Is Playa Taganga Worth Visiting? – An Ultimate Guide!
If you’re searching for a beautiful beach to hang out in the sun and relax, Playa Taganga is not for you. We decided to visit this beach one morning, but quickly realised that we shouldn’t spend too much time here.
However, in this guide we will cover everything you need to know about Playa Taganga. We’ll also talk about why we think you should avoid it and which beaches you should spend time at instead.
Table of Contents
- About Playa Taganga
- How to get to Playa Taganga
- Why we think you should avoid Playa Taganga
- Which beaches should you visit instead?
- Other things to do near Playa Taganga
- Final thoughts on Playa Taganga
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About Playa Taganga
Playa Taganga (aka. Taganga Beach) is found about a 15-minute drive away from Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s the main beach of the town of Taganga, which is a small fishing village well known for its seafood.
Being in northern Colombia (actually it’s almost at the most northern tip of South America) the weather here can be great! Especially outside of the rain season, between December to March and July to August. Despite this, we would not suggest coming to Playa Taganga for a day trip as there are other, better beaches we’ll recommend instead.
It is, however, a popular town for scuba diving, there are dive shops all over. If you have your PADI, want to get your PADI certificate or enjoy a good snorkel, then this beachside town could be for you! But we highly doubt that the actual diving is done near Playa Taganga itself.
How to get to Playa Taganga
From Cartagena
If you’re in Cartagena, the biggest town in northern Colombia, then you’re going to need to take a bus to Santa Marta. The bus will pick you up in Cartagena at the Terminal de Transportes and will drop you in the centre of Santa Marta. In total, the journey time should be roughly 4.5 hours and you can book the bus here – for the cost of about $13 each way.
From Santa Marta
From Santa Marta there are public buses that run regularly from town to Taganga. To catch the bus, you need to head to Santa Marta centre and walk to Carrera 5. Many buses run down this road but you’re looking for one with a ‘Kra 11 Taganga’ sign on the front. Bus tickets will set you back 1,800 COP ($0.44) from Monday to Saturday and a whopping 1,859 COP ($0.46) on Sundays and holidays. The entire bus journey takes less than 20-minutes to reach Taganga.
Alternatively you can take a taxi to Taganga, which is what we did! You have two options, you can either hail a yellow cab or you can use the app ‘InDrive’. Both methods probably cost about the same but we like to use InDrive, that way we can call a taxi straight to our door. The taxi cost us 7,250 COP ($1.78) and took just 15-minutes to get there.
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Why we think you should avoid Playa Taganga
Alrighty, let’s dive into the juicy bit! Honestly, the straight forward answer is that Playa Taganga just isn’t a very nice beach.
As Taganga is a fishing village, 90% of space on the beach is actually taken up by boats. This just leaves a very small area of sand on the south end for people to use recreationally. Also, the beach itself isn’t the cleanest. The sand seems to have mixed with a lot of exhaust fumes from the boat, making it a strange yellow-black colour.
This section is pushed to the edge of the beach and it backs onto the main road leading to Santa Marta. So you constantly have cars driving overhead.
A result of all the boat activity, as you can imagine, is that the water isn’t the cleanest. It’s far from the worst we’ve ever seen during our travels, but it’s not overly inviting either. We’re not sure if there’s snorkelling close-by to the beach itself, but we would highly doubt it!
Finally, there are a lot of peddlers along the beach, and the road parallel, constantly trying to sell you things. Again, it’s not the worst we’ve ever seen, but it can be a bit tedious when you’re just trying to head for lunch. However, the sellers do seem to take no for an answer – which is one thing we’ve loved about Colombia compared to Asia!
Which beaches should you visit instead?
Enough of the negativity! Luckily for you guys, there are multiple beaches nearby that are absolutely stunning. One of them isn’t even too far away! The following beaches are all accessible from Playa Taganga, one way or another.
Playa Grande
Playa Grande is the easiest beach to get to from Playa Taganga. It’s much more along the lines of your typical beach paradise, but it’s also not the most beautiful on this list.
There are two ways to get there. The first is there’s a short hike across the hills which takes less than 25-minutes. Alternatively, you can pay for a taxi-boat from Playa Taganga for 10,000 COP ($2.46) for a return trip. We walked across with no issues – it’s an easy little hike!
The thing with Playa Grande is that there is beautiful white sand and there is crystal blue water, but the shopkeepers and restaurant owners have covered it with chairs and tents. This doesn’t leave too much space for actually laying in the sun and sunbathing.
However, with kayaking options, snorkelling options and much more, we 100% agree that Playa Grande is way better than Playa Taganga.
We published a full guide to Playa Grande – you should check it out!
Playa Cristal
Embark on a journey to Playa Cristal, an exquisite gem nestled within the wonders of Tayrona National Park. Renowned for its unparalleled beauty, this beach boasts pristine white sands, azure waters, and vibrant coral reefs, making it a quintessential day trip from Santa Marta.
It’s important to note that Playa Cristal has a daily visitor limit of 300 people, adding a touch of exclusivity to your seaside experience. While the number may seem substantial, this medium-size beach fills up quickly, making it feel busier than it is. To relish the tranquility, it’s advisable to steer clear of weekends and public holidays.
For a seamless journey, opt for a boat ride from Playa Taganga. Numerous providers offer this service, with return fares ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 COP ($19.58 – $24.47). While pre-booking is an option, keep in mind that it might incur a higher cost. Be ready for a 45-minute ride, especially if you plan your visit during the rainy season when the seas can be a bit turbulent.
