Don’t do what I did — Tayrona Park Edition

And I did what everyone else told me to do.

After rescheduling our plans to visit the famous national park several days in a row due to bad weather, the time had finally come. The weather forecast (although it hasn’t proven very predictable) showed blue skies and sun all day. Now’s our chance.

We are staying about 40 minutes down the main highway along the coast at a small little “boutique” hostel called The Fort, which is easily the nicest hostel I’ve stayed at — but more on that later. The real reason you’ve clicked on this post is to find out what NOT to do when visiting Tayrona National Park. So let’s get into it.

If you scroll down, you’ll see I’ve attached a map of the park. There are two entrances: El Zaino (the main entrance) and Calabazo (the less frequented and quieter entrance). It’s about ten minutes by bus from El Zaino to Calabazo. We followed the advice of several other travelers we’d spoken to the days prior and opted for the Calabazo entrance. There were only two girls in line in front of us. Five minutes and we were on our way.

At the entrance — which was not at all official like I expected it would be, but was just a little table with a park official and a map — we paid a steep 20,000 COP (approximately $5 USD) for a 15-minute moto taxi ride up a hilly road to the point where the park actually begins. At a second check point just after the one where we paid for the moto taxis, we paid the park entrance which was 82,000 COP ($20 USD) for foreigners and the mandatory “health insurance” which was 12,000 COP ($3 USD). I put quotes around health insurance because it’s just another way for them to make money. I should’ve tested it out and injured myself to see if it’s actually real.

So far so good. No lines, no crowds, all is well at the Calabazo entrance. Where we entered the park was not the issue. The mistakes happened once we dismounted the motorcycles and started walking.

Mistake #1

We took an hour-long detour because we missed the very visible signs marked “Playa Brava” and “Cabo San Juan.” How we missed it, I do not know. We ended up on some indigenous land which we realized after passing a few little fincas and then crossing paths with a man holding a machete who kindly informed us we were going the wrong way. Whoops. We turned around and headed back the direction we came from. We encountered another man from one of the tribes who told us to go back until we see the big signs marked “Playa Brava” and “Cabo San Juan.” Right, of course. So off we go and thirty minutes later, sure enough, there they are, right in plain sight.

The very obvious signs that we missed

Mistake #2

Once we arrived at the split off point where the trail branches off to the left for Playa Brava and to the right for Cabo San Juan, we were faced with a decision. Ambitious and eager to see the beach everyone had raved about, we kept left and began the 2 hour hike to Playa Brava. Wrong. At this point it was almost 11 o’clock and we were told the hike takes about 2 hours each way there and back, or 4 hours in total, which turned out to be spot on. 4 hours took us to 3 o’clock, and the park closes at 5 p.m. every day for day visitors.  What happens at 5, I don’t know. There is no real way for them to keep track of who has left and who hasn’t, but we didn’t want to risk getting stuck hiking in the dark (sunset is at 6:30).

So, once we reached the split off point for Playa Brava and Cabo San Juan, we turned back for the Calabazo entrance with our heads down. Our original — and perhaps overly ambitious — plan was to do a big loop starting at Calabazo, hiking out and back to Playa Brava, and then continuing to the more touristy beaches of Cabo San Juan, La Piscina, Playa Castilletes, and Playa Arrecifes before popping out at the El Zaino entrance, but we just didn’t have enough time. Had we started hiking right at 8:00 when the park opens and not taken that hour-long detour I think it would’ve been doable. Rushed, but doable. For this reason, I would strongly recommend that if you only have the day in the park to skip Playa Brava, which was underwhelming anyways, and to go straight to Cabo San Juan and the other beaches. You can still enter at Calabazo, just make sure to follow the signs for Cabo San Juan. Even if you are efficient and complete the big loop we attempted, you’ll be racing against the clock the entire time con la lengua fuera (which translates to “with your tongue hanging out”), and you won’t have much time to actually enjoy the beaches.

On the other hand, if you’re spending the night in the park (a popular choice because there is just so much ground to cover and only so many hours in the day), the big loop is totally manageable. There are a few different campsites in the park where you can rent a hammock for the night, which is what we wanted to do that from the start, but because neither one of us is vaccinated for yellow fever (recommended but not required for entry), we decided against it. The risk of contracting yellow fever at Tayrona is quite low, but we thought better to play it safe.

Very sweaty sweaty

Playa Brava itself is really nothing special. It is very secluded, which might be a draw for some people, but you can’t swim because of strong currents and the sand is full of litter (which doesn’t make much since with so few visitors). The out and back hike to Playa Brava takes you down a winding trail through the jungle. We heard howler monkeys and saw all sorts of insects, including some beautiful blue butterflies and several not quite as attractive jet black millipedes. The trail is gentle at first, with rolling hills and flat stretches through lush greenery. The deeper you go into the jungle, the steeper the terrain gets. It’s mostly downhill on the way to Playa Brava, which means the way back has some pretty steep uphill bits. Prepare for heat and humidity. I wore long pants to protect my legs from mosquitoes, but to be honest the trail wasn’t as buggy as I was expecting it to be. I got more bites at the hostel than at the park.

Trail to Playa Brava

Our first look at the coast (and not so turquoise water) by Playa Brava

Pro tip

If you enter the park after 1/1:30 p.m. from the Calabazo entrance, the guards will have already gone home for the day, and you can get in for free. You might just have to pay to moto taxi guys for a ride to the start of the park. Of course, it only makes sense to do this if you are spending the night, otherwise you won’t have enough time. A girl at my hostel told me this right after I got back from the park, but if I’d known before I might have done it this way! I would also suggest buying food/drinks outside the park to avoid overpaying inside. You’ll find lots of little restaurants and shops by both the Calabazo and Zaino entrances.

Long story short, don’t do Tayrona the way I did. I left feeling a bit disappointed, especially because I followed the advice of several other travelers, but hopefully this post can help at least one person. I’ll be back again soon to see the park’s turquoise water and white sand jewels.

Playa Brava, the beach everyone told me was so beautiful…

* I met two guys at my hostel a few days after I wrote this and they insisted I went to the wrong side of Playa Brava. They went to the stretch of beach on the other side of the land sticking out at the far left of the photo above. Apparently there is a resort over there and the beach is nice. They were very passionate about their Playa Brava experience and wanted me to include that info in my post😅. But the average person who is not staying at the resort has no way of knowing to go there instead of following the signs that say public beach access.