Playa Cristal boat trip from Taganga

Playa Cristal lies inside Tayrona National Park, on the Neguanje stretch of coast, and no road reaches the sand. You come by boat, either all the way from Taganga, the old fishing village just north of Santa Marta, or by road to the Palangana gate and a short launch from there. Boats from Taganga go when enough passengers turn up.

The park's reefs hold 53 species of coral and around 180 of fish, the beaches of this stretch are open for swimming and snorkelling, there is a restaurant, and the visit is for the day only, with no camping. The rules are strict: no single-use plastics, no speakers, no bottles of spirits, no feeding the wildlife, and red-flag beaches stay closed. Before going by sea you must buy the park's accident insurance and pay the entry fee, and each beach has a daily cap on visitors. The park also shuts for two weeks three times a year, in early February, early June and from late October into early November, while the four Sierra Nevada peoples rest the land.