Cartagena Colombia Travel
Day -1 (2/4): Bus to Chicago
We started our journey in Fitchburg, WI. We took a Lyft to the bus stop and took the bus down to Chicago the night before our flights. This was not necessary but it did make our morning a lot less stressful.
Cost Breakdown
Lyft to Bus Stop - $23.81
Bus Tickets from Madison to Ohare - $70 ($35 x 2)
Dessert at Longhorn Steakhouse - $33.62
Day 0 (2/5): Flights to Cartagena
Took the airport shuttle from O’hare Fairfield to the airport. When we got to the airport and went to check a bag, we were asked if we had filled out the Colombian customs form. We hadn’t and American Airlines didn’t do a great job telling us about this form. The form was fairly quick to fill out and can be found here. The flight you want to document is the one going into Colombia so in our case it was coming from Miami even though we were filling it out in Chicago. Make sure to download this form once you fill it out in case you need it. We flew from Chicago to Miami. We had a 4 hour layover in Miami so we ended up eating at a restaurant in the airport called La Carreta. We both thought that the food was pretty old when we ate it and wouldn’t eat there again. While we were in Miami, we also bought a jacket and some snacks and then from Miami to Cartagena. We got in later than expected because the flight into Miami was delayed. When we got through the customs line in Cartagena, we pretty much were in the transportation line. We were a bit disorriented and trying to figure out where we were to request an Uber and had somebody approach us to give us a ride. We did not get in with him and instead got our bearings and requested an Uber through the Uber app (While we requesting an Uber, he offered to match the uber price, but I would not recommend doing this since it is not documented who is taking you). We arrived at our hotel in Getsemani and pretty much went straight to bed since everything was closed.
Cost Breakdown
Flights (American Airlines) - $717.40 ($358.70 x 2)
Checked Bag - $45
OSH Hotels - $2033.21 (10 days x ~$203.32 per night. A bit more on weekends and a bit less during the week)
Uber from Cartagena Airport to Hotel: $5.79
Day 1 (2/6): Getting our Bearings
One thing we didn’t do ahead of time was get Colombian pesos. We decided to wait until we were in Cartagena where we could use an ATM. I would at least consider doing this differently if we went back because it was much harder to find ATMs that Ally supported than I expected it to be. As an example, Ally will not charge fees on certain “No-fee Allpoint” ATMs and I thought that is what I was looking at when using the Ally ATM finder, but this actually includes all ATMs unless you filter it down specifically. I think we ended up paying around $30 in fees, but am not entirely sure. I ended up taking out a total of $1,800,000 Colombian pesos in three chunks, $600k, $600k, and $600k. For some reason the first $600k converted to $171.22 USD and the other two were both $158.99 USD. The conversion rate today shows that $600k COP should be $153.49 So my guess is that we paid ~$5 USD in fees the second and third time and ~$20 USD the first withdrawl. Overall, it wasn’t that big of an issue since we definitely needed some COP, but we were surprised to see such a high fee at the first ATM and didn’t want to walk around more. Once we were done getting cash, we explored the walled city a bit then ate some really good chicken for lunch at a restaurant called Pollo Tropical that we happened to walk past. We also spent a fair amount of time at our hotel by the pool on the first day and just relaxing. We realized pretty early on in this trip that sunscreen was going to be important and we didn’t want to bring it with us in case it burst in our bag so we had to find a place that had sun screen during our trip. The drug stores pretty consistently had it but surprisingly this is not something that very many of the street vendors carried (only one that I remember had sunscreen and it was right in front of the docks).
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast (Osh Hotel) - $
Mango (Fruit stand) - $5k
Drinks walking (By clocktower) - $20k
Lunch (Pollo Tropical) - $70k
Sunscreen - $114k
Soap $18k
Supper - $90k (La Taparía)
Day 2 (2/7): Fuerte de San Filipe de Barajas
We started day 2 with a nice breakfast. I had an egg sandwich (that my wife quipped that I could have gotten at any McDonalds) and cafe americano. I didn’t realize this at the time, but Colombians don’t drink coffee black (at least it is less common) so coffee black is referred to as cafe americano. All of the coffee that I had on this trip was very strong, but also surprisingly smooth for the darkness of the roast. The serving sizes of the coffee (and every other drink) were also much smaller than I am used to in the United States. After breakfast, we realized that it was going to be the least hot day of the trip (~87 degrees) so we decided to walk over to the Fort. There was a small line, but it moved very quickly to get into the fort. There were also quite a few people selling water outside. If you don’t have water going in, it is worth noting that they don’t sell water inside the fort until the very top. The fort was very interesting to tour. There were extensive tunnels as well as great views of the rest of the city. At the top of the fort, there was a souvenir shop as well as drinks that could be purchased.
