Hop On - Hop Off Bus Cartagena Info Please

[Mermen]

Does anyone know how far the closest hop-on point is for the HoHo Bus? It looks like stop 11 is the closest. Is there a shuttle or is it walk-able for someone with good mobility? Thanks in advance!!

[geta911]

Originally Posted by Mermen

Does anyone know how far the closest hop-on point is for the HoHo Bus? It looks like stop 11 is the closest. Is there a shuttle or is it walk-able for someone with good mobility? Thanks in advance!!

Yes, I think that No.11 is the closest and it looks to me to be a fair hike. I think a taxi might be in order for sure!

[melehundele]

Don't the cruise ships all dock near the cruise ship terminal (near Manga)? Wouldn't stop 2 be the closest?

[globalwife]

Originally Posted by melehundele

Don't the cruise ships all dock near the cruise ship terminal (near Manga)? Wouldn't stop 2 be the closest?

Yes, they all dock near Manga. When we were there in Dec, they had a hop on hop off booth right there at the terminal. Not sure if they arrange a special stop for the day but I'm sure they can tell you how to get on it.

According to this https://static.city-sightseeing.com/.../tours/405.pdf, stop 11 is in castillogrande which is no where near the port. Stop #2 is the one!

[Mermen]

Great information, thanks for the map. The HOHO map I had did not show the blue dashes and arrows, nor say "cruise terminal". It looks like they do run a special jog to the terminal when the ship is in, noted by the blue line / arrows.

Thanks so much!!!

[nepacruisers]

Does anyone know the cost of the HOHO bus?

[swedish weave]

Originally Posted by nepacruisers

Does anyone know the cost of the HOHO bus?

The rates start at $24.30 per person but are set by dates.

Check www.viator.com for Cartagena and look at the rate calendar.

[CruisinGerman]

We live part of the year in Colombia. We were in Cartagena last week.

While we did see the HOHO about town, we don't understand why someone would take it, especially at the expensive price they charge.

You can pile four people in a taxi at the Hilton Hotel (farthest end of the modern tourist area) and be dropped off right inside the old city (wherever you want to go) and the entire taxi costs 6,000 pesos (USD $3.33) at today's exchange rate.

I understand fully the great interest and convenience of the HOHO in major cities such as London, New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc., but in my mind it just doesn't mesh in Cartagena.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

[Karysa]

Originally Posted by CruisinGerman

We live part of the year in Colombia. We were in Cartagena last week.

While we did see the HOHO about town, we don't understand why someone would take it, especially at the expensive price they charge.

You can pile four people in a taxi at the Hilton Hotel (farthest end of the modern tourist area) and be dropped off right inside the old city (wherever you want to go) and the entire taxi costs 6,000 pesos (USD $3.33) at today's exchange rate.

I understand fully the great interest and convenience of the HOHO in major cities such as London, New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc., but in my mind it just doesn't mesh in Cartagena.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

I am just starting to do research on this port for our New Years cruise and walking the old town is what we were hoping to do in Cartagena. If the 5 of us take your advice and take a taxi to the old town is there plenty to see and do for 4 or 5 hours? Thanks for any help that you can provide.

[Grego]

Originally Posted by Karysa

I am just starting to do research on this port for our New Years cruise and walking the old town is what we were hoping to do in Cartagena. If the 5 of us take your advice and take a taxi to the old town is there plenty to see and do for 4 or 5 hours? Thanks for any help that you can provide.

Our plan is to take the catamaran shuttle across to the old city if it is running by Jan 3.

[60andhappy]

Is the HOHO a good option to see a bit more of Cartagena? We plan to explore the old town on our own and were wondering if the HOHO bus would be a good option to see a bit more of the area?

[DC2000Cruising]

Originally Posted by Mermen

Does anyone know how far the closest hop-on point is for the HoHo Bus? It looks like stop 11 is the closest. Is there a shuttle or is it walk-able for someone with good mobility? Thanks in advance!!

We will be in Cartagena and are looking at the HoHo and would like more info. We are interested because we could tour a wider area than just the Old City even though we would spend most of the time in the Old City.
We would like to book through Viator as it appears to be a lot cheaper. Would welcome comments from anyone who has experience with Viator. How do you get your tickets when booking online. Do you need to use a cab to get to stop #2? Is the travelling the full loop worthwhile or is it better just to cab it to the Old City and spend time there?
Thanks in advance for your comments.

[KirkNC]

Originally Posted by DC2000Cruising

We will be in Cartagena and are looking at the HoHo and would like more info. We are interested because we could tour a wider area than just the Old City even though we would spend most of the time in the Old City.
We would like to book through Viator as it appears to be a lot cheaper. Would welcome comments from anyone who has experience with Viator. How do you get your tickets when booking online. Do you need to use a cab to get to stop #2? Is the travelling the full loop worthwhile or is it better just to cab it to the Old City and spend time there?
Thanks in advance for your comments.

Welcome to CC!

