Shuttle from ship to Old Town in Cartegena, Colombia

[53sunset]

We'll be in Cartegena Colombia in April and was wondering if anyone knows if there is a shuttle to take you from the ship to Old Town.

[riffatsea]

From reading the Columbia port board there are excursions from the ship and local taxis. Not sure why there would be a "shuttle" from the ship to a place in the city? I have not seen that in other ports where taxis were available.

[cr8tiv1]

The shuttle runs from the ship to the end of the pier where there is a small shop and "wild" animals. Other than that, you will need to take a ship's tour or walk outside the port to find other arrangements.

[MTJSR]

As said there are Taxi's ( a lot of them ) just outside the cruise terminal. I negotiated an all day tour that included the old city. Be sure to stop and enjoy the cruise terminals garden and exotic birds as well.

[waltd]

We'll be in Cartegena Colombia in April and was wondering if anyone knows if there is a shuttle to take you from the ship to Old Town.

Best bet would probably take a taxi. When leaving the ship they do have a shuttle that takes you to the cruise terminal. You can also walk it but it sure was hot when we were there. Outside the cruise terminal they have the taxi's. Princess also offers a Hop on Hop off bus or a tour called On Your Own where they will take you to town and then pick you up about 3 or 4 hours later. Seem to recall around $35. PP

[Cruise Raider]

We spent a couple of days in Cartagena in 2016 ... great city and much more tourist friendly since I was last there is 2000.

I researched our time there extensively before we got there. As of 2 years ago, the cab drivers (found just on the other side of the gate from the little zoo area at the port) will tell you the cabs are $20 to take you to old town. I read that they will really only charge you $10 ahead of time and even one of the speakers on the ship said the same thing. Yep .. we bargained for a $10 ride. We also booked a free walking tour of the Walled City (it was an amazing tour); just tip accordingly. You do have to sign up ahead of time and they will have your name on a list. It will begin at the Naval Building, which is way towards the back of the Walled City and no doubt, someone at the entrance of the Walled City will try to convince you that their tour is the one you've signed up for. If they don't have your name on their list, it is the wrong tour. But ... I digress. You may not be interested in this.

On our way back, we caught a cab for $8 back to the ship so I know the $10 fare to get there was a fair price. Of note, very few people in the area of the Walled City, including the cab drivers speak English.. Good thing I remembered some of my 5 years of Spanish from my childhood.

Anyhow, the cabs are not allowed in the port area but there is a shuttle that will take you from the ship to the little zoo / shopping area and back and it is air conditioned. The walk is only about 10 minutes tops but there is no shade. It is HOT in Cartagena so the shuttle with AC was most appreciated.

=Kind of went off on a tangent here ... hopefully, the info will help some of the readers, though.

[Thrak]

We booked a great tour with Dora. There were 8 of us from our roll call. You can check out the web site at http://cartagenatour.com/_index.php and also look at the reviews on Trip Adviser. If you aren't positive you want to do this on your own I can definitely recommend Dora.

[CineGraphic]

Once we walked out of the port, it was easy to score a 4 hour tour of the fort and walled city for $20, which included transportation in an air conditioned bus and your choice of water, beer or soda.

[dreaminofcruisin]

This is a great thread on Cartegena DIY if you haven't seen it yet:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2301106

 

Have a great cruise!

:cool: