KIRAN GOES PLACES
1. There are two entrances, and they matter
Tayrona is a huge park, and how you enter completely shapes your experience. The main entrance, El Zaino, is the most popular and easiest to get to, and it's where you start the classic jungle-meets-beach trail towards Cabo San Juan, the most iconic and beautiful spot in the park. The other entrance, Calabazo, is quieter and more rugged, and you can actually do a looped trail entering one and exiting the other. We didn't know this going in, so ended up doing an out and back trail instead. One useful tip either way, you can store your big bags outside the park at shops near the entrance and pick them up the next day.
El Zaino, the main entrance and start of the classic trail to Cabo San Juan.
2. You need your actual passport
This catches a lot of people out. You need your real passport to enter, not a photo, not a photocopy. They register every visitor at the gate before you start the hike, so don't be the person who gets all the way there sweating in the sun and realises it's sitting back at the hotel.
Your actual passport, not a photo of it.
3. You can stay overnight, and you should
If you only visit as a day trip, you'll spend most of your time hiking in and out, constantly checking your watch instead of relaxing, since the park opens and closes at set times. Staying overnight means you can take it slow, catch sunset on the beach, and wake up to sunrise over the Caribbean. There are a few options, tents, basic cabañas, or the famous hammocks at Cabo San Juan.
4. The hammocks are windy and a genuine bucket list item
The hammocks at the Cabo San Juan viewpoint sit on a little hill between two beaches, which means it's properly breezy at night, at least there's no bugs. You'll hear waves crashing from both sides, the roof flapping, hammocks creaking in unison, and you'll probably wake up half tangled in your blanket listening to twenty strangers snore right next to you. Not exactly a peaceful sleep, but easily one of the most unique places you'll ever wake up.
Windy, creaky, and one of the most unique places you'll ever wake up.
5. It gets hot, so pack light
The walk isn't hard, but the humidity hits fast. You're hiking through dense rainforest and it feels like a sauna by 10am. Bring water, sunscreen and insect repellent, and don't overpack, you'll be carrying it the whole way.
Dense rainforest, humid by 10am, worth packing as light as you can.
6. Bring cash
We got told there are no ATMs inside and no way to use cards at all, which isn't quite true, there are a few places you can pay by card, but to be safe, bring cash anyway. Everything inside is overpriced, so be prepared for that too, or hike everything in yourself if you're feeling strong.
7. Try the famous Tayrona bread
About halfway through the trail you'll come across a small hut in the jungle with a guy selling warm, slightly sweet bread. No one really knows why it's famous, and somehow it tastes like heaven after two hours of sweaty hiking. Everyone who's been to Tayrona talks about the bread.
Nobody knows why it's famous. It just is.
8. Respect the swim zones
Not every beach in Tayrona is safe for swimming, and the currents can be seriously dangerous. More than a hundred people have drowned in these waters, and the signage doesn't hold back about it. The safe spots, like La Piscina and Cabo San Juan, are calm and perfect for cooling off after a walk. Stick to those, and avoid any beach with red flags or warning signs, however tempting they look.
More than a hundred people have drowned in these waters. Don't become part of the statistic.
9. The park closes for a month every year
Usually in February, Tayrona closes completely. Local indigenous groups, including the Kogi people, use that time for spiritual cleansing of the land, giving nature a break from tourism. It's part of what keeps the park so special, so if you're visiting early in the year, double check the dates before you plan around it.
10. Book in advance
You can turn up on the day, but it's become popular enough now that the best hammocks are usually taken by the time you arrive, leaving you with the ground hammocks or the tents. If you want the famous viewpoint, which you should, there's a WhatsApp number that gets passed around travellers where you can check availability and pay ahead of time. I've no affiliation with whoever runs it, but it's how we booked ours, and it meant we weren't racing the clock when we got there.
Tayrona is genuinely one of the most stunning parks I've been to anywhere, but it rewards a bit of preparation. Get the entrance right, bring your passport and some cash, book the hammock ahead, and respect the water, and it's about as good as a jungle-meets-beach trip gets.