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast (Epoca Cafe Bar) - $35.56 (x2 people)
Fort Entry - $66k
Drinks at Fort - $10k (2x5k)
Agua de Coco - $4k
Lunch (Montmartre) - $16.21 (x1 person)
Mango - $5k
Supper (El Coroncoro) - $17.47 (x2 people) + $3 tip
Day 3 (2/8): Walking Tour
On the third day of our trip, we decided to find a walking tour of Cartagena. We decided to just go to the clock tower area and find a tour guide that way. We ended up on a tour with Mauricio who was pretty good. He walked us all around the walled city and pointed out different areas that we may have missed if we were on our own. He also was able to take us into some hotels that would have been more difficult to walk into by ourselves (security guards out front). They probably would have let us in, but it was easier to just follow Mauricio. One thing I would have done differently if I were doing this tour over again is ask what the price was up front. The price we ended up paying was fair, but since we hadn’t asked ahead of time, we really could have gotten into a bind. After the walking tour, my wife went and had a massage and I walked around a bit more. For supper, I ate the Cazuela Marisco (Seafood Casserole) and drank a lemonada de coco. Both tasted great.
Cost Breakdown
Walking Tour Guide - $150k
Lunch (Dona Lola) - $54.76
Massage (Oasi Spa) - $25.24
Supper (Vive Restaurante) - Not sure on cost
Day 4 (2/9): Rest Day
On day 4 we mostly relaxed. I went and found a nice coffee shop that I could grab a coffee and an almond croissant then I went back to the hotel and sat by the pool for a while before going and eating at El Beso Bar. After lunch, I walked around the city for a while longer and just explored. Eventually, I went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool and swam for a while. I really appreciated having the hotel as a place to hide away from the rest of the city. Inside the hotel, we didn’t have to worry about people coming up to us and trying to sell us trinkets or hats or sunglasses so it was a much more relaxing atmosphere.
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast (At the hotel) - ?
Second Breakfast (Cafe San Alberto) - $8.15
Lunch (El Beso) - $24.27
Supper (El Bololo) - $24.62
Day 5 (2/10): Crabs and Raccoons
This was one of the more unique experiences that I have had. The experience caught my eye because it was in a mangrove which was something we had hoped to see on our trip. We didn’t really know what to expect but I knew I didn’t want to do any real fishing, but this was different. This was an event to show you how to catch crabs using a crab trap and how to throw a fishing net. Our translator met us at our hotel and got all of us a ride to the mangrove entrance. Getting to the mangroves was the most stressful part of the event mostly because the last stretch of road is very close to the ocean and it had recently been underwater. This made the ride very rough, but once we got to the location, we walked to a canoe that was waiting for us and we met our guide. It was cool to walk around in the lagoon because it wasn’t very deep (ankle or so) and you could see the bottom. I would recommend bringing polorized sunglasses and bug spray along with the things recommended by EverthingCartagena. There were crabs walking around as well as snails and a ton of shells. During the experience, we had the option to stop at an island called fisherman island which is home to a cat, a few dogs, and some human friendly raccoons. The island utilizes its location to farm fish. Overall it was a really cool experience. We caught probably 20 crabs in the traps and didn’t catch any fish when throwing the net, but still enjoyed trying it out and watching the guide throw the net. When we returned with our bucket of crabs, we took them in where there was a pot of salted boiling water where we dumped them and we went back to the restaurant which is on the ocean. We relaxed there until our crab and pescado frito was finished cooking. The food was delicious and it was a unique experience to eat the crabs that we had just caught an hour earlier. When we got back from the event, the person that runs EverythingCartagena reached out to us to ask how everything went and to see if we were open to him recommending other experiences that he thought we might like. This was really helpful for us because we didn’t know exactly what we wanted to do and he helped us out a few more times after this.
