Book the boat first, then worry about the rest
The part of a Cartagena trip that runs out isn't the sand, it's the seat that gets you to it. Our boat holds a set number of people. If you haven't reserved and it's full when you arrive at the dock, you're waiting for the next one, and the next one is hours away. So the honest answer to "how far in advance should I book" is: whatever else you leave loose, reserve the crossing.
Everything else has a different clock. Below is what each thing actually needs, from our side of the water.
A day out: reserve it, even last minute
A day with us always works better reserved. Boats leave Cartagena from the Muelle de la Bodeguita at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and come back from us at 4pm and 5:30pm, so the day is built around fixed departures rather than whenever you feel like moving.
Midweek is the quieter version of this place. Weekends are livelier, with more people and more music, and locals coming out to make a day of it. Both are good. They're just not the same day, so pick the one you actually want and book that, rather than booking a Saturday and hoping for a Tuesday.
Rooms: the further ahead, the fewer surprises
We have 11 rooms, and up to 30 people can sleep on the property. That's the whole inventory, which is the short explanation for why we can't magic up a room in late December.
Christmas and New Year are the period we'd push you hardest to settle early, because the city as a whole is at its busiest and your flights and boats all have to line up. If you're staying with us, your sun lounger is reserved for you every day of your stay, so there's no towel-on-the-lounger routine at 7am. You pick it when you check in and it's yours.
Groups: 13 is the number that changes things
From 13 people upward, you can't just book online. Contact us, and we'll take advance payment and agree a set menu with you before you arrive. That isn't bureaucracy for its own sake: a kitchen on an island orders its food by boat, and twenty people arriving unannounced with twenty different ideas about lunch is how a good day goes wrong.
For scale, we can receive up to 250 people for a daytime event. Beyond 70, we need to talk about privatisation. Either way, the further ahead you tell us, the better the day we can build.
The deadlines that decide your money
This is the part worth reading twice, because it's the only bit with a hard edge.
- Day passes, lunch reservations and boat transfers, for groups of fewer than eight: 97% of the deposit comes back if you cancel before 4pm the day before. After 4pm, the deposit is non-refundable.
- Rooms: 50% of the value of the stay is refunded if you cancel more than 30 days before check-in. Inside 30 days, the deposit is neither refundable nor transferable.
- Cancellations must be in writing, to hola@blueapplebeach.com. A WhatsApp voice note at 11pm doesn't start the clock.
Which gives you a simple rule: book a day pass as soon as you know the date, because backing out is cheap until 4pm the day before. Book a room when your flights are real, because 30 days out is when it gets expensive to change your mind.
Talking to us
We answer reservations enquiries on WhatsApp between 9am and 9pm. There's no phone signal on the island, so a call is unlikely to find anyone, and a message will. If we haven't replied within five minutes, nothing has gone wrong. We'll get back to you before the day is out.
One last thing, from the booking we took this week for the 26th of December: people who sort their transfer at the same time as their room have a much calmer arrival than people who sort it the night before. Do it in one conversation and then forget about it.
See you on the boat.