4 Islands Tour Cartagena with Snorkel, Cholon & Lunch

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Cartagena, Colombia

7 to 8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Experience Columbia’s Rosario Islands on this all-day excursion. After a convenient hotel pickup from Bocagrande, Laguito, Castillo Grande, or Centro, make a quick stop at the island of Barú before visiting the archipelago for snorkeling, relaxing at the beach, exploring nature, and savoring a delicious complimentary meal of ceviche and fruit salad.

Explore the beautiful Rosario archipelago on this guided adventure
Experience the islands’ underwater world with snorkeling gear and a guide
Enjoy ceviche, fruit salad, bottled water, and other complimentary treats
Make the most of limited time with convenient hotel pickup and drop-off

What's Included

Hotel pick-up (from 7:00 AM)
Air-conditioned bus to Barú
Typical snack (empanada + drink)
Panoramic Rosario Islands tour
Snorkeling experience (equipment included)
Visit to Cholon Island
Visit to Agua Azul
Visit to Playa Tranquila
Lunch (chicken, fish or vegetarian)
Bilingual guide

personal expenses

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Meeting point

Monumento Torre del Reloj
Boca del Puente, El Centro, Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia
in the middle arc of the clock tower

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Start time
.8:00 am

Itinerary

Cartagena Caribbean Tours

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Islas de Rosario

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Cholón (Islas del Rosario)

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Playa Tranquila Baru

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Agua Azul Beach Resort

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps

Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 35 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.2

based on 18 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Couldn’t wait for it to be over

Lindsay_M, Jun 2026

I received a 6:30am text from one of the 3 What’s App numbers that texted me but wouldn’t respond to my texts. The message stayed that they would pick us up between 7:20-7:40am and that they would only wait for 3 min before leaving us if we were ready. I thought that was odd but made sure we were down in our lobby by 7:10a in case they were early. We got picked up at 7:53a from our apartment. I was up in our apartment trying to get cell service to find out where they were at. No answer. Came back down and the bus was there and my husband telling them to wait for me because I was upstairs trying to get a hold of them. Got on the bus and had no idea who the guide was. Nobody greeted us. The guide didn’t speak any English, which bilingual (Spanish/english) was promised in the Viator excursion description, so this made the day extremely challenging. Even more so because once I figured out who the guide was, he was overly accommodating to everyone that could speak Spanish and totally ignored us the entire trip. We had no direction on where to go, or what time to be back at the boat so we had to watch for the other families and not go too far. The other families noticed us struggling and were trying to help interpret for us but the guide didn’t, he just totally ignored us. In fact, on the boat, he made our family sit in the area of the boat that was not shaded but the other families were shaded. When we tried to move, he told us to go back to where we were seated. We were suppose to be at each island for an hour and we were there maybe 30 min max, so be mindful that the itinerary is not really a precise length of time. Cholon is very loud and a party island, and you are standing at a table in the water while music is blasting and vendors are harassing you to buy things. We didn’t get lunch until 3:30p at the end of our tour and it was cold. Even at lunch, he sat the other families in the shade and had us sit in the sun. He saw that I was upset about that and pulled 3 chairs behind an umbrella (there were 5 of us). Was hoping for a nice relaxing day and there were vendors just on us the entire day. They were relentless. Just annoying and not worth the money to me, in my opinion.

Great but...

JodiAnn_D, Jul 2024

Could be amazing if the communication was better. A good morning and what to expect at pick up would have been nice. After checkin, it was caotic... so many different guides calling their group. When we were shuttled to the bus, a hello the ride to baru is about 45min would have been nice too. When we were waiting on the humid beach for the boat to be ready..being told would have been nice. As non spanish speaking customers, all communication wasnt always said in spanish AND english so at times we felt very lost. If we were not proactive in asking questions im sure we would have gotten lost at times, especially on the way back to cartegena where we never saw our initial guide after he said it was time to go on the beach... we just happen to follow the other guide/ group to the buses and were told just get on that bus to centro. The excursion itself is what you make it. The guides seemed like they knew what their job was but should be told to tell the guests whats happening and dont just leave us alone. In the end better communication would have gone a long way. TIP: Be sure to bring water and a snack as lunch isnt until the last stop.

Could be a fantastic tour if some things are fixed

RACHEL_P, Apr 2024

Late pick up, plenty traffic due to Bakurta market which shortened our stay at Playa Blanca that was disappointing. The food was salty. However there were a few staff who made sure we were taken care of. Be aware of stopping at Cholon where they try to rip you off if you have no COP. They hike up the prices for a simple lolly!!! Otherwise we made the most of the experience. Would have liked to have more time at the Aquarium to swim with the dolphins also.

Beware of theft and forget about comfort!

Joel_G, May 2026

I was robbed; surely the captain or crew is involved. I had a towel stolen in Choló. The boat is too uncomfortable and rustic, and the bus is in poor condition with inadequate air conditioning. I do NOT recommend it in the slightest.

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