Best Day Trips from Cartagena, Colombia

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Cartagena is well known as Colombia’s premier coastal Caribbean destination with a charming historic vibe, fun nightlife, and gorgeous beaches nearby.

Those beaches make for some of the best day trips from Cartagena.

But, they’re not all Cartagena’s vicinity has to offer.

I lived in Cartagena for over a decade, and, in this post, I’ll be sharing what I consider to be the best day trips from Cartagena.

I’ll cover some neat historical and cultural sites, some hidden gems to see nature, and, yes, I’ll let you know which beaches are the best to visit on a day trip from Cartagena too!

So, read on to learn all about the best Cartagena day trips you should consider including on you itinerary!

Best Day Trips from Cartagena Overview

As Colombia’s most well known international destination, there’s no shortage of things to do in Cartagena.

However, there are some great places to visit near Cartagena, including both well known sites and some hidden gems.

In fact, you’ll find a number of the best day trips from Cartagena I’ve picked out here featured in my best things to do in Cartagena post as well as my best Cartagena tours post (click those links to check those out, by the way!).

I’m going to go into a lot more detail on each of these best Cartagena day trips below, but if you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick rundown:

• Rosario Islands Day Trip: Visiting the prettiest islands nearby is a must do!
  • Get a quote for a private boat here (my preferred way to do the islands!)
  • Book my favorite shared boat tour here
  • Book a day pass at our favorite beach club here
• Tour the Historic Free Slave Town of San Basilio de Palenque
  • Book a day tour from Cartagena here
• Get a Taste of the Extreme on an ATV Tour
  • Book with our partner provider here
• Take a Dip in a Mud Volcano
  • Book a tour here
• See Monkeys on a Hiking Day Tour from Cartagena
  • Learn more here
• Canoe Through the Mangroves of La Boquilla
  • Book a mangrove tour here
• Visit the Well Done National Aviary
  • Book a tour here
  • Book private roundtrip transportation here
• Visit the Forts at Bocachica
  • Book a tour that includes them and the beach nearby
  • Included on the ATV tour mentioned above too!
• Consider Hitting Some of the Other Beaches and Islands Near Cartagena
  • See the section below on which ones to consider and which ones to avoid!

Read on to learn more about all of these best Cartagena, Colombia day trips!

Best Cartagena Day Trips Detailed Guide

Putting together this list of best Cartagena day trips was a bit tricky.

That’s because, to be honest, a good portion of the best day trips from Cartagena are beach oriented.

I love the beach, but I didn’t want this list to just be a rundown of the best beaches in Cartagena (click that link for that!).

So, I’ve chosen to include what I consider to be the best beach experience at the top, and then give you some other beach centric options at the end of the list.

I consider the first two Cartagena day tours on this list to be high priority for just about all travelers. The rest really come down to personal preference, but I’ve put them more or less in the order I would personally consider them.

It’s probably worth pointing out that most of these aren’t actually full day trips from Cartagena either.

Many of them are more like half-day trips.

So, in some cases you may even be able to combine two of them together or combine them with things to do in town. Keep that in mind when putting together your full itinerary.

With those notes out of the way, let’s get into the details of these best day trips from Cartagena, Colombia.

Rosario Islands Day Trip from Cartagena: A Virtual Must Do

I consider the Rosario Islands to not only offer the best beach and island experience near Cartagena, but to be a virtual must do for just about all travelers to Cartagena.

The crystal clear waters are great for snorkeling and are so much prettier than the beaches in town.

You can do a day trip from Cartagena to the Rosario Islands one of three ways:

• Rent a private boat
• Do a shared boat tour
• Do a day pass at a beach club or hotel

Doing the private rental is so worth it. You can plan your day however you like, go at your own pace, and rock your own playlist.

It’s one of our favorite ways to spend a day, and it’s more affordable than you might think.

That’s especially true if you book with our partner provider, who has better prices than you’ll find on big booking sites. Learn more and get a quote here.

For a shared boat tour, my top two recommendations are this catamaran tour that is really well regarded and offers a nice, relaxed day, and one of the multi-island tours, which allow you to see several spots in the islands and offer both livelier, party oriented experiences and more relaxed ones (see the ticket options when you book).

Finally, you can book a day pass at a beach club or hotel as well.

That’s the best choice if you’d like to spend the entire day at just one beach. The day pass at IslaBela is our favorite, but you can do something livelier at the popular Bora Bora Beach Club too.

See more options in this post on the best Rosario Islands day tours.

If you’ve got 4 or more nights in Cartagena, you can also consider spending the night in the islands, although you’ll have to balance that with how many of these other Cartagena day trips you might want to do.

See my picks for the best hotels in the Rosario Islands if you do want to spend the night.

See the final section for more beach options if you want an alternative or second beach day.

Visit the Historic Free Town of San Basilio de Palenque

Cartagena was a significant slave trading port during the colonial era.

