Don't let the fact its Columbia scare you like it originally did me. The people are friendly, the little sanctuary near the port is amazing. Saw tons of rescues. A baby sloth, baby ant eater, around 50 parrots, tiny monkeys if you can spot them, peacocks, peahens and even a flamingo chick with its flock! Theres even more if you can find them, if they fly or climb they are not in cages so they can freely crawl or fly around you, the ground walkers such as the ant eaters are in a fenced in area for their safety from us. I highly recommend once out of the main port in old town, ask locals for their favorite food stop. We were walked to a little hole in the wall restaurant with some of the BEST bolognese sauce I've ever had in my life, it was like a sweet pork sauce. My parents had the best chicken and beef. Even the soda is better than in the us as it's full of carbonation and tastes good.
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About Cartagena, Colombia
Once the port where the wealth of the New World flowed back to the Old, Cartagena also served as a notorious base for privateers and pirates. Today, you can stroll the tree-lined Spanish colonial artistry of old in the streets and see the works of the Gold Museum. The port is also a great place to find bargains on emeralds.
722 reviews and tips of Cartagena, Colombia
Write A Port TipThis port caught us totally by surprise because it wasn't what we were expecting at all. It's a little Miami in the new town - all white condo buildings and sky scrapers. And in the old town, the walled city is a must see! There was so much history to hear about see. The only downfall was the unrelenting vendors trying to sell us hats and everything else, they never stopped! But upon return to the cruise ship terminal, there's a free small zoo and Juan Valdez store and they were so nice to go through before getting back on the ship - macaws, peacocks, black swans, pink flamingos!
Visited: Apr 08, 2018
We did not take tour because we heard that the locals were extremely harassing and the tours were expensive. We did leave ship and went to the terminals where they had a great free wild animal sanctuary where there all kinds of birds, peacocks, deer and different kinds of monkeys. It was really great! The store there also had a great variety of items for sale and very reasonable.
Visited: Apr 19, 2018
Much better than what we expected. Street sellers were persistent but not aggressive. Store clerks were friendly and not pushy. Very beautiful city.
Visited: Dec 09, 2018
3 of 22 shore excursions in Cartagena, Colombia.
Emerald Tour
$89/adult
Sightseeing & Shopping Tour
$84/adult
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