How to get from Santa Marta 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 Tayrona

Once inside the park, getting around is mainly done on foot. The trails are the best way to experience the natural beauty, and many areas are only accessible by walking. Horse riding is possible on some sections.

If you’re entering through El Zaino, there’s a small shuttle bus that saves you the first 5 km stretch of road. We recommend taking it, as it drops you off right at Cañaveral, the main starting point for most of the park’s hiking trails.

The ride from El Zaino to Cañaveral takes about 10 minutes and costs 5,000 COP ($1.40).

Starting your Tayrona National Park trip from Santa Marta

Thanks to its close location, most travellers get to Tayrona National Park by hopping on a local bus from Santa Marta. If you’re coming from further away, like Barranquilla or Cartagena, you can also travel straight to Tayrona by private transfer or long-distance bus.

From Santa Marta, you can reach Tayrona National Park through four different access points:

• El Zaino
• Calabazo
• Palangana
• Bahia Concha

All of them are accessible by bus, taxi, or private transport, but the most popular and practical options are El Zaino and Calabazo.

Most journeys start from the Mercado area in Santa Marta and will take between 40 and 80 minutes to reach an entrance at Tayrona.

It’s also possible to get from Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park by boat. This boat leaves Taganga, a small town 7 km from Santa Marta.

The advantage of the boat is that it stops at famous beaches like Playa Cristal, Cinto and Chengue on the way. It’s a beautiful landscape to enjoy when the waters are calm. However, the Caribbean Ocean can be quite rough. When the weather turns bad, it’s better to avoid the journey by boat.

There are 4 ways to travel the 16 kilometre (10 miles) distance from Santa Marta to Tayrona. You can choose between the bus, shared minivan, private transfer and boat. The journey takes 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes and the quickest way is by bus. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by bus with tickets starting at 6,000 COP ($1.60).

Three out of the four entrances to the park can be found along the same bus route (Santa Marta to Palomino Road) – El Zaino, Palangana and Calabazo.

The buses, run by Cootransoriente Tayrona, leave frequently and are a budget-friendly option from Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park. They depart from Tayrona Park Bus Station near the public market.

If you want to arrive in the Bahia Concha area, then the bus can be more challenging because you’re required to change buses, and the road conditions are poor.

Below are the journey costs and duration for the park entrances that can be accessed by bus from Santa Marta:

El Zaino is Tayrona National Park’s most popular entrance. From the main gate, it’s a 5 km walk or a short shuttle ride to the start of the hiking trail. If you take the shuttle (which we highly recommend), you’ll save time and energy for the main hike.

The trail is about 8 km through the jungle, passing a series of beautiful beaches on the way to Cabo San Juan. It usually takes around 2 to 2.5 hours, depending on your pace.

To get to El Zaino by public transport, take a Cootransoriente Tayrona bus heading towards Palomino. Buses run daily from around 04:30 to 18:00, departing every 20 minutes. They leave from the Cootransoriente Bus Stop behind Santa Marta’s public market.

For the most accurate departure times, you can check the company’s website or Facebook page.

Calabazo is a small entry point along the road from Santa Marta toward Palomino, located just before El Zaino. It’s a quieter alternative to the main gate, best for hikers who want to explore the park’s less-visited trails and beaches. From here, you can reach paths leading to Playa Brava, La Piscina, and Arrecife.

To get here by public transport, take the same Cootransoriente Tayrona bus that goes to Palomino. Ask the driver to drop you off at the Calabazo entrance.

One of the trails also passes by El Pueblito, an ancient Indigenous site once open to visitors. You can still access the route, but travellers are no longer allowed to enter the village of El Pueblito, out of respect for the local community. Even so, you can still enjoy the hike for its natural scenery and viewpoints without approaching the settlement.

The Palangana entrance is one of the lesser-used ways into Tayrona National Park, mainly because it’s not directly served by public transport. It gives access to some of the park’s most stunning but remote beaches, including Neguanje, Playa Cristal, Playa Cinto and Playa Siete Olas.

Just note that there’s no shuttle service from the entrance, so getting around takes a bit of planning.

• Take the Cootransoriente Tayrona bus from Santa Marta and ask to be dropped off at the Palangana turnoff on the main road.
• Ride a motor taxi for about 5 km to the park entrance. You might find a driver nearby, but it’s not guaranteed. It’s best to arrange one in advance from Santa Marta.
• From Palangana entrance, you’ll need private transport or a tour to continue. Some beaches are accessible by road, while others require a boat or longer hike.

