Safety in Cartagena, Colombia

[villauk]

We took a private tour with Dora in Cartegena, COLOMBIA :). There were quite a few off our roll call on the excursion, including our kids. We had a super day exploring and didn't feel threatened. There again, our kids are used to travelling around the world and realise they need to keep their wits about them wherever they may be ;).

 

Have you joined your roll call? Are there already tours been organised that you could join?

[Chunky2219]

I forgot to include that we have a good friend who is a retired US Federal agent (DEA) who advised us STRONGLY about Cartagena. That definitely influenced our decisions about this port. We will not go off on our own there as we do in many other ports. Whatever you decide, be safe and have fun!

My nephew lived there for almost three years recently as part of a big engineering project he was working on. His wife visited multiple times and was sometimes left to her own devices to wander around while he was out at work. He reckons the "main" parts of town are no more risky than anywhere else in the Americas and our initial fears were quickly assuaged. He has plenty of stories of life living there, the greatest threat to his life was excessive consumption of very high quality meat (so cheap to buy that he was making chilli con carne with fillet steak) and his 3-day-a-week cleaner who always insisted on putting part-prepared food in the fridge back in his freezer.

 

Poverty was very noticeable. He always gave the local kids a few coins when parking his car anywhere unusual and always ordered two pizzas for delivery, one of which was for the homeless guy who hung around outside the apartment block (who also brought him cold beer when on the beach). This was by way of charity and being friendly, not the feeling of any need to pay protection money.

 

The project itself was well outside town and they were very cautious about travel, always taking company provided transport. But no issues, no problems and no knowledge of any problems for anyone he knew in all the time he was there.

 

By the way, if anyone ever fancies the comparison, may I also recommend the original Cartegena, in Spain as a cruise destination. The recently un-earthed roman theatre is especially worth a visit but the ship's panoramic tour was a rip-off.

 

 

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[villauk]

My nephew lived there for almost three years recently as part of a big engineering project he was working on. His wife visited multiple times and was sometimes left to her own devices to wander around while he was out at work. He reckons the "main" parts of town are no more risky than anywhere else in the Americas and our initial fears were quickly assuaged. He has plenty of stories of life living there, the greatest threat to his life was excessive consumption of very high quality meat (so cheap to buy that he was making chilli con carne with fillet steak) and his 3-day-a-week cleaner who always insisted on putting part-prepared food in the fridge back in his freezer.

 

Poverty was very noticeable. He always gave the local kids a few coins when parking his car anywhere unusual and always ordered two pizzas for delivery, one of which was for the homeless guy who hung around outside the apartment block (who also brought him cold beer when on the beach). This was by way of charity and being friendly, not the feeling of any need to pay protection money.

 

The project itself was well outside town and they were very cautious about travel, always taking company provided transport. But no issues, no problems and no knowledge of any problems for anyone he knew in all the time he was there.

 

By the way, if anyone ever fancies the comparison, may I also recommend the original Cartegena, in Spain as a cruise destination. The recently un-earthed roman theatre is especially worth a visit but the ship's panoramic tour was a rip-off.

 

 

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Thanks for mentioning Cartagena in Spain - we're there next year on a Reflection sailing. Always good to have recommendations of sites to visit :).

[chemmo]

Thanks for mentioning Cartagena in Spain - we're there next year on a Reflection sailing. Always good to have recommendations of sites to visit :).

 

Great place to visit...walk uphill a little through the main centre then glance down the side streets, some excellent tapas bars...

[tbmrt]

Same here. Took a D__a Tour in Cartagena and loved the old city, people, vendors, etc.

 

Many of the people we ran across in Jamaica were absolutely rude and 2 tried to scam us.

Won't go past the ship's shopping area in Falmouth.

[villauk]

Great place to visit...walk uphill a little through the main centre then glance down the side streets, some excellent tapas bars...

 

Can you walk there directly from the ship? Wondered how far it was from the port?

