I’ve visited Cartagena twice, first as part of a 10-day Panama Canal partial transit round trip from Miami, and then on a 21-day Panama Canal full transit from New Orleans to Seattle. And now, upon hearing “Cartagena” a consistent scene forms, like its cemented in my memory.
It features the vivid Spanish colonial architecture of the walled-off Old City juxtaposed against the towering white-washed buildings of the Modern City. Street vendors pushing their wares and Afro-Colombian dancers in Plaza Bolivar infuse the scene with energy and life. I see my young son with pink cheeks, a dazed expression, and damp hair sticking in clumps to his forehead and can almost feel the scorching heat.
For this post, I’ll be reviewing the Hop On Hop Off Bus and included walking tour which we did on our first visit, but Cartagena can be experienced any number of different ways – on your own or as part of another tour. However you ultimately choose to see it, I encourage you to get off the boat and see it. You’ll be hot, but not sorry.
Located on the Caribbean coast, today Cartagena is Colombia’s largest port and has a population hovering around one million people. The sprawling city also serves as an industrial hub specializing in petrochemicals and the processing of sugar and tobacco.
Due to its shameful role in the slave trade beginning in the 17th century and its prosperity, attracting immigrants from countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, today the population of Cartagena is diverse with a unique blending of cultures.
La ciudad amurallada,“the walled city,” is the most popular area for cruise ship tourists and offers a fascinating glimpse into the dramatic history of Cartagena. Think hidden treasure, a duel, and pirates.
Before it was Cartagena, this part of modern day Colombia was home to an Amerindian village known as Calamarí. While the original peoples of Calamarí would eventually abandon the area, they left behind a wealth of treasure buried with their dead that would set in motion a series of events leading to the thriving city we know today.
In 1533, a Spaniard named Don Pedro de Heredia, who’d fled Spain some years earlier to avoid probable death by duel, founded Cartagena, naming it after a city in his home country. Upon discovery of gold in the tombs of Amerindian leaders, Cartagena began to grow and prosper. Then in 1552 a devastating fire destroyed much of the village and prompted Pedro de Heredia to order all future structures be constructed of stone, which is why the Old City is so well preserved.
Cartagena become a major Spanish port and, due to increasing wealth in the area, was targeted by pirates. Robert Baal was one of the first pirates to successfully attack Cartagena and prompted the Spanish crown to order the construction of a stone wall and forts to defend it. The city continued to be attacked during construction of the wall and, even after its completion making it one of the best protected cities in the Spanish Empire, it would remain a target.
After gaining and again losing its independence, Cartagena, led by Simón Bolívar, won a final war of independence in 1821 and went on to prosper. And while the pirates are gone – except for this one who managed to briefly take me captive in the main dining room as we approached port, before I distracted him with a fragrant soufflé I went on to rescue and consume after some truly spectacular riposte using a butter knife – numerous historical relics remain and can be seen via the Hop On Hop Off Bus and included walking tour.
We booked this tour through our ship and paid $40 per person. This price will vary depending on the line you’re on, but will surely be more than if you book it on your own (Viator currently has it listed for $24). However, because we booked through the ship, we were shuttled from the cruise port to the first of thirteen stops where we boarded a double decker bus and were handed a bottle of water and headphones to listen to recorded commentary. If you book on your own, you’ll need to arrange transportation to the first stop and from the final stop back to the cruise pier.
Expect heavy traffic, crowded buses that only come around every 25-30 minutes, and for the full loop to take much longer than you anticipated. My best advice is to get off at Torre del Reloj (the clock tower) for the included 1.5 hour tour of the “Old City” and one other stop of your choosing (we picked the San Felipe de Barajas fort). Here are some of the most popular stops to consider:
This is the first and last stop on the looping tour. At this municipal pier one can embark on an excursion to the Rosario Islands or Tierra Bomba Island for a beach day. However, there won’t be time to do both this and the Hop On Hop Off tour.
