Split the trip: city first, then out to sea
The honeymoon that works best here is two or three nights in Cartagena's Walled City, then the rest of the week with us on Tierra Bomba. The city gives you the streets, the balconies and the late dinners. We give you the part where nobody has to decide anything before 11am. Doing it in that order also means you land, sleep off the flight in town, and arrive at the beach already unwound.
We're in Bocachica, on the island of Tierrabomba, on the southern shore facing the open sea. About 25 minutes from the city by boat. Close enough that you can go back in for a night, far enough that the city stops reaching you.
Getting to us, and what it costs
Our boat leaves the Muelle de la Bodeguita in Cartagena at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and comes back at 11am, 4pm and 5:30pm. Round trip is US$25 per person. If those times don't suit, a private water taxi can be scheduled for US$100.
There is no bridge and no road. You cannot drive here, which is most of the point. Occasionally, if the tide is high or the sea is rough, we dock in the village instead and you ride the last stretch pillion on a motorbike taxi. Honeymooners tend to remember that bit fondly, luggage on the handlebars and all.
From the airport, door to door is about an hour. On the way home, leave us three hours before your flight departs.
Which room to book
Premium Cabaña with plunge pool: our newest cabañas and our top recommendation for honeymooners. Entirely glass fronted, 270 sq ft, with a super king bed, an outdoor bathroom with a full size bath, and a plunge pool on the terrace with a daybed and a hammock. Set back from the pool area, so the music is something you hear rather than something you're in.
Cabaña with plunge pool: standalone bungalow, our signature outdoor shower, personal plunge pool, set in a larger garden.
Mamon: our standalone cabaña without a plunge pool, set back from everything. The one people who've stayed before ask for by name.
Superior Double: upper floor of the main house, with views over the beach club and a huge wrap-around outdoor terrace. Good if you'd rather be above the action than tucked away from it.
A few things in the cabañas that matter more than they sound: an espresso machine with fair trade Colombian coffee in compostable pods, electric blackout blinds, and a limited edition poncho by Colombian artist Diana Herrera instead of a bathrobe. There's an unpacking service, free, if you want your suitcase to disappear. And the Good Apple honesty bar is open from 6pm to 8am, which covers the hours when you don't want to talk to anyone.
Come midweek if you want it quiet
We're quiet during the week and livelier at weekends, when locals come out to kick off the weekend and there's music. Neither version is wrong, but they are genuinely different trips. If your honeymoon picture is a book, a plunge pool and a long lunch, arrive Monday. If you want a Saturday with the volume up in the middle of it, plan around that on purpose.
Our beach has volcanic sand. It isn't the white powder of the Rosario Islands, and we'd rather tell you now than have you squint at it on arrival. It's natural, clean, and it leads out onto a wide open ocean.
Eating, which is the reason a lot of people come
Our executive chef is Pedro Mosqueda, and the kitchen was built by Chef Silvestre Saiz Cortazar. If you don't want to think about meals at all, full board is US$90 per person per night, covering all food and soft drinks. We don't do an all inclusive bar. This is not Cancun.
Dinner is worth staying up for, and the restaurant is open to everyone, so the tables around you are a mix of guests and people who came out for the evening.
Adding the romance without the clichés
Romance is alive and well here. We get a couple of proposals a month, and we can help with a beachside proposal and with the smaller touches. Ask us before you arrive rather than on the day, especially if the plan involves timing, a table or anything being carried down to the sand.
Couples massages can be arranged on arrival or booked in advance. If you'd like one on a particular afternoon, pre-book it.
One honest note: we don't host weddings. We're a very good place for the day before or the day after, with everyone you love and no schedule, but the ceremony itself happens elsewhere.
What we're not
- No snorkelling from our beach. The house reef sits at six metres and the surface can be choppy, so a one hour scuba dive is the better call.
- Not wheelchair accessible. We're at the end of a boat ride and a 200 metre sandy track, and we're sorry about it.
- No phone signal on the island. There's wifi in the rooms, and WhatsApp is how you reach us before you come.
The numbers in one place
| Thing | What it is |
|---|---|
| Boat, round trip | US$25 per person |
| Private water taxi | US$100 |
| Crossing time | About 25 minutes |
| Boat out | 10am, 11:30am, 5pm from Muelle de la Bodeguita |
| Boat back | 11am, 4pm, 5:30pm |
| Full board | US$90 per person per night |
| Resort fee | US$20 per night |
| Airport to us | About an hour, door to door |
If you want a night back in town
Staying more than a week? Residents are welcome to take the odd night at our sister property, Townhouse, in the centre of Cartagena's historic Walled City. It's a good way to break up a long stay: a night of restaurants and street noise, then back on the boat in the morning.
See you on the boat.