Itraveltheworld Posted April 25, 2016 #1 Share Posted April 25, 2016 We traveled to Cartagena on the April 4, 2016 sailing of the Equinox. We booked a private city tour with Lee Miles, known as Mister Emerald. It was a wonderful experience. We were met at the pier by Lee. There were four of us in a private van...cost..$75pp. including the entrance cost for La Popa and Chruch of San Pedro Claver. We had a driver and English speaking guide who were so knowledgeable and so proud of their city. They were also wonderful at keeping us away from the masses of bus tourists. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Cartagena. Lee's email is: leland@misteremerald.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaroleSS Posted April 25, 2016 #2 Share Posted April 25, 2016 We will be going soon and this board has been very quiet, so your reccommendation is quite welcome! Thank you! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetP2 Posted April 26, 2016 #3 Share Posted April 26, 2016 We will be going soon and this board has been very quiet, so your reccommendation is quite welcome! Thank you! :D Yes I agree, it has been a quiet board, thinking there should be cruises hitting this port this month. Thank you for this post and review. How much time did you have in port versus on tour CaroleSS? Ours will be a short stay unfortunately. Ship arrives 7am, we sail at 1pm. Really would like to have private tour for 3 hours...not sure if this short of tour is reasonable. Or should we just stick with HAL's excursions. We would be very happy to see old walled city, walk the streets, shop, drink coffee and people watch, plus a trip to the Inquisition. ITraveltheworld, I look forward to seeing your own review of this port upon your return. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaroleSS Posted May 5, 2016 #4 Share Posted May 5, 2016 We are overnighting in Cartagena, so will have from 10am Saturday until 5pm Sunday to visit the city. I received a wonderful email from Marelvy about some tours with her. She is rated very high on TripAdvisor, so I have posted her itineraries on our Roll Call hoping to garner some interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepoint Posted May 24, 2016 #5 Share Posted May 24, 2016 We arranged a private tour with Dora - Cartagenatour.com. Dora was great to work with. Communications through email were prompt. Our tour guide was Victoria and we had a nice van with driver. Victoria was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of local information. We went to the Monastery at LaPopa Hill, the San Felipe de Barajas Fortress and more. We stopped at the Emerald Museum, which was very interesting. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. I would highly recommend Cartagenatours. Date of Tour: April 29, 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetP2 Posted May 24, 2016 #6 Share Posted May 24, 2016 We arranged a private tour with Dora - Cartagenatour.com. Dora was great to work with. Communications through email were prompt. Our tour guide was Victoria and we had a nice van with driver. Victoria was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of local information. We went to the Monastery at LaPopa Hill, the San Felipe de Barajas Fortress and more. We stopped at the Emerald Museum, which was very interesting. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. I would highly recommend Cartagenatours. Date of Tour: April 29, 2016. Thank you for the review of Dora tour. May I ask how many hours was the tour? and how many hours were the ship in port? I am flip/flopping to use Dora or do a ship's excursion. We are only in port from 7am to 1pm. Not a lot of time. We'd much prefer a private tour, but not sure if we schedule for 8am and return us back by 11:30 am is reasonable or risky. Your thoughts would be appreciated. :) Sweetp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BopRN Posted July 4, 2016 #7 Share Posted July 4, 2016 We arranged a private tour with Dora - Cartagenatour.com. Dora was great to work with. Communications through email were prompt. Our tour guide was Victoria and we had a nice van with driver. Victoria was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of local information. We went to the Monastery at LaPopa Hill, the San Felipe de Barajas Fortress and more. We stopped at the Emerald Museum, which was very interesting. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. I would highly recommend Cartagenatours. Date of Tour: April 29, 2016. Did you walk around the Fortress or just drive by it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 4, 2016 #8 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Yes I agree, it has been a quiet board, thinking there should be cruises hitting this port this month. Thank you for this post and review. How much time did you have in port versus on tour CaroleSS? Ours will be a short stay unfortunately. Ship arrives 7am, we sail at 1pm. Really would like to have private tour for 3 hours...not sure if this short of tour is reasonable. Or should we just stick with HAL's excursions. We would be very happy to see old walled city, walk the streets, shop, drink coffee and people watch, plus a trip to the Inquisition. ITraveltheworld, I look forward to seeing your own review of this port upon your return. :) You don't need a tour. Just grab a cab from port and go on your own. Old city is beautiful and safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 4, 2016 #9 Share Posted July 4, 2016 We traveled to Cartagena on the April 4, 2016 sailing of the Equinox. We booked a private city tour with Lee Miles, known as Mister Emerald. It was a wonderful experience. We were met at the pier by Lee. There were four of us in a private van...cost..$75pp. including the entrance cost for La Popa and Chruch of San Pedro Claver. We had a driver and English speaking guide who were so knowledgeable and so proud of their city. They were also wonderful at keeping us away from the masses of bus tourists. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Cartagena. Lee's email is: leland@misteremerald.com More money that cruise ship excursion . And no way you can keep some one from masses in LaPopa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetP2 Posted July 6, 2016 #10 Share Posted July 6, 2016 You don't need a tour. Just grab a cab from port and go on your own. Old city is beautiful and safe. Thank you Goldenbonny for your reply. Really, our short stay in port (arrive 7am- depart 1pm) enough time to grab a cab, walk the old city, do the inquisition and grab another cab and be back by 11:30am? I had heard the traffic can be nutz there...and there is only one road in/out to the port/city. Can you speak to that factually? ...and safe to walk the old city for two women on their own? As you can tell, we prefer not to do a ship excursion in Cartagena. :p /sweetp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 7, 2016 #11 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Thank you Goldenbonny for your reply. Really, our short stay in port (arrive 7am- depart 1pm) enough time to grab a cab, walk the old city, do the inquisition and grab another cab and be back by 11:30am? I had heard the traffic can be nutz there...and there is only one road in/out to the port/city. Can you speak to that factually? ...and safe to walk the old city for two women on their own? As you can tell, we prefer not to do a ship excursion in Cartagena. :p /sweetp Actually it sounds like you would feel more secure on the ship excursion. We're undecided between a tour with Dora and going on our own. We