[chemmo]

Can you walk there directly from the ship? Wondered how far it was from the port?

 

It was really easily walkable but we were on the old RC 'Splendour of the Seas' which was small so I would google if I was you to check if Reflection also docks by the town. It is about six years ago now since we were there.... we needed a cheery day, we had been robbed three days before in Lisbon and then hit storms entering the Med and been unable to moor in Gibraltar! The cruise did improve after Cartagena!

[villauk]

It was really easily walkable but we were on the old RC 'Splendour of the Seas' which was small so I would google if I was you to check if Reflection also docks by the town. It is about six years ago now since we were there.... we needed a cheery day, we had been robbed three days before in Lisbon and then hit storms entering the Med and been unable to moor in Gibraltar! The cruise did improve after Cartagena!

 

Glad to hear it improved :). I will check which port Reflection docks at :). Just shows that you can be at risk anywhere you visit, which is relevant to the OP's original post ;).

[chemmo]

Glad to hear it improved :). I will check which port Reflection docks at :). Just shows that you can be at risk anywhere you visit, which is relevant to the OP's original post ;).

 

That's why I added it....you only need to be off guard for a moment. Sometimes I think we are all safer in 'higher risk' areas because we are alert to where we are, who is next to us....When it is morning time, we are in safe tourist areas, we don't feel at risk, our guard is down. Thankfully for us this has been our only experience of theft and we received no personal harm.

[SWFL Cruisers]

We did the same itinerary last November and booked the Monastery and walking tour through Celebrity. I too was apprehensive at first because of things you hear but enjoyed the tour very much. That being said I am one who tries to always be aware of my surrounding. The drive to the top of the hill will take you through some impoverished areas but we never felt threatened by anything. Actually I felt safest walking the streets of Cartagena. That being said, I would also highly recommend the boat, bus and train tour when you get to Costa Rica. It was my favorite excursion ever. Our only regret was that we didn't do the same tour that also had the aerial gondola of the rain forest too. Enjoy!

[TeeRick]

Look up Dora de Zubiria and consider her tour. Rated very high on travel sites. We did this end of April this year on Infinity. We always felt safe. We were only uncomfortable in Cartagena with the very high humidity and the traffic was not too great either. Lots of street vendors in tourist areas.

[hapicruisin]

We do not take cruise tours. On a Celebrity cruise about 4 years ago with Cartagena a port of call. A very nice Columbian crew member suggested it would be very safe to hire one of the taxis within the port area as they and their drivers are all registered/licenced.

 

We had a 4 hour trip with the driver accompanying us all the time, walking, around a number of sites. It was a very good tour and not at all expensive.

 

At one stage the taxi driver said he would leave us to walk around on our own and meet back in half an hour. I was a little apprehensive about that and the driver was happy to stay with us. There were three of us, myself my husband and a friend from the ship.

 

Hapicruisin

[4774Papa]

Look up Dora de Zubiria and consider her tour. Rated very high on travel sites. We did this end of April this year on Infinity. We always felt safe. We were only uncomfortable in Cartagena with the very high humidity and the traffic was not too great either. Lots of street vendors in tourist areas.

 

Dora tours was already mentioned twice. Her tour was excellent and half the price of the X tour.

[TLCOhio]

Starting to plan and prepare for an early 2017, 15-day cruise doing the Panama Canal, Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco sailing. This would be our first time BOTH for using Princess and to be visiting Columbia, Panama Canal, Central America, Mexico, etc.

 

We are excited about visiting Cartagena and exploring to get a sense of its history, character, architecture, culture, etc. Am debating using a ship tour versus setting up a private tour. These discussions are very helpful. Keep it coming!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 158,385 views for this posting.

[Cruise Raider]

Just booked the 11 night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, now I am wondering how safe it is to do the tourist things in Cartagena. We will be there for two days. I've read of tour busses being boarded and other terrible things. Doubting my decision to book this cruise already. Please help.

