How to get from Barranquilla to Tayrona National Park

Why visit Tayrona?

Tayrona National Park is a magical paradise on Colombia’s north coast. With lush jungles and breathtaking beaches, it is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Its beauty is unparalleled in Colombia, some would say even in Latin America.

Despite the increasing number of tourists visiting Tayrona, many areas remain off-limits, allowing the park to maintain its untouched glory. But don’t worry, there’s still a huge part of it you can explore while hiking, diving, snorkelling and camping. Tayrona National Park is an adventurer’s dream!

Access points

Tayrona National Park spans 225 km² and has many access points. The most popular are:

• El Zaino – the main entrance with the most facilities
• Calabazo – a quieter, more scenic hiking route into the park

Both are easily accessible from Santa Marta, with buses departing frequently from the city centre. You can also reach the park from Barranquilla, Palomino, or Cartagena.

If you want to stay close to nature, consider skipping Santa Marta and spending the night in one of the most unique places to stay in Colombia, right by Tayrona National Park. It’s an experience you won’t forget.

When is Tayrona National Park closed?

Tayrona National Park closes three times a year to give the environment time to rest and recover.

These closures are requested by the Indigenous communities who live in and protect the area. During this time, they carry out physical and spiritual restoration practices to cleanse the territory, restore balance, and allow nature and wildlife to regenerate.

Tayrona has followed the same closure schedule for several years:

• 1-15 February
• 1-15 June
• 19 October – 2 November

During these dates, the park is completely closed to visitors. If you’re planning a trip, make sure it doesn’t fall within these periods.

While the schedule is usually consistent, the dates can change slightly from year to year. It’s always best to check out Parque Tayrona’s website for the latest information.

Entrance into Tayrona

For foreign visitors, the entrance fee is 87,000 COP ($23.50) during high season and 74,000 COP ($19.90) during low season. You can pay with cash or card, but card payments are only accepted at the El Zaino and Calabazo entrances. All other entrances require cash only.

In addition to the entrance fee, there’s a mandatory insurance charge of 6,000 COP ($1.60) per person, per day. This must be paid in cash at the entrance.

High season runs from:

• 15 June – 15 July
• 15 December – 30 January
• Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday
• All Colombian long weekends with public holidays

Getting around inside Tayrona

Once inside the park, getting around is mainly by walking, but horse riding and a small bus are available at the El Zaino entrance. We recommend taking the bus because it skips 30 minutes of walking along a road, and it takes you straight to the start of the trail – that’s where the fun begins.

The bus from El Zaino to the Cañaveral area, a 10-minute ride, will cost 5,000 COP ($1.40).

Looking for more info about Tayrona National Park and the different entrances? Check out this route post from Santa Marta to Tayrona, where we go into more detail.

There are 3 ways to travel the 112 kilometre (70 miles) distance from Barranquilla to Tayrona. You can choose between the bus, minivan and private transport. The journey takes 3 hours to 3 hours 55 minutes and the quickest way is by minivan. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by minivan with tickets starting at 58,000 COP ($15.70).

A simple and budget-friendly way to go from Barranquilla to Tayrona is to take any bus to the Guajira region (Palomino and Riohacha) and ask the driver to drop you off at the park entrance in El Zaino.

You can book tickets online on BookAway to Palomino or Riohacha, but we recommend asking the bus driver in advance to make sure that they will stop at the park entrance.

Alternative: Indirect bus via Santa Marta

If your bus doesn’t stop at the Tayrona park entrance, you can buy a ticket to Santa Marta instead. From there, you’ll find frequent buses heading to Palomino or Guajira.

Here’s some more information on getting the bus from Barranquilla to Santa Marta and Santa Marta to Tayrona.

You won’t find any direct minivans from Barranquilla to Tayrona. Instead, you’ll need to break up the journey. First, travel from Barranquilla to Santa Marta by minivan, then continue to the park by bus or shared minivan.

The total cost is around 58,000 COP ($15.70), and the full trip takes about 3 hours to 3 hours 10 minutes.

If you travel by minivan from Barranquilla to Tayrona, you have an option to spend a night in Santa Marta and head to the park early the next morning. The journey takes several hours, so it’s a good chance to rest up before hitting the beaches and jungle trails of Tayrona.

A minivan ride from Barranquilla to Santa Marta costs around 48,000 COP ($13.10). The minivan journey takes about 2h - 2h 10m, depending on traffic.

What we like about this option is that some minivan companies offer free hotel pickup and drop-off. This saves you the hassle and extra cost of finding your way to and from bus stations.

The bus is the most affordable way to reach Tayrona National Park from Santa Marta. Buses depart from Tayrona Park Bus Station, which you’ll find near the public market in Santa Marta.

Fares start from 10,000 COP ($2.70), and the journey takes about 1h.

If you decide to stay at least a night in Santa Marta before moving on to the national park, Tayrona Tour Colombia offers a shared minivan service that picks you up directly from your hotel. Minivan fares start from 40,000 COP ($10.80).

A private transfer is a convenient option when travelling in a group from Barranquilla to Tayrona.

Rates start from 529,000 COP ($145) for a 3-seater private transfer. Divide the cost, and that’s about 176,000 COP ($47.50) per person. Travel time is around 3 hours.

Taking a private transfer means skipping the bumpy bus rides and busy terminals. It’s a more relaxed way to get to Tayrona, though you might miss a bit of the adventure that comes with local travel. Still, it’s a great choice for families travelling with kids, older travellers, or anyone looking for a smoother journey.

If you’re not heading straight to Tayrona, another option is to book a private transfer from Barranquilla to Santa Marta through BookAway.

Once you’re in Santa Marta, make the most of your time with a 10-hour Cape San Juan del Guia Tour in Tayrona Park, available on GetYourGuide. You’ll get picked up right from your hotel, and the tour includes transport, your park entrance ticket, and a local guide to show you around.