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Isla Barú, Colombia, is an island located just south of Cartagena. Well, it’s an island that’s also a peninsula. There’s also a town named Barú on the island peninsula, although most people mean the island when they talk about visiting Barú from Cartagena.
In fact, most people probably mean one specific beach on the island that’s not all that close to the town of Barú at all.
It’s all a tad confusing.
What’s perhaps more confusing if you’re researching and planning a visit to Cartagena is that you’re likely to find strongly conflicting opinions online about Barú Island, or Isla Barú in Spanish.
You might see the Island of Barú lauded as a Caribbean paradise and must see but also maligned as an overcrowded tourist trap, replete with scams and poor infrastructure.
The truth is, like so many things in life, not only closer to the middle, but also a bit more nuanced. I actually lived for a year on Barú and have visited it countless times in the decade I lived in Cartagena.
In this practical guide to Barú Island in Colombia, I’m going to discuss the Isla de Barú in detail, including going over the different sectors of the island, how to visit them, and what to expect if you do. So read on to learn all about how to visit Isla Barú from Cartagena, or if you even should.
Isla Barú, Colombia Overview and Quick Tips
Colombia’s Barú Island is located just off the coast south of Cartagena. Since there’s a bridge connecting it to the mainland, it can be reached by both car or boat. Many of Isla Barú’s beaches boast crystal clear Caribbean waters and white sand.
Isla Barú day trips are popular and there are both some very nice Barú Island hotels and even some cheaper Isla Barú hostels to spend the night.
The most well known beach on Barú is Playa Blanca, whose far end is often also called Playa Tranquila. This is the area that is often maligned for large crowds and pushy vendors, but it is a beautiful stretch of white sand beach with clear waters.
Nearby, you’ll also find the Colombian National Aviary, which is really well done.
Farther down the island, you’ll find the town of Barú itself. Around this area, there are a number of nicer beach clubs and Isla Barú resorts with less crowded beaches.
There are also a few islands off this end of the island that have beach clubs, hotels, or beach spots that can be reached by boat.
Finally, there are also a few Barú Island resorts located in little areas of their own.
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If you want my honest quick advice, I tend to recommend the Rosario Islands over Barú to most people, especially if you’re looking for an island day trip.
If you want to take that advice, you can stop reading here and click here to read my guide to the Rosario Islands or just book a day pass at IslaBela or a ticket for the catamaran tour, my top two picks for day trips to the Rosario Islands.
If you have a group, you should also consider doing a private boat rental with our partner, the coolest way to do the islands, and you could include stops on Barú if you like.
I do think the nicer Barú Island resorts located on the less crowded far end of the island make for a great option for a few nights of R&R, and the accommodations at these nicer places are better than the more rustic, beach bungalow, style accommodations in the Rosario Islands.
Hotel Las Islas, Hotel Isla del Encanto, and the Sofitel Calablanca are probably the three finest beach resorts anywhere near Cartagena and all worth considering for luxury overnight stays on Barú.
Isla del Encanto does offer a day pass too, and you can do tours like the multi-island tours that go to spots on Barú for parts of the day too.
Playa Blanca is the tricky one to give advice on.
It is a gorgeous beach plagued by a lack of infrastructure and an excess of haphazard development. It can be done more cheaply than the Rosarios or the other end of Barú though.
I’d recommend booking one of the Isla Barú tours to nicer spots on Playa Blanca like Nena Beach Club or Mambo Beach Club for convenience.
You can also book a room at Nena ahead if you want to spend the night here.
If you wanted to do the Aviary, doing lunch and the afternoon at Playa Blanca on a Barú Island tour like this one is also the most cost effective and biggest bang for your peso way to do it.
Playa Blanca can also be done on your own with the caveat that you should go clear eyed on what to expect.
If you want to have a better idea of what to expect there, and learn more about your other options for visiting Barú, read on in the more detailed sections below.
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Barú Island Detailed Guide
There are three sort of main sectors you might visit on Isla Barú from Cartagena:
- Playa Blanca, the most well known beach on the island, which includes Playa Tranquila, sometimes referred to as if it is its own separate beach.
- The far end of the island around the town of Barú.
- The other smaller islands off the far end of the island.
I’m going to go into a lot more detail on each sector and option for visiting Isla Barú from Cartagena below, but first let’s do a little geography and vocabulary lesson.
Where is Barú Island in Colombia?: Geography of Isla Barú
Barú is located south of Cartagena, just off the mainland. While it’s usually referred to as Isla Barú or the Island of Barú, you might also see it referred to as a peninsula.
So, what gives?
Well, technically it is, or at least was, a peninsula.
In the late 16th century, the Spanish cut the Canal del Dique across the peninsula to directly connect the bay of Cartagena to the Magdelena River, the main thoroughfare for trade between the interior and the coast, and by extension the outside world.
