A backpacker’s guide to Palomino, Colombia
When I think of the Caribbean, I think of white sand, tucked up coves, palm trees with coconuts, and tranquil clear blue water.
So I was pretty excited to visit Colombia’s Caribbean coast for the first time. After the Lost City trek, we’d booked three nights just outside of Palomino, a town right by the beach. It’d be the perfect introduction to the Caribbean.
Right? Kind of… Palomino was not at all what I was expecting.
After my visit, I’ve written this guide to tell you more about what Palomino is like. It contains information on my experiences of the town, as well as practical information on where to stay and what to do. You’ll notice I wasn’t the biggest fan, so hopefully this guide will help you to decide whether it’s worth a visit too!
Ratings
Accessibility: 4/5 • Safety: 5/5 • Enjoyment: 2/5 • Value: 4/5 • Overall: 3.75/5
Where is Palomino?
You’ll find Palomino on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, stuck between the sea and the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the south. It’s just under 300 km from Cartagena and 80 km from Santa Marta, and is close to some of the region’s top attractions, such as Tayrona National Park and Ciudad Perdida.
About Palomino
Palomino as a town is all about holidays, catering to international and domestic tourists. Its dusty tracks are home to plenty of relaxed hostels, which makes it a top backpacker town.
When I was deciding on visiting, I heard of it as an off-the-beaten-track destination which not many people had visited. I hadn’t even heard of it until a fellow backpacker mentioned it to us in Valparaiso.
As it turns out, this was not at all the case! Walking down the road to the beach in Palomino, there’s no way of escaping the resort town feel. Hotels and their associated bars and restaurants line the street. It felt very hectic. (I did visit in Semana Santa, however, so visitor numbers were higher than usual. Still, I can’t imagine it getting particularly quiet here!)
The primary mode of transport in Palomino – motorcycles and tuk tuks – did nothing to help this viewpoint. It wasn’t at all what I’d expected from the Caribbean…
What is Palomino like?
Overall, based on my experience, Palomino feels like the perfect domestic holiday destination for Colombians. There’s no denying that there are enough hotels, restaurants and bars to keep everyone occupied.
In terms of location, Palomino is situated on the main road between Santa Marta and Riohacha, which makes it easy to get to. The action for holidaymakers is situated on the beach and the road connecting this area to the main road. It’s unlikely that, aside from coming and going and the odd grocery trip, you’ll need to venture further during your visit.
The beach itself is home to a number of bars and hotels, which infringe on the sand itself; as a rule, hotels on the beach, particularly those that are a bit further out of the town, tend to be more upmarket. You’ll find a range of drinks on offer at the bars, which – given the many competing establishments – leads to a very bountiful happy hour in the evening!
On paper, this sounds great. However, the beach is pretty skinny, in some places only having 2 m of dry sand. In the centre, the shore is dominated by beachside establishments whose seating spills out onto the sand. As a result, I did not find the beach by the town relaxing in the slightest.
Palomino Beach
So, what is the beach like? As I’ve already mentioned, Palomino boasts a very thin beach, which is very crowded in the centre. However, a ten minute walk on the beach in either direction brings you out of the chaos of the centre, so it’s fairly easy to find a more secluded environment away from the hustle and bustle.
Outside the town, where the crowds are gone, it feels a lot more tranquil. You’ll find the long beach fringed with palm trees, fallen coconuts and branches on the sand; there is plenty of spare space in these areas. The beach is still skinny and has been eroded away, in part due to the removal of mangrove trees to make way for more development.
I might be picky, but I also wouldn’t rate the sand. Given the width of the shore and the forested nature of the surrounding area, it contains a lot of plant debris: hardly a paradise Caribbean beach!
In my opinion, if you’re visiting Palomino for the beach alone, it might be worth considering other alternative beaches, such as those at Costeño or Tayrona National Park. Palomino’s coastline just isn’t that appealing on its own.
Strong currents at the beach
I wasn’t too keen on the sea at Palomino. The currents are so strong in this area that swimming isn’t recommended, and it’s quite evident from the strong waves crashing near the shore. Even when I was paddling, you’d sometimes get a ferocious wave with a strong drawback, which ensured I never made it any further into the water; we got splashed just sitting by the shore line.
It’s a common thing to have strong currents along this part of the coast, I know, but still – it’s not fun to be burning or sweating in the sun with the sea right there in front of you, knowing it’s too dangerous to go in. Sometimes, a paddle just doesn’t cut it!
How does Palomino rate as a destination?
As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that you can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!
This is how Palomino rated:
- Accessibility: 4/5 – it’s easy to get to Palomino using the bus network. Most activities are beach-oriented and many of the roads are unpaved, so it’s not the easiest for people with mobility issues.
- Safety: 5/5 – I felt very safe in Palomino.
- Enjoyment: 2/5 – I wasn’t the biggest fan of Palomino; its main draw is the beach, which I thought was a bit meh.
- Value: 4/5 – I thought the prices in Palomino were reasonable.
Overall score: 3.75/5
If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.
