La Guajira Department · Colombia
Riohacha travel guide
Riohacha is a city in La Guajira Department, Colombia, home to about 223,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- RCH3 km · Almirante Padilla Airport
- Currency
- COPColombian peso
- Time zone
- America/Bogota
- Language
- Spanish
About
About Riohacha
Riohacha is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department.
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Riohacha
See
- Beach
- Colonial churches
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Riohacha to stay in
There is a surprisingly wide variety of accommodation in Riohacha. It's a hot city, you may want to have a room with air conditioning. The most expensive places tend to be located next to the beach, with a series of slightly dated mega-hotels. Expect discounts of up to 60% in the off season or for rooms that do not face the ocean. Lower priced are small bunkhouses and guest hostels further away from the beach. Try just east of the bus station. As of July 2009, be warned that many of these places cater to internal refugees displaced from Colombia's long drug wars. You will probably be sharing with some (mostly friendly) long term guests.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Riohacha
2 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Bona Vida Apartments | 0.9 km | |
| On Vacation Wayira Beach | 9.1 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Riohacha
Riohacha has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 35 °C; October is the wettest, with about 263 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Riohacha: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH), about 2.9 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport (VUP, 129 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
Downtown Riohacha is very walkable. There's nothing much to see outside of the ten or so square blocks around the ocean. If you need to take some wheels, it's easy to hail a cab. Mototaxis cannot go to the old centre, only taxi cars.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
RCH · Almirante Padilla Airport
VUP · Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Riohacha
Drink
There are a string of bars and small clubs along the ocean which serve Aguila on tap and a few imports.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Riohacha: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Riohacha?
Riohacha has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 35 °C; October is the wettest, with about 263 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Riohacha?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Almirante Padilla Airport (RCH), about 2.9 km from the city centre in a straight line; Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport (VUP, 129 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Riohacha?
Colombian peso (COP).
Nearby
Destinations near Riohacha
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.