Beware of taxis Cartagena Port

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

We were in port in Cartagena last week. Had a beautiful day in the old city.

 

I am writing to warn you of the taxis that are stationed inside of the port. The posted price is $15 to take you to town. That may sound reasonable to an American or European, by Colombia's standards, that is a fortune.

 

If you walk outside of the port and hail one of the taxis there, insist on paying the official rate, which is 7000 pesos for the cab. That converts to about $4.

 

Don't let them try to tell you that the cab costs $10, because it doesn't.

 

They are very aggressive there so stick to your guns and don't get ripped off.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[eandj]

We picked a cab inside the port area that cost $12 to the clock tower. We shared with another couple making it $3 per person. Well worth it for us as we didn't have to haggle with anyone. Coming back to the ship we paid $8 I think by choosing a cab right at the click tower. Shared again.

 

Did we pay more than the locals? yes. But with sharing, we found it a rate we were satisfied to pay. There ARE some cities we won't pay "cruise rates" for cabs. Pireaus, Greece is one.

[Bewer]

Can anyone tell me if any of the taxis in Cartagena are big enough to take 6 passengers?

[globalwife]

Can anyone tell me if any of the taxis in Cartagena are big enough to take 6 passengers?

 

A taxi won't be big enough but there are vans.

[Bewer]

A taxi won't be big enough but there are vans.

 

 

Thanks globalwife. I was hoping that was the case. I should have said van not taxi.

[pmc7704]

But a regular taxi WILL hold 4 adults, right ??

[globalwife]

But a regular taxi WILL hold 4 adults, right ??

 

Yes, it will be tighter than you are used to since cars are smaller here than what is normal in the state, but 4 can fit. (One up front and three in the back) You pay for the ride, not per person.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

So just to confirm, the rate "should be" $4 for the taxi, and not per person from outside the dock to the old city?

[globalwife]

So just to confirm, the rate "should be" $4 for the taxi, and not per person from outside the dock to the old city?

 

That's correct. You might have to walk to the gates of the port (about 100 meters or less) to get that rate since the ones inside the gate had to wait hours for your business and thus charge more.

[james7]

My US passport expired, so I would be traveling w/o a valid passport.

 

Can I enter into Cartagena or will the Colombian port of authorities would not allow me to enter?

can someone please tell me if they went recently to Cartegena on a closed loop cruise with out a us passport and was able to enter the country or not? Colombia is part of the western hemisphere and on the us.gov. map for the w.h.

Thank you.

[frisquito]

If you choose to walk out of the port to hail a cab, how long should it take? Are cabs regularly driving by?

[Milhouse]

There are guys right outside the wall that will pester to grab a taxi for you. They'll have taxis waiting :D

[globalwife]

If you choose to walk out of the port to hail a cab, how long should it take? Are cabs regularly driving by?

 

If they are not there waiting, they are constantly driving by. In our case we were in a cab and gone long befor all the people in the port made it through the taxi line and we saved $$$.

[frisquito]

Thanks for your response. One other question, do the cabs outside the port take US$ and is there an ATM in the port?

Thanks

[dwick]

They will take US dollars but maybe not always at the best exchange rate. There are no ATMs at the port but there are ATMs at most of the banks and also grocery stores. Several banks are located near the clock tower by the entrance of the Old Town. A good recommendation is to always use an ATM that is inside. Try to also have smaller bills as oftentimes vendors, taxi drivers and others don't have change. (ie 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10000 peso bills are best.)

[Milhouse]

I'd recommend just using USD's as they are widely accepted in the tourist areas (eg. a street vendor in the old town selling arepas quoted me in USD's and was surprised I wanted to pay in pesos) and it's a pain to have left over pesos.