Transportation from cruiseport to Old Town and back

What are the transportation options from the cruise port to Old Town Cartegena and back? What are the costs? And most important: how easy is it to find transportation from Old Town back to the ship?

I hope I'm not being repetitive, but I've searched through previous threads and have not been able to find definitive answers to my questions.

Just returned from a partial Panama Canal transit, Cartagena was one of our poc. We did a ships walking tour with couple hours on our own in old town. With that said I didn't really see any taxis. It was about 15/20 min ride from dock to OT. Old town is beautiful, more beautiful than you imagine, the locals will drive you nuts, selling everything , but don't be afraid to stop and talk to them, they were very nice people, only wish I had more time to purchase more than I did.Take plenty of small $

How much did they charge from the port to Old Town? The most recent price I saw was $20 per taxi one way.....looking for good restaurant recommendations there as well.

My major concern is finding transportation back to the ship. (I've had a couple of close calls). To piggy-back on NoleMini's question: How easy is it to find a taxi from Cartagena Old Town to the ship?

If you're going on your own, there are plenty of taxis going from the port to the Old Town or where ever you want. For 4 people, the fare from inside the port is normally $20 - 25 total. Going back to the ship from the Old Town is easy. There are little yellow cabs readily available and you can normally pay $5 - 10 to return to the port. Only takes about 10 - 15 minutes. Don't forget to visit the port store and the botanical garden areas around it. They are beautiful with many beautiful birds and other animals.

Do the taxis take US dollars?

Yes.

I didn't find old town worth going to by itself. What we did was "rent" a taxi for the day (I'm thinking 4-6 hours) for $60 and he took us to old town, the monastery, the fort and downtown. He was a great tour guide and we tipped him $50 when we got back to the ship.

We did have to pay the admission to the fort and the monastery but it was a good day for the four of us. The first couple of cabs wanted $100 just for the ride and we kept walking and talking until we got a taker for $60.

Sounds like a good day, and similar to what we'd like to do. Our ship will only be docked from 7 AM until 1 PM, so I don't think we'd have time to visit all of those places - maybe just Old Town and the Fort.

What's the difference between Old Town and downtown?

Sounds like a good day, and similar to what we'd like to do. Our ship will only be docked from 7 AM until 1 PM, so I don't think we'd have time to visit all of those places - maybe just Old Town and the Fort.

What's the difference between Old Town and downtown?

More of my semantics. We stopped near the wall at an area that was pretty flea market 'ish. Not high on our list but at least we could buy a beer. Then we drove more into "downtown" which had pretty churches, upscale shops, restaurants, etc. It was more of a narrow lined, colonial streets with a large plaze.

Check out their website - I hope this helps:

http://www.colombia.travel/en/international-tourist/vacations-holidays-where-to-go/cartagena-travel-guide/

Thank you, blindrid and dwick :)

Thank you, blindrid and dwick :)

Anything for a fellow quasi -Coloradan.....have fun, Randy

Thank you for all the great info!

When you exit the port area please be aware that you will first be stopped by local tour guides. Just continue walking. You will get to an area with taxis and there will be at least one person who speaks english and you negotiate with. Negotiate a two way rate where the driver waits for you and you pay him when you get back to the pier. You negotiate the price.

Keith

Good to know. Thank you, Keith.