Some slaves escaped and founded villages, called “Palenques” in the coastal interior hinterlands, where they resisted Spanish attempts to hunt them down.

Some even led raids to free more slaves.

One of these towns was eventually granted official free status in a peace treaty, which made it the first free town in the Americas to be recognized as such by a European monarch.

That town was San Basilio de Palenque, located about 90 minutes south of Cartagena and my pick for the second best Cartagena, Colombia day trip.

San Basilio has a proud heritage and many African traditions were preserved, and it’s home to the only known Spanish based Creole language.

It’s a unique cultural site and offers the opportunity to both learn more about the under appreciated influence of Afro-Colombians and see a bit of the non-touristy side of rural Colombia.

If it even remotely interests you, I highly recommend doing a day tour from Cartagena to San Basilio, often just called Palenque.

I first visited Palenque years back when it was still pretty off the beaten path, but it’s regular day tour from Cartagena now.

I returned in the summer of 2024 with this shared tour to Palenque, and I thought it was a good value and well run. You can read my full review of it here.

You can also get 20% off a private tour with code ExploreColombia20 here.

Explore Tierra Bomba on an ATV Day Tour from Cartagena

If you’d like to do something a little less typical in Cartagena that will get your adrenaline pumping, consider doing an ATV tour on the island of Tierra Bomba, just across the bay from Cartagena.

This experience is only a few hours, so while I’m calling it a day trip from Cartagena, it doesn’t require a full day commitment and you can get more out of the rest of the day too.

One of the things I really like about this particular ATV tour is you get two nice added bonuses.

First, you get the option to tour the very neat Castillo San Fernando Fort at Bocachica, at the entrance to the bay. This fort is really well preserved and is not visited by many tourists because it’s a bit difficult to reach.

Second, you do get a bit of beach time too.

The trails are fun, and you get some neat views of the city across the bay on this excursion. If you enjoy ATVs, this is a great option for a Cartagena, Colombia day tour to add to your itinerary.

Learn more and book with our partner provider here.

Take a Dip in a Mud Volcano

Want a day tour from Cartagena that is a bit different but is relaxing and soothing rather than extreme?

Why not get a natural spa treatment at the mud volcano near Cartagena?

Honestly, the Volcán del Totumo, or Totumo Volcano in English, is probably Cartagena’s strangest attraction.

My experience is this is usually something that people see and immediately think I really want to do that, or think no, thanks, count me out with not a whole lot of in between.

If you’re in that first group, it’s definitely worth including as a Cartagena day tour on your itinerary.

The feeling of floating in the squishy mud is certainly interesting, and locals claim it does wonders for the skin. You can read more about what to expect and my experience doing this in my write up on it.

You can book a shared tour to the mud volcano here, or book a private tour to the volcano here (use code ExploreColombia20 for 20% off that second one).

Hike to See Monkeys on the Best Nature Day Trip from Cartagena

This next one is a real hidden gem.

Olinto, an independent nature tour guide in Cartagena discovered this trek through a tropical dry forest not far from Cartagena where there are good chances to see three species of monkeys!

I did this day trip from Cartagena on our visit in the summer of 2024, and enjoyed it.

I got to see lots of howler monkeys and just missed some tamarins.

While there is nice hiking father up the coast, it doesn’t work as a day trip, and you probably won’t see monkeys.

That’s why this is one of the best hidden gems in Cartagena and absolutely worth considering for those that are into nature, or just monkeys.

Learn more and read about my experience here.

Tour the Mangroves of La Boquilla

If you’d like to get a slice of nature and not go quite as far away from the city, not to mention do a relaxing boat ride rather than a hike, you should consider doing a tour of the mangroves in La Boquilla, a fishing village on the northern outskirts of Cartagena.

I also did this on our Summer 2024 trip with my friend Brian, and we really enjoyed it.

The mangrove tunnels are really neat to canoe through, we learned a lot about the ecosystem, and we got to see tons of birds.

Book a tour through the mangroves in La Boquilla here.

You can also book a full day trip from Cartagena that includes the mud volcano and mangroves in La Boquilla here (use code ExploreColombia20 for a discount on that one).

Finally, for an alternative way to do something similar that also knocks out the thing at the top of this list, there’s also this unique private tour in the Rosario Islands that includes a tour of the town and beaches of Barú, a trip through the mangroves in the islands, and some time to snorkel and enjoy the beach in the islands.

Visit the Colombian National Aviary

The Cartagena Aviary, located on the island of Barú, about 90 minutes from Cartagena, is really well done.

The rarest birds on display here are the Harpy Eagle and the Condor. There is also a neat show that they do twice a day and is definitely worth catching, and a shot overlooking the flamingos is one of the top photo ops in Cartagena.

This is more of a half day trip from Cartagena, and you should expect to spend 2-3 hours at the aviary itself.

