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Cartagena on your own Easy Peasy


wlbox
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We did Cartagena on our own. Very easy

Got off the ship early. We walked off at 7:00

take the free shuttle from the ship to the Terminal building.

do not visit it now.

We teamed up with another couple and shared a taxi from the terminal building directly to the Old Walled UNESCO city. Paid $15 for the 4 of us in a brand new small van. We told them "Centro" and were dropped off at the Clock Tower.

Not many people out this early. Great time for photos and it is still relatively cooler.

 

Entered the Walled city and walked first to Plaza Bolivar for photos. Then we walked out to the Old city walls and continued walking on the walls near the ocean to the northside of the old town. This is where the vendor craft sale area is located. You can see the Old Fort in the distance. We did not go here as it was already getting hot.

You can visit the Fort for $10 US cash per person.

Instead we continued exploring the city by walking thru the streets. Stopping at different Plazas.

Returning to Bolivar Plaza. Free wifi is available for 30 minutes if you register your email address. it worked great. You can get a photo taken with the lady who has a fruit basket on her head $1.

We then went inside the Palace of the Inquisition. They did not charge us anything and offered clean free bathrooms.

Next we visited the Museum del Oro the Gold Museum. It was also free.

Air Conditioning is available at both locations in a few rooms take advantage of it.

The humidity is horrible and I was so glad we started our day early.

 

Fruit vendors are on the street. Lots of things to look at. we never felt unsafe.

Do not carry much money or flashy cameras.

 

We got a taxi back to the ship from the Clock Tower area. Tell the driver Barco (ship) they are all over and easy to find.

Paid $10 for two of us but he gave us a tour on the way back to the ship. Pointing out interesting places along the way. We saw a wedding party exiting a church. The old fort up on the hill. Pretty old homes. donkey carts.

 

Once you return to the terminal take advantage of the free and fun Aviary and mini zoo. Great photos of parrots, flamingos, iguanas. This place is so much fun.

You can go inside the large cages and get great pictures of the birds.

We had toucans fly up to us and pick at our shoe laces.

Walk into the emerald mine exhibit, cool and interesting. The gift shop is also nice.

Take the free shuttle bus back to the ship.

 

Great day in Cartagena. Go early in the day. It does get very humid and hot.

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Thanks for the great info. We are traveling next month to Cartagena and DIY.

 

Did you get your taxi right outside the port area or did you walk a few blocks away for that price?

 

Did you use US $?

 

How long did you spend in the walled city?

 

Thank you!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Hello, thank you for posting how easy peasy it was doing Cartagena on your own.

 

We will be there next April on HAL. We are only in port from 7am-1pm. We would prefer to do this port on our how, customized...were thinking either booking directly a guide but your post sounds easypeasy.

 

We don't have a lot of time, we are nervous about doing a diy tour as we will be short on time, don't want to miss the ship. How long was the taxi ride to central walled city? We would like to do a walk about, plus the inquisition would be another point of interest as a must see. Trying to plan our diy for 3 hours so we get back to port in time to do the zoo. Is that too short of time to cab, walk the city streets, inquisition, cab back in 3 hours?

 

And do you think two women on their own walking the streets would be advisable?

 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts, info and advice,

Sweetp

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Do they still have the water taxi from the port terminal building to the old city? We were in Cartagena four years ago and took the water taxi, walked around the old city, got a cab to the fort, then tool a cab back to the ship. It was a wonderful day. We're going back in January and want to do a similar day. I have't read anything in these posts about a water taxi.

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Do they still have the water taxi from the port terminal building to the old city? We were in Cartagena four years ago and took the water taxi, walked around the old city, got a cab to the fort, then tool a cab back to the ship. It was a wonderful day. We're going back in January and want to do a similar day. I have't read anything in these posts about a water taxi.

 

Oh taking a water taxi to the old city sounds perfect...I will watch for replies..and maybe jump onto google and do some research. Thanks RSF Cruiser for your post!

 

Sweetp2

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

We just got back from a 3 night trip to Cartagena. $10USD is way too expensive for a cab to el centro (aka torre del reloj/clock tower). We always paid $7000 colombian pesos which is ~$2.25. Uber is also in Cartagena, and it's almost the same as a taxi. That's a good option if you don't want to carry pesos.

 

Sweetp- it's very safe for women to walk around especially during the day. Your time at the port is so short, however, that I would suggest a private tour. The fort was a big highlight for me, and I loved walking around the old city and its neighbor, Getsemani.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

 

while searching for information about Cartagena I have found this:

 

.Be wary of people offering their services as guides. Tourists coming off the cruise ships are besieged by guides offering their services at prices ranging up to $US80 for an afternoon. You can bargain them down to less than half that. Make sure you get a guide who does actually speak English. Pay him at the end, not before, and make it clear where you want to go, because many "guides" head straight for shops that pay them commisions. A taxi driver can be hired for a day trip for around US$10 an hour, though very few speak English. If coming off a cruise ship, you must get a taxi driver from outside the terminal, because the ones inside the terminal have set up a cartel. To see a printer-friendly list of 36 interesting excursions in Cartagena.

 

http://www.cartagenainfo.net/glenndavid/tips.html

Edited by black forest
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  • 4 weeks later...
For those who have taken taxis in Cartagena, will it be easy to find a van/minivan as opposed to cars? There are three of us but two wheelchairs, I could always fall back to two taxis but would prefer to stay together.

 

In your case i would recommend excursion from ship.

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  • 4 months later...
Thanks, but an organized tour won't work for us. We need the flexibility for one or both of them to go back to the ship if they get fatigued. I think that taxis are the best balance of cost and flexibility for us.

 

If you haven't already cruised, someone on TripAdv game me an email address of a taxi driver. I believe he only has a car, but he may be able to put you in touch with someone who has a can. You can email me at annjunk at sbcglobal dot net if you are interested.

Edited by alwalaska
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Ah, thanks but we've been there and are back. We didn't wind up doing a tour at Cartagena, we just walked off the ship and wandered around the port area shops and bird sanctuary. We did walk to the port exit to check out the area but it was really, really hot that day and it looked like a long walk to get anywhere so we turned back and returned to the ship.

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