Colombia is the only country in South America blessed with two coastlines, the Caribbean and the less visited Pacific. As you sip on a cocktail in between swimming in the clear, warm water, you can enjoy the boundless beauty and tranquility of Colombia's best beaches. A stroll along the pristine beaches will reveal heavenly scenes and refresh your senses.

 

The Tayrona Park – Palomino Stretch

Previously unknown and unexplored by anyone but the tranquil pre-Colombian Cogui population, the exquisite forty-kilometre stretch along the Caribbean from Tayrona Park to Palomino is on the map of best beaches in the world. After visiting places like Los Cocos and Buritaca Beach, it will not be easy to go home.

 
Buritaca Beach / Photo: Daytours4u
  There are some excellent things to do in the area, besides kicking it on the beach and sipping passion fruit juices (which is picked just down the road, by the way).

You can hike to one of South America’s largest and most important indigenous villages, Ciudad Perdida, the 11th century ‘Lost City’, go tubing down one of several immaculate rivers, visit Cogui indigenous villages in the Sierra Nevada mountains, or visit Tayrona Park, a breathtakingly pretty park on the Caribbean Sea.

 
Palomino Beach from La Sirena / Photo: Sara Pons, canva pro.
  After you’ve done it all, check out Palomino, a relaxed seascape oozing with fresh bohemian vibes. It’s a great place to enjoy a leafy garden under an elegant cabana while, of course, connecting with the brilliantly blue sea, dripping with allure.  
Playa de Los Cocos / Photo: Daytours4u
 

How to get there:

Fly to Santa Marta and take a bus from the relaxed central terminal on the highway or a colectivo (shuttle bus) from the frenetic central market in the middle of town.

 

Cabo San Juan del Guía

Set in Park Tayrona and restlessly beautiful is Cabo San Juan del Guía. It’s no wonder the Tayrona indigenous peoples worshipped the boulders there: they looked like they were placed with the hand of Pachamama (Mother Earth) herself.

 
Cabo de San Juan is a beach like no other / Source
 

How to get there:

It’s on the way to Palomino and Riohacha in La Guajira state. From Santa Marta’s airport, take a cab to the main bus terminal and catch one of the Tayrona Park buses.

 

Playa la Roca

Heading a kilometre southwest from Palomino Beach, the lax and hipster South American beach hideaway of the north, you’ll see a green hill fall into a rock that rests regally on the edge of the sea.

Walking on the spongy sand, watching the giant pelicans soar above the palms and glide along the water, you'll understand why we adore Playa la Roca, a beach so simple and pure it resembles the Stone Age.

It’s vacant and gloriously fringed with palm trees and flowery beach foliage. There are a couple fantastic places to stay; check out Playa la Roca Ecohotel and Palomino-located La Sirena.

 
Serenity and purity at Playa La Roca / Photo: Source
 

How to get there:

Playa la Roca is about forty kilometres northeast from Cabo San Juan de la Guía on the same Caribbean ‘highway’. Follow directions above, and tell your driver to stop at Playa la Roca; it’s at kilometre sixty-nine.

 

Cabo de la Vela

The Lonely Planet says “Cabo de la Vela isn’t for everybody.” But if you can get passed the lack of urban stimuli, you’ll find one of the most surreal seascape experiences in the world. The brilliant blue sea rests silent on one side and the desert slips in on the opposite.

 
Get ready for a surreal experience at Cabo de la Vela / Photo: jkraft5, canva pro
 

How to get there:

Fly from Bogotá to Riohacha and take a colectivo to Uribia (1 hour journey); ask for Cabo and the driver will set you up in a 4WD for the rest of the way (2½ hour journey).

 

The Pacific and Choco State

The Pacific side is a place that gets its name from its tropical flavored ocean breezes (the word pacific means peaceful). As time rolls by and money streams in, the Pacific coast will surely see more visitors that will flow over to other Choco State beaches. But for now you can enjoy African flavors and vibes, and you’ll be dancing in your head all day long.

 
A little piece of paradise at Sapzurro / Photo: DC_Colombia, canva pro
 

In the state of Choco, there are some quintessentially tranquil beaches at Capurganá and Sapzurro by the border of Panama. There are no roads and city grime, no engines swearing nor foul clouds of smog. The only thing you have to worry about here is which side to lie in your hammock.

Colombia’s Pacific coast is wild and most places must be flown into. Getting here is an adventure well off the beaten tourist track.

 

How to get there:

Capurganá and Sapzurro are best reached by chartered flights. The boats from Turbo can be hellacious in the first few months of the year.

 

Playa Blanca

Cartagena’s beaches may not be visually sensational, but the sea is serene for effortless swimming, the gorgeous colonial old city is close by with heaps of posh restaurants, ice cream parlours, funky cafes, bookstores, and street goods; and is home to some of the best kite and wind surfing in the world.

 
The beautiful Playa Blanca in Cartagena / Photo: jkraft5, canva pro.
 

How to get there:

A short boat trip away, about 20km southwest of the city centre on the Isla de Baru is the worthy Playa Blanca. You can visit with a Baru Island Day Tour.

 

For further information, tours and activities in Colombia, check out our website Colombia4u!

  By: Brannon Gerling, Update 2022