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Cartagena columbia old town


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Just talking a taxi downtown is ok, but you will miss some key sites.

 

Check out Dora. She takes you to La Popa hill where the view is worth the price of the tour. Then to the fort and on to the city.

 

 

 

Claudia Vidal (http://www.toursclaudiavidal.com)

 

City tour Cartagena

Cartagena is a historic walled city filled with great sights. On this special guided tour, you will experience the beauty and history of this unique port.

 

We start the tour going up La Popa hill for a fantastic view of the city and to visit the Monastery and Chapel of Our Lady of the Candle. Following we go to the San Felipe de Barajas fort for a panoramic view from the bottom.

 

From the fort, we move on towards the old city to take a leisure stroll around the old walled city admiring glamorous and legendary houses and plazas. At the end of the walk we visit the Sanctuary of Saint Peter Claver or The Inquisition Palace (It´s your choice) . Then we head towards Bocagrande and Castillogrande, the modern areas of the city , and we make a stop for Shopping at the Pierino Gallo Shopping plaza and/or an emerald factory.

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we did this cruise in March 2012. Old Cartegena is beautiful, and perfectly safe. My husband and I and a friend took a cab to the Old Town for (I think) about $15., and just walked around. Get a guidebook or download info before you go. Only caution is that if you are there on Sunday, much is closed. Enjoy?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bethandler, Thanx for advice. If the ferry is not running we will likely do it your way. Just have to find a guidebook, the library's collection on South America is scant.

Steve

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Bethandler, Thanx for advice. If the ferry is not running we will likely do it your way. Just have to find a guidebook, the library's collection on South America is scant.

Steve

If you do the taxi, you will miss quite a bit of what we saw. Our tour was $65 pp and included:

 

Hello George, Thanks for writing. Cartagena is a beautiful city and it will be nice for you to take a well organized tour. It can be the “highlight” of your cruise.I am sending you the description of the tour and prices. Ship: Infinity Time: 8:30 am Number of pax 4adults December 6 2011 CITY TOUR - PRIVATEWe begin our tour in Manga where we will see great mansions built at the beginning of the XX Century.

We visit the main monuments of the city. We start at the hill of La Popa from where, besides visiting the monastery and the chapel, we will be able to admire a fantastic view of the city. Following we head towards the San Felipe de Barajas Fort, the most important fort built in the whole American continent. Photo Stop. Next we walk and drive around the walled area - old city admiring houses and plazas such as Plaza de Santa Teresa, Plaza de Bolivar, Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza de los Coches, full of history and legends. Photo stop at the Palace of the Inquisition. We do a stop at the Dungeons, which today are 23 handcraft shops. We Visit a Church called San Pedro Claver Church.Finally we go to the new city and see all this modern architecture, we see the bay and the forts, and we visit Pierino Gallo Mall. (Emeralds, fine leather goods, coffee, hand craft, cafeteria, Internet)Time 4:30 hoursPrivate TourTransportation: air conditioned car or van with a capacity of 10 people or small bus with a capacity of 18 pax (Depending of the passengers in your group).We will meet you as soon as you come down from the ship next to the gangway with a sign with the name of the group “ Group". We are a group of three guides who handle these private tours. One of us will be there standing waiting for your group. Professional History Guide. English Speaking Monument tickets included.. La Popa and San Pedro Claver Church, transportation, Tour guide, and port fee.If you will like to find others in the cruise critic’s boards, you can. The price for four people will be USD$ 85.oo per person, the price for six people will be USD $ 65.oo per person, the price for eight people will be USD $ 60.oo per person, larger groups will be USD $ 55.oo per person. You pay at the end of the tour in USD cash. Waiting for your prompt comments,Sincerely,Dora www.cartagenatour.comVonage: 305 420 6176

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Bethandler, Thanx for advice. If the ferry is not running we will likely do it your way. Just have to find a guidebook, the library's collection on South America is scant.

Steve

Google Cartegena. I found excellent maps and self guided tour information. Friends of ours went with a guided tour, and we actually saw more, at our pace, for a lot less money. I generally do a lot of research before going to a new place, so I already have the information a guide would provide. I prefer setting my own pace.