Bahia Conchia
The second beach from Tayrona National Park on this list is Bahia Concha! This picturesque curved bay is a beloved destination for both tourists and locals alike. What’s even more exciting? You have the option to bring your own tent and camp right here on it’s stunning shoreline!
Immerse yourself in the beauty of broad white sands and crystal blue waters, perfect for a day of relaxation and play. Keep in mind that there is a modest entrance fee to the national park of 5,000 COP ($1.22), and while the restaurants here may lean towards the pricey side, the experience is absolutely worth it.
To reach this tropical paradise, you have a few options:
- Taxi Excursion: Take a taxi from Santa Marta, enjoying the scenic route for approximately 60,000 COP ($14.68).
- Public Transport Adventure: Opt for the combination of a public bus and moto taxi, an affordable journey costing around 8,000 COP ($1.96) each way.
- Seaside Escape: For a more adventurous route, charter a boat from Playa Taganga at an estimated cost of 80,000 COP ($19.58).
Whichever path you choose, Bahia Concha awaits with open arms, promising a day filled with sun, sea, and unforgettable memories!
Other things to do near Playa Taganga
After everything we’ve mentioned, if you’re not too bothered about heading to Playa Taganga, there are some other cool beaches in and around Santa Marta!
Playa El Rodadero
Playa El Rodadero is the main tourist beach near Santa Marta. It’s about a 15-minute drive in the opposite direction to Taganga.
It again isn’t the nicest looking beach, but it’s still better than Playa Taganga, lol. Like Playa Grande, there are a lot of chairs and tents here. However, they are way more spread out as the beach is HUGE.
At Playa El Rodadero there are water activities like jet skiing, banana boats and kayaks, as well as a multitude of restaurant options. The water looked inviting and a lot of people were enjoying taking a dip in the ocean while we were there!
We published a full guide to visiting Playa El Rodadero – check it out!
Playa Blanca
Playa Blanca is another incredibly popular beach accessible from Playa Rodadero. It’s a well hidden beach among the cliffs of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Originally we thought you could hike here. On maps.me it showed a trail, so we followed it. Unfortunately it just spat us out at a cliff edge – a great view, but no access to the beach. So we ended up having to backpedal and take a boat taxi anyway!
All of this to say you can only get there by boat! The boat taxis run from Rodarero to Playa Blanca regularly, but we’re unsure of the cost because both times we used one, they didn’t ask us for money…
Playa Blanca has a ton of activities, including an aquarium nearby (which we do not recommend, captive dolphins, enough said.) and a zip-line (which we do recommend!).
It does get busy here on the weekends, so if you’re looking for peace a quiet, then a weekday would be more preferable. We wrote a full guide to Playa Blanca so check it out!
Playa Inca Inca
We think that Playa Inca Inca is such a hidden gem in Santa Marta. Usually, people head to Playa Grande or Playa Blanca for their paradise beach fix, but Playa Inca Inca is where it’s at!
It’s a bit of a mission to get here, especially if it’s a scorcher of a day like it was when we went. You need to take the trail up and over the mountains to reach Playa Inca Inca – the same trail that was meant to head to Playa Blanca. It took us just under 45-minutes to hike here.
But the effort is worth it. It seems that, even on a Saturday like when we were there, people seem to miss Playa Inca Inca. It’s very quiet, there’s a lot of space and the sea isn’t crowded. They have beautiful wooden umbrellas to shade you from the sun, a breath of fresh air from the ugly tents on most beaches in Colombia.
If you’re looking for a relaxing day of sun bathing and casual swimming near Santa Marta, this is the beach you need to go to. We published a full guide to Playa Inca Inca, so you can plan your day accordingly!
Tayrona National Park
Tayrona National Park is another special place. It’s a short 1-hour drive from Santa Marta and you can reach it either via taxi (~100,000 COP ($24.56)) or by taking the public bus (8000 COP ($1.97)).
The park itself is an experience of its own. You could have the opportunity to see monkeys, snakes, toucans and if you’re really lucky, sloths and jaguars!
Besides Playa Cristal and Bahia Concha, there are plenty of beaches in Tayrona, although only a couple are swimmable:
- Playa Cañaveral – the first beach you’ll reach if you enter the park through the Zaino entrance. It’s beautiful with piles of rocks and amazing sand, but swimming is not allowed due to strong currents.
- Playa Arrecifes – the second beach along the trail. Again, there’s no swimming here and although objectively it’s a nice beach, it’s not somewhere I’d want to spend a lot of time.
- Playa Arenilla & Playa la Piscina – finally some beaches you can swim at! The bay protects this area of ocean from the strong current which makes it perfect to take a dip in. There are restaurants and snack shacks ready for you and a tree line to take cover from the sun!
- Cabo San Juan – arguably the main beach along the Tayrona National Park trek, this is where we stayed the night. Again, the rocky bays protect the ocean from the current so you are allowed to swim here. We took a dip when we arrived and the Caribbean ocean was the perfect temperature! A lot of the rocks really give Seychelles vibes too.
- Playa Nudista – a nudist beach about a 20-minute walk further from Cabo San Juan. You can’t swim here and unless you have the urge to strip down to your birthday suit, we would recommend missing this one!
Final thoughts on Playa Taganga
Well we think we’ve made our thoughts on Playa Taganga pretty clear! Just give it a miss, or use it as a port to get to other beaches like Playa Grande, Bahia Conchia or Playa Cristal. It’s a nice place to grab a quick juice or a BBQ fish, otherwise it’s not worth giving up your hard earned time to visit at all.
If you’re searching for better beaches in the area, check out our Best Beaches in Santa Marta guide!
