What to do in Palomino with kids? In this blog, we take you to the creative and hip surf village on the Colombian coast where you can easily travel to with your kids. What is very nice about this cozy village is that there are no big hotel chains or mega resorts. Small airbnb’s and small-scale hostels make Palomino perfect for a short week’s stay. A lovely laidback atmosphere to unwind in after the busy cities you also encounter in Colombia. Traveling through this country with kids adds super much stimulation, but if you add Palomino to your itinerary, you will definitely come back from your vacation rested! We visited this destination with our family and in this blog we list all the information you need for a vacation in Palomino with kids.
Best travel time Palomino with kids
The dry season in Colombia lasts from December through March and from July through September. If you like sunny trips, these months are the best months to travel to Palomino with kids.
We ourselves were in Colombia for 5 weeks during summer vacation. These were the months of July and partly August. Those weeks were sunny, hot and humid, but we also had frequent heavy showers. Which was wonderfully cooling at times!
Transportation to and in Palomino
In Palomino, you simply have (almost) no transportation. Buses and cars do travel on the main road. But the village itself consists of dirt roads leading to the beach. There are sometimes mopeds, most with tubes stacked on the back, but you yourself will be able to do everything nicely on foot.
In fact, the village is small and great for walking with kids. We came from the direction of Cartagena before we arrived in Palamino. Traveling by pus is the easiest and cheapest. A cab bus or cab is also among the options and is not expensive. From Cartagena, it takes about 5.5 hours by bus to get to Palomino. From Santa Marta it is about 1.5 hours and from Tayrona it is about 3 quarters of an hour.
From Palomino you can also easily travel to Minca. Everything is easily arranged from Palomino itself. And even easier if you speak a word of Spanish ;).
Children’s activities Palomino
#1 Dogshelter Palomino
What is very fun to do in Palomino with kids is to go to the doggie daycare. This may sound a little crazy, but this village has a real shelter for stray dogs. Set up entirely by 2 guys who put all their love into this. You can take, for a fee, a long walk with all the dogs. The money goes toward dog food, vaccinations for the dogs and grooming.
All the dogs have their own story as to why they ended up at the shelter. At the shelter, they are lovingly cared for and raised and given medication if needed. This will hopefully be followed by adoption so that the dog will have a nice home at home and abroad.
Because the owner of the dog shelter walks with you, you’ll have your own guide during the walk. This guy knew the area super well and thus we had a super nice hike. Along the way we saw howler monkeys, had views of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range and swam in the river with the dogs.
In short, we saw the most beautiful places we would never have seen otherwise. Once back from the walk, the kids got to help feed the dogs. This was truly an unforgettable experience for them, even though the hike was far, hot and quite spicy. Especially for our 6-year-old son.
But we had 6 dogs with us during the walk, and when things got tough for a while he got a strong dog on the leash that pulled him up with him. Highly recommended if your kids love dogs too!
#2 Chilling on the beach
Another thing you should do especially in Palomino is chill on the beach. There just isn’t a whole lot to do, but sometimes that’s really enough. There are plenty of beach bars, surfing and you can have a great time all afternoon by just renting a chair, hammock or beach chair and letting your kids play with shells, sand and searching for branches, while you stare at the burn, take the occasional dip and order that cocktail. After all, you’re there anyway ;).
Unfortunately, the beach did almost disappear in some places. Climate change and rising sea levels are rapidly changing the coastline. The government of Colombia is working to restore it to its original state, but unfortunately it is not moving very fast. The sea is quite rough in Palomino though so don’t go too far into the sea and always watch your kids carefully.
#3 Tubing on the river
One thing not to be missed when vacationing in Palomino with kids is tubing down the river! This is a great kids activity in nature and really a lot of fun and very safe to do if your kids can swim.
On the main street of Palomino, you can buy a tube of experience on every corner, so you don’t have to look long for this. However, it is convenient to choose a tour where you can be taken there by a 4×4 jeep. There are also boarding spots where you can only get there by motorcycle, which is not convenient with kids. Also note when booking a tour how far it is to walk to the river, as on some tours they do not drive all the way to the river and you still have to walk a bit yourself. You don’t want to have to walk very far with kids.
It’s best to do this in the morning, since you’ll go straight through the jungle across the river with the band and the animals are most active in the morning. You are then most likely to spot wild life during this tour as well.
The tubes are tied together, and you slowly float down the river. Tours last at least an hour, but some tours last much longer. Also, always inquire about this carefully with the agency where you book the tour. So you don’t have to worry about your kids disappearing from sight of you. It’s a good idea to bring a drybag on this trip, though, and apply sunscreen to yourself and your family. In addition, a hat for kids can also be nice if it is a hot day and the sun is quite present.
Family-friendly restaurant Palomino
You have several nice family-friendly restaurants in Palomino where you can eat and drink with the family. We list some of these restaurants you can go to during a city break to Palomino with kids.
SUA restaurant: this delicious family-friendly restaurant also serves vegetarian food. This was perfect for us as a family that is vegetarian. They also have a children’s menu with, for example, spaghetti, a hamburger (vegetarian) or an empanada! Are your kids completely fed up with the bean dishes after weeks of traveling through Colombia?
Then you should definitely visit this restaurant so! They also play live music on some nights and there is a nice atmosphere.
La Panadería Francesa: To have lunch or breakfast with kids, visit this family-friendly lunch spot. The smell meets you as soon as you walk down the street. The display cases are filled with freshly baked croissant and delicious pastries you can’t resist.
As you might see in the name, this lunchroom has a French owner, but you can really appreciate that in Colombia. Bread as we know it here in Western Europe is not available much in Colombia, and our kids missed it quite a bit during this trip. So this lunchroom in between was delicious!
We tasted something daily while we were here. In fact, the coffee is also quite delicious! Everything on the menu your kids will really love, because the sandwiches and croissant are recognizable as we know them in Europe too. They have sandwiches (melted) cheese, sandwiches, quiches and various sweet pastries you can lick your fingers at! Bon appetit :).
Family-friendly Hotel Palomino
We slept in Palomino at the Ekaa Hotel with our family. It may be a little farther from the beach and the street of stores of Palomino, but since everything is walkable that need not be a problem. It is a hotel with a nice large enclosed garden, swimming pool and lovely spacious rooms. Check online for more information about the Ekaa Hotel, where we slept.
Of course, there are plenty of other places to stay in Palomino with kids. We list the top rated accommodations below. Click on the blue link for more information.
Budget accommodation: Rincon del Mar Palomino
Mid-range accommodation: Beach Life Palomino & Beach Club
Luxury accommodation: Naio Hotel y Villas
Also check out the entire list of family-friendly accommodation in Palomino.
About the author: I am Prynta and together with my husband and two kids I love to explore the world with the four of us. We have been on many exotic trips and are far from done traveling! You can follow us on our Instagram channel _TravelTribe_.
