Can you walk to the Fort from the Old City in Cartagena?

[cidymom]

I was going to take a taxi to the Fort and explore on our own but having read horror stories about the taxis and being scammed, I'm now thinking of taking a Princess ship excursion "Cartagena On Your Own" so I'll have transportation into town.  The excursion allows 1.5 hours on your own.  From old town, is it walkable to the Fort as I want to go inside and climb to the top?  I'm afraid I won't have enough time to make it back to the bus if it is not close by.  Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Turtles06]

From my personal experience, I think you should be okay getting a taxi from the cruise port (unless there's been a dramatic change in the past four years), and also that taking the ship's On Your Own excursion into the Old Town could well be problematic (time wise) in terms of what you want to do.

 

We first visited Cartagena by cruise ship in 2017, and took a private tour (with Dora) of the Old City (which was fabulous).  We saw the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas (the Fort) from the outside, but of course there was no time to explore inside.  On our second visit, in early 2020 (just before the pandemic, as it turned out), we planned to visit the Castillo on our own, walk through the passageways, and take in the views from the outside, including from the top.

 

Because it is so hot and humid in Cartagena, we wanted to get as early a start as possible.  (Apart from everything else, it's a long uphill walk to the entrance of the Fort as you've no doubt seen from photos.)   We were off the ship as early as permitted, and we exited the cruise terminal area to where the taxis are all lined up, and picked a cab.  My best recollection is that we told the driver where we were going and confirmed the price.  It's possible the cabbies wanted to sell people on tours, etc., but I don't recall having any major hassle, just telling the drivers where we intended to go.  If things have changed substantially in four years, I can't speak to that. 

 

When we were there, the Castillo opened at 8am, and we were ready and waiting.  (We'd arrived about half an hour earlier, which gave us time to walk around outside and take photos.)  I think it may open now at 7am, but those may be summer hours. We spent at least an hour and a half on our visit, which included climbing to the top. Could we have done it more quickly? I suppose so, but there was no need for us to rush.

 

When we were finished, we hailed a cab on the street, returned to the cruise terminal, and enjoyed the free little zoo and aviary.  (Don't miss those!)

 

In terms of taking the ship's excursion into town -- when would it leave the ship?  (In other words, how much hotter will it already be in the morning?  Perhaps that's not a concern for you.)  Are you prepared for/willing to do a speed walk through the Castillo, and perhaps just head right to the top for a photo op?  Interestingly, I just Googled "how long does it take to tour inside of Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena, Colombia" and the first answer that same up (from a Trip Advisor review) was this:  

 

"Visit early in the day as it gets hot up on the walls later on. Well worth the time, 1.5 to 2 hours to see it well."

 

Where will the ship's tour drop you off?  At the Clock Tower?  Google says that's a walk of about 1.3 km to the Castillo (although you probably could find a taxi to take you over).  If you are still concerned about taking a cab from the cruise port to the Castillo, you could take the ship's tour into the Old City, get yourself over to the Castillo, take all the time you wanted there, and take a cab back to the cruise port.  (Maybe let someone running the ship's tour know that's your plan so they are not looking for you on a return bus. If they even take names at all, I have no idea.)

 

I hope this was helpful.  Have a great time, whatever you decide!  (And bring water!)

 

 

 

 

Edited June 17 by Turtles06

[cidymom]

Dear Turtles06 - thank you for your very detailed reply.  It was most helpful.  I'm still undecided whether to venture out on our own or take a ship's excursion but your input has eased my fear a bit.  Thank you for taking time to reply.