![]() On this side of the beach, Zoe Palomino Beach is a cool place with food, lounge chairs, and drinks. If you turn left upon entry and keep on walking, you'll find lots of free space to hang out - and you can keep on on walking to the rivermouth where the tubing finishes. We've put a link here on Google Maps so you can easily find the main entrance point - it’s just after the popular Dreamer Hostel. There are two main points of entry to the beach - the less-trodden one a short walk from Kawabonga Hostel (where we stayed) or the main entrance which is found by walking down the main street from the highway for a 7 or so minutes. These are our favourite things to do in Palomino, plus advice on the best hostels for backpackers, a few excellent places to eat, and tips on transport connections to help you plan your itinerary. However, we both really enjoyed it much more than expected and extended our stay not once, but twice.Īfter all, it's the sort of place that does that to you. ![]() If it was close, we would tell you right now and this guide would have a different tone. We just just hope that Palomino (and the travel community) learns from the lessons of Taganga a little further west along the coast so that it can thrive sustainably and responsibly rather than suffer the same fate of becoming overrun, debauched, and ruined in a very short space of time.įor the moment, Palomino is far from reaching that precipice. This will likely only increase in the next few years as more of us choose to stop in Palomino before or after Tayrona, or on their way to an off-the-beaten-track adventure in La Guajira, and Colombia's popularity continues to grow each year.Īs ever, when tourism arrives in a place and spread, there are a myriad of positives and benefits. The pace of change in this small section of one of the poorest departments of Colombia has been very quick, and speaking to locals and longer-term residents, mis-managed and uneven. Palomino stands perhaps as the insurgent popularity of northern Colombia as a destination in microcosm. A bunch of Colombia small-group tours now include a stop here. There’s a new bamboo walled and palm-leaf roof hostel or restaurant seemingly under construction off every street, and in any space where the field doesn't have roughly written 'no se vende' sign. But, over the course of a couple of days, we adapted to the pace, the starry-eyed barefoot cliches of some, and began to revel in the laid back atmosphere of a place which bares little resemblance to how it once was only 10 or 15 years ago.įrom its rural and remote beginnings off the side of a highway, Palomino village has developed into somewhere where tourism is deciding the destiny and character of everything. Our first impressions of Palomino however, in that snapshot moment between the hot bus from Santa Marta dropping us off and our trundling walk from the side of the busy highway through abandoned paths, were not good. Somewhere to feel a little bit more in 'holiday mode' rather than 'travel mode’. Somewhere chilled out and sunny where we could laze on a white sand beach, sip a few happy hour cocktails, do a yoga class, share tales from the road with others over card games, eat some non-Colombian food, and not touch anything to do with hiking or route planning for four days. For those with just a backpack, taking a taxi from the bus station is a more practical option.As our visit to the village fell towards the end of our most recent four month South America trip, and directly after five days on the Lost City Trek, we craved somewhere exactly like it. If you're moving a lot of stuff between cities, you might consider using an in-driver service for around $65, which offers a more personalized experience and takes you directly to your destination. ![]() The bus seats are comfortable enough for the short journeys, and there's space for suitcases if you need it. You have to have a copy of your ID ready to show at the station. You can find the Google Maps locations for the bus stops here: The ticket costs 30,000 pesos (around $7), and I usually buy two seats so I can keep my backpack next to me. No need to check for when they leave etc. The bus ride from Barranquilla to Santa Marta takes around an hour and a half, and the trip from Cartagena to Barranquilla is about two hours.īuses are going every hour, so you can simply show up at one of the bus stations below and you'll be in your seat and onto your destination in no time. It's a convenient and affordable option for short trips between Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta. ![]() In this post (and in the original video down at the bottom of the page), I discuss my experience traveling between cities using a bus service called Berlinastur. ![]()
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