Wonderful Full-Day Tayrona Park Tour from Cartagena, Crystal Beach Sector.

Visiting Tayrona was a dream and came true thanks to this tour! Guide Handerson was very attentive to me because he knew I was not fluent in Spanish and spoke more slowly so I could understand. Thank you to all the team for the amazing day they gave me!

You have to pay attention whether you book the hiking tour or the beach tour. We booked the beach tour. There were only 2 stops , one for a top view photo, and the next stop is just an ordinary beach, you have 3.5 hours to be free at this beach and that it. The tour is over. On the way back there was not enough stops for toilet. Facilities- bus was in am awful condition plus the face they exchangd it to small minibus on the way to the park which was made fir little kids, only a very thin person can sit there. There was not enoughspace for the tpur guide, so he had to stand with an open door poor guy. On the way back they added people we don't know from a different group and they stopped in 2 sculptures, one of Shakira and the other one is unknown. It doesn't mentioned on the tour description. Instead of stop for toilet. At the end finally they stop for toilet and Sbaro pizza for dinner . Finally.

If you only want to see Tayrona park in one day from Cartagena- this is a decent tour to take. Pickup/Drop off: Received notification day before to be ready by 320am. But we weren’t picked until 340am and then we were dropped off to Monumento Torre del Reloj to wait for the bus to take us to Tayrona. When we got in to the bus around 4am we still had to pick up other people along the way. I wished pick up could be better- at least stagger pick up time base on where one is staying. Drop off- if you’re staying in central historic- you will be dropped off at Monumento Torre del Reloj and you’d walk back to your hotel. Bus ride: Driver was great. Ride was bumpy on some part of the area- I think for road safety reason on places where vehicles have to slow down. Seats were comfy but wished the seats could recline a little bit more. Was not able to sleep. If the tour bus is full- it might feel a little tight. They made stops for bathroom break- one halfway through and just before and after entering Tayrona. You can leave things in the bus if you don’t need to bring into the park - We were told it might be cold- I brought a light jacket just in case and just left it in the bus. Bring changes- have to pay 2000 pesos to use the bathroom. We were given breakfast as complimentary - ham and cheese sandwich and a juice. If you have free breakfast from your hotel. You can ask your hotel to arrange one for you to go. Some brought their own. If you’re vegetarian- maybe let the tour operator know ahead.Tour operator also gave us a bottle of water. We were given 2 options: 1 - go to a beach and just stay there the whole day 2 - hike, go through the park and see the beach (Cabo San Juan) which is different from the beach above We opted for option 2 since wanted to see more and also my friend forgot her swimsuit. Arrived at the park close to 9am The hike was about 2 hours to the beach then 2 hours back. There are beaches you will stop by on the way. If you want to stop on the swimmable beaches and just stay- you can but recommend to go all there way in the end - to Cabo San Juan beach- Hike was moderate. You can opt to take a horse. Wished I had taken the horse. You would be able to spend more time in the beach and save time. But I didn’t know how much it cost- wished I knew how much before the tour so could bring enough money if needed. What I didn’t like about the trail is that on some parts- you have to share same trail with the horse…just smells like horse manure and have to try to avoid the horses and their manure. I wouldn’t recommend hiking if it just rained. Could be very muddy and slippery. The guide- was like a boot camp instructor- encouraging us to make it to the end and go faster. The faster you get to the location the more time you could spend on the beach. We saw different viewpoints, a monkey, termite hives. There are stands, people selling food/drink Cabo San Juan beach is nice- There’s a shower at Cabo San Juan beach- again, you also have to pay - 2000 pesos You spend about an hour on the beach. Lunch was provided and it was good- portion was big. This tour is offered in Spanish only. We still took a chance- My friend speaks and understands a bit- and we were lucky we met someone who’s knew how to speak English and translate for us. But the tour operators did try their best to translate for us. Looking back, I wished I had opted for option 1- I don’t mind just relaxing on the beach for hours. I’m not fit and not a hiker. But I still don’t regret taking option 2 for the experience.