The boat is the whole trip, so start there
There's no bridge to Tierra Bomba and no road onto the island, so you're coming by water. Our boat leaves from Muelle de la Bodeguita in Cartagena at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and the crossing to us takes about 25 minutes. Going home, boats leave us at 4pm and 5:30pm. If a five minute helicopter is more your speed, that exists too, and our friends at Galavanta arrange it.
The water is usually smooth, and much calmer than the infamous Rosario Islands run. In windy weather it can get choppy, but it isn't white-knuckle. Getting on and off does need a bit of agility, and 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 ride pillion on a motorbike taxi from there. Most people say that bit is the best part of the day.
You can also come in your own boat. There's a dock about 200 metres from our gate, and if conditions are rough or your boat is too big to tie up with us, we can sometimes come and collect you. Ask us first.
What a day pass costs
Our Club Day Pass with boat transfers is $40 per person. That's the crossing both ways and the run of the beach club. Then you choose a sun lounger, from $5 to $30, and pay for whatever you eat and drink in the restaurant as you go. There's no all-inclusive wristband here and there never will be. This isn't Cancun.
The beach club is open to day visitors from 11am to 6pm.
A word on seating: you can add a lounger on the day if there's one free, but we'd rather you picked it when you book. The good ones go. Poolside puts you near the music and the movement; the beach loungers are quiet and set apart from everything. The bigger VIP sun beds and the beach cabañas fit three people lying down, or work as a base for a group who'll mostly be in the water anyway.
The beach is volcanic, and we're not going to pretend otherwise
Our sand is dark. It's volcanic, not the powder white of the Rosario Islands, and if white sand is the entire point of your trip then book a Rosario boat instead and we'll wave you off. What we have is a natural, clean beach facing open ocean, which means real waves, real horizon, and no jet ski traffic three metres from your feet. The sea changes with her mood.
One consequence of the open water: you can't snorkel here. The house reef sits at 6 metres and the surface can be choppy, so masks and floaty tubes aren't the move. A one hour scuba dive on the house reef is, and you don't need any experience for it.
What to do between lunch and the last boat
Honestly, plenty of people do nothing, and that's a legitimate plan. If you want more:
- Dive the house reef. A discovery dive on our reef is US $90 and takes about an hour. No certification needed.
- Go into Bocachica. The village at the north of our end of the island has no running water and no paved roads, and it will rearrange your idea of the Caribbean in about twenty minutes. Do not turn up expecting chic bars. Go with our village tour rather than wandering in cold, so the money lands with the people who live there.
- Horse riding, mountain biking, or the island moto-tour. All run from us, all better in the morning before the heat sits down on the island.
- The Rosario Islands. If you want that white sand after all, we run boats out there.
Lunch is the reason a lot of people come
We take the food seriously. Our kitchen was built by Chef Silvestre Saiz Cortazar and Pedro Mosqueda is now Executive Chef, and what comes out is not deep fried island filler. Most of what's on the plate is local and we're fussy about where the meat comes from. We were also the first beach club in Cartagena to have a wine list, and yes, we sell rosé by the magnum. Cocktails are made with fresh juice.
Vegetarians, vegans, and anyone gluten or lactose intolerant are properly looked after, not handed a sad side salad. Tell us when you book.
What you can't do is bring your own lunch or your own bottle. We won't lose it over a banana in your bag, but that's the rule.
Know before you get on the boat
Book ahead. Our boat has limited capacity, and if you turn up unreserved and it's full, the next one is a long way off. There's no phone signal on the island, so WhatsApp is the way to reach us, and we answer reservations messages between 9am and 9pm.
Bring cash or a card for food and drink, sun cream, and shoes you don't mind getting wet. Leave the drone and the sound system at home.
Children are welcome during the week. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are over-12s only, so that everyone, parents included, gets a day off.
We should be straight about access: we're at the end of a boat ride and a 200 metre sandy track, and we are not wheelchair accessible. We're sorry about it, and we'd rather tell you now than at the dock.
See you on the boat.