The canal permanently severed the Barú Peninsula from the mainland, making it Barú Island.
A bridge opened in 2014 that connected it by road to the mainland.
The island was lightly inhabited during the colonial era with the exception of a few fisherman colonies, mostly settled by free blacks. There were some limestone kilns out here, and the island was also used for contraband trade outside the formal control of the Spanish colonial authorities in Cartagena.
Today, the island remains sparsely populated, with three small towns of Araca, Santa Ana, and Barú, plus some farms.
I actually spent my first year in Colombia, back in 2011, living and working as a volunteer teacher in the town of Santa Ana.
A bit past Santa Ana, and around the middle of the island is where you’ll find Playa Blanca. Its closer proximity to Cartagena and the relative ease of reaching it is what’s helped make it the most popular beach here.
I should say that when I see or hear people discuss or give advice about visiting or not visiting Barú Beach or just Isla Barú in general, the vast majority of them seem to be referencing Playa Blanca specifically.
However, if you continue on past where Playa Blanca is located all the way to the tip of the island, you’ll eventually come to the town of Barú. Due to its distance from Cartagena and condition of the road past Playa Blanca, it’s a good bit harder to reach overland. That means it’s more common to get here by boat, and the beaches here tend to get much, much less crowded compared to Playa Blanca.
There are also a couple nice hotels set off on their own in various parts of Barú.
So let’s talk through each of these sectors of Barú Island and what to expect in each, so you can make the most informed decision about visiting yourself or not.
The Far End of Isla Barú
I’m going to start with the place I think is the best area on Isla Barú: the far end of the island around the town of Barú itself.
While the road does come out here, due to the distance, it’s more common to get out here by boat.
There are a number of nicer beach clubs and hotels out here, and the beaches get much less crowded than at Playa Blanca closer to Cartagena.
Hotel Las Islas, which is actually on a tiny island just off Barú, is arguably the finest beach resort in all Cartagena.
It’s got absolutely lovely, luxury bungalows, some of which are nestled up in the mangroves, and some of which are on the beach. Some even have their own private beach accesses or jacuzzis. You can check the price of a bungalow at Las Islas here.
Hotel Isla del Encanto is located on the south side of the tip of Barú. We stayed here a couple nights a few years back and really, really enjoyed it (read my review of Isla del Encanto here).
The beach is gorgeous and spacious, and the townhouse style bungalows are also really well furnished. You can check the price of a room at Isla del Encanto here. You can also book a day trip to Isla del Encanto here.
Other nice places on this end of the island include Aura Hotel, the newer Sabai, and Casa Cordoba.
There is also this neat private tour that takes you to the town of Barú, the mangroves in the Rosario Islands, and the beach on this are of Barú, that would be a neat way to do this and offers a more cultural experience than other island and beach tours to Barú and the Rosarios.
Taroa Adventures also offers a neat tour to this end of Barú that includes cultural experiences in the town as well as time on the beach.
Agua Azul
Agua Azul is a beach on an island off the northern side of the tip of Barú. It’s a decent beach and there’s a cool view of a little island in the background.
We’ve had good experiences stopping to eat lunch and hang out here a bit on private boat rentals, although I have heard of some people being overcharged here. So, I guess do double check prices of things if you to here on your Barú day trip.
There is a hotel named Agua Azul Resort on this island. It looks ok, not spectacular, and is on the pricier side. It might be neat to stay here a couple nights though if you wanted to do a place a bit off the beaten path.
You can also do a day trip here, and there is this 5 island tour that includes a stop here as well as at Cholón and Playa Blanca (more on both of them below).
Cholón: Barú’s Party Island
Cholón, actually located on the western tip of the same island as Agua Azul, is known as Cartagena’s party island.
There’s a tiny beach here with some palm thatch roofed shelters built into the shallow, waist deep water. Boats pull up and park around them in a large semi circle, and there’s a sort of Spring Break, party vibe with people dancing on their boats, swimming, and a fair amount of imbibing.
We’ve sort of had our fill of Cholón over the years, and it tends to be a bit of a love it or hate it kind of place, but a lot of people really love it.
If you’re looking to enjoy a boat party, it’s definitely the place for it.
The best way to do Cholón is with a private boat rental, but there are also some tours that go here for most of the day as well as tours that include it as a shorter stop.
For example, you can book this Cholón tour that goes snorkeling and then comes here for the rest of the day.
Or you can book can book the “party” ticket option of this multi-island tour available on GetYourGuide (it can also be booked on Viator here) as well that makes a shorter stop at Cholón if you just want a taste of the party atmosphere while getting to see more places in the Rosarios.
Sofitel Calablanca
I wasn’t sure where to place the Sofitel Calablanca, one of the newest resorts on Barú, in this article. It is set apart on its own on the northern side of Barú in what amounts to its own sort of sector.
That also means it has a very private beach.
It’s probably the most modern, standard resort style hotel on Barú. I appreciate they offer some additional activities like cooking classes and movie nights. It looks like it’d be a good fit for families, a romantic getaway, or just anyone who wants a more upscale experience at a Barú Island resort.
If you’re looking for a luxury stay beach stay at Cartagena it, Isla del Encanto, and Las Islas are pretty much the cream of the crop.
You can check the price of rooms at the Sofitel Calablanca here.
Hotel Playa Manglares Barú
Similar to the Sofitel, this hotel is also sort of all on its own. It’s on the road from the town of Santa Ana to Playa Blanca, nestled up in the mangroves with a tiny beach.
It’s a gorgeous little property, with very neatly decorated rooms that look like they would make pretty neat and tranquil escape from it all.
You can check the price of rooms at the Hotel Playa Manglares Barú here.
Playa Blanca: The Most Famous (and Infamous) Barú Beach
Finally, we come to the most well known beach (for good and ill) on Isla Barú: Playa Blanca.
Honestly, writing about Playa Blanca is tough for me, both personally and in my role giving advice on this site.
As I mentioned above, I spent my first year in Colombia in 2011 nearby in the town of Santa Ana. I spent a lot of time at this beach that year, so it’s got a special place in my heart.
I also saw it change a lot, mostly not for the best, over my next 10 years living in Cartagena. Although I came back out here frequently the first few years after 2011, I found myself coming less and less over time as it just wasn’t the same, especially once the construction of the bridge led to an explosion of tourism to the beach.
Coming out here before that was mostly the domain of the most adventurous and intrepid backpackers, for whom it was a bit of a right of passage to take the bus, then a canoe or metal barge “ferry” across the canal then a mototaxi on the unpaved road to the beach, the same trek I took from Cartagena to Barú most weekends in 2011.
The few organized boat and bus tours from the city mostly concentrated right around the parking lot and entrance to the beach, and if you walked for about 15 minutes, you found a mostly undeveloped beach, well worth the adventure out here.
We eventually found a favorite place, Pacho Lay that was actually run by one of my students’ families. Pacho is her father, and they still have their place by the way. Back then they were among one of the last little beach shack “hostels,” marking nearly the end of development.
The bridge and paving of the road changed all that.
Pacho’s place doesn’t even mark the half way point of development now, and nearly the entirety of the beach gets crowded today.
In short, the unspoiled paradisiacal nature of Playa Blanca back in those days has been long lost.
It’s still a beautiful beach though, and it can still be a good place to enjoy some crystal clear water and white sand for cheaper than going out to the Rosario Islands.
I do recommend trying to avoid weekends and holidays to avoid the worse of the crowds and keeping in mind the following tips though.
What to Watch Out for at Playa Blanca
Besides the at times overwhelming crowds, the other reason Playa Blanca is often disparaged today is due to the pushy vendors and some businesses overcharging. It seems like every few months there’s some story that goes viral on social media of people being charged outrageous amounts for food and drinks out here.
Look, this definitely happens, but the reality is that you also don’t read about the dozens if not hundreds of people who go here everyday and don’t have this issue.
The key is just to be aware and be sure to ask for prices on everything.
Also, keep in mind there are no free samples, especially when it comes to oyster mongers and massage ladies. Always confirm and agree on prices and know you sometimes have to be more persistent in your “No, gracias” than the vendors are with their sales pitch.
Playa Tranquila vs Playa Blanca
Somewhere along the line, Playa Tranquila began to be marketed as a quieter, less crowded, alternative to Playa Blanca, almost as if it was a distinct, different beach.
It’s not.
It is just the far end of Playa Blanca.
A decade or so ago, it may have been somewhat true that it was more tranquil compared to the quickly developing areas closer to the parking lot, but it’s pretty much all developed now too, and presenting it as a different beach, in my opinion, is just a clever bit of marketing due to the reputation that Playa Blanca earned.
Because it’s been more recently developed though, there are some newer and nicer beach clubs and hotels in the Playa Tranquila sector. It is probably generally less crowded than right around the entrance. You can get boats to take you down to this end of the beach after you walk down to the beach from the parking lot area.
I should say, we stopped at Playa Puntilla, all the way at the end of Playa Tranquila, the last time we did a private rental, and we really enjoyed it. It’s just a tiny sliver of beach between the sea and a lagoon at the very end of Playa Blanca.
Just across from here is actually where you’ll find the all inclusive Decameron Barú resort, which could be a good option for spending the night if you want an all inclusive resort, although I think the options discussed above are all nicer.
How to Get to Playa Blanca
If you want to go to Playa Blanca on your own, I recommend hiring a taxi or driver for the day to take you and wait for you.
