Hop on/Hop off Bus in Catagena

[V. I. Cruiser]

Hi we are doing the partial Panama in April on the Coral. We are travelling with some family and they would like to do the hop on hop off bus in Cartagena. Has anyone done this and how was it, and also does the bus come into the cruise terminal or do you have to get to the closest stop. Thanks for any info.

[Northender]

I don't know anything about the Ho Ho bus. But when in April are you going? We have a good roll call going for the April 5th cruise.:)

[Go-Bucks!]

We took an organized excursion in Cartagena that was excellent, but as we traveled around the city our guide was making sure we all stayed close together as he said that it was not a very safe city. We saw many very poor people and did not feel it would have been a good idea to be doing a DIY day, such as on a HOHO bus. JMHO.

[WpgCruise]

We did the HoHO bus in February.

 

Double Decker Bus pulled up beside the ship.

There are 12 recognized stops. 1 being the cruise port

They gave us a map with the stops highlighted.

If memory serves there was a bus every 1/2 hour. (Maybe 40 mins)

We bought it as an excursion from the ship, can't remember the cost but thought it reasonable.

The only caution I would offer is to be aware of the time, and distance from the ship.

The route is not flexible, in other words don't get on at Stop # 4 and expect to go direct to the ship, stops 5-12 will be made in order before return to Stop 1, the ship.

Actually saw a party of 4 get on at Stop 4 expecting a direct return to the ship.

 

We were not outside of any tourist or downtown commercial areas at any time on the routes and were not uncomfortable re safety.

Good narration provided by local guides, would do it again.

Edited March 21, 2016 by WpgCruise

[paul929207]

Thanks for the comments.

[Thrak]

I know you asked specifically about the HOHO bus but, should you or your group decide to look into other options, I would suggest checking out Dora at http://cartagenatour.com/

 

We had a very nice experience with a small group from our roll call. There were 8 of us and Dora took good care of us and kept us from being "buried" under the vendors.

 

If you've ever been to Mexico and thought there were a lot of people trying to sell you stuff on the street you "ain't seen nothing yet"! Cartagena had about a bazillion vendors and some of them were very aggressive. We were happy to be with Dora. :)

[Tedferg]

I second Thrack's recommendation of Dora - we used her last year and were delighted. The Old Town is Cartagena's primary tourist spot for cruisers and it is Pedestrian only, so no Ho Ho bus there. If you have not been to Cartagena before I would limit you excursion to the old town.

[V. I. Cruiser]

Thanks for the all the info. North Ender we're on the April 15th sailing.

[kbubbles]

Love Cartagena! Check out Tom's Port guides, a Google should find it for you. They are free port guides and he has an excellent one on Cartagena with information on the Ho Ho bus.

[eclue]

I also highly recommend the tour with Dora - it covered everything and we had time to shop- was very informative - cost was very reasonable.

It is a good way to go.

Enjoy!!

 

eclue:rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

We used Lee miles in Oct.

He is excellent and has been in Cartagena for 35 years.

[RASHOPPER2]

I also recommend Dora. She is an excellent guide and very protective of her group.

[Northender]

Thanks for the good references on Dora. A few of us have her booked for our April 5th cruise.:)

[ar1950]

.....................

We had a very nice experience with a small group from our roll call. There were 8 of us and Dora took good care of us and kept us from being "buried" under the vendors.

 

If you've ever been to Mexico and thought there were a lot of people trying to sell you stuff on the street you "ain't seen nothing yet"! Cartagena had about a bazillion vendors and some of them were very aggressive. We were happy to be with Dora. :)

 

Glad that we signed up for the Dora tour. The vendor situation sounds a little like Jamaica when we were there 32 years ago (never again). :eek: