Cartagena with Lee Miles

[65Cardinal]

We visited Cartagena on 2/03/08 and took a private tour with Lee Miles. Contrary to everything we were told on board the Constellation, we had a wonderful visit and never felt threatened, uncomfortable or unsafe while touring the city. It is a beautiful city and we felt bad for all the folks that stayed on the ship because of the fears and rumors about the port.

 

We worked on a customized tour with Lee which he will do with every customer. We wanted more history, more local insights, lunch at a local (non-tourist) restaurant and less shopping. We wanted a lot of flexibility and space so we requested a 10 passenger van even though there were only 6 of us. The cost was $377 which included entrance fees to all of the historical spots which works out to $125/couple plus tip.

 

When we got off the ship Lee, our guide (Doris) and our driver met on the dock. We threw them a bit of a curve as we showed up with a disabled person with a scooter even though we had told him all of us were able to do unlimited walking. This was caused because one couple had to cancel their cruise at the last minute and we "recruited" a Cruise Critic couple to join us after we were on board. Lee and his team did not bat an eye and the tour went off perfectly.

 

I won't go into all the details of the tour but suffice it to say the only shopping stop we made was at Lee's store where there was no pressure to buy. Probably the highlight of the tour was lunch at La Olla Cartagenera, truly a local restaurant. Doris helped us order local menu items and the meal was a real treat.

 

Bottom line for us is this is not a port to be missed. Lee Miles provided us with a fabulous experience and met all of our expectations.

[65Cardinal]

bump

[judyfssw]

Jack and Sheila, this is a nice review as was our tour. Since being there, I haven't stopped raving about the trip, Doris, our driver and the wonderful tour we had there. Thanks for letting us come with you.

[iflyrc5]

Does Lee Miles have a website or is there an email point of contact??

[curlyd]

Does Lee Miles have a website or is there an email point of contact??

 

leland@misteremerald.com

[ljones]

65 -

 

I will be visiting Cartagena in November on the Constellation. A first for me for both.

 

Does Lee Miles only do large(ish) groups? Any specific recommendations other that the eatery? (By the way, I live in Bothell).

 

LJ

[curlyd]

65 -

 

I will be visiting Cartagena in November on the Constellation. A first for me for both.

 

Does Lee Miles only do large(ish) groups? Any specific recommendations other that the eatery? (By the way, I live in Bothell).

 

LJ

 

No I booked his van that holds 8 comfortably,so far we have 6 people and the 4 hour tour is $207 plus tip and admission fees to some of the sites. My most recent e-mail with Lee said that our admission costs should be about $17.50 pp - so a nice tour for 8 people should run around $45 - $50 pp. Get in touch with him, he is very friendly. We are touring with his guide in about 16 days.:D

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Just wanted to add my comments on touring with Lee Miles. We just got off the Coral Princess and had a wonderful day in Cartegena touring with Claudia and our driver Edgar. We had 17 people in the end - started with 8, but Lee was always prompt with his replies and very accommodating. I told him what we were interested in and he designed two tour itineraries and let us choose the one that suited us best. He, Claudia and Edgar were waiting for us when we disembarked the Coral at 9:00 am - they had a very comfortable bus for us and Claudia was very knowledgeable about her City and its history. We went shopping (Lee has a lovely shop - no pressure, but beautiful emeralds), then went to the Fortress - amazing place, then to the walled city and toured both by bus and walking, ending at the Church of San Pedro Claver. We were taken back to the ship about an hour before sailing - everyone in the group enjoyed the day!

 

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Lee to arrange your tour or Claudia as your guide.

 

YaYa Cruiser

[vacation fool]

Thanks for your review. We leave a week from saturday on the Coral and we have a group of 14 going with Lee. Looking forward to it:)

[curlyd]

They are the best! We just toured with Claudia on March 16th. She is fantastic. It was one of the best tours I have taken simply because her knowledge of the history of Colombia is vast. Her voice is so pleasant to listen to. Lee Miles is a great tour arranger. We chose to do our shopping last and while I did pick out a small pair of earings there truly was no pressure.

 

If anyone has any doubts of touring in Cartegna, don't hesitage to take a tour arranged by Lee and if your lucky you'll get Claudia as your guide.

[unberwoob]

On a 4-5 hour tour, how much time is devoted to walking in the walled city? I would like to spend about three hours there if possible.

[65Cardinal]

On our tour we specified how we wanted to split up the time. Lee will customize it to your desire. Three hours might be a bit much but it is 100% up to you.

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

HI..I use scooter too, how did this work out for the tour???? Thanks! Nancie

[judyfssw]

While Lee did not know until we arrived, that Rod and I were going on the tour, his guide and driver were wonderfully accomodating. Rod has a smaller travel scooter and they were able to put it in the back of the van. I would check with Lee prior to your tour to make sure that he can accomodate you. Although, they were so nice to Rod and me. Now, Rod was not able to go into the Monestary or the Fort as there were steps involved. Also, in the old city, there are not a lot of accessible curbs but if you're willing to backtrack some, you can get around.

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

Thank you! Do you have any other tips about excursions on your trip? Thanks so much...Nancie

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

We visited Cartagena on 2/03/08 and took a private tour with Lee Miles. Contrary to everything we were told on board the Constellation, we had a wonderful visit and never felt threatened, uncomfortable or unsafe while touring the city. It is a beautiful city and we felt bad for all the folks that stayed on the ship because of the fears and rumors about the port.

 

We worked on a customized tour with Lee which he will do with every customer. We wanted more history, more local insights, lunch at a local (non-tourist) restaurant and less shopping. We wanted a lot of flexibility and space so we requested a 10 passenger van even though there were only 6 of us. The cost was $377 which included entrance fees to all of the historical spots which works out to $125/couple plus tip.

 

When we got off the ship Lee, our guide (Doris) and our driver met on the dock. We threw them a bit of a curve as we showed up with a disabled person with a scooter even though we had told him all of us were able to do unlimited walking. This was caused because one couple had to cancel their cruise at the last minute and we "recruited" a Cruise Critic couple to join us after we were on board. Lee and his team did not bat an eye and the tour went off perfectly.

 

I won't go into all the details of the tour but suffice it to say the only shopping stop we made was at Lee's store where there was no pressure to buy. Probably the highlight of the tour was lunch at La Olla Cartagenera, truly a local restaurant. Doris helped us order local menu items and the meal was a real treat.

 

Bottom line for us is this is not a port to be missed. Lee Miles provided us with a fabulous experience and met all of our expectations.

Does Lee have a website, email address? How do we get in touchwith him? Thanks...NANCIE

[polodad]

leland@misteremerald.com

 

Nancie- See above

 

He's been pretty responsive to us. We're a group of 9 on Serenade on 4/22. Will post a review when we return.

[Casey2]

We organized our tour through Lee in December. Claudia was our guide and was fabulous. I can't say enough about this tour. We were 16 and fit very comfortably on the bus provided. We opted to skip lunch as we wanted to see as much as we could fit in. Cartegena is a port not to be missed.

[polodad]

We visited Cartagena on 4/22. It was a wonderful experience. I put together a group of 9 for Lee's tour. We ran into a glitch the day before we got to Colombia. Someone had a heart attack on the ship and we had to turn back towards San Juan in order to evacuate them. As a result the sched changed for the port visit. I immediately emailed Lee & he responded within 2 hours and had the situation adjusted. He met our ship with Doris our guide and provided a fantastic day as advertised. Doris's love of and pride in her city and country added so much to the tour. Everyone on the tour raved about the tour and the city. Thanks so much Lee & Doris, and our driver you were great.