Visit the colorful and vibrant country of Colombia
We visited 2 stops in Colombia as part of a 12 night cruise to the ABC islands and South America. We visited Cartagena and Santa Marta. We had a wonderful time in both cities and are excited to share our experience!
Want to see where else we stopped at? Check out: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Puerto Limon Costa Rica, Panama Canal, Cartagena and Santa Marta Colombia.
If you want to see the whole experience, check out our vlog:
Cartagena
Our ship docked at 6am and we had about 8 hours — so really less, once you factor in the early start and getting back. We decided to skip the tours and just walk the city, planning to taxi between spots as we went.
Getting off the ship was a surprise right away. You walk through a beautiful wildlife area — zoo-ish, full of incredibly loud parrots and other animals. Completely unexpected and a great way to start the day.
Outside the zoo, a few people were offering private tours. We hadn’t planned on it, but on a whim we said yes — and it ended up being the right call. Our guide gave us a ride through the city with a few extra stops we wouldn’t have made on our own. Cost was around $100, more than taxis would have been, but for essentially a private tour with a genuinely nice guide, it felt worth it. And – still cheaper than the very crowded cruise ship bus excursions which we always hate!
First stop was a church high up on a hill with sweeping views over the city. Souvenir vendors everywhere — but our guide gave us a heads up to wait and buy things cheaper later. Appreciated that.
Next we asked to stop at Castillo de San Felipe, an old fort with great views. Small entrance fee, easy to walk around on your own.
He then drove us into the old town, pointed out his favorite local shops, walked us to the city walls, showed us a few squares worth exploring, and gave us space to wander without hovering. It was a nice balance — guidance without a rigid schedule.
Cartagena is colorful, friendly, and genuinely fun to walk around. We loved it and would recommend it to anyone with a stop there.
Santa Marta/Minca
For our Santa Marta stop we wanted to do something different, and we found it: Minca, a small mountain town about 40 minutes outside the city. Years ago it was cartel territory and off-limits. Now it’s a peaceful backpacker haven full of hostels, waterfalls, and incredible views. It ended up being the highlight of the entire 12-day cruise — for all of us.
We skipped the cruise excursions (expensive, big buses, crowds) and booked through Expedia with a company called Tovar Extreme Adventures. (It was called Minca Full Day Tour – coffee, cocoa lunch and river). Just book this now.
They picked us up right at the cruise port. We were running late — port authority held everyone up — but I’d gotten Christa’s WhatsApp number ahead of time, which made all the difference. We stayed in touch the whole time and they waited for us without any issues. Tip: get your guide’s WhatsApp before any cruise port tour. Download the app if you don’t have it.
We loaded into vans with three or four other cruise families, which was actually reassuring — at least if we were cutting it close getting back, we wouldn’t be the only ones sweating it.
The drive up to Minca was pretty, about 40 minutes. We stopped briefly in the downtown area, then switched to jeeps for a bumpy ride up to the waterfalls. From there, a steep hike up to reach them — worth every step. You get about 45 minutes to swim, and the water is beautiful. One thing: bring bug spray. I’m not exaggerating when I say I got bitten around 100 times. The bites didn’t itch but they swelled up noticeably — unlike anything I’ve seen before. Don’t skip the bug spray.
After the waterfall, lunch at a local restaurant. The food was great and the setting felt authentic. My only note: it was hot, and soup and warm dishes weren’t exactly what we were craving. The smoothies though — incredible. More of those, please.
I also wished we’d had a little time to explore the charming downtown area, but that was lost to the late departure from the ship — not the tour’s fault.
The last stop was a beautiful hostel with panoramic views and an open-air space where we learned about cacao and coffee. We got to taste samples, see the whole process, and watch people’s faces when they tried the bitter raw cacao beans — great entertainment. The views made it even better.
They arranged transportation back to our port. Christina was amazing – so professional, informative etc. The other folks from the tour were wonderful as well. It felt so authentic and we learned so much. Felt like we were really immersed in the Colombian culture. When we got back to our cruise, so many people complained that they had a bad day on the cruise excursions and we (almost) felt bad bragging about the incredible, memorable day we had! 🙂
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