7 Days in Cartagena: Beaches and Islands
Seven days keeps the full 6-day route, arrival, Rosario Islands, Bocagrande, Totumo, La Boquilla, and a second island day with the chiva bus, then closes with a San Basilio de Palenque day trip, the deeper cultural pick over a third beach day. Need less time? See the 6-day or 5-day version of this route.
Book these before you go
- Rosario Islands boat day: check tours on GetYourGuide
- A San Basilio de Palenque day trip: 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 7 | San Basilio de Palenque, slow Getsemani night | 1-1.5 hours each way by road | 200,000-350,000 |
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 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.
Day 5: La Boquilla, kitesurfing or mangroves
Kitesurfing lessons or a mangrove canoe tour, the active mainland alternative to another flat beach day.
Day 6: A second Playa Blanca day, then a chiva party bus
A second boat day, roughly 159,000 COP plus the dock tax, then an evening chiva party bus, roughly 50,000 COP for a shared 2-3 hour tour with live music and drinks included.
Day 7: San Basilio de Palenque, then a slow Getsemani night
San Basilio de Palenque, about 1 to 1.5 hours from Cartagena, is the town founded by self-liberated enslaved people, the only surviving palenque settlement in Colombia and recognized UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is the direct source of the palenqueras, the fruit-sellers in colorful dress you have already met all over the Old City, and it engages with Cartagena’s slave-trade port history properly instead of just consuming its consequences secondhand back in the city.
Is Palenque worth a full day over a third beach day? For anyone who has already done both island days, yes. It is a genuinely different kind of day, small-group, fixed-departure tours cover music, history, and the community itself, and by day seven you have already had your fill of sand and boats.
Back in Cartagena by evening, keep it simple, a final walk through Getsemani, dinner without a reservation, and an early night before your flight. Seven days spent this way covers both signature excursions, a real mainland water day, and the one cultural stop that actually deepens the trip instead of repeating it.