This defense post was constructed in the 1700’s to replace the first fort of Cartagena, known as El Boquerónand. The fortress now houses a marina and the expensive Club de Pesca restaurant. There isn’t much to see here and I don’t recommend getting off the bus at this stop unless you want to treat me to lunch.
Since watching Hugo in 2011, every time I see a clock tower I expect to see a French boy dangling from the minute hand in a harrowing attempt to evade pursuit. Upon my first glance at the Torre del Reloj I was, once again, disappointed and tempted to climb up there myself to recreate the scene for like-minded weirdos. However, it still has plenty to recommend it.
The Torre del Reloj or “clock tower” marks the original entrance to the walled “Old City” and is one of the most iconic and photographed spots in Cartagena. Constructed in 1601, the tower was built to connect Getsemani with old Cartagena via a drawbridge. In the late 1800’s the tower was rebuilt and a chapel and weapons room were replaced by a pendulum clock.
I strongly suggest getting off the bus at this stop to either explore the beautiful, bustling, and historic Old City on your own or, better yet, participate in the included 1.5 hour walking tour (more details to come).
This massive colonial-era fortress stands strong and defiant atop the hill of San Lazaro, overlooking both the azure blue waters of Cartagena Bay and the chromatic Old City as if to both deter attack from pirates and foreign forces and remind soldiers what was at stake.
In the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, 20,000 British forces led by Edward Vernon attacked San Felipe de Barajas. Far outmanned, Cartagena’s defense, under the direction of Admiral Blas de Lezo – whose peg leg and arm and eye patch are credited as inspiration for fictional depictions of pirates in popular culture – forced the British to retreat. It’s said that if it weren’t for San Felipe de Barajas, English, instead of Spanish, would be spoken in Cartagena today.
The fort is open to the public every day from 8am-6pm. A self-guided tour will cost you 25,000 Colombian pesos (about 8 USD). Guided tours in English are also available for an additional 15,000 pesos.
Start at the top to take in the views and make your way down and through the tunnels. They’ll make you glad you aborted your clock tower stunt, “I wonder if this is what Colombian prison’s are like.” But the acoustics will make you want to belt out your favorite Whitney number, which will prompt your husband to jeer, “you should join the army – your voice alone would have repelled those 150 British ships back in the 1700’s.”
Be sure to also visit the fort’s former hospital where you can pretend to seek treatment for your sore feet and can rest them while you view a 20 minute video about the history of the fort.
If you’re traveling with that family member who regularly prompts fights over who gets to do the dishes following Sunday and holiday dinners because it means a reprieve from his long-winded history lessons, the last several of which have been about the battles of Cartagena, you can enact your revenge by tricking him into getting off at this stop, “we’re at the fortress, uncle Joe!” and then making him shop with you for swimwear. When you hold up three suits and ask him which one he likes best, he’ll reply, “they’re all the same to me.” To which you’ll reply, “that’s how I feel about the battles of Cartagena!”
San Martin Ave in the “New City” is known for boutiques, bars, and restaurants and will be profoundly irritating to those who argue, “we didn’t come all the way to Colombia to shop and drink.” For the record, I count myself among them. Although I’m totally in favor of grabbing a Cartagena Coquito to go before setting out on a tour of the churches of the “Old City.”
To really drive home your point, you can also get off at this stop to pursue the perfect pair of emerald earrings. Colombia is known for emerald production and there are numerous shops in this area selling them.
If you’re looking for a spot to show off your new bikini, stop at this local beach right in the heart of the city with vendors available to rent you a few shaded chairs to enjoy the views and look for pelicans in the shallow water.
Below are some of the sights of the Old City you’ll see on the walking tour or things I’d recommend seeking out if you go exploring on your own. I’ll keep commentary to a minimum in this section to avoid spoilers.
A quick word about street vendors in Cartagena. You’ll find street vendors everywhere, but they’ll be especially concentrated in the Old City and outside the fortress, selling everything from food to tourist trinkets. You may judge them annoying or even bordering on aggressive.