If you do it this way, I’d just walk down the beach to the right after coming down for the parking lot until you find a good looking spot. Or you could take a boat down to Playa Tranquila.
If you’re going to have lunch, I’d recommend just negotiating your beach chairs and lunch together. Ditto if you spend the night, go ahead and negotiate your stay and lunch.
Playa Blanca, Barú Tours
There are some decent organized tour options as well. Doing one of these can be a good way to save the hassle of having to negotiate or worry about being overcharged.
I’ve seen lots of good reviews for Nena Beach Club, and day passes here, which include lunch and transportation, can be booked online at GetYourGuide and Viator. You can also check the price of spending the night at Nena here.
Mambo Beach Club is a good and cheaper option, and tours here can be booked on Viator and include transportation and a voucher for lunch and/or drinks.
Speaking of spending the night, you’ll find slightly nicer accommodations in the Playa Tranquila area, since that’s where much of the newer building is located. While the traditional way of spending the night out here is just to show up and find a place, there are some places that do reservations online ahead of time now.
A few other good options that can be booked online ahead of time are:
- La Cabaña Glamping Geronimo
- The Wizard
- Hotel Calimari
- Again, Nena Beach Club comes highly recommended
Also again, there’s the all inclusive Decameron, which is just across the tiny inlet of the lagoon from Playa Blanca.
Finally, Playa Blanca can be a decent spot to stop during a private boat rental from Cartagena. Food here tends to be a bit cheaper than out in the other islands, so it can be a good way to end the day with a late lunch and and afternoon at the beach.
Once again, if you’re considering a private boat, you can get a quote from our partner operator here.
There are also some organized multi-island tours that come here for lunch and the end of the day, which can be a good way to see the Rosarios and Barú. For example, this tour on GetYourGuide and this one on Viator both end the day at Playa Blanca.
The Colombian National Aviary
The very well done Colombian National Aviary is located on Barú, not far from Playa Blanca.
You can read more about the aviary in this Cartagena Aviary visitor’s guide, but the short version is I think it’s really well done and worth the visit if you are interested in seeing it, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a must see if it isn’t really your thing either.
There’s a family of condors here as well as a harpy eagle in addition to lots of sea birds and parrots. Oh, and a great photo op with the flamingos!
The “Birds in Flight” talk and presentation is definitely worth seeing as well if you go.
If you go on your own and hire a car, just ask them to take you here before the beach. Of course, you don’t actually have to go to the beach at all, but I do recommend going early. The birds tend to be most active early before it gets too hot.
You can get 20% off private transportation when you book here with code ExploreColombia20 via our partner travel agency. You can also book a complete tour of the aviary with a bilingual guide with them and use that same discount code.
You can also book this shared van that goes to the aviary, then to Playa Blanca, then returns to Cartagena in what isn’t a bad deal keeping in mind it’s just transportation and you’ll have to fend for yourself at the beach.
There are also tours that go out here, and most of them either come here first, then go to Playa Blanca for lunch and an afternoon on the beach, or go to the beach first and include the Aviary as an optional add on.
I suggest the first option to get the most out of the aviary. For example, you could book this tour that goes to the aviary first then to Mambo Beach Club.
Some of the nicer beach resorts like Isla del Encanto and the Sofitel Calablanca also may offer this as an optional excursion from the resort.
Will You Plan Your Own Visit to Barú from Cartagena?
Now you’ve got a complete guide to Cartagena’s Barú Island, including knowing about the different areas of the island and the good and bad aspects of planning a visit here.
Hopefully that clears up any confusion from advice you’ve gotten.
Even though Playa Blanca and Barú has that special place in my heart and I have tons of fond memories out there, I would once again give my honest advice that choosing to do the Rosario Islands or a place at the far end of Barú or the Sofitel offers the best experience.
If you do go to Playa Blanca though, just keep in mind the advice above, and I’m sure you’ll still have a nice time.
Regardless of where you go, I do hope you have a great time, and I hope this guide has been useful! Please let me know in the comments where you went on Barú and what you thought.
Cheers and Happy Exploring!
Want Some Help Planning Your Dream Colombia Trip?
Let my partner travel agency help you craft a custom trip package,
tailor made to your interests. Readers get a special discount!
Want to connect with me and fellow travelers to Cartagena and Colombia?
Click here to join the Cartagena, Colombia Travel Tips Facebook Group
It’s a great place to ask questions, share tips, and get inspiration!
Planning a trip to Cartagena?
Be sure to check out the rest of the site to help you plan!
In particular, you might want to check out my complete guide to planning a trip to Cartagena, my guide to the best areas to stay, my list of over 75 things to do, my picks for the best Cartagena tours, the best day trips from Cartagena, my suggested packing list, my guide to the Rosario Islands, and my guide to all the beaches of Cartagena.