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Google Cartegena. I found excellent maps and self guided tour information. Friends of ours went with a guided tour, and we actually saw more, at our pace, for a lot less money. I generally do a lot of research before going to a new place, so I already have the information a guide would provide. I prefer setting my own pace.

Did you go to La Popa and see the fantastic views?

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Did you go to La Popa and see the fantastic views?

No, we spent most of our town walking around the old city, went into some museums, and then hours at the fort. If you like old forts, this one is fabulous with great views of the city. If I remember correctly, the fort in Cartegena is the largest one in the Americas. We loved it.

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If I remember correctly, the fort is up high and you must climb up a "ramp" type walk and stairs. The humidity is high and so are the temperatures. No shade that I can remember anywhere on that part of the excursion. If like me, you do not handle the heat/humidity well there was not a place to "bail out to coolness of AC". Go as early in day as you can.

 

Yes, Cartagenea Columbia was one of the places I got red in the face and sweat poured down and all tried to take me to hospital but I survived well once I cooled down. Wish I didn't become a spectacle of hottness -- and not in the "hottie" sort of way:o Still well worth going but be prepared with hat, water, and plan for getting out of sun. The torture museum was where I overheated. Too many folks in too small a space and I almost fainted -- so just a warning.

 

I believe the folks who say that you should do this stop in a group. Several government groups (that various people I know work for) give this advice. I try very hard NOT to become an international incident. There is not many things your government can do for you if things go wrong in this area and the local government is not completely in control either. You do not know all the problems that Americans have gotten into in Cartagenea. Anyway go in safety and have a great cruise.

 

Thanks so much for the complete description, I will heed your advice, and take water , a hat perhaps a hand fan may be a spritzer spray bottle too if I can , I don't do well in the heat. Also I am going to tell my daughter to do the same she will be going in Oct. this year with friends. Appreciate your information.

Cori

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I could use some advice from people who have been to Old Town Cartagena...I like to walk but can no longer do steep hills & a lot of stairs. (Good thing I went to the Great Wall of China three years ago) Will this be a factor in Cartagena?

Thanx again, Steve

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I could use some advice from people who have been to Old Town Cartagena...I like to walk but can no longer do steep hills & a lot of stairs. (Good thing I went to the Great Wall of China three years ago) Will this be a factor in Cartagena?

Thanx again, Steve

The downtown area is flat, however there is a walk up to the fortress.

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Here's a few images from my visit to Cartegena last year - as the previous poster said the town is flat - the climb to the top is not that strenous - the first image show the ramp leading up to the top - the second - the open views on the top - and the last one the steps down to the marketplace - it is well worth taking getting to the top as the views and the history abound.

 

I actually enjoy the walk along the fortress more than the marketplace but then I am not a shopper.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

1611935904_CartagenaOct122011105.jpg.6d95600723261fbac543569aa9c5ca59.jpg

1554244919_CartagenaOct122011113.jpg.61852fbca7fe19bd93fcc5f68c203aae.jpg

486622117_CartagenaOct122011124.jpg.4aef7eb3941ea221df9a9a5880261432.jpg

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Going to be there in Dec. already have our excursion booked to the Old Town and fortress, etc. , and it allows some shopping time, but I usually like to do some shopping after I get done with my excursions if possible near the ports , so I don't have to carry stuff with me. I like just exploring and enjoying the tours , then a tiny bit of shopping at the end. Is there a shopping area at or near the port there ? My DH is not fond of shopping so we don't do much of it :)

Cori

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Best check and see which port your ship will use for docking. We were there in April (NCL Pearl) and used the freight dock; I assume due to ship size. Definitely needed transportation from there and no shopping close.

 

Not a problem for us since we had booked through Dora and she was there waiting for us. She took us to our guide (Dency) and driver (forgot name but he was fantastic!) Dora took a larger group but we had requested a private tour since didn't want to inconvenience others if husband had to go back to ship. Husband has problems with heat so we definitely always wanted access to AC vehicle quickly. The humidity was very high when we were there. Don't plan to re-wear anything you have on that day!:)

 

We had corresponded with her and tweaked the places we wanted to go and see. Things worked out great and we went to La Popa, the Fort (went through a very small lower part of it but didn't try the climb), Torture Museum, Gold Museum, Walled City (walked around), Dungeons (shopping) and drove around various neighborhoods and through the new section. Driver got us back to ship exactly when we had asked. Our day was wonderful and even took a picture with a koala.