 

Please think very hard and long before canceling this cruise.

We were in Cartagena in 2000 .... didn't think I cared to go back, even though we saw some wonderful sites. It was just that it was not comfortable at all for us.

 

Fast forward to a cruise we just went on in April 2016. We were originally scheduled to stop only one night in Cartagena until they canceled our stop in Belize due to safety reasons (or so they said) and extended our stay for 2 days in Cartegena. Well, I was very disappointed to say the least .... until we went! Wow...what a difference 16 years makes. It is a completely different atmosphere and we absolutely loved our over night stay in such a wonderful port of call. It is hot ... I mean, HOT there ... but everything else was really amazing. Not once did we feel unsafe or even uncomfortable there and we set up our own tour of the Walled City area. And....I just want to make note that people oftentimes say I am overly cautious.

When you dock here, there is this little zoo / shopping area that you can walk to from the ship. There is also a little free shuttle (complete with air conditioning) that will take you there as well. It is completely free of charge (as of now, anyway) and a really great way to spend an hour or more walking around and getting to view all the animals and birds.

Items used to be dirt cheap in Cartagena ... well, not so anymore....and definitely not in that little shopping center area by the zoo....but again, that air conditioning counts for a lot. Did I mention how hot it is in Cargagena yet?? hahaha

Definitely go to the speaker onboard prior to going into the port ... the one on the Equinox back in April was nothing short of excellent and told of the history of the city. She then turned the stage over to a Celebrity staff member that was from Columbia and told us what to expect and how much things should cost, etc. This became invaluable when it came time to bargain for a taxi cab.

 

We found out about this free walking tour (from these boards) of the Walled City. We both found it absolutely fascinating and tipped our guide well ... even though it was unsolicited. Never at any time did we feel unsafe and I mentioned that once before but it bears repeating. I will make note that as you enter this area, there will be people wanting you to take their tour ... even to the point that they tell you that you have found the tour you booked. Don't fall for that ... the actual free walking tour is back by the Naval Station ... way at the back of this walled area. You have to sign up for this ahead of time so they have your name on a list. We were the only two from the ship on this tour but there were about 20 others in our group ... all from different countries so it made the tour even more interesting because they all asked questions from many different viewpoints.

So, when you leave the little zoo area (if you take a tour on your own), the taxi cab drivers all tried to tell us it was $20 - $25 -- insist you have found it to be $10 and you will get it for that amount. In town, don't expect a lot of people, including the taxi drivers, to speak English. Know the basics in Spanish and you will be fine, though. We were able to negotiate a ride back for $7 ... and were hoping the whole way back that the driver knew what a cruise ship was. LOL ... el barco is all I knew. We made it without incident. There is even a new area of the city that has become a hot spot destination....kind of looks like Miami Beach from across the bay. Fellow passengers that went there also really enjoyed it. I would not hesitate for one moment to go back there and even stay for a week or so.

 

I highly recommend not only this port but also the stop in Panama and Costa Rica, as well. Cartagena and Panama quickly turning into my favorite stops ... I just feel like I learned so much and both were so darned interesting!! Now, with that being said ... Colon, Panama is definitely more dangerous than Cartagena. There are areas that are safe but we were warned just not to go into town to wander. Seeing the canal operations were worth the entire trip in my opinion. We not only saw ships in the old locks but saw the new locks as well .. although not opened at the time. We did other tours but this, along with the walking tour in Cartagena were my absolute favorites. In Panama, if you decide to go ... just take a ship's tour and you should be ok.

[deladane]

Just booked the 11 night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, now I am wondering how safe it is to do the tourist things in Cartagena. We will be there for two days. I've read of tour busses being boarded and other terrible things. Doubting my decision to book this cruise already. Please help.