Cost Breakdown
Cartagena Fishing & Crabbing - $176 + $12 to have the crabs cooked for us with lunch + $10 to visit fisherman island and get a couple drinks
Day 6 (2/11): Beach Day
We booked a trip to Sabai which is a private beach club on the island of Baru. The day started with a walk to the boat dock. We grabbed mangoes, an egg arepa, and a cheese finger for breakfast as well as a water and a bottle of coke zero. When it was time, the Sabai employee led us to the boat where we took off our shoes and boarded the boat. Once onboard, we drove to the Sabai beach club where we were given a popsickle made with a fruit of some sort (something local I think?). I grabbed a cup of coffee and went to the bed that was reserved for us. We took the two-person kayak out for a paddle around the area in front of the beach club. The front seat of the kayak was uncomfortable for me so that part wasn’t really enjoyable. One other person also complained about the same issue so I think the kayaks were just not great. The paddles were also put together in an incorrect way (turned 90 degrees). We tried to go out into the ocean, but the coral was very sharp and not enjoyable to go out in. There was also a bunch of seaweed that would cover you if you got into the wrong area. One part of this day that I really enjoyed was the sound that the coral made on the beach. Every time a wave went back into the ocean, there was a sound where the coral would clink together that was magical. It was my favorite part of the experience. Overall, this wasn’t really something we loved, but if you just want a relaxing day of lounging around, this place would be great.
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast (Street vendors on the way to dock) - $15k
Sabai Baru Beach Club - $213 ($106.50 x 2)
Supper (Beer Lovers Cartagena) - $25.79
Day 7 (2/12): Aviario Nacional de Colombia
The National Aviary was something that we definitely knew we wanted to experience while we were in Cartagena. There were a lot of really cool birds here and we saw a wide range of events while we were there. They put on a special show at the Aviary twice a day and that was pretty cool. They had birds that were very use to humans and they walked them all around the audience by luring them with tasty worm snacks. This gave a nice up-close view of the animals and also showed the grace that the birds had. There were also a ton of colorful parrots and other tropical birds. This was one of the highlights of the trip for us and if you are interested in the beach, there is also a beach very close that you can visit and each lunch at.
Cost Breakdown
Trip to National Aviary - $141.60 (2 x 71.80 Aviary only, no beach option)
Supper (Cafe del Mar) - $41.18
Day 8 (2/13): Digging Deeper into Cartagena’s History
On Day 8, we stayed close again and focused on going to a few of the museums that were available. First, we went to the gold museum (Museo del Oro Zenú). This was ok and I really enjoyed the video that talked about making gold that utilized really fine strands known as filigree. Next, we went to the Museum of Cartagena de Indias. This was almost all Spanish-only displays, but it was still very interesting for me with a little bit of Spanish and the google translate app that lets you take pictures of full walls of text. The downstairs area is focused on the inquisition and the upstairs is focused on Cartagena after Spain was in control. This was my favorite museum that we went to. Last, we went to the Museo Naval del Caribe. This was also quite interesting with the lower floors being dedicated to earlier ships and the upstairs being more modern Colombian Navy. This museum really highlighted how good of a defensive position Spain had on the Cartagena area.
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast (Libertario) - $15.36
Museo del Oro Zenú - Free
Museo de Cartagena de Indias - $12.23
Lunch (Pepe Anca) - $23.29
Museo Naval del Caribe - $11.72
Supper (Mana Pizzaria) - $13.20
Day 9 (2/14): Tierra Bomba
One thing that caught my eye was the forts on Tierra Bomba in Bocachica. There are three interesting forts that I was hoping to see that were all pretty close to each other. Bateria del Angel San Rafael, Furte de San Fernando de Bocachica, and Furta Bateria de San Jose. We ended up only touring one of the three, but it was still quite an interesting day. We started out by getting breakfast because I wanted to take the shuttle from Cartagena to Bocachica but my understanding was that it didn’t start running until 9:00 AM. So after breakfast, we headed to the dock area and were approached by a woman with a binder filled with laminated pieces of paper. She asked where we were heading and we said that we wanted to take the shuttle to Bocachica. She flipped through her papers and found one that had Tierra Bomba on it. She showed it to us and took out a piece of paper. On it, she wrote $160k and said she only accepted cash. This was all in front of the dock area before entering. What we figured out after a while is that we needed to go into Gate 1 and talk to the worker there about taking the shuttle to Bocachica. We did have to do some back and fourth with the guard at the gate, but eventually he let us through to talk with the person that would let us into the dock. Once we were inside, we talked to the captain and he charged each of us $15k for a ticket to Bocachica. This price was actually very high compared to what other people were paying, but we were just happy to have a ticket and to be on the boat