A Complete Guide to Visiting Playa Grande, Santa Marta

On first inspection you may accidentally miss Playa Grande when planning your Colombia travel itinerary. It’s a beautiful hidden beach a short hike away from the small fishing village of Taganga near Santa Marta.

If, by chance, you’ve made your way to Playa Taganga and are now regretting your choices, then don’t worry! Playa Grande is a way better alternative and only a short walk away.

Albeit it’s not the nicest beaches in this area, but it’s by far from being the worst. If you’re looking for a nice day of sunbathing, snorkelling and jet skiing, then Playa Grande could be the place for you!

In this guide, we’ll cover where Playa Grande is, how to get there, is it worth visiting and what there is to do at this beach. 

Table of Contents

1. Where is Playa Grande?
2. How to get to Playa Grande?
   • By taxi
   • By bus
   • The hike from Playa Taganga
3. Is Playa Grande worth visiting?
4. Things to do at Playa Grande
5. Tips for visiting Playa Grande
6. Better beaches near Playa Grande
7. Final thoughts on Playa Grande Colombia

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Where is Playa Grande?

Playa Grande is hidden in a small cove along the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Situated in the north of the country, it neighbours the less inviting Playa Taganga and Taganga fishing village. The closest city to Playa Grande is Santa Marta, which is only a short 15-minute drive away.

This beach is located in the fringes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains – the tallest coastal mountain range in the world! So not only will you be experiencing a beautiful beach with gatorade-blue waters, but you’ll also be getting that mountain vibe. A two-for-one experience!

How to get to Playa Grande?

The first thing you need to do to get to Playa Grande is to get to Taganga village from Santa Marta. Once you’ve reached Taganga, there’s a short hiking trail that takes you around the mountains to Playa Grande.

There are two ways to get to Taganga from Santa Marta, either by taxi or by public bus.

By taxi

This is the method we took to get there. The journey was around 15-minutes and it cost us 7,250 COP ($1.79) each way.  There are two ways you can hail a taxi in Santa Marta:

1. You can hail one of the yellow “publico servicio” taxis that drive around the city. These guys are prolific and you’ll find them everywhere. You won’t have any trouble thumbing one down as the chances are they’ll already be honking their horn at you – their way of asking if you need a ride!
2. There is no Uber in Santa Marta, but there is another app called InDrive! This is what we use to call taxis as it’s convenient for us to have them pick us up right from our door. It’s similar to Uber but instead of a fixed price, you can enter your fare offer and drivers can counter offer you.

By bus

This is the cheapest way to get to Playa Grande. In Santa Marta centre, you have to head to Carrera 5 and wait at one of the bus stops. There’ll be a ton of blue public buses passing this way – the one you need will have the sign ‘Kra 11 Taganga’ on the front. 

Hop on the bus and pay 1,800 COP ($0.44) Monday to Saturday, and 1,849 COP ($0.46) on a Sunday. The bus journey is just 20-minutes to Taganga.

The hike from Taganga to Playa Grande

The hike from Playa Taganga to Playa Grande is an easy one. You can find the trailhead at the north end of Playa Taganga. It’s simple to spot as it’s the only trail heading in the direction of Playa Grande.

Along the route there’s actually a much smaller and quieter beach called Playa Genemaka. It seems to be on indigenous land but as we walked past some guys were ushering us to head down. If you’re looking for a beach with no one on it, no chairs and very little vendors, this could be for you!

The trail itself is simple and easy. After a short climb you’ll just follow the well-worn path towards Playa Grande. At the peak of the path there are some people selling drinks just in case you’re thirsty.

Head past the vendor and start heading down to Playa Grande. As you come down the stairs you’ll reach the welcome sign and get your first view over the beach to your left.

Is Playa Grande worth visiting?

If you’re looking for a quick and easy beach near Santa Marta that still gives paradise vibes, then Playa Grande is for you! Most easy-to-reach beaches in this area are generally not that amazing, we wouldn’t bother spending time there. However, Playa Grande is definitely not a bad beach!

The one downside we felt when we were there was the chairs that are absolutely everywhere. Restaurants and vendors have set up chairs on almost every square inch of the beach which they’re not shy about trying to make you rent one! The thing is, it leaves next to no room for putting down your town and getting a sunbathe in. In addition, all the shaded areas are taken up by chairs, so if you want to escape the sun, you have to pay for it…

But other than this, we had a great morning chilling at Playa Grande and we’re confident you will too!

Things to do at Playa Grande

Despite being a relatively small beach, there is actually a lot to do at Playa Grande!

Snorkeling & Diving

The snorkelling at Playa Grande is actually not too bad! With a coral reef and a ton of marine wildlife, you could pass a couple of hours just watching life underwater.

If you don’t happen to own your own gear, there’s plenty of rental options on Playa Grande – and you’ll know about it! It won’t be long after arriving that you’re bombarded with vendors offering you rental gear for snorkelling. 

Water activities

There are a couple of extra water activities at Playa Grande such as kayaking and jet skiing. They’re easy enough to hire as the owners will be paddling around in the shallows offering the rentals.

