Sat between Palomino and Tayrona on the Caribbean Coast this small town is known by backpackers for jungle parties. The beach and river are popular with Colombians. You will only need a couple of nights here but it is an ideal stop on your tour of the coast.

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getting there

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It’s easy to navigate between the towns on the coast as it is the same bus that goes from Santa Marta to Palomino. 

 

From Santa Marta |  Hop on the bus at Mercado Central it will be the same bus that is heading to Tayrona National Park. They leave every 15 minutes and it will take around 2 hours and will cost 10,000Cop (£1.80). 

 

From Palomino | Wait at the main road and the bus will leave every 15 minutes heading towards Santa Marta. They asked us on this bus ride whether we had a backpack which we did and they charged us 4,000Cop (£0.70) each for the 25 minute journey, we are not sure if it’s cheaper without luggage. 

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Top Tip: There's no ATM in Buritaca and some of the businesses are cash only. Make sure you have enough cash before departing Santa Marta.

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To Stay

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Rio Hostel | By far the most popular place to stay in Buritaca is Rio Hostel and it gets booked up quickly so plan in advance. It’s set in its own bit of jungle on the river with its own private beach. There’s an on-site restaurant, bakery and bar area. It known for its huge parties. Every month they have a party which will go on till 8am so if you want to sleep maybe check their social media to see what’s going on first. A bunk in a 27 person dorm room costs £17 a night.  

 

Buritaca House | Located just off the main road. It's a 25 minute walk to both the beach and Rio Hostel it doesn’t have much going on but the hostel itself is lovely and quiet. Breakfast is not included but a double room with air con and private bathroom is £21 a night. It does have free coffee and water all day.

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To do 

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Have A Beach Day | We didn’t know what to expect with Buritaca, part of us thought it would be quiet, that was until we had a walk to the beach! First of all it’s 3,000Cop (£0.55) to enter past the toll booth and after that we couldn’t believe how many people were there. It was heaving, the restaurants were busy, the area by the river was full of people swimming and the beach shelters were packed. It’s actually not a bad beach with several tasty food options.

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Go Tubing | You can join Rio Hostel at 1pm for their daily tubing jaunt for 50,000Cop (£9). The tour takes around 2 and half hours and has swimming spots along the way. You can grab a cool bag from the hostel to keep those cans nice and cold. Alternatively there are local tour shops on the main road that offer tubing and transport for around 80,000Cop (£14) online but you may be able to get it cheaper if you speak to them. 

 

Party at Rio | If you’re a tourist you will probably only come to Buritaca for Rio Hostel and a party. They have DJs on a couple of times a week and organise events throughout the month. Some huge events. So keep up to date on their social media to see what’s coming up. If you haven’t managed to bag yourself some Rio accommodation then stay in the town and take a Moto Taxi there. You can also use the facilities throughout the day for free. 

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To Eat & Drink

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Sor and Pan | If like us you have no breakfast included at your hostel then you you might struggle to find where to eat, there's not many options. For breakfast we went to Sor and Pan which is along the main road heading towards the river right by Hotel Caribe Brisas. They do tasty breakfasts with good coffee and it’s also a good spot for a sandwich lunch or a pastry snack. 

 

Bahia Blue | If you’re going to the beach then there’s plenty of restaurants along the front to choose from, our favourite being Bahia Blue. They have a tasty selection of Meat and Seafood dishes and very good cocktails, although make sure they put the alcohol in if you have a Pina Colada. For a beachfront location the prices are reasonable. We shared a Chicken Fried Rice which was 30,000Cop (£5.30) and a Pina Colada was 25,000Cop (£4.50), beers are 6,000Cop (£1.10)

 

Rio Hostel | Head to the restaurant and bakery and Rio Hostel where the food is excellent. We went for lunch twice and were not disappointed. The menu has a lot of choice from Burgers, Salads, Woks, Vegetarian dishes. It is definitely worth a visit. An El Rio Allstars salad (which was huge) was 35,000Cop (£6.30) and a burger was around 30,000Cop (£5.30). If you do not fancy a full meal then the bakery do a nice selection of pastries and coffees too.