 

As an aside, I would not have felt comfortable walking around with just the two of us (mid-60s) We were grateful for Dency keeping a constant eye out around us, especially any time there were several vendors at once. Everyone seemed to know her and respect her.

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Yes, the port building has a variety of shops. We purchased a really nice small wooden carving there. They have the usual from t-shirts to craft items.

 

Thanks for the info.

Cori

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  • 3 weeks later...

We were in Cartagena in 2009 and found it to be a delightful city. We exited the ship and hired a driver for the day from the large number of cabs waiting at the pier. We negotiated the price before getting in the car and settled on $60 for the day. The driver took us all over the city, stopping and walking around with us at several different locations. We felt completely safe the entire time we were out. It was a great way to see the city.

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  • 1 year later...

Been there twice. Old Cartegena is gorgeous, and perfectly safe. Lovelyuildigs,Lovely buildings, shops, museum and craft shop. Take usual sensible tourist precautions-passport copy, not a lot of cash, etc. Don't remember cost of taxi, but it was not much. Enjoy

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  • 1 month later...

We are not your most seasoned travelers, and with that said . . . we just where there in January. It was a very uncomfortable day. We had 4 ships in that day and it was very crowded and oppressive. My husband was polite and spoke to the vendors, big mistake. Don't speak and they will leave you alone. Lots of police around also.

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The vendors congregated around a few places only and they were truly annoying even though we didn't speak to them and avoided eye contact. But a few streets away, blissfully there were none. The little stores there did not hassle us. I had enough breathing room to buy a small bag.:)

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Google Cartegena. I found excellent maps and self guided tour information. Friends of ours went with a guided tour, and we actually saw more, at our pace, for a lot less money. I generally do a lot of research before going to a new place, so I already have the information a guide would provide. I prefer setting my own pace.

 

Did you go to the Old City and walk around for the day? Also we want to do that but would also like to go to the Fort. Can you go to the Fort and then have the taxi take you to the Old City, how did you do it? We like the idea of the ferry also, but we were told not to miss the fort, what are your thoughts, Mary

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I have to be honest with you. Visited Cartagena three times. Last time in January. First two times very nervous. Then we went out on our own. It was fantastic as is the old town area.

 

When you leave the terminal you will be confronted by lots of tour guides. Politely ignore them.

 

Once outside there was one person who speaks very good English and we negotiated with him. We negotiated where we wanted to go and that included old town, how long and at what price. The cab driver spoke limited english but enough and everything was perfect. He stayed close by wherever we went and I would highly recommend this.

 

Like any city just be careful.

 

But it was perfectly fine and I can't tell you enough how cautious my wife and I are.

 

If it wasn't fine I would not recommend this.

 

Old Town was a charm.

 

Keith

 

Keith, My husband and I were there in 2012 and did the exact thing you did. We went to old town, the Monastery and the fort.. sorry right now I can't remember the name Our

cab dirver waited at all stops for us. Just make sure that the cab driver speaks a little English. Ours said he did but he really didn't...

I

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We are sailing from LAX on Sept.20 thru the Panama canal. Can anyone tell us about the port of Cartagena Columbia?

We are thinking of going into the old town, not on a ship's tour. How far is it from the dock & what is the best way to get there? Anyone know the costs for taxis or shuttles ?

Thank you for any info,

Steve & Pete

 

I just read that the taxi to Old Town is approx. $15 US Dollars, also that there is a ferry at the caruise port that goes directly to old town area and you can purchase a round trip ticket. Also, some people said they walked to old town along the water and said it was very safe and a great way to see neighborhoods, etc.

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We are doing a tour with Dora in Cartagena. I put together a small group for the tour. The price PP depends on how many in the group. Here is her web page and Trip Advisor web page for her. :)

 

http://cartagenatour.com/

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297476-d1968195-Reviews-

 

Cartagena_Tour_Dora_De_Zubiria-Cartagena_Cartagena_District_Bolivar_Department.html

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