 19 to Nov. 2
• Tayrona has a hot and humid climate, with an average temperature of 28 degrees Celcius. A humidity of 80% is quite normal in Tayrona! When we did the hike, the humidity was 79% and we noticed it! We were soaked and the humidity was hitting us hard.

• Because of the heat and crowds, it’s best to get to the park early. Moreover, there is a limited number of visitors allowed per day and you can’t enter after noon.
• Tayrona is very popular with Colombians and during school vacations, weekends and puentes (long weekends around Colombian holidays) can be very busy. Semana Santa (Easter week) and December/January are particularly busy. If you can, avoid these periods and if you can’t, at least arrive as early as possible. The busiest beach is at Cabo San Juan.
• You have the best chance of good weather outside the rainy season. The rainy season is May-June and September through November. Still, you can visit Tayrona National Park even during the rainy season. The showers are usually temporary. The downside is that the trails can be muddy in the rainy season.

• We ourselves went to Tayrona during the rainy season (late September). During our 3-day stay near Tayrona National Park, it rained (long and hard) every afternoon from about 3-4 o’clock. That’s why we started the hike early, so we could get back to the hotel before the showers in the afternoon. Also, in 3 days the power went off 3 times in the evening. In our accommodation Kantawa Eco Spa hotel they quickly switched to a generator, so luckily we were not bothered by this.