Palomino Beach
Palomino, La Guajira, Colombia
Palomino Beach sits where the Palomino River meets the Caribbean in La Guajira, Colombia, backed by palms and framed on a clear day by the snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rising just inland. The town built up around river tubing more than the beach itself, so most days start upriver on an inner tube and end here, drying off in the sand.
The river tubing and mountain backdrop make it a genuine draw, but the current near the river mouth and the lack of lifeguards are real enough that locals are specific about where they'll actually swim.
How we score beachesSkip swimming near the river mouth itself, the current where fresh water meets sea is stronger than it looks and this stretch has no lifeguards. The open beach further from the mouth is calmer.
Buses and cars reach Palomino on the paved highway between Santa Marta and Riohacha, dropping at the town turnoff. From there it's a fifteen to twenty minute walk down a sandy main street to the beach, no vehicle access to the sand itself.
The walk in from the highway is along an unpaved village street, soft sand in places, not easy for strollers or wheelchairs. There are two informal entry points to the beach from town.
December through April is the dry season for this stretch of coast, with calmer river conditions for tubing and less rain. The rest of the year runs wetter, and the river can run higher and faster.
More South America beaches
Tabatinga Beach
Conde, ParaĆba, Brazil Ā· South America
Tabatinga Beach sits along the Conde coastline in ParaĆba, Brazil, known for a run of clay cliffs striped red, yellow, and purple where the vegetation cuts off and bare earth takes over. Two lookout points sit above the sand, one nicknamed Dedo de Deus. Coconut palms line the beach itself, and the water stays calm most of the year.
BaĆa do Sancho
Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil Ā· South America
BaĆa do Sancho is the beach most people picture when they imagine Fernando de Noronha, a cove cut into cliffs off the Brazilian coast, part of Pernambuco's marine national park. You reach it either by boat or by climbing down a metal stairway wedged into a crack in the rock, and either way the water below is clear enough to see the reef fish from the ledge above.
Praia do Satu
CaraĆva, Bahia, Brazil Ā· South America
Praia do Satu sits about three kilometers north of the car-free village of CaraĆva in southern Bahia, Brazil, past cliffs and a couple of small natural lagoons. There's no road in. Most people cross the Rio CaraĆva by canoe from the village, then walk the beach north, or hire a speedboat straight there. It's one of the quieter stops on this stretch of coast.