Santa Marta · With kids
WITH KIDS
Jungle meeting the Caribbean, a cool mountain village an hour up, and a lot of dust in between.
Tayrona National Park
Boulder-strewn beaches reached on foot: Cabo San Juan is about two hours in, though a boat from Taganga shortens it. Only some bays are swimmable. Ages 8+.
Minca in the hills
Forty minutes and eight hundred metres up: waterfalls, a coffee farm, hummingbird feeders and temperatures that let children sleep. Ages 4+.
Playa Blanca
A calm, shallow bay reached by a ten-minute boat from El Rodadero, with shade and food stalls behind the sand. Ages 3+.
Acuario y Museo del Mar
A small aquarium on a beach north of El Rodadero, reached only by boat, with turtles and a maritime museum attached. Ages 4+.
Tayrona closures and heat
The park shuts for several weeks each year at the request of the indigenous communities — check before committing. Midday heat on the coast is unrelenting.