old part of Columbia interesting?

[smith6]

Is the old part of Columbia interesting? I hear it is alot like San Juan but on a bigger scale and is it expensive for shopping etc. ?

[Loonbeam]

Personally I don't see it. Here's what I just posted on a similar thread, other than emeralds and some coffee we didn't do a lot of shopping, but it seemed reasonable.

Depends on what you like. I found things like the LaPopa Monnastery and old fort interesting, and the old city was very walkable. I'd recommend a private tour instead of a ship tour, the buses really were herded like sheep in some of the locations.

Here's a link to some photos, Cartagena starts with the one where Claudia, our guide, is pointing..

http://loonbeam.smugmug.com/Travel/2...506129_CmTN6Fg

And here's some notes from our excursions on our recent cruise, including Cartagena:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1508966

Originally Posted by smith6

Is the old part of Columbia interesting? I hear it is alot like San Juan but on a bigger scale and is it expensive for shopping etc. ?

[GradUT]

The Old Town of Cartegena is very interesting, but you won't appreciate what you are looking at unless you have a tour guide. Our tour guide showed us things that we would never have noticed and took us into buildings that we would not have thought to enter on our own. He gave us a good history of the area and made our visit to the Old Town memorable. I also recommend a private guide over the huge tour groups from the cruise line.

I can't help with the shopping since we didn't do any.

[sjdnv]

Originally Posted by GradUT

The Old Town of Cartegena is very interesting, but you won't appreciate what you are looking at unless you have a tour guide. Our tour guide showed us things that we would never have noticed and took us into buildings that we would not have thought to enter on our own. He gave us a good history of the area and made our visit to the Old Town memorable. I also recommend a private guide over the huge tour groups from the cruise line.

I can't help with the shopping since we didn't do any.

Can you tell me the name of our guide?
Thanks

[GradUT]

Our guide was Jacinto Jimenez (J.J.) Taborda and we contacted him through his email address: jacinto-200@hotmail.com

J.J. was easy to contact and he was waiting for us when our cruise ship docked. I told J.J. when we booked a tour with him exactly what we wanted to see and do and he made sure that we did it all. Because we were a small group (only the 3 of us), J.J. was able to take us to some places in the Fort and the Cathedral that large groups would not have been able to go. We really liked that. Also, J.J. knew that we were not interested in shopping, so he didn't try to steer us into any stores.

I would highly recommend J.J. to any visitor to Cartegena.

[sjdnv]

Originally Posted by GradUT

Our guide was Jacinto Jimenez (J.J.) Taborda and we contacted him through his email address: jacinto-200@hotmail.com

J.J. was easy to contact and he was waiting for us when our cruise ship docked. I told J.J. when we booked a tour with him exactly what we wanted to see and do and he made sure that we did it all. Because we were a small group (only the 3 of us), J.J. was able to take us to some places in the Fort and the Cathedral that large groups would not have been able to go. We really liked that. Also, J.J. knew that we were not interested in shopping, so he didn't try to steer us into any stores.

I would highly recommend J.J. to any visitor to Cartegena.

Thanks for the info.

[Jiffymom]

Just starting my research. Is old city far from the port? Sorry if this seems silly

[GOLDENBONNY]

Originally Posted by Loonbeam

Personally I don't see it. Here's what I just posted on a similar thread, other than emeralds and some coffee we didn't do a lot of shopping, but it seemed reasonable.

Depends on what you like. I found things like the LaPopa Monnastery and old fort interesting, and the old city was very walkable. I'd recommend a private tour instead of a ship tour, the buses really were herded like sheep in some of the locations.

Here's a link to some photos, Cartagena starts with the one where Claudia, our guide, is pointing..

http://loonbeam.smugmug.com/Travel/2...506129_CmTN6Fg

And here's some notes from our excursions on our recent cruise, including Cartagena:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1508966

OMG Love this picture. Where is this? I would love to hold him.

http://loonbeam.smugmug.com/Travel/2...3515&k=QdGsnF4