The 15 Day Trips in Cartagena That Earn Their Price

1.Private Boat Tour Full day trip to Rosario Islands, Cholon, Baru

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 112 reviews · 8 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $799Our pick

A full-day private boat hop from Cartagena to the Rosario Islands, Cholón, and Baru, with snorkel gear, beach time, and a calmer departure.

“This is an excellent way to spend a full day visiting the surrounding islands. The crew and Kevin were fantastic very friendly, very professional.They brought us to places we wanted and skip the places we did not. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch, (not included in price of tour) which was a great experience. Bring snacks and beverages for the provided iced cooler. A great little detail, connect your Bluetooth to their kickin sound system.”

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2.The Jaguar´s Footprint: Hike and Music Day Trip from Cartagena

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 112 reviews · 11 hours (approx.) · from $169Top rated

From Cartagena, hike in the Montes de Maria to see petroglyphs and wildlife, then learn Gaita music in San Jacinto with a small group.

“What an incredible experience! If you love hiking, nature, animals, plant life - this is for you! Olinto our guide is so knowledgeable and passionate and we learned so much about not only the plant and animal life, but about Colombia in general and their culture, food, music, etc. He was very punctual, professional, and fun! We were able to see many different types of birds and also monkeys! The views were INCREDIBLE and seeing the petroglyphs was a once in a lifetime experience! Getting to have lunch at a local hotel and have the local music played for us was so special and cool. We cannot recommend Olinto and…”

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3.Rosario Islands Day Trip: Snorkel & Sunbathe at Isla del Sol

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 98 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $180

Rosario Islands day trip from Cartagena to Isla del Sol with speedboat, private beach time, optional snorkeling, and fresh fish lunch.

“The tour is good. Basically the promised everything what was offered. Bring some cash to do extra activities. Lobster is a must and really cheap. Try it.”

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4.Rosario Island and Mangroves Private Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 73 reviews · 9 hours · from $244

Private Cartagena day trip to Rosario Islands, mangroves, and Barú village with snorkeling, local breakfast, beach time, and lunch.

“Great guide and fun activities. We loved snorkeling and having lunch and seeing the town.”

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5.Baru Island & Playa Tranquila Day Trip with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 67 reviews · 8 hours · from $26Best value

Cartagena to Barú Island for a beach day at Playa Blanca and quieter Playa Tranquila, with hotel pickup and a traditional lunch.

“HUIR: - nada esta incluido en el todo includo, la descripción engaña! no hay snorkling incluido, ni sombrilla, ni un vaso de agua, nada, tendran que pagar todo aparte - la playa NO es nada tranquila, hay MUCHAS lanchas y motos acuáticas justo al lado tuyo con mucho olor a gasolina - 4h en total en el bus sobre las 8h de atividad NO recomiendo para nada en todos mis viajes una de las peores experiencias, realmente ahorrense su tiempo y dinero”

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6.Playa Blanca Full-Day Trip from Cartagena

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 48 reviews · from $63

Spend a full day at Playa Blanca from Cartagena, with a scenic ride past Manga and Mamonal, a local lunch, and beach time.

“Playa Blanca was well worth the trip for a day on the white sand beach with blue water. We were picked up from hotel, stopped at grocery store and then to the beach. We were them taken by boat to a spot further down the beach which was nice because this is a very crowded beach. The further you go down, there are less people. We went on a Tuesday. I can’t imagine how packed it would be on a weekend. The tour included a shaded upright chair but you can rent lounge chairs for good price which we did. Lunch was really good grilled red snapper which is included.…”

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7.Family Day Trip – Private Boat Charter To The Rosario Islands

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 38 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $779

Private 8-hour boat day from Cartagena to Islas de Rosario and Barú, with swimming, snorkeling, beach clubs, and family time.

“This tour advertises that snorkel gear is provided. Once we were on the boat, our guide, Isabella, asked what we would like to do. We had already communicated ahead of time when booking that we wanted to snorkel and explore relaxed beaches and areas of the islands away from the party scene. The ad for the experience listed snorkel gear as being included. When we asked about snorkeling, Isabella informed us that there wasn’t any on the boat. Then they found this guy selling random drinks on a floating kayak and borrowed three Ill-fitting, dirty masks and one snorkel (for four people reservation), and no flippers were available at all.…”

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8.Scuba Diving Day Trip at Playa Blanca with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 22 reviews · from $120

Cartagena day trip to Baru Island and Playa Blanca with an underwater reef session, lunch, and beach time, plus return to Bocagrande or Laguito.

