BootsnAll Travel Community

I'll be in Cartagena May 20 -29. What should I expect to pay for a plane ticket from Bogota? Where should I stay? I'm traveling alone, so an apartment is impractical. The cost of my ticket will determine how much I'll be able to spend on the hostel/hotel. Where is best for diving? Salsa? Must-not-miss restaurants?

Any help or tips are greatly appreciated!!!

I can't recall the prices for flights to Cartagena but look up Avianca (the Colombian airline) and ask.

Where you'll want to stay will depend on your budget. I can authoritatively suggest that you avoid Casa Familiar where each and every room was robbed of cash by the staff and I suspect the number to my credit card was also stolen there. I think I later ended up at a place called Hotel Holyday which suited me just fine. I can drudge up all of the info if you'd like. The area of town was called Gethsemeni or something like that, and was where nearly all of the budget travellers stayed.

I'll try and find my journals with more specific info, though it'll be useless if you've got more cash to spend. There's no shortage of clubs either...and if you're up for salsa I definitely suggest asking the locals where they go.

Thanks for the heads up! I figured I would be in Getsemani, lp has a few listings of hostels, when I travel I usually figure out where I'll stay when I get there. I'll definitely stay out of Casa Familiar!! You don't have to dig out your journals, thanks anyway though. When I get back, I'll update the forum with some recent tips.

tickets from bogota to Cartagena (one way): from $143.000 to $244.000 depending on the class. The flight is 1:30 min.
for diving I wouldn't recommend Cartagena to be honest, but you might want to try Islas del rosario.
For partying LA ESCOLLERA.
Restaurants you cant miss: Restaurante San Pedro in the fortressed city, very very nice! and La Olla Cartagenera (a bit expensive but its worth it) Located in Bocagrande Avenue!

hope this info was good for you!
Paul

ladaun, my LP colombia which i bought in february was outdated on a lot of things. the hostal de santo domingo was still there though, which is on the ave of the same name. it's a gorgeous area! there's a club down the street from there too. $150 sounds about right, to get to cartagena (at least via aerorepublica).

Thank you to everyone!

I flew avianca for about$125, and I found a return ticket for about $90. I think traveling in the low season helps. I checked out Hotel el Viajero, and the rooms are very clean, new and nice. I`m staying in Boca Grande tonight, but I may move to el Centro tomorrow.

Thanks again!

The Casa vienna hostel is a great place to stay. Its run by a cool Austrian bloke. If there is no room there, he seems to be more than happy to find a place for you. The hostels a cool place to chill as well. People from all th ehostels around there seem to chill there.

enjoy

Jungles

I ended up changing hotels. I havent traveled for a while, so Im splurging! A whopping $25 a night at the Hotel Internacional, its cute, and clean, plus the room is huge! Rastapaul or anybody, do you have any recommendations for diving companies? Im staying close to the La Olla, so while Im splurging, i will go all the way! Has anyone visited Barranquilla? I think im going to plan a day trip there. Thanks to all for the recomendations.

for good diving take a bus to santa martha, then 15 minutes to Taganga where you`ll find the best and most economic diving. This is also close to Tayrona National Park with the best beaches you have ever seen. Go for it!