 

We took this cruise itinerary in March and loved our 2 days in Cartagena! We were aggressively hounded by the taxi drivers at the port, but once we were in the old city, we felt very safe. We even stayed out into the night and didn't get back to the ship until long after dark, but we never felt unsafe. I wrote a detailed review of our cruise, so you might want to read it for some ideas of things to do :) The link is in my signature below. Hope you have a great cruise!

[midwestchick]

We are going in December and glad I found this thread. Some interesting reading.

[Jayneykul]

We were on the same cruise as you have booked last year. Cartagena was an absolute highlight we did a fantastic Segway tour of the old town highly recommended. The port has lovely gardens with wildlife to wander round. We would book another cruise just because it had an overnight in Cartagena we liked it that much

[midwestchick]

We were on the same cruise as you have booked last year. Cartagena was an absolute highlight we did a fantastic Segway tour of the old town highly recommended. The port has lovely gardens with wildlife to wander round. We would book another cruise just because it had an overnight in Cartagena we liked it that much

 

Do you remember how close the sanctuary is to the port? I know a couple who just visited there recently.

[Jayneykul]

Hlitner so sorry to hear of your issues in London have to say my husband had his camera stolen there also.

[pammi44]

Was in Cartagena last year. There was a Red Bull thing going on in the city and the traffic was unreal. We hired Dora and really didn't enjoy her tour at all, but we think it was because she was worried we would be late to the ship and rushed us wherever we went. And boy was it hot. Did not feel unsafe. However, the vendors were the most aggressive I have ever encountered. Made things a bit uncomfortable. Beautiful city and would love to go back.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Hlitner so sorry to hear of your issues in London have to say my husband had his camera stolen there also.

 

It was many years ago and unexpected (been to London many times). On a gorgeous February Sunday we were at the Imperial War Musuem for a few hours and then were walking back to cross the Thames when a bloke (in full length trench coat) popped out from nowhere and said he was going to cut my wife's throat. We were very close to the steps up to the bridge over the Thames...so I got between my wife and this crazy guy and told my wife to run up the steps and cross the bridge. He shouted some threats but never actually showed his knife. I thought I could take him if necessary, but he never actually attacked and once my wife was safe on the bridge I followed. The guy was high as a kite on something but that is not unusual in any city :(.

As you would suspect we did not see any Police for a few minutes...and by then there was no reason to make a big deal out of the situation. The good news it was London many years ago when we did not have to worry much about a gun...like in my own country.

 

Hank

[Jane2357]

We will be in Cartagena in April for the 1st time. We feel most comfortable on a tour but like others think the large crowds or excessive price makes booking private a better option.

 

One excursion that I had considered was from X and the $199. pp price, even though capped at 16 people, seemed way out of line. I was able to find a very well recommended tour guide off of trip advisor. We will have a private tour for 2 of the exact experience and save money, while feeling safe in the care of our local guide.

 

Decide your comfort zone and then plan accordingly.

[Cruise Raider]

We took this cruise itinerary in March and loved our 2 days in Cartagena! We were aggressively hounded by the taxi drivers at the port, but once we were in the old city, we felt very safe. We even stayed out into the night and didn't get back to the ship until long after dark, but we never felt unsafe. I wrote a detailed review of our cruise, so you might want to read it for some ideas of things to do :) The link is in my signature below. Hope you have a great cruise!

 

You were the poster that clued me into the taxi cab prices and the free walking tour ... both of which were amazing pieces of advice. Thank you again!!

[midwestchick]

We will be in Cartagena in April for the 1st time. We feel most comfortable on a tour but like others think the large crowds or excessive price makes booking private a better option.

 

One excursion that I had considered was from X and the $199. pp price, even though capped at 16 people, seemed way out of line. I was able to find a very well recommended tour guide off of trip advisor. We will have a private tour for 2 of the exact experience and save money, while feeling safe in the care of our local guide.

 

Decide your comfort zone and then plan accordingly.

 

 

 

Please share who you booked with.