We’re not sure how much they charge as we didn’t use one, but kayaking or jet skiing could be a great way to explore around the base of the cliffs!

Hiking

As previously mentioned, there is a short trail to hike over to Playa Grande. This is an easy trail suitable for all skill levels. However, the trail does continue further past the beach.

We’re not sure where they lead to as we didn’t go any further than Playa Grande. However, on the maps it looks like it runs past other beaches; Playa Sisiguaca, Playa Escondida and Playa Rosita. Without knowing what these beaches are like, we can’t recommend them. But if you go, let us know on Instagram what your thoughts are!

Relaxing

Like we said, with all the chairs around it’s difficult to find somewhere to relax on Playa Grande. Although, there are definitely some areas you can utilise! Lay your town down, grab a drink and chill out in the sun.

When you get too hot, crawl into the ocean and bob around until you cool off. What better way to spend a day?

Eat and drink

There are a range of restaurants and bars along Playa Grande, why not stop for lunch and a cocktail?

We could imagine spending an afternoon here, sipping Piña Coladas, eating empanadas and chilling as the world goes by. 

Watch the sunset

With only a short hike back to civilisation, this is one beach you can stay to watch the sunset! Playa Grande faces west, which makes it the perfect place to end the day with a golden hour.

Unfortunately we didn’t stay long enough for sunset, but make sure you bring a head torch or something to find your way back along the trail in the dark!

Tips for visiting Playa Grande

Here are a few of our top tips for visiting Playa Grande:

• BRING CASH – next to nobody will take card payments at Playa Grande, make sure to bring enough cash to cover your time there.
• WATER BOTTLE – on a hot day the hike over can make you a bit parched. In addition, you’ll help lower the use of plastic bottles on Playa Grande.
• SUNCREAM – self-explanatory as you’re heading to a beach, but don’t forget it! Reef safe cream would be ideal.
• STURDY FOOTWEAR – you may be tempted to wear flip flops, but if you’re hiking to Playa Grande we recommend at least trainers.

Better beaches near Playa Grande

Despite Playa Grande being one of the better beaches near Santa Marta, there are better ones! The first two are in Tayrona National Park and are reachable by boat from Playa Taganga. The other one is found on the opposite side to Santa Marta.

Playa Cristal

Playa Cristal is one of the most beautiful, and most popular, beaches in Tayrona National Park. The beach is perfect with white sands, blue waters and coral reefs, making it one of the best day trips from Santa Marta!

Bear in mind, the park limits the amount of people on Playa Cristal to 300 tourists a day. But it’s not the biggest beach so 300 still feels quite a lot when you’re there. Therefore, it’s best to avoid weekends or public holidays!

The easiest way to get there is to take a boat from Playa Taganga. There are plenty of people offering this service and the cost ranges between 80,000 to 100,000 COP ($19.58 – $24.47) for a return. You can book these boats in advance but they seem to be more expensive. Be warned, the seas can be rough, especially in the rainy season, and the ride takes about 45-minutes.

Bahia Concha

Bahia Concha is the second beach on this list in Tayrona National Park. It’s a beautiful curved bay that’s very popular to tourists and locals. And guess what? You can bring your own tent and camp here if you want!

With broad white sands and blue oceans suited for snorkelling, you could spend a full day here relaxing and playing. Just bear in mind there is a 5000 COP ($1.22) for entering the park and restaurants here can be pricey.

To get here, you can either: 

• Take a taxi from Santa Marta for about 60,000 COP ($14.68)
• Use the public bus and moto taxi combination for about 8,000 COP ($1.96)
• Charter a boat from Playa Taganga for around 80,000 ($19.58)

Playa Inca Inca

The final alternative beach is Playa Inca Inca. A bit of an anomaly in this list as it’s not in Tayrona National Park, but this makes it much more accessible!

Playa Inca Inca is a small hidden beach found between Playa El Rodadero and Playa Blancahttps://acrosseveryborder.com/playa-blanca-santa-marta/, to the west of Santa Marta. You can reach it by taking a taxi or bus from Santa Marta to Rodadero and then hiking about 45-minutes through the mountains.

When we visited Playa Inca Inca, we thought we had come across some hidden paradise! Even on a Saturday, the beach was fairly empty, there was hardly anyone in the ocean and barely any vendors bothering you. They have these beautiful grass umbrellas you can rent to escape the sun as well.

We published a full guide on Playa Inca Inca and how to get there, to check it out to plan your trip!

Final thoughts on Playa Grande Colombia

Playa Grande is a great alternative to the subpar beaches of Playa Taganga, Playa El Rodadero or Santa Marta Beach. With its quick accessibility by a short hike instead of taking a boat, this beach is perfect for everyone.

We will definitely head back to Playa Grande one day. We could see ourselves back in the water snorkelling and enjoying a nice kayak adventure around the base of the mountains. 

If you’re looking to find even more better beaches in the area, check out our Best Beaches in Santa Marta guide!