[40yearcruiser]

This is an old thread but I thought I'd revive it to see if there is feedback from cruisers who have been to Cartagena recently. Did you take the HOHO or a taxi to the old city? What did you see? We will be there on Good Friday and I'm wondering if many things will be closed.

[DC2000Cruising]

I was in Cartagena in November 2012 and this is my experience with the HOHO bus.
- I prepaid the tickets online through Viator. Their price was $24 and was half of what I would have paid in Cartagena. I purchased 6 tickets and was emailed one voucher for all tickets. I was given instructions that I was to give the voucher to the bus driver at any of the stops
- The nearest stop to the Cruise Terminal is stop #11 but it is quite a hike. There is a HOHO kiosk at the Cruise Terminal but there was no one there. The people at the other kiosks did not know anything about the HOHO. So the six of us decided to take a cab ($10) to Stop 12 which is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.
- while driving through the Manga district, I was thinking that it was probably a good idea that we did not decide to walk to stop 11 as it did not seem like a very nice district.
- upon arriving at the Fort, it was caos at the main gate and there were no signs on where to catch the HOHO. The people in the main ticket booth for the Fort were helpful and told us where to catch the bus and even gave us a route map and schedule. I did not inquire if they sold tickets there.
- I was glad that I had pre-purchased the tickets as it was convenient to use them and it seemed difficult to get information on where to purchase tickets there. Although among all the hawkers at the gate to the Fort, one fellow said that he is selling tickets to the HOHO bus at a small shop across the street for the same price that we paid.
- When we looked at the schedule we noticed that there is only one bus and it took 90 minutes to make the complete circuit. Therefore it was not very convenient to use, especially when our stay was only about half a day.
- We waited about an hour for the bus so we were glad that we had decided to catch it at the Fort as we used our time to watch and talk to all the other tourists waiting for other buses and touring the Fort.
- We boarded the bus and took the complete circuit viewing the city without stopping. The bus was good as we saw the city and were able to take pictures from the top of the bus. When you boarded the bus you were given ear phones that you plugged in and received commentary throughout the trip.
- there were no problems in the bus attendant accepting the voucher.
- because there was a 90 minute wait for the next bus, it wasn't really convenient to use like a true HOHO as there were some stops where you would be hard pressed to spend 90 minutes there.
- 4 members in our group got off at the Old City and 2 of us stayed on and got off when we got back to the Fort. We toured the Fort and then walked to the Old City instead of waiting for the bus to come around again. It was about a 20 minuite walk to the Old City.
- at $24 I thought that it was a reasonable price to pay for one circuit, but it would probably be more economical to hire a cab which could stop whenever you wanted. But you should negotiate the price before getting in the cab.
- if you are a group of more than 2 it was easy to find a mini-van at the Cruise Terminal, but once in the city, there were only smaller taxis that would fit 3 comfortably and 4 uncomfortably.

[seagopher]

What is the distant from the cruise ship terminal to stop 2 on the hoho tour bus? Is there some form of transportation to stop 2? My husband has trouble walking.

[swedish weave]

Originally Posted by seagopher

What is the distant from the cruise ship terminal to stop 2 on the hoho tour bus? Is there some form of transportation to stop 2? My husband has trouble walking.

Here is a link showing the map and the walking distance to stop number 2.

http://www.viator.com/mapShow.jspa?i...C&code=5694CTG&

This may help you decide if you can walk to it or take a taxi.

You could also ask on the website if they have included transportation recently. www.viator.com

[DC2000Cruising]

Please re-read my post #15 from my trip to Cartagena in Nov. 2012. The stop numbers must have changed. I referred to Stop #11 which is Stop #2 on your map and I referred to Stop #12, which is Stop #4 on your map.
Stop # 2 is a bit of a walk and as I suggested, it might be better to take a taxi to Stop #4. There is not a lot at Stop #2 if you end up waiting awhile for the bus.

[gluexfee]

Originally Posted by CruisinGerman

We live part of the year in Colombia. We were in Cartagena last week.

While we did see the HOHO about town, we don't understand why someone would take it, especially at the expensive price they charge.

You can pile four people in a taxi at the Hilton Hotel (farthest end of the modern tourist area) and be dropped off right inside the old city (wherever you want to go) and the entire taxi costs 6,000 pesos (USD $3.33) at today's exchange rate.

I understand fully the great interest and convenience of the HOHO in major cities such as London, New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc., but in my mind it just doesn't mesh in Cartagena.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

I was wondering if the taxi's accept US$ or if we have to change money. If we need to change money, do they have ATMs at the port. It seems easy to get a taxi at the port

[swedish weave]

Originally Posted by gluexfee

I was wondering if the taxi's accept US$ or if we have to change money. If we need to change money, do they have ATMs at the port. It seems easy to get a taxi at the port

It is easy to get a taxi at the port, but I don't believe you can get one in that area for the price quoted above. They usually ask 15 dollars, but will go for about 10. They want the same price from old town back to the port.

They will accept US dollars.