Colombia / Magdalena Department
Playa Cristal
Playa Cristal is a 408 m-long beach facing west-north-west, 16.1 km north-east of Santa Marta (Magdalena Department, Colombia). The sea averages 28.9 °C in September, its warmest month, and 25.3 °C in February; it stays at 21 °C or above all year.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Month by month
October at Playa Cristal
Beach-day index 7.0/10 · Colombia median 7.4
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 25.6 °C | 25.3 °C | 25.5 °C | 26.3 °C | 27.5 °C | 27.9 °C | 27.5 °C | 28.1 °C | 28.9 °C | 28.9 °C | 28.3 °C | 26.9 °C |
| High °C | 26° | 26° | 27° | 27° | 28° | 28° | 28° | 28° | 28° | 28° | 28° | 27° |
| Low °C | 23° | 23° | 23° | 24° | 25° | 26° | 25° | 26° | 26° | 26° | 26° | 24° |
| Rain mm | 4 | 3 | 12 | 39 | 160 | 115 | 76 | 119 | 173 | 260 | 143 | 43 |
| Cloud % | 26 | 25 | 38 | 58 | 71 | 67 | 62 | 67 | 72 | 76 | 63 | 38 |
| Wind m/s | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.8 |
| Daylight h | 11.5 | 11.8 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 12.6 | 12.8 | 12.7 | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.6 | 11.5 |
| Record high/low | 29°/22° | 29°/21° | 30°/22° | 30°/23° | 30°/23° | 30°/24° | 30°/24° | 30°/24° | 30°/24° | 30°/24° | 30°/24° | 30°/22° |
| Beach index | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 8.6 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
The beach-day index peaks in December–April; January scores 9.0/10 with highs of 26 °C, sea at 25.6 °C and 4 mm of rain.
That matches the median for beaches in Colombia in the same month.
Across the year the sea averages 27.2 °C, warmer than 82% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
October is the wettest month (260 mm) and February the driest (3 mm); the yearly total is about 1,150 mm.
Daylight runs from 11.5 hours in December to 12.8 hours in June; in mid-January the sun rises at 06:19 and sets at 17:50 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces west-north-west (290°). Open water fills about 31% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
The sun sets over the sea in every month; in mid-June it goes down at 18:19 local time on a bearing of 294°.
The opposite shore is only about 2.0 km away to the west-north-west, which keeps the water sheltered from big waves.
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 162 m deep, so deep water starts close to shore. Behind the beach the ground is about 108 m above sea level 500 m inland and 125 m at 1.5 km, so the beach is backed by steep slopes or cliffs.
Within 1 km, the land is 99% tree cover (satellite land-cover map, 2021): a largely natural setting. Water makes up 49% of that circle.
- Tree 99%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
Average wind speed at 10 m reaches 8.4 m/s in February, the windiest month.
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- –Restaurants, cafés & bars
- –Public toilets
- –Showers
- –Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 1Viewpoints
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Nearest services
The nearest place to eat or drink is 10.0 km south-west (El Mamo), the nearest grocery shop is 13.5 km south-west (Chimila 1 Calle 53), the nearest fuel station is 14.1 km south-west (Combuscol Puerto del Sol) and the nearest pharmacy or clinic is 11.6 km south-west (Farmacenter Luna 6).
| Service | Nearest mapped | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food and drink | El Mamo | 10.0 km | south-west |
| Groceries | Chimila 1 Calle 53 | 13.5 km | south-west |
| Accommodation | Wachakyta Ecolodge | 5.2 km | east |
| Pharmacy or clinic | Farmacenter Luna 6 | 11.6 km | south-west |
| Fuel station | Combuscol Puerto del Sol | 14.1 km | south-west |
| Car park | — | 8.8 km | south-west |
| Public toilets | — | 9.6 km | east |
| Bus stop | Local Road Fee (5-10k) | 9.5 km | south-east |
Straight-line distance to the nearest feature within 20 km, from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps places. A category is missing when nothing is mapped within 20 km.
Around the beach
Viewpoints
- El Mirador 230 m NW
Nature
- Formaciones coralinas reef 150 m SW
- Tayrona Nationa Natural Park nature reserve 650 m SW
- Arrecife coralino reef 880 m S
- Morros del Estero peak 1.1 km NE
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simón Bolívar International Airport Santa Marta | SMR | 28.5 km | south-west |
| Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport Barranquilla | BAQ | 90.9 km | south-west |
| Almirante Padilla Airport Riohacha | RCH | 128 km | east |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
No town of 1,000+ people lies within 10 km; within 30 km there are 1 (about 499.2K).
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
- Playa Grande14.2 km SWCompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 7.4 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature w117746876; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Water body, status and length: Wikidata (CC0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2A_18PWT_20260628_0_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Nearest services: OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps places within 20 km.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 9.9K Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.