Costeño Beach Travel Guide

Costeño is a really fun hostel located between the beach and the forest. It is the ideal place to get away from the noise and the chaos of the city. It's the perfect location for young adults to relax, work and party. It is just one hour from the city of Santa Marta or 45 minutes from Palomino. There is a +18 years old policy in the Hostel, which is the legal drinking age in Colombia. That means, adults time!! The enviroment is lively, multicultural, and very tropical. Definetly a good chance to make new friends from different countries and cities. Keep reading to learn more about this destination.

How to arrive to Costeño Beach form Santa Marta?

There are two different ways to arrive to the Hostel from Santa Marta. Since the Hostel is located out of town, about one hour from the city, you will have to take some transportation service to arrive from the city.

Private shuttle

The first option is to book a private shuttle directly from the hostel. It is about $120.000 COP up to 4 people. That means that the price does not change if the service is for one person or for 4 people. Since we were traveling with another couple of friends this option seemed to be affordable and easier for us, so we decided to take it.

To book the shuttle you just have to send a message to Costeño's Whatsapp number +57 310 3681191 and give your arrival and pick-up information. The good part of this option is that the driver will pick you up at the airport, the bus terminal or any place where you find yourself in Santa Marta. You just need to let them know the time and place you want to be picked up at. It does not matter if you arrive before the established check-in time (2:00pm), you still will be able to use the facilities at the hostel while waiting for your room.

*This amount must be paid to the driver directly, so make sure you have enough cash with you. (keep in mind you won't find any ATMs around Costeño Beach, so bring the cash you will need from the city).

This is what we did before the shuttle picked us up: After we arrived to the airport, we took a taxi to Zazue Plaza ($20.000 COP). This mall is very close to the airport and has some restaurants and a supermarket. Since we knew we were going to be arriving around noon and by that time, we would be starving. At Zazue Plaza, we grabbed some lunch and bought some items we were missing for the beach. Then, we had the driver pick us up around 2:00 pm and we went straight to the Hostel.

In case you need, this is the driver's Whatsapp number. He was the the driver who picked us up : Alex +57

Public Transportation

This option will definetly be cheaper than the private transportation. We used it a couple of years ago going to the Tayrona Park, which is on the same way 5km before Costeño Beach. Nowadays, lots of travelers and turists take this service to arrive to the park and the Hostel, too. Check out Tayrona Park's Travel Guide for more infromation on this destination.

First, you need to arrive to the Public Market located on Carrera 11 and Calle 12 (or use one of these codes on your Google Maps to find it easier 6QWV+7H Santa Marta, Magdalena or 11.245991001471758, -74.2062395199707). Once you are at the Public Market, you just jump on any bus going to Palomino and it will drop you off outside Costeño's "entrance". You can also ask the driver or the helper to let you know where you need to get off.

Once you are on the highway, at the "entrance" you can either walk aproximately 30 minutes to where the real entrance of the Hostel is located or you can take a mototaxi ($4.000 COP). The mototaxi will be able to take you and your backpack all the way to Costeño Beach's front desk.

I guess it's worth letting you know that the driver mentioned that during this walk to Costeño Beach you could see some babillas or small crocodriles, mostly during evening and night time. Be careful and avoid the walking option in the dark.

Facilities

The facilities in Costeño Beach have a natural and chill vibe. They are designed for travelers and digital nomads to enjoy their time. Whether you are on vacation or working remotely, here you will find a perfect spot for you to enjoy your time. There is Wi-Fi connection around the social areas and there is a coworking space for people to work comfortably and quietly as possible.This keeping in mind the beach-life background noise.

You will also find a nice and large pool area to hang out and swim. It is surronded by a variety of local plants that turn out to be the perfect shade to enjoy very sunny days. By the end of the pool, there is a climbing wall and once you make it to the top, if you do, just jump back into the pool and refresh yourself with a big splash.

The hammock area on the second floor lets an awesome breeze in and the ocean view is incredible. As well as the hammock area on the beach side, besides de volleyball court. By the seashore, there are a couple of beach beds next to the volleyball court. To play volley just join a group that is already playing or ask the Hostel to lend you a ball. They also have some decks of cards and a few other board games.

There is also a ping pong table by the bar area and a small gym on the way to the bongaloos, so for sure you won't get bored.

Extra tip: Visit the small store by the reception. They have ice-cream and delicious açai bowls! some toiletries are also available over there. Note: They only accept cash and this won't be charged .

If you want to have a better picture of the facilities, visit our Youtube video.

Prices

The prices in the Hostel are very affordable in general.

Rooms: You can find single beds in share dorms with share bathrooms from $44.000 COP up to $49.000 and private rooms with private bathroom from $143.000 COP up to $300.000.

Just check the Hostel link to review all the opcions available for your date. https://www.costenobeach.com/private-rooms/

Book in advance using the Hostel's web site. Make sure you do this some days or even some weeks before your arrival. Showing up and expecting to find an available room is very risky, since the Hotel is usually booked.

The option we took was the Bungalow one for $143.000 COP which we found clean, comfortable and cozy enough for our stay. The bungalow is basic and it still has all what you need during your stay: a confrotable bed with mosquito net, safe, fan, storage for lugagge, lock, toilet, shower and a sink with a small mirror. We thought having a private bathroom would come handly on these pandemic days and it is definetly worth the price.

Food: The Hostel offers breakfast options from $10.000 COP and free coffee in the morning. There are also some lunch options from $18.000, dinner, and snack options from $12.000. The prices are affordable, the food is not bad, but the variety is quite poor.

We recomend Visiting Brisa Tranquila or Los Hermanos Hostel since they have a lot of tastier food options.

Drinks: Find cold beer from $5.000 COP and tasty cocktails from $13.000 COP.

There is also a happy hour discount. For drinking water, there are some dispensors by the restaurant area and you can refill your water bottle or get a cup at the bar as many times as you want. You will be charged $3.000 COP every day for unlimited water refills. Since this service is more like a need and less like an option, we kind of feel this should be included in the price of the room.

Activities: Although most of the activities are free, some have a price. We'll talk a bit more about that in the next section.

Activites

The Hostel offers a bunch of activity options. You will find something to do pretty much at any moment of the day.

To be updated on the free activities check out the chackboard by the bar. It says what time and what activity is planned for the day. In the morning, there is usually a yoga class and in the evening, you can join a walking tour to the river, karaokee, flip the cup contest, and parties at night. It all depends on the day. The party usualy finishes around 1:00am and it takes place by the bar area where the ping pong table is usually located.

Some other paid activities you can hire are: lazy river tubing, massages, surf lessons, board rentals, hike to the Tayrona Park and surroundings. If you are planning on visiting the Tayrona Park check our Travel Guide for details on the destination.

About COVID protocols

The hostel has basic protocols for COVID. The Hostel staff is always using their facemasks during work hours. However,it is not mandatory for guest to wear their mask in social areas. Actually, pretty much no one wears the mask. Once you step out of the reception area and walk around, you will feel like the COVID does not exist anymore. This is because no one is wearing a mask or following any basic protocols. We would say that taking care of your health will comepletely depend on you.

Since we are already vaccinated, we kind of decided to forget about the COVID and go with the vibe, so from minute one we put our face masks back in the backpack. We decided it was a risk we wanted to take in order to enjoy our stay. Of course, if you don't feel safe or your feel unconfortable by people not wearing masks around, we would recommend to keep some light face masks handy.