Unless you’re travelling with your own vehicle, joining a guided tour is the easiest way to explore this part of the park.

Alternative: Join a Tayrona Park group tour via Palangana entrance

One great option is the Tayrona Park Group Tour with GetYourGuide, which includes pickup and drop-off from your accommodation in Santa Marta, Taganga or Rodadero.

The tour covers several highlights in one day, including scenic viewpoints, swimming spots and a boat trip to Playa Cristal. Everything is organised for you, so you can skip the logistics and just enjoy the day.

Price starts from 485,000 COP ($130) per person and the tour lasts around 11 hours.

Bahía Concha is the closest Tayrona National Park beach to Santa Marta, located about 11 km away by road. The route isn’t direct, so you’ll need to transfer in the Bastidas or Barrio Chimila area.

To get there, head to Carrera 5  in downtown Santa Marta and catch a local bus going to Bastidas. Bus ticket prices start from 2,000 COP ($0.50). Ask the driver to drop you off near Barrio Chimila, as close as possible to the point where shared cars or 4x4s leave for Bahía Concha.

This final ride costs around 15,000 COP ($4.10) one way. Some travellers arrange a round trip with the driver, agreeing on a set return time.

You can also take a mototaxi for a cheaper fare, but we wouldn’t recommend it because of the bumpy road ahead.

A more convenient option than the bus is booking a shared transfer from your hotel in Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park. It saves you the hassle of making your way to the Mercado area to catch the public bus.

Tayrona Tour Colombia operates on this route.

It picks you up from an agreed spot in Santa Marta’s city centre and even takes you 5 km inside the park, dropping you near Cañaveral. Tickets for the shared transfer cost 40,000 COP ($10.80) and can be booked directly through the Tayrona Tour Colombia website.

Shared Minivan options from Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park

Taking a boat can be an exciting and quick way to get from Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park’s main beaches, especially if you want to avoid hiking.

That said, it really depends on the weather. When the sea is calm, the boat ride is smooth and scenic. But if it’s windy or stormy, the ocean can get rough, and the trip quickly becomes a far less pleasant experience, as one of our readers shared in the comments below.

If you’re prone to motion sickness, it’s definitely better to take the bus to El Zaino and hike from there.

Boats don’t leave from downtown Santa Marta. They depart from Taganga, a small beach town about 7 km from the city. Getting there requires a short transfer.

If you’re after convenience, we recommend joining a shared boat tour to Tayrona. This takes you from Santa Marta to Taganga and Playa Grande for 170,000 COP ($46).

Travelling on a budget? It’s cheaper to make your own way to Taganga and buy a boat ticket there. We explain how to do that below.

From downtown Santa Marta, head to Carrera 5, where buses marked Taganga pass every few minutes.

A ticket costs 3,000 COP ($0.70) and the ride takes about 20 minutes.

Stay on the bus until the final stop, then walk down to Playa de Taganga. This is where you’ll find boat stands selling tickets to Tayrona.

Several local tour operators sell boat tickets to Tayrona National Park. Boats usually leave between 09:30 and 11:00 in the morning. It’s best to arrive a bit earlier to secure a spot.

The typical travel time is about 45 minutes, but that’s only when the water is calm. On stormy or windy days, the journey can take up to 2.5 hours, and the waves can be intense. In those cases, the bus and hike option is far safer and more comfortable.

Most public boats go from Taganga to Cabo San Juan without any stops, but a few operators may offer tours that include visits to other beaches like Playa Cristal or Playa Cinto. These are usually private or custom tours.

Depending on the route, expect to pay around 63,000 COP ($16.90) – 150,000 COP ($40.50) for a one-way boat trip from Santa Marta to Tayrona. Many operators also offer round-trip deals at a discounted rate, with return pickup from Cabo San Juan in the afternoon.

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

Rates start from 212,000 COP ($58) for a 3-seater private transfer. Divide the cost, and that’s about 71,000 COP ($19.20) per person. Travel time is around 40 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.

If you’re landing at Santa Marta Airport, you can book a private transfer with Agencia Operadora de Viajes on BookAway. The driver will be waiting for you inside the Arrivals Hall, ready to get you on your way.

Taking private transport from Santa Marta to Tayrona gives you more comfort and flexibility. While it’s less of a local travel experience, it’s a great choice if you’re travelling with kids, with older family members, or just don’t want to deal with the logistics of getting into Tayrona Park.

Private Transfer options from Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park