Cartagena - help!
 

hi,

I'm looking for help on planning my Cartagena itinerary - I land on a Sunday afternoon and depart on a Saturday morning.

i'm thinking of the following:
Sunday - relax & check out some salsa dancing places
Monday - walk the old walled town. Follow frommer's walking tour..see the church/plazas and San Felipe fort.
Tuesday - the volcano mud bath
Wednesday - head to Playa blanca directly - spend the night beachside in a cabana or hammock and return thursday
Thursday - evening return to old town and relax.
Friday - maybe day trip to Park Tayrona? or Santa Marta?
Saturday - depart.

i don't think I can do Tayrona in one day - and if not...can i visit Marta in one day? I think i read the bus ride was 4 hours. So in that case no.

Is there a different way you'd do this itinerary? It's just me and another girlfriend - we enjoy nature, beaches, history, meeting people and adventure. Although physically right now i'm in therapy for some injuries so i'm not looking into any hikes. Only swimming is an option for me at this time!

thanks!

I don't think that there is any way you could do a day trip to Tayrona or Santa Marta. They aren't close enough. When we went to Tayrona, we were already based in Santa Marta and it seemed like a long day. Cartagena is a nice city - we kind of took it easy when we were there, wandered around the old city, that kind of thing. We didn't get to Playa Blanca.

I would agree with Susan that Cartagena is a city that's great for wandering – you'll be amazed at how rewarding that can be, whether in the Centro/San Diego or in the Getsemani neighborhood. We had three full days in Cartagena – no day trips to the islands, beaches, or volcano – and weren't bored for a second.

ok thank you! if anyone else has been to any of the other islands that are a must see please advise...

i think at this point we'll plan to just hang out in cartegena , do the volcano, and playa blanca. anything else will be an overkill!

The best/most interesting thing I did in Cartagena was the art tour of Getsemani.

None of the usual tourist fluff, and genuinely authentic tour of Cartagena's most colourful neighbourhood. I highly recommend it:

http://ticartagena.com/en/things-to-...s-experiences/