“I asked for a guide in English, but had someone who only spoke Spanish. What was good was that the bus came to the hotel. An hour late, without letting me know or responding to a message. Furthermore, I got the entire explanation in Spanish. The guide did not know that I was registered for scuba diving. I had to find out for myself. Diving was very good, only the description said one hour of diving and this was only 20 minutes. Even after that I had to figure out where I had to go myself, the guide, Mary, was nowhere to be seen and did not respond to whatsapp…”

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9.San Basilio de Palenque Guided Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 11 reviews · 6 hours · from $92

Cartagena guided day trip to San Basilio de Palenque, America’s first free town, with museum, music, boxing, lunch, and raspado.

“Very interesting and pretty little village. Guide Moises was good but too much time spent hanging around waiting to move on. Also, too many requests for tips or to spend small amounts of money for what was already an expensive day out.”

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10.Santa Marta and Tayrona Park Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 9 reviews · 15 hours · from $175

15-hour Santa Marta and Tayrona Park day trip with Siete Olas views, boat to Playa Cristal, Neguanje beach, and included lunch.

“the Tour ist only in spanish even when you book it in english, your not going to see much of Tayrona Park only the one beach.”

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11.Rosario Islands Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 8 reviews · 8 hours · from $180

Speedboat to Colombia’s Rosario Islands, relax at Isla del Sol, see the open-water aquarium option, and enjoy beach lunch with fresh fish.

“¡Todo excelente! Hermosa la isla. Pudimos hacer snorkel e ir al oceanario, ver todos los animales y terminar con el show de los delfines. Son cosas que se paga por separado del tour pero si pueden hacerlo, son actividades Super recomendables.”

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12.Baru Beach Day Trip with Bioluminescent Plankton

★★★★★★★★★★2.6 · 7 reviews · 12 hours · from $44

A full day from Cartagena to Barú for beach time, lunch at Mandala Beach, sunset at Playa Blanca, then a night swim with glowing plankton.

“No lo recomiendo en absoluto,transportes de mala calidad,incluso sin cinturones de seguridad, condiciones sanitarias precarias en el sitio, embarcación inadecuada para la actividad nocturna,sobrecargada de pasajeros,Con varios menores de edad y chalecos Salvavidas defectuosos que incluso no cerraban.,caminos de acceso de muy mala calidad y puntualidad en bus de regreso deficiente, debiendo esperar en la obscuridad y con menores de edad Más parecía un reality de aventura que una actividad turística, que por lo demás,no es de bajo costo,hay muchas cosas que mejorar,para llegar a ser una actividad turística de calidad. Por ello no lo recomiendo en absoluto y menos con menores de edad.”

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13.Coralina Island Day Trip with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 7 reviews · 8 hours · from $172

8-hour Coralina Island day trip from Cartagena with speedboat ride, snorkeling, three-course lunch, and Isleño, Deluxe, or VIP options.

“Atividade incrível. Lugar maravilhoso Poderia melhorar a parte de alimentação, ficou a desejar em relação a qualidade. Parte de banheiros, precisa ser melhorada.”

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14.Cristal Beach Day Trip with Cocktail and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 7 reviews · 6 hours · from $48

Cristal Beach day trip from Cartagena with Aviario visit, speedboat to Barú, welcome cocktail, lunch, and a 10,000 peso bar credit for $48.

“The Aviary is a really beautiful place. Highly recommended. My only complaint is that is very confusing when you book the activity it says Playa Tranquila + Aviary, but we have to pay an extra amount to enter the Aviary. That’s something you need to put clear, so people don’t get confused.”

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15.Day Trip Aviary and enjoy Playa Blanca by bus

★★★★★★★★★★3.1 · 6 reviews · 8 hours · from $87

Cartagena day trip to Colombia’s National Aviary and Playa Blanca on Barú, with hotel pickup, lunch, and guided bird-and-beach fun.

“They kept moving us from bus to bus and my friend lost her sunglasses due to having to move so rapidly. Once we arrived at Playa Blanca we were bombarded with locals selling stuff. Also, we would order drinks and they would overcharge us for a different liquor. TBH it was not the relaxing trip I had in mind.”

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