Practical information about Tayrona National Park

Home 9 Travel Guide-Tayrona-National-Park 9 Practical information about Tayrona National Park
Here you will find essential and practical information for your trip to Tayrona National Park. What about food and drink? Can you get cash at an ATM? Is there wifi? Are there any mandatory vaccinations and what should I bring with me to Tayrona National Park? Can I do the hike with my small children? You can find all this info and more here.
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Alcohol
You are not allowed to bring alcohol into the park. It is for sale in restaurants, though. Your bag may be checked at the entrance
Packing List
We recommend that you bring as little as possible. Leave your large backpack at the hostel and only bring a small backpack if you are going to spend the night in the park. We saw backpackers hiking with big backpacks and they looked pretty jaded. With the high humidity, you want to carry as little as possible anyway.

Bring:

  • Enough water and possibly a snack for the first part of the trail, from El Zaino to Arrecifes. At Arrecifes you can buy more water and also have lunch at the restaurant. Along the way (near Arrecifes) there are also vendors of coco frio (coconut water) and ice creams. Tip: Between Cabo San Juan and Playa Brava there are no vendors, so make sure you have plenty of water for that stretch.
  • Anti mosquito spray
  • Sunscreen
  • Cap/hat
  • Good hike shoes, it can be slippery on the rocks
  • Airy clothing
  • Raincoat or poncho in rainy season
  • Towel
  • Cash money, ATM not always working
  • Change for ice cream etc.
  • Copy of passport
  • Yellow fever vaccination proof: we were not asked about this, by the way
  • Flashlight if you stay overnight
  • Locks for lockers if you stay overnight at camp sites
Food and drink
Near Arrecifes, there are vendors selling ice creams and coco frio (coconut water). At Arrecifes, Cabo San Juan and Playa Brava you can buy more water and eat at the restaurant. A little past Playa Arrecifes is a bakery (Bera) where you can also buy chocolate caliente. Between Cabo San Juan and Playa Brava, there are no vendors. Food and drink in the park is expensive by Colombian standards. Expect to pay around COP20,000-50,000 for lunch/dinner and COP 7,500-10,000 for breakfast. For a 1.5-liter bottle of water you pay about COP7,000 and for a beer COP6,000
Yellow fever vaccination
A yellow fever vaccination is not mandatory, but is recommended for Colombia. Officially, you have to be able to show your vaccination booklet at the entrance, but we didn’t ask for it. Here you can read more about vaccinations and medical care in Colombia.
Malaria tablets
Did not take. Many travelers take an emergency supply of malaria tablets with them so that they can take it at the time of symptoms and not have to swallow unnecessarily when there are no symptoms. Here read more about malaria tablets and medical care in Colombia.
Going to Tayrona with small children?
We got talking to a family with 2 small children ages 3 and 4. They had stayed overnight outside the park and done the hike from Zaino to Cabo San Juan del Guía. They gave us the following feedback about the hike with the kids:
– It is a tough hike with the kids, due to the hot weather and high humidity
– The hotel with pool was wonderful for the kids after this hike!”
Pins
There is no ATM machine inside or outside Tayrona National Park. You can pay your entrance ticket with your debit card at the entrances, but the ATM machine does not always work, so it is convenient to bring cash. Anyway, payment for the shuttle bus, ice creams, soft drinks etc is cash, so we recommend bringing plenty of cash.
Wifi
There is usually (limited) wifi at campsites in Tayrona National Park. If there is wifi, it is often only in the common areas. At the hotels, there is usually a better Internet connection.