Cartagena, Colombia Port Reviews

I booked a tour with a local company - Dora de Zubiria http://www.cartagenatour.com and they were fabulous. Four of us did the tour and we had a driver and guide. We were only in port for a short day so had a 4 hour tour of this amazing city. Starting at the Convent of Santa Cruz which is on the highest hill, we were able to see the whole city, including where the ship was. We had a short stop at the Castillo de San Filipe de Barajas, a huge fortress built in the 16th century. Then on to markets before arriving at the Old Town. We had a walking tour here which was brilliant. The buildings are all painted in amazing colours and bougainvillea flows over walls adding to the splendour. You can take a horse drawn carriage tour here. We went in a number of buildings and finished on the top of the wall that surrounds the city.

Visited: Apr 20, 2014

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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

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Port was nice and clean, and right next to the dock was a free Bird Aviary/Sanctuary with countless beautiful parrots, peacocks, toucans, flamingos, etc.....and they even had a couple of anteaters. We could have spent all day there, but we took the NCL excursion that went by the old fort and then to the walled city. We visited the Gold Museum and the Chocolate Museum, views are best if you walk the ramp up to the top of the wall.

Visited: Mar 30, 2019

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Cartagena was a major surprise. In a word, I'd rate it fabulous. Once again, we hired an English speaking guide who gave us a terrific tour at a very fair price. The guy was a walking encyclopedia of history. He had great language skills and humor. When we finished our taxi tour, we went to the Cathedral in the Old Town and found an English speaking guide who continued our tour. Once again, he was great. Our experience in Cartagena was well worth the time. We found the Colombians friendly, hospitable and curious. In short, I'm ready to go back there for a continuation of our tour and actually, after speaking with Colombians, wouldn't mind going to Bogata and Medellin (yes, that Medellin). We NEVER felt threatened. The streets were welcoming and it was a great experience

Visited: Jan 02, 2019

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Exclusion with Dora the Explorer is great. City tour hits all the city highlights and is expertly run by a experienced guide. Cheaper than ship tour.

Cartagena was the cleanest country we visited during this cruise.

Visited: Nov 05, 2018

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Found out your to be very informative, visiting Lapoppa and the 2 forts in the city. The old city was colorful and vibrant with stores and historic buildings and statues. PSA the vendors here are very very aggressive in selling their wares. Direct them firmly in order to be left alone.😎

Went to the walled city and had a nice time

Visited: Dec 20, 2019

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Took the new coffee tasting and food excursion. Left ship, walked down dock to board a small boat. They split the group into 2, half of us were on lower level for coffee tasting, half on top deck for food tasting, then we switched. Coffee tasting was ok. Young lady gave us a talk on coffee growing. She fresh brewed 2 types of columbian coffee, which we tasted. Then we had the food tasting, which was much better. They made fresh cerviche on freshly made plantain cups and offered cold pina coladas (with or without rum). This part of the excursion was very very good. During this time, the boat sailed around Cartagena for 1 1/2 hours, giving us a unique view of the city. After the tasting, we disembarked and took a walking tour of the old city for about 2 hours, which included a stop at La Cathedral. We stopped at one emerald shop and while I don't usually like to stop at shops, this one had bathrooms, wifi, and a/c, which was appreciated as it was another clear and warm day. Empanadas and fresh fruit cups were waiting for us back on the boat, which we enjoyed for the 30 min ride back to the port. Overall, the excursion was very worth the price, and gave us a bit of everything (boat ride, food, walking tour)

Visited: Feb 28, 2019

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The old walled city of Cartegana was amazing to see. Simply say ‘no gracias’ to the street vendors and you’ll be fine. Buy the beaded hummingbirds, they’re awesome. My tip: know your emeralds before you buy. I bought a pendant at of the Royal Caribbean endorsed jewellers. The owner of the business showed me some pieces double my budget, and then offered me the one I liked for my budget. Had it valued back at home (for insurance). The value is less than I paid which I kind of accept. But it’s also less carats than certified as being. I did follow up by email, they asked for my contact number however are unable to get through on it.