Taganga
This little fishing village is one of my favourite places I have had the opportunity to explore. It is still mostly an unknown place, the only tourists that visit are local Colombians and scuba divers (what Taganga is famous for).
Please scroll to the bottom for IMPORTANT safety info before you go.
Beaches
This is Taganga's main beach, can't miss it. It's right in front of the D1 store and centre of town. This is the beach I visited the least, only because it is always crowded (crazy on weekends). Lovely place to swim, however, its not smart to leave belongings on the beach unattended as there is so many people.
Extra Beaches
There's a hiking trail that leads to a few extra beaches, also offers amazing views of the coast along the way.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Head to Taganga main strip which is along the beach
2. Walk in the direction of all the fishing boats
3. Find Hotel Bahia Taganga and once you reach it you will see a dirt path heading uphill to the left of the hotel entrance.
4. Follow the path and choose which beach you want to stop at.
If you walk to the end of the path it takes around 30 minutes and you make it to the last beach, Playa Sisiguaca. There are other beaches along the way that are listed below which you can swim at.
This is the first beach and I noticed it was mainly for locals, not touristy at all. It has a coral reef and you can see fish right from the shore - there is a small stand where you can rent goggles. I would always choose this beach to go to because its very chill and calm.
Playa Grande is the main attraction, very touristy but for good reason. This beach has everything. Chairs and sunshades basically cover the entire beach and there are lots of local restaurants to choose from. There is kayak rental, snorkel rental, and other water sports activities like tubing. You could spend the whole day at this beach its so much fun, just very crowded at times.
There are water taxis that can take you to playa grande if you don't feel like walking. They leave from Taganga main beach.
Not many people make it far enough for this beach so it's always a nice calm spot. It is mostly again just locals but everyone is welcome. There are a tonne of cool fish at this beach so bring your snorkels.
Scuba Diving
This is the reason why Taganga does get tourists, it's the no.1 thing to do in this town.
PADI Open Water Course
If you are looking to get any type of certification in diving OR just wanting to try it out without having any experience you can go through Divanga Hostel.
They have a package deal especially for people completing their PADI Open Water certifications where the course, accommodation, and breakfast are included.
They give you all the online training, the instructor comes to the hostel to guide you and you complete part of the training in the hostel pool.
It is a 3 day course where you complete online training, pool training with the scuba gear, then 2 days of diving in Tayrona National Park (with Oceano).
Extra Water Activities
There's plenty more to do, I've added some links to experiences that I and people that I have met have done and really enjoyed!!
1. Tayrona Park sailing day trip
2. Taganga bike tour
3. Kayaking
Hikes & Viewpoints
You would've seen this view from the car/taxi/bus window on the way to Taganga town. It is on the side of the window road you take down the mountain to get to Taganga.
You can catch the bus, taxi, or simply walk (what I did) up the windy road from town to see amazing views of the coast. At the lookout they sell trinkets and souvenirs. It's a nice spot to take in the landscape.
This is part of the beach hike i mentioned earlier.
DIRECTIONS:
In between playa Genemaka and playa Grande there is a tiny block building behind a fence (after the steep part). They are usually selling cold drinks at this point. You can ask whoever is sitting there if you can get past and go to the top of the hill.
And from there, just keep walking upwards until you reach the top and you can see a 360 degree view of Taganga. You can see all the way from Taganga main beach to playa Grande and more.
Eat & Drink
Might sound biased of me to say but its very much true (and very much confirmed with the COUNTLESS positive HostelWorld reviews). BUT Divanga Bar & Restaurant serves THE BEST food I have had in Taganga.
Sounds intense of me to say but I do mean it.
Please try the coconut chicken curry.
Great location, right on the beach - good spot to watch the sunset while having a drink.
Day Trips
From Taganga, there are those small blue buses you will see drive past. They start at the roundabout at the far end of town where all the fishing boats are on the main beach. It will take you to Santa Marta.
Costs 2,500 pesos, 20 minute ride.
Perfect little hippie town, great for surfing, partying and trinket shopping.
Take the bus into Santa Marta, the same place the bus stops is the street where all the other buses leave from.
If you type the above location in google maps, this is where all the local transport departs from. You can walk down the street and people will usually be asking you where you need to go (especially if you're wearing your backpack), they all want to help. Just say "Palomino", "Minca", or wherever you're going and they will point you in the direction of the bus.
Costs 10,000 pesos from Santa Marta to Minca.
MUST-knows before arriving
Just some things that i noticed or that i was told by the local staff i worked with.
- Make sure to leave Playa Grande (and surrounding beaches) before 4.30pm. That are is known for people getting mugged/robbed when it starts to get dark.
- The 'MIRADOR PLAYA GRANDE' in the Hiking section is not recommended to visit after dark. I have been told it is the best spot to watch the sunset but if you are not a local there are very high chances of you getting mugged. Even the local staff i worked with said that when they go, they will not take anything valuables.
- Being a small town, it is surprisingly noisy. There is a lot of shouting, excessively LOUD music at inconvenient/random times, random fireworks, and trucks/motorbikes. If you're someone like me that gets distracted by noise easily please bring noise cancelling headphones haha.
- There is quite a bit of cat calling, this town gets more Colombian tourists than gringos so you will be stared and shouting at. However, I would walk into town by myself multiple times and still felt safe, no one approaches.
That’s all :)
If you have any questions or want to check my travels, my socials are below. Always happy to help :)
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