never take group tours and probably won't here, but I can see it being a good option in this port Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 7, 2016 #12 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Meant to add that the tour option sounds like a good choice because you get a better sense of the history from a guide like Dora who is proud to share her country's history with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hexl2000 Posted July 7, 2016 #13 Share Posted July 7, 2016 It depends on the costs for the taxis. How much wie should calculate forma Taxi to La Popa then to the Fort and finally to the old City with waiting Time at La Popa and the Fort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetP2 Posted July 8, 2016 #14 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Meant to add that the tour option sounds like a good choice because you get a better sense of the history from a guide like Dora who is proud to share her country's history with you. We did receive a quote from Dora. It is slightly more than HAL...but off course less people which we would much prefer. Oh what to do, what to do...nice to have this dilemma for sure! sweetp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 8, 2016 #15 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Oh what to do, what to do...nice to have this dilemma for sure! sweetp Yes! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 11, 2016 #16 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Thank you Goldenbonny for your reply. Really, our short stay in port (arrive 7am- depart 1pm) enough time to grab a cab, walk the old city, do the inquisition and grab another cab and be back by 11:30am? I had heard the traffic can be nutz there...and there is only one road in/out to the port/city. Can you speak to that factually? ...and safe to walk the old city for two women on their own? As you can tell, we prefer not to do a ship excursion in Cartagena. :p /sweetp I don't remember traffic been bad from port to Old city. It's not a long drive any way. Its absolutely safe there with lots of police. Inquisition is vary small museum .You will spend there 15 min max( if it's gonna be open so early). Same with Gold Museum (nothing special by the way) If anything I would book ship excursion ,not private one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 11, 2016 #17 Share Posted July 11, 2016 You don't need a tour. Just grab a cab from port and go on your own. Old city is beautiful and safe. We make a point of exploring new areas on our own but rely on local guides to learn the local customs and especially the history of the region when in new areas. In this port it seems that a guide like Dora (or any good local guide) would be invaluable from that perspective, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 11, 2016 #18 Share Posted July 11, 2016 We make a point of exploring new areas on our own but rely on local guides to learn the local customs and especially the history of the region when in new areas. In this port it seems that a guide like Dora (or any good local guide) would be invaluable from that perspective, no? No. Depend what you want . If just to admire old city ,you don't need tour. History always available on internet. If you want more and go different places excursion can be a good option. For me I only book private torus if they cheaper then ship excursion or if its really private for my family only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 12, 2016 #19 Share Posted July 12, 2016 No. Depend what you want . If just to admire old city ,you don't need tour. History always available on internet. If you want more and go different places excursion can be a good option. For me I only book private torus if they cheaper then ship excursion or if its really private for my family only. We're different, we want to learn the history and culture from a local who is proud to share that with us, not through research on the internet. :p We use the internet to research, but this is something that you can enjoy on a more personal level. If you just want to browse and shop and don't care about the history you're fine on your own or with a large group on a cookie cutter tour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 12, 2016 #20 Share Posted July 12, 2016 We're different, we want to learn the history and culture from a local who is proud to share that with us, not through research on the internet. :pWe use the internet to research, but this is something that you can enjoy on a more personal level. If you just want to browse and shop and don't care about the history you're fine on your own or with a large group on a cookie cutter tour... Stop pushing private tours ,you sound like tour operator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 12, 2016 #21 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Stop pushing private tours ,you sound like tour operator. lol...well I guess we just disagree golden - safe travels :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_water Posted July 12, 2016 #22 Share Posted July 12, 2016 For me I only book private torus if they cheaper then ship excursion or if its really private for my family only. Isn't that what private means? To clarify (for someone) there are independent group tours like Dora's, and there are group tours offered through the ship. Neither of these are private tours... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metrom Posted July 20, 2016 #23 Share Posted July 20, 2016 You don't need a tour. Just grab a cab from port and go on your own. Old city is beautiful and safe. Appreciate this discussion. We will be in Cartagena on Dec 12 from 8am-3pm. Plan to get a cab to old town with a possible stop at the fort. Wondering how to obtain pesos for the cab drive and incidentals in town. Are there guides on the street offering tours? Lunch suggestions? Any information helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOLDENBONNY Posted July 28, 2016 #24 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Appreciate this discussion. We will be in Cartagena on Dec 12 from 8am-3pm. Plan to get a cab to old town with a possible stop at the fort. Wondering how to obtain pesos for the cab drive and incidentals in town. Are there guides on the street offering tours? Lunch suggestions? Any information helpful. You can pay in US $$ no problem. We did not eat last time because we been on tour but this time we are planning to do so. Lots of choices inside the old city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldens4ever Posted October 6, 2016 #25 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Stop pushing private tours ,you sound like tour operator. I did not feel like he was pushing private tours...I felt like he was sharing his preference.... I, myself, like to do a tour. I completely agree with him about getting a local's view of life rather than reading it from a website. I will be there this April....and am looking forward to a modified :D group tour...one that I pick the company...and the people to share it with...not the ship. I went on a selected group tour a few years ago...not sure which one...and the tour guide was amazing. At the end, she gave everyone a copy of a poster from a local festival. Her husband was the artist that was picked for the poster. It was such a wonderful experience. I had the poster framed and it is on one of my walls. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with....that is really the key!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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