TIME VISITED: December 2017 BUSY ? NO
WEATHER: 90s 🌤 REASON FOR VISIT: Relax
WHERE TO STAY: Casa Chapolin EXPENSIVE?: $
What I loved most about Palomino is that we had no agenda here, no plans, and no places to be. After two weeks of constant exploring in Colombia we decided to chiiiiillllll in this small village. Palomino is about 2 hours east of Santa Marta and is known for being a little hippie beach town. Their tourism is increasing more and more over the last four years and new hostels are going up monthly so you won’t have any issues finding a place to stay. They may be growing fast but this village still doesn’t have it’s own ATM, so make sure you get out cash before you come. The vibe is great and no one is in a rush so it’s a great place to experience if you are looking for somewhere to relax.
Keeping things practical although it definitely has it’s own charm the beach itself isn’t amazing when it comes to cleanliness (tons of driftwood in the water) or pristine white sand, so beach snobs be prepared for that!
WHERE TO STAY
I couldn’t talk more highly about Casa Chapolin -I have only stayed at a few other hostels that had this great of a vibe. The owners are super hands on and you can see how much time went in to planning this project. Not only do they care about their guests but they also have a great relationship with the locals of Palomino and Colombia in general. They provided us with such a fun, comfortable and relaxing stay.
Pros
- All you can eat breakfast. Not only is it unlimited but it was the best breakfast I have EVER had at a hostel! Homemade crepes, omelettes, juices and bread!
- Spacious rooms
- Option for surfing lessons if you’re interested
- Friendly, helpful and knowledgable staff-they will help you book any activity or transportation if you need it
- 3 minute walk to the beach
- Hammocks
Seriously this is my dream home!
WHERE TO EAT
Los Siete Mares offered the freshest food we had in all of Colombia so we ate here three times during our four days in Palomino. They offer a pescatarian menu and specialize in different ceviches and veggie burgers. In the US we would call this a farm to table restaurant-the menu changes daily and they only use produce from local farmers. The hummus was some of the best I have ever had, they had super friendly servers and they serve plantains with their burgers. Yum!
TUBING
Other than hanging at the beach, this is what most people come to Palomino to do! Everyone has floated down a river yea? At least where I’m from everyone does it in the summer, but it’s just more fun in Colombia. This is easily one of my favorite $7 I have ever spent, we booked this through our hostel and they had the “moto taxi” pick us up drive us to the town, here they hand you a tube (while the bike is still going!) then take you 30 minutes to the jungle where they let you off and you walk a sweaty 20-30 minutes up. Pro tip: Don’t forget sunscreen and a few beers! Here is a video of the ride there, I was cracking up!
This walk up was so cool to me because we were behind a native pueblo girl the whole time. Our guide said she lives way up in the mountains- she was all by herself just walking her donkey and supplies up to her home. Such a badass!
They have you go with a guide who will make sure you get in the river at the right place and then keep ya safe all the way down. He will tie your groups tubes together and then you will float about 90-120 minutes (depending on the speed of the river that day) down to the ocean.
After tubing we went back to our favorite restaurant. Something I love about restaurants in Colombia is you never know who or what will join you during your meal.
The next day in Palomino the whole village lost Wi-Fi for 24 hours so we did the appropriate thing; napped in hammocks, drank a bottle of wine, played countless games of Yahtzee and got to know the owners of our hostel. We also had Pizza at La Frontera, you won’t leave Palomino without multiple people saying to try the pizza here, great prices and super yum thin crust pizzas.
We stayed at Casa Chapolin the first few nights but had heard so many great things about Dreamer Hostel so we decided to stay there for our last night. We heard they have a pretty awesome party on the weekends that typically end with a bonfire on the beach, so we wanted to check it out! (learned later bonfires on the beach are actually illegal!) If I could go back I would have just stayed at Casa Chapolin and walked over to Dreamer for the party, rookie mistake. Nothing against this hostel- it was fun and having a pool was a nice change, but the service didn’t come close to what we had at Casa Chapolin. It all depends what type of vibe you are looking for!
The best way to say goodbye to Palomino is to head to the beach for sunrise!
What did you like best about Palomino? Did you get involved in more activities or just chill!? Comment below!