headed for Bocachica. One thing that we were told is that the boat shuttle only leaves when it is full so we ended up sitting on the dock for 2 hours before we actually departed for Bocachica, but at least we had a spot on the boat and we had paid the correct people. I’m not sure that the original person we had talked to that tried to sell us $160k tickets actually had any authority to get us on the boat so I am glad that we recognized that the price was not what we had expected initially and kept pursuing the option. Once we got to Bocachica, we started heading to Fuerte de San Fernando de Bocachica. If you make this journey I would recommend using google maps to get you to the fort from the dock. The route along the water doesn’t go all the way to the fort. We ended up having a guide start leading us to the fort after I made a wrong turn and he showed us around the fort and took us to a spot to eat afterwards. It was nice to have somebody that knew where to go at the fort so I think it was probably good to have him there, but we probably could have gotten a less expensive price if we had discussed it ahead of time with him. Instead, we didn’t talk about price until the very end and he charged us $100k for the tour. After that, we were pretty tired and worried about not getting back to Cartagena so we just went back to the dock instead of going up to the Bateria del Angel San Rafael. I am sure that would have also been very cool to see and we probably would have done it if we had gotten onto the island earlier. Overall, this trip isn’t something I would recommend unless you go to the Fuerte de San Filipe and are really excited to see more forts that were part of the defensive success that Cartagena had. There are a few ways this trip could be made better in my opinion. First, the shuttle needs to have a time cutoff where it will leave even if it isn’t full. Maybe this is something that could be subsidized by the Colombian government or maybe they could charge a fee to get into the fort. Next, they should add a shuttle stop closer to the Fort. There is a dock right next to the fort that appeared to be for government boats only, but if they added a stop close to the fort, that would get more people to go to it. The town of Bocachica was pretty dirty so it wasn’t a great experience to walk through the town (lots of trash). I think that there is a ton of potential in this area, but currently it is not easy to get to and enjoy unless you know what you’re doing.
Cost Breakdown
Breakfast - $28.88
Entry into the dock - $6k ($3k/person)
Cost to get from Cartagena to Bocachica - $30k (15k/person)
Lunch - $80k (Restaurant in Bocachica)
Guide from Bocachica - $100k
Cost to get from Bocachica to Cartagena - $20k (10k/person)
Day 10 (2/15): Jardín Botánico de Cartagena Guillermo Piñeres
The botanical gardens are something that was recommended to us after we mentioned the Aviary. This was something that we probably wouldn’t have had a chance to do if we hadn’t made connections with Everything Cartagena on our early trips. He was able to arrange our guide that took us to the Aviary to also pick us up and take us to the botanical gardens. This was pretty nice because the guide that took us around the gardens didn’t speak English so we wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much out of it without a translator. The area was extremely beautiful with all types of plants and quite a few animals as well that we hadn’t expected to see. We saw two types of monkeys, an alligator, leaf-cutter ants, and another type of ant. There was a tree that we saw that was 300 years old according to our guide. I believe it because of how wide the base was. Everything was really well taken care of and it definitely was something we are glad that we went to.
Cost Breakdown
Transportation to Botanical Garden plus translator - $100
Tip for guide - $40k
Tip for translator/driver - $60k
Lunch - $47.83
Supper - $69.46
Hotel Charges - $275.18
Day 11 (2/16): Homecoming
Cost Breakdown
Uber to Airport - $9.13+$1.28
Coffee - $2.04+$2.09
Bus Tickets from O’Hare to Madison - $70 ($35 x 2)
Lyft Home - $23
Lunch - $11.75+$14.48
Snacks - $13.52 + $11.98
Tips
Take a picture or have a paper copy of your passport with you. Colombia recently started giving tourists their taxes back on items that they bought inside of Colombia but haven’t used. One of the things they need for this is your passport number. (Explain this process further…)
Always ask for the price up front and don’t let the street vendors give you anything or open anything for you until you’ve agreed on a price.
Some ballpark prices of stuff when we were there:
Drinks Small (Pequena): $5k
Drinks Large (Grande): $8k
Mango: $5k
- There are two types of mango that they sell. Sweet mango and mango verde. They will add Limon and salt to mango verde, but I wasn’t a fan of this tase so I always asked for mango dulce after I realized both existed.
Agua de Coco (Coconut Water): $8k
- I did get one coconut water for $4k and another one for $5k so $8k might be a little on the high side
Wear light-weight long sleeve shirts and pants if you have them. This makes it a lot easier to walk around without worrying about burning.
Ask for the check when you are done eating (“Estamos listos para la cuenta” | “We are ready for the check”). One thing we found out was that they didn’t ever really settle the bill until we asked for it.
Cartagena gets very hot in the afternoon. Do your trips early in the morning and try to stay inside in the afternoon