6 Days in Cartagena: Beaches and Islands
Six days keeps the full 5-day route, arrival, Rosario Islands, Bocagrande, Totumo, and La Boquilla, then adds a second beach day at Playa Blanca and a chiva party bus night to close it out. Need a different length? See the 5-day or 7-day version of this route.
Book these before you go
- Rosario Islands boat day: check tours on GetYourGuide
- A second Playa Blanca beach day: browse Viator
- A chiva party bus night: check seats on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Daily cost (COP, per person) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, Old City walk, sunset on the walls | 15-20 min CTG to center | 150,000-250,000 |
| Day 2 | Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca boat day | About 1 hour each way by boat | 350,000-450,000 |
| Day 3 | Bocagrande beach, easy pace | 10-15 min taxi from the Old City | 120,000-200,000 |
| Day 4 | Volcan del Totumo mud volcano | 1-1.5 hours each way by road | 200,000-350,000 |
| Day 5 | La Boquilla, kitesurfing or mangroves | 20-30 min taxi from the center | 150,000-300,000 |
| Day 6 | Second Playa Blanca day, chiva bus at night | About 1 hour each way by boat | 400,000-500,000 |
Day 1: Arrival and one Old City evening
Fixed-rate kiosk taxi from CTG, roughly 20,000-30,000 COP into the center. Old City plazas and Las Bovedas, sunset on the walls near Baluarte Santo Domingo, dinner in Getsemani.
Day 2: Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca
A reviewed operator, roughly 159,000 COP adult, 139,000 COP child, plus the separate 25,000-29,000 COP park and dock tax that tours frequently leave off the advertised price.
Day 3: Bocagrande beach, easy pace
A short taxi hop, workable sand, a low-effort recovery day.
Day 4: Volcan del Totumo
About 1 to 1.5 hours by road, an organized round trip runs roughly $35-65, entry alone 20,000-25,000 COP, a mud-float novelty worth managing expectations around.
Day 5: La Boquilla, kitesurfing or mangroves
Kitesurfing lessons or a mangrove canoe tour, the more active mainland alternative to another flat beach day.
Day 6: A second Playa Blanca day, then a chiva party bus
By day six you know the drill, book a second boat day if the first left you wanting more beach time, different beach club, same rough pricing, roughly 159,000 COP plus the 25,000-29,000 COP dock tax. Come back in the late afternoon and switch gears entirely for the evening, a chiva party bus, Cartagena’s open-sided, brightly painted traditional bus, tours the city’s zones by night with live vallenato or champeta-adjacent music and drinks included, often ending at a club. A shared seat runs roughly 50,000 COP for a 2-3 hour tour, book ahead since evening departures fill.
Is a second island day repetitive, or worth booking? Worth it if the first day left you wanting more beach and less itinerary. A different beach club changes the crowd and the food even though the boat ride and the price band are nearly identical, and by day six you have already earned a genuinely lazy final water day.
Six days done this way front-loads the two big excursions, keeps a real mainland water day in the middle, and closes on a lighter, louder night before your last full day.