Cartagena On Your Own review

[TravelFiend]

Recently back from a Panama Canal cruise and wanted to share my thoughts on the excursions we did, since I found these forums so helpful in planning. 

 

In Cartagena, we couldn't find an excursion that went to see everything we wanted, so we decided to venture out on our own. It was amazing! We had a great experience and I would highly recommend doing the same. We had plenty of time to see everything we wanted and got everywhere easily using Uber. Here's a little more detail:

 

Our ship (Ruby Princess) got into port fairly early, and since we knew the day would be warm, we tried to make it off as soon as we docked. The port has a really cool bird sanctuary/nature walk that you pass through on the way out, which was awesome. My kids (two girls, 10 and 15) could have just stayed there all day! It is a bit of a walk, especially if you don't take the shuttle from the ship, but it wasn't bad at all, especially in the cool morning. We called an Uber to head to the fort of San Felipe de Barajas, and managed to get there while it was EMPTY. It was probably a 15 minute ride, and cost about $5 US for all of us. Totally the way to go, IMHO. Admission to the fort was about $20 for the whole family.

 

We spent some time exploring the fort and had a great experience clambering through passageways and such before the crowds showed up. We timed it perfectly and were just making our way out when the giant tour groups showed up! So that was perfect. We called another Uber, and made our way over to the Palace of Inquisition. This time the ride was about $4. We paid our admission and went to look around the museum. I can't remember for sure, but I want to say admission here was slightly less, around $15 for the four of us. I think my kids were expecting to see lots of torture devices and such (they're a little macabre, probably because I listened to too many murder documentaries or something while pregnant). Instead the museum is mostly focused on tolerance and how we can avoid having events like the Inquisition pop up again, and how we need to avoid "othering" folks who differ from us. It was a simple museum, but a really cool message, and I enjoyed it more than expected.

 

The day was getting hot and we'd been up early, so we decided to do some shopping and head back to the ship. We decided to check out Las Bovedas, and realized it was less than a mile away and would give us a chance to walk through the old city, so we headed out to do that. We stopped at a little cafe and got some delicious meat or cheese filled pastries (I have no idea what they were, but they were kind of like an empanada filling, but in a square of puff pastry?) and some drinks. We got about 6 pastries to share and sample, and a cold soda or iced coffee for everyone for about $12. We then continued our walk through the neighborhood until we reached the old city wall. Each building we passed was cuter than the next! Once up on the wall, my 10 year old decided it was super cool walking up there, so we took that all the remainder of the way to Las Bovedas, stopping for some photos along the way.

 

At Las Bovedas, we did some shopping and checked out the cool crafts on display. I really liked that some of the shops didn't carry the same old stuff you saw everywhere. You had to poke your head in and check it out a bit, but it was worth it. There were some vendors who were a little more pushy, but a simple "no gracias" was enough to dissuade them. We spent way more time here than I had planned, because we kept finding cool things. 

 

By this time it was heading into the afternoon and we were HOT, so we called an Uber to head back to the ship. That one was about $5 again. Once there, we went back through the aviary and hung out there for a while, getting to see a ton of different tropical birds, along with two species of monkeys. It was delightful, and we could have stayed longer but we were getting so hot that I started to worry about getting dehydrated (we'd brought water with us, but had long since drunk it all!) We got back on and hopped in the pool for a swim. 

 

Overall, it was an awesome day! We all loved the historic charm and cool old colonial buildings. The food we ate was great, and the attractions were uncrowded. And we spent less for all four of us than we would have for one person to take a shore excursion, that didn't go as many places! We all felt absolutely safe the entire time, and were completely charmed by the city. We all hope to go back and explore more!

[tundra1]

Thanks!  We will be there in March, and I still can't decide if we should do an excursion or try it on our own.  One of our travel party does not walk well, and the other one has trouble in the heat, which is making planning a little more challenging.  I appreciate your detailed description!

[Grenadinka]

TravelFiend, thank you! That's helpful. 

We are also planning to explore Cartagena on our own. And just in case booked a walking tour. Do you know if all the ships dock in one port or different? I would like to visit the bird sanctuary you've mentioned. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Grenadinka

[TravelFiend]

On 12/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, Grenadinka said:

TravelFiend, thank you! That's helpful. 

We are also planning to explore Cartagena on our own. And just in case booked a walking tour. Do you know if all the ships dock in one port or different? I would like to visit the bird sanctuary you've mentioned. 

I believe they all dock in the same area, so you should walk through the sanctuary on your way out to the city! It was really cool, I hope you enjoy it! And if it seems busy, it will probably be less crowded on your way back to the ship. A walking tour also sounds cool! I probably would have done something like that if I didn't have the kids - I just wanted to have the option to bail if needed! But they really enjoyed it and were engaged with everything (though they did complain about the heat and humidity - we're from the Rockies so it is dry here!)