But having just returned from China where I’d perfected my haggling skills in Mandarin (tye gway lah), I wanted to see what I could score for the American quarter I had in my pocket. I’ll save you the suspense on this one. Nothing. As it happens, holding out a quarter and shrugging is a very effective deterrent. In fact, news of the stingy American spread so quickly, not a single person approached me after my intense negotiation for a refrigerator magnet failed. Sí? No.
This lively public square was great for people watching and we were even treated to a performance by Afro-Colombian dancers from the nearby town of San Basilio de Palenque. They danced to Colombian coastal music played by live musicians.
This wasn’t another ploy to trick Uncle Joe, “you call this noise music?” No, this was a ploy to trick all of us. In fact, he would probably be the only one smart enough to wait outside as we were herded to an upstairs room at the Hard Rock Cafe for a “free soda” as “part of the tour.” Our group was comprised of our family, another family, and an older couple none to thrilled to be seated at a table with a bunch of kids. It started out awkward and careened downhill from there.
After being told by our guide that soda was free with no further information, we ordered Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite. Menus were provided like we were expected to order food, but no one took the bait. This was at the end of the tour and we were all tired and ready to get back on the bus. We just wanted to drink our drinks as quickly as possible, “chug, chug, chug!” and return to the ship for our free dinner.
Following what felt like a long wait because we were trying to keep our kid from rocking out with an electric guitar signed by Keith Richards taunting him from a nearby wall, our drinks were delivered, several arriving in glass bottles, and, shortly after we finished them, we received a bill. Wait, what? “We thought the drinks were free!” Our server didn’t speak English and our guide, whom we thought had abandoned us completely, didn’t reappear for another ten minutes to translate: “bottled drinks aren’t included.” You can imagine the reaction, especially from the family with no form of payment about to miss sail away while they washed dishes. My husband graciously offered to put the whole thing on his credit card, “no problem,” and I offer you the following moral to this story:
The tour is free, the drinks may not be. Here are some additional tips for the Hop On Hop Off Tour of Cartagena.
While you’ll pay more up front to book through the cruise line, this will save you a lot of time and confusion and may end up costing about the same in the end when you factor in taxi fare to get you from the port to the boarding location if you book privately. When I initially researched this excursion, I read many reviews from people who booked a Hop On Hop Off tour on their own with disastrous results. Save yourself the trouble and book through the ship.
We felt right at home in Cartagena. It was like sitting on I-5 in Seattle while banana slugs passed us on the left complaining about how the music from our open window was disturbing their relaxed evening stroll. Expect to wait in traffic between certain stops and give yourself plenty of time to make it back to the ship.
Without the walking tour, I’m not sure the Hop On Hop Off bus would have been worth it. I think I’d rather just hop in a cab and hop off at the clock tower to explore the “Old City” on my own. But $40 seems like a good value for both transportation to multiple locations and a pretty interesting tour.
Be realistic. You’ll never get into Yale without a rich parent to buy you some better SAT scores and you won’t have time for more than two hop offs in Cartagena. Apply to the community college and prioritize what you want to see.
It will likely be very hot. Drink plenty of water and consider bringing a portable fan. I take this one along on all my travels. You can clip it to a stroller or slip it in a backpack or purse. It’s powerful, durable, and rechargeable. Plus you can position it just out of the frame for a sexy windblown look in all your photos.
My experience in Cartagena offered only hints of the rich history, culture, and beauty of the place, like an abstract or overview, useful and interesting but lacking depth and detail. To really breath a place in and understand it takes longer than a day. Or two. Sometimes it takes a lifetime. Often it takes generations. And maybe it’s impossible for any one person to ever construct a complete picture. But the miracle of travel is that it expands our view of the world and our place within it little bits and pieces at a time. Even cruise travel with a few too-brief hops off the bus.
I hope my experience inspires you to sample Cartagena, either through the Hop On Hop Off Bus and included walking tour or in a manner more suitable to your unique needs. It will leave you with a vivid, if limited, picture and a hunger to try more. And with that…
Class Dismissed.
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