I highly recommend going early in the morning when the birds are more active before it gets too hot. You can hop over to the nearby Playa Blanca for lunch and some beach time after.

Just be aware Playa Blanca can get overcrowded and vendors have a reputation for being pushy and trying to overcharge. So, if you do want to do that, be sure to read my guide to Playa Blanca here.

You can book a private tour with guide to the Aviary or a private driver to take you there and back with our partners BnB Colombia (use that discount code ExploreColombia20 on either).

You can book a shared tour to the aviary with the afternoon at the beach here.

If you’ve arranged your own transportation or rented a car, you can buy your Aviary entry tickets ahead of time, although I wouldn’t consider it necessary.

Learn more in my full guide to the Cartagena aviary.

Visit the Hidden Gem Forts at Bocachica

For history buffs that weren’t very interested in doing the ATV tour, going to Bocachica by other means to see the forts there is a great way to get off the beaten path and see some of Cartagena’s best hidden gems.

There are three forts out here near the southern tip of Tierra Bomba Island, known as Bocachica, literally “little mouth,” where the channel into the bay passes.

After the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, when the forts here were destroyed, they were rebuilt but never attacked again.

They have actually been wonderfully preserved and are very lightly visited!

Plus, they are free to visit!

The trouble is getting out here. Which is why, if you are interested in the ATV tour, do that, since it stops at the main fort.

You could also do this pirate boat day tour, which stops at that fort and spends the rest of the day at the beach nearby. It includes lunch and an open bar. So, it’s a pretty good deal too.

You can read more about the forts, including how to visit without a tour, in my guide to the forts of Bocachica.

Other Beach Day Trips from Cartagena

Ok, now, as promised, let’s talk about some other beach options.

I touched on Playa Blanca in the section above on the Aviary. Honestly, I recommend avoiding it. It used to be a paradise but has been spoiled by overcrowding and disorganized development.

It’s a common misconception that Playa Blanca is synonymous with Barú.

It is just one beach on Barú, and there are less crowded, nicer beaches around the southern tip of Barú.

A day pass to Isla del Encanto is a good option there and comparable to the Rosario Islands.

Read more about the different areas on the island in this guide to Barú Island.

A bit closer, Tierra Bomba is another option.

The waters aren’t crystal clear here, but the beaches are nice enough and it’s just a short ride across the bay.

The fort at Bocachica is on Tierra Bomba, and both the ATV and the pirate boat tour mentioned above do include some beach time. You can also book a day pass at a hotel or beach club for a full day of relaxing out here too.

Our personal favorite place there is Palmarito Beach, but the newer Makani Luxury Beach Club would be my top recommendation for a day tour out here. Blue Apple Beach also has a cool, relaxed vibe.

Learn about more options on Tierra Bomba, including how to do it on your own, in this complete guide to Tierra Bomba Island.

You can also compare all the Cartagena islands here.

A Few Places You Should Not Do as a Day Trip from Cartagena

To close, I want to talk about a few places I occasionally see mentioned as day trips from Cartagena, but I would highly discourage trying to do as day trips.

The first is Tayrona National Park.

With ideal traffic conditions and private transportation, you’re talking at least 4 hours (and probably more like 6 if going by bus) to get there, plus a 2 hour hike in to the most popular beach.

Then, you’re going to repeat all of that a few hours later. We’re talking 12+ hours between transportation and hiking.

It’s not worth it!

Ditto all of the above for Santa Marta and Minca, both of which are close to Tayrona.

Now, I definitely do highly recommend including Minca and Tayrona as additions to your itinerary. I’ve been to both multiple times and they are both beautiful and fun places to visit, just not as day trips from Cartagena.

You can learn more about these places and decide if they are worth including as overnight stops in my guide to Tayrona, my guide to Minca, and my tips on getting to Santa Marta from Cartagena, which you’ll need to route through for both.

Now, turning south, another nice spot that makes for a good overnight trip but not a day trip from Cartagena is the San Bernardo Islands.

This sister island chain to the closer Rosario Islands, best known for the beaches on Isla Palma, Mucura and Tintipán Islands, is really gorgeous.

I’ve seen day trips advertised here, but I discourage that because it’s a really, really long day, and I don’t think you get that much more out of it than a day trip to the Rosarios except for longer transit times.

If you wanted to do an overnight stay here, learn more about them in this guide to the San Bernardo Islands.

Which Cartagena Day Trips Will You Do?

Ok, now you’ve seen my picks for the best day trips from Cartagena, Colombia!

Depending on your time and interests, there should have been some good Cartagena day trips here for everyone.

I hope you found this useful in planning whatever day trips in Cartagena you choose to do. I’d love to hear about them and any other tips you’d give other travelers in the comments!

Please do check out all the other content on the site to help you plan your visit to Cartagena and the rest of Colombia!

Cheers and Happy Exploring!