How to get to Palomino
For backpackers, the easiest way to reach Palomino is by bus. Regular buses run between Santa Marta and Palomino, with a journey time of 1.5 to 2 hours. Longer regional buses also pass through Palomino en route to Riohacha. There’s no need to pre-book and as they’re very regular, you shouldn’t need to wait more than half an hour. The bus stop is in the centre of town, on the main road.
I found the bus to be reasonably comfortable for a 2 hour journey, although it’s more similar to an intercity bus than it is a long term journey, so don’t expect amenities like toilets or reclining seats. They can get busy – on the buses we took, people were sometimes stood up or sat on the floor – but fortunately they have bag storage.
The Santa Marta to Palomino bus passes the entrances to Tayrona National Park. Getting between Palomino and El Zaino (the most popular entrance) takes around 1 hour; the trip should cost 7000 to 10,000 COP ($1.70 to $2.50 / £1.40 to £2).
Getting around Palomino
Palomino is a small town so, if you’re staying inside the town itself, you should be able to walk from place to place. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from the beach to the main road, so expect that to be your maximum required walking distance.
For longer distances, motortaxis and tuk tuks are your friend. There’s a motortaxi and tuk tuk station close to the bus stop on the main road, but you’ll find them in other places as well. The ride to our hostel, 3 km away, cost 6000 to 10,000 COP ($1.70 to $2.50 / £1.40 to £2). There aren’t set fares, so don’t accept a ridiculously high fare; pull your driver up on it.
What to do in Palomino
If the beach isn’t so great, are there any other things to do to occupy your time? Fortunately, Palomino has plenty of other activities on offer:
- Tubing along one of the many surrounding rivers is popular with backpackers. I didn’t try it as I was so knackered after the Lost City trek. However, it sounded pretty fun and would’ve been great to experience if we had more time.
- Kayaking up the rivers is an option, as well as organised tours of the local area. You won’t have any trouble organising these as there are plenty of tour desks along the road to the beach in Palomino. Just turn up and ask!
- Tayrona National Park is around one hour’s bus ride away, so you can technically visit it in a day from Palomino. However, I’d definitely recommend staying overnight if you have the time as there’s a lot to explore.
- Try your hand at surfing – there are several surf schools along the coastline. However, to be frank, I thought Palomino’s waves looked very small and choppy. As there’s such a strong slope from the beach, waves crash pretty close to the shore, so I don’t know how you can do any good surfing here. Plus, if swimming here isn’t recommended due to the current, going deeper into the water with a board doesn’t feel like the best choice… That said, there are surf schools and board rental available, and experienced surfers may have a different view!
Where to eat in Palomino
There are so many restaurants, bars and cafes in Palomino. You have a lot of choice with many international options.
Here are some of my suggestions:
- Don Cubano is a restaurant that serves pleasing hearty Cuban food at decent prices. If you’re sick of Colombian food, you might find their rice and plantain sides a bit too close to comfort. However, I was happy with our choice to eat here!
- Chundúa is a stand selling ice cream-style popsicles on the beach. I tried the passionfruit with coconut milk and cacao flavours and loved them both. At a reasonable 5000 COP ($1.20 / £1) each, this is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
- Caña Fusión Cuisine is a restaurant serving Asian fusion cuisine. Whilst we didn’t try this restaurant ourselves, it has great reviews and would make a good choice if you want a change from Colombian dishes.
There are so many other international food options. In particular there was so much pizza – if you’re craving Italian, you’re heading to the right place.
Where to stay in Palomino
During my trip, I booked my accommodation last minute, and there were no inspiring options for where to stay. Ultimately, I took a gamble and stayed at a hostel a long walk outside the town (Jaba Jan).
The location of the hostel was great in that it was near a quiet stretch of the beach, but it wasn’t convenient in the slightest. I also wasn’t keen on the vibe – it was very hippy which isn’t me, although my sister, Lou, loved the yoga and meditation sessions they held.
There are plenty of hostels in Palomino itself, some of which look comfortable and relaxed, with big pools and a social atmosphere. I would recommend not leaving it too late to book your accommodation – throughout this section of the coast, I found that the best hostels and hotels were full a couple of weeks in advance.
Tips
For your trip to Palomino, here are a few tips:
- Pick a hostel with a pool. With the hot weather and the sea not great for swimming, I was quite envious of all the people staying at hostels with pools. I’d recommend going for one which has this so that you can cool off if necessary.
- Don’t worry about staying further out. You’ll be further from the action, but will get a more tranquil beach in return.
- Keep an eye out for spiders. Whilst walking through the forest to our hostel, we saw Hapalopus sp Colombia, also known as the Pumpkin Patch Tarantula. These spiders are harmless to humans and ran away from us, but if you’re a fan of spiders keep an eye out as they’re quite cute.
Conclusion
Palomino has a range of attractions: good food, bars, and a number of day trips and activities to keep you busy.
However, whilst the town revolves around the beach, I wouldn’t say it’s very good. If you’re looking for a coastal town to relax in, it’s worth considering alternative options along this coastline. That being said, if you’re just happy to look at the sea and want a cocktail in your hand whilst you do so, Palomino could be the place for you.
Do you have any questions about visiting Palomino? Let me know in the comments.
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