[Grenadinka]

12 minutes ago, TravelFiend said:

I believe they all dock in the same area, so you should walk through the sanctuary on your way out to the city! It was really cool, I hope you enjoy it! And if it seems busy, it will probably be less crowded on your way back to the ship. A walking tour also sounds cool! I probably would have done something like that if I didn't have the kids - I just wanted to have the option to bail if needed! But they really enjoyed it and were engaged with everything (though they did complain about the heat and humidity - we're from the Rockies so it is dry here!)

Thank you for the reply! We do like port area in Dominican Republic, looks like it could be similar experience. I also expect my daughter not being happy at all about the walking tour, I'll try to bribe her with ice cream and port area experience at the end 🙂 

[bosswench]

Thank you for this great review.  We are stopping in Cartagena in April and looking for a fun DIY day.  Can you estimate how much walking you did over the course of the day?  One of our group doesn't walk well.

 

 

[ljhershey]

Thank you!

[njhorseman]

On 12/26/2023 at 3:52 PM, bosswench said:

Thank you for this great review.  We are stopping in Cartagena in April and looking for a fun DIY day.  Can you estimate how much walking you did over the course of the day?  One of our group doesn't walk well.

 

 

I'm not the OP, but as you can see from this picture (rotate it to get a full view) Fort San Felipe de Barajas is not a good choice for a person who doesn't walk well, nor is a substantial amount of walking through the old city in Cartagena if for no other reason than Cartagena is very hot and humid. 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x8ef62f82af0c292b%3A0x56335e1e7a81b1c1!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Ffort%2Bsan%2Bfelipe%2Bde%2Bbarajas%2F%4010.4222136%2C-75.5400222%2C3a%2C75y%2C68.41h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211sbIP341FkZ0TiXoTWdQ25tQ*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x8ef62f82af0c292b%3A0x56335e1e7a81b1c1%3Fsa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwi8wM_L_rCDAxVtvokEHbQiBrwQpx96BAgPEAA!5sfort san felipe de barajas - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2sbIP341FkZ0TiXoTWdQ25tQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8wM_L_rCDAxVtvokEHbQiBrwQpx96BAgTEA0

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by njhorseman

[TravelFiend]

On 12/27/2023 at 6:41 PM, njhorseman said:

I'm not the OP, but as you can see from this picture (rotate it to get a full view) Fort San Felipe de Barajas is not a good choice for a person who doesn't walk well, nor is a substantial amount of walking through the old city in Cartagena if for no other reason than Cartagena is very hot and humid. 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x8ef62f82af0c292b%3A0x56335e1e7a81b1c1!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Ffort%2Bsan%2Bfelipe%2Bde%2Bbarajas%2F%4010.4222136%2C-75.5400222%2C3a%2C75y%2C68.41h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211sbIP341FkZ0TiXoTWdQ25tQ*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x8ef62f82af0c292b%3A0x56335e1e7a81b1c1%3Fsa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwi8wM_L_rCDAxVtvokEHbQiBrwQpx96BAgPEAA!5sfort san felipe de barajas - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2sbIP341FkZ0TiXoTWdQ25tQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8wM_L_rCDAxVtvokEHbQiBrwQpx96BAgTEA0

 

Thanks @njhorseman! I agree, the fort is not great for someone who has a lot of issues walking. It is pretty steep and made of awkward stones that require more sure footing. We walked A LOT, but we don't mind it. I think you could still get around pretty easily using Uber to get to the places you want to go, but the one walking might have a tough time at anything in the old city. I wonder if your person could use a scooter or wheelchair? They wouldn't be able to go in everywhere on the fort, but might be able to see more than just looking from the outside? Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful!

[LB_NJ]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:05 AM, TravelFiend said:

 

We called an Uber to head to the fort of San Felipe de Barajas, and managed to get there while it was EMPTY. It was probably a 15 minute ride, and cost about $5 US for all of us. Totally the way to go, IMHO. Admission to the fort was about $20 for the whole family.

 

We spent some time exploring the fort and had a great experience clambering through passageways and such before the crowds showed up. We timed it perfectly and were just making our way out when the giant tour groups showed up! 

 

 

How did you pay for the fort?

 

This the one place we really want to go and don't want to have to get pesos.

 

Also,  is there a reason you used Uber instead of getting a taxi from the port to the fort?

 

Finally, how long did you spend at the fort?

[TravelFiend]

Hi @LB_NJ! Hopefully I can help!

 

To buy our tickets to the fort, we just used our debit cards. We were in the same boat, hoping to not have to get local currency in every port. We were able to use debit or Apple pay for everything we needed, even snacks! I feel like other countries are so far ahead of the US on this issue.

 

We used Uber just because I hate negotiating a taxi, and again, were trying to avoid getting cash in local currency. I'd much rather just know what it is going to cost and pay the going rate. Also, because we were kind of off on our own a bit and in some less touristy areas, it was nice to be able to call them to come pick us up right where we were. I'm sure you could use a taxi and have a great experience! 

 

We spent about an hour at the fort, which was plenty for us. It was literally us and one other family while we were there, so that made it easy to see what we wanted to and get photos, etc. I'd imagine you'd need a bit more time if you went later in the day when it was super busy. 

 

Hope you have a fantastic time!