Cartagena is easy. The things that catch people out aren't dangerous, they're logistical: a tax line on a bill nobody warned them about, a last boat they didn't know existed, a beach they'd pictured as white. Here's the list we actually send guests before they fly, written from an island 25 minutes offshore, where most of these lessons get learned the hard way.
The airport is much closer than airports usually are
Rafael Núñez sits inside the city, so nothing is far. From the airport to our gate, door to door, is about an hour, and that includes the taxi across town and the boat. Going the other way, we ask you to leave us three hours before your flight departs. That sounds generous for a one hour journey, and it's deliberate: the boat leg is the part you can't rush or reschedule.
If you land late and your first night is with us, tell us before you travel. Boats after dark are a conversation, not a booking button.
You can't drive here, and that changes your planning
We're on Tierra Bomba. There's no bridge, so it's a boat or, if you're feeling flush, a five minute helicopter. Our boat crosses in about 25 minutes and leaves the Muelle de la Bodeguita, the dock beside the Walled City, at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm. Coming back, boats leave us at 4pm and 5:30pm.
Write those two return times down somewhere. The whole island runs on them. If the tide is very high or the sea is rough we use the dock in the village instead, about a mile away, and you finish the trip riding pillion on a motorbike taxi. People who were nervous about that beforehand tend to list it afterwards as the best part of the day.
Reserve your seat rather than turning up. Our boat has limited capacity, and if it's full the wait for the next one is long.
Your phone will stop working, and that's mostly fine
There's no mobile signal at our end of the island. None. Our wifi is a different story: good about 95% of the time, good enough for video calls, and we can give you a table in the shade near power sockets if you need to work for a couple of hours.
The practical consequence is that you reach us on WhatsApp, not by phone. We answer reservation messages between 9am and 9pm, usually faster, and we'd much rather you message us at 8am about a boat than call a number that can't ring.
Taxes and fees, so the bill holds no surprises
An 8% tax applies to all food and drink, ours included, and it isn't refundable to anyone. On accommodation, foreign residents pay no tax; for Colombian residents the 9% IVA is already inside the price you see. We add a resort fee of 20 USD per night, which is what it costs to make our own water and power out here instead of plugging into the city's.
Cards work on site, so you don't need a brick of cash for the day, and you can pre-pay to hold a reservation. Bring some small notes anyway if you plan to buy anything in the village.
One more, gently: we don't do discounts. Our prices are what let us pay our staff properly and buy good ingredients, so asking tends to go nowhere pleasant.
Not all the sand near Cartagena is white
The flour-white postcard sand is out in the Rosario Islands, a speedboat ride further on. Ours is volcanic, grey-gold, clean and natural, and it faces open ocean rather than a sheltered lagoon. The sea changes with her mood. Some days it's glass, some days there's swell.
That also decides what you can do in the water. Snorkelling off our beach isn't worth your time, because the reef sits at six metres and the surface can be choppy. It's an eight minute swim out and a proper one hour scuba dive is the way to see it, no certification needed for a first go: we're a PADI Dive Resort, so beginners start with a discovery dive. If white sand and calm shallows is the picture in your head, do a Rosario day and an island day, and enjoy each for what it is.
Midweek and weekend are two different places
Weekdays with us are quiet: people read, swim, and eat a lunch that runs long. Weekends are livelier, with music and a crowd coming out from the city. Neither is better, but they aren't interchangeable, so book the one you actually came for. Our beach club takes day visitors from 11am to 6pm.
If you're coming for the day, the club day pass with boat transfers is $40, and you pay for what you eat and drink on top. A sun lounger runs $5 to $30 depending where it sits, a beach cabaña is $30, and a VIP daybed in front of the pool is $50.
Pack lighter than you think, but bring a towel
Bring your own towel. Our website has said otherwise in places, which is our fault, but the policy is that you bring one.
Beyond that: reef-safe sunscreen, something for your feet on hot sand, and a dry bag if your phone matters to you, because getting on and off a boat involves a small amount of wading. Leave the heels at home. There's a 200 metre sandy track between the dock and our gate, and we should say plainly that we aren't wheelchair accessible. The boat boarding and that track defeat most wheels, and we'd rather tell you now than at the jetty.
Go into the village
Bocachica, at the southern end of our island, is a working fishing village with no running water and no paved roads. It isn't a row of restaurants and it doesn't pretend to be. Walking it is the least filtered hour you'll spend near Cartagena, and the walk ends at the San Fernando fortress, the squat stone battery that guarded this side of the channel. Go with someone who knows the place rather than wandering in with a long lens; our village tour starts with a five minute motorbike-taxi ride and is led by people who live there.
Book the boat before you book the day
The most common mistake we see is a perfect plan with no seat on the water. Reserve day passes and boat transfers in advance, especially for Saturdays and holidays, and tell us ahead of time if you're a group. Then all you have to do is turn up at the Bodeguita with a towel and nowhere to be until 4pm.
See you on the boat.