Playa Blanca Experience

Recommended by 95% of travelers

Cartagena, Colombia

8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Full Day Tour in Baru With Lunch and Pick up

Cartagena, Caribbean Coast

4.0

(4)

Full Day Tour in Baru With Lunch and Pick up

from $45

Cartagena 5 Island Hop Tour: Lunch, Snorkel, Beach Clubs, & More

Cartagena, Caribbean Coast

4.7

(6,044)

Cartagena 5 Island Hop Tour: Lunch, Snorkel, Beach Clubs, & More

from $70

Visit Barú by boat and enjoy a day at Freedom Beach Club

Cartagena, Caribbean Coast

4.3

(4)

Visit Barú by boat and enjoy a day at Freedom Beach Club

from $60

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Take a day trip out of Cartagena and leave the planning and driving to your guide on this excursion to Playa Blanca beach on Baru Island. Travel comfortably on an air-conditioned bus and spend the day soaking up the sun on the white-sand beach and swimming in crystal-clear water. Afterward, explore the neighboring fishing villages and residential areas before returning to Cartagena.

Travel comfortably in an air-conditioned coach: Forget about the hassle of public transit
Spend the day relaxing on the beach and swimming in the warm water
Explore the local area with a guide who offers insight
No hidden costs: all taxes and fees are covered in advance

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Bilingual guide
Huts of Palms
Lunch

Soft drink

Massages
Handicrafts
Snorkeling

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

PICK UP TIME (SAT-SUN) (6:15 am:) Hotels in the north area America, morros, sonesta, (06: 25 am) Corales de Indias Hotel, (6: 40 am) Bovedas - Plaza de santa teresa, (6: 45 am) Hotels in Bocagrande and Laguito areas, (7: 00 am) Monument los Pegasos. PICK UP TIME (MON-FRY) (7:15 am) Hotels in the north area America, morros, sonesta, (7: 25 am) Corales de Indias Hotel, (7: 40 am) Bovedas - Plaza de santa teresa, (7: 45 am) Hotels in Bocagrande and Laguito areas, (8: 00 am) Monument los Pegasos.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Playa Blanca (Pass By)

Guianza Express Tours Guides Y Transportation (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Bring a swimsuit
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 47 travelers

Supplied by

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)

Featured review

lisajuachon

We had a good time at Playa Blanca in Baru. The transportation van was clean and the ride seemed to go by quickly. Our guide Karina was friendly, informative and translated in three languages for our group. She was also eager to answer any questions. Playa Blanca was beautiful and the area we were taken to was less crowded. The lunch was simple but very good. The staff that provided food and drink were also friendly and polite. Thanks for a great experience, Karina. We would definitely recommend this journey to other travelers to Colombia!

Reviews

4.8

based on 147 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Sort by: Most insightful

Loved it ❤️

Tanya_B, Jun 2026

This is a wonderful experience. Karina is by far the best, a lovely young woman that speaks great English and is extremely accommodating to her guests.

Beautiful Barú!

Cherry_G, May 2026

Barú is worth the trek from Cartagena. We were picked up at hotel then drive 1hr out to Barú. Approaching Barú the road is not paved but not a deal breaker, just for info. We were then taken on a boat to a quieter part of the beach. Available activities snorkeling, beach lounge chair with umbrella and table, massage, lunch. The beach is beautiful. On the way back we saw the area where we were first took the boat and the area was super crowded. Also be aware, there are lots of boats, jets skis, and no apparent control of the beach and water area. Never the less, the beach was amazing.

Great day at the beach...

Jetrealty, Feb 2026

Great day at the beach with stunning water. The tour started off a bit disorganized by a different pick up spot and with the meeting point not insisting any time other than 8. I got a call at 7:30 that I was late. Not the guides fault I’m sure but the company should make and communicate these things much clearer. If you are looking for a great day at a beautiful beach you will not be disappointed.

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. We are delighted to know that you enjoyed the beautiful beach and the stunning water. We sincerely apologize for the initial confusion regarding the pickup location and timing. Your comments are very important to us, and we will review our communication procedures to ensure clearer and more precise information for our guests moving forward. We truly appreciate your understanding and your positive remarks about the overall experience. We hope to have the opportunity to assist you again in the future.

Karina and the Waves

lisajuachon, Jan 2026

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Thank you very much for sharing your experience at Playa Blanca. We are delighted to know that you enjoyed the destination, the clean transportation, and the overall organization of the tour. It is especially rewarding to hear your kind words about Karina. Her dedication, multilingual support, and willingness to assist our guests are qualities we truly value, and we will gladly share your comments with her. We sincerely appreciate your trust and hope to welcome you again for another memorable experience in the future.

Nice beach day

Ella_F, Feb 2025

90- minute bus to and from a teal-water beach. History and cultural context of Cartagena and Playa Blanca along the route. Great lunch and some fruit included! Recommend for a non-party beach atmosphere. Do not recommend to anyone who gets bus sick as it is a bumpy ride.

Loved it. Highlight of my time.

Alison_J, Jan 2025

Long trip from Cartegena central. About 1.5 hours by bus. Paid for the trip + 2 chaise lounges, table and 1 chair + umbrella. Guide was fantastic. Took great care of us. There were some vendors, but not overwhelmingly so. Lunch was great, but typical (fish/mojarra or chicken, coconut rice, pantacones). We had to take a bus, then boat to the tranquil beach. Overall, I would fo it again...but with Karina as our guide.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Nice day We appreciate your feedback, We are glad you had this enjoyable experience, we look forward to serving you again Thank you

Overcharged

Bilqis_A, Dec 2024

Beautiful blue water and nice guide but they are in on a scam with Americans that come there. You say no to a massage then they still will give you one at high prices and then sell you bracelets and necklaces without telling you the price and charge you 900000? So it’s better to go to Ibiza beach where there are no vendors.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Good morning we appreciate and value your opinion, we regret and apologize for the inconvenience out side our control , we see that later it was better, we wait for you again thank you very much

Amazing

Lisette_M, Nov 2024

Karina and are driver were very knowledgeable and courteous. She gave us a history background as we made our way to the beach. We are so glad we did this trip since the beach was beautiful and the area they took us to was more private than where most other tour groups stop on the beach. Don’t hesitate and book this tour! Ask for Karina!

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Good morning, we appreciate your feedback, it helps us to be better every day , We are pleased that you had this enjoyable tour. Thank you very much

Excellent Family Beach Day

Cynthia_V, Sep 2024

I had an excellent day on the Playa Blanca Experience Tour and would highly recommend booking with this tour group! Our driver was fantastic, and the tour guide, Karina, was amazing—she made sure everything went smoothly and kept the energy high. They even provided a delicious lunch, and the fried fish was a standout, even for someone like me who isn’t typically a fish person. The waters were stunningly clear, and the beach had soft sand—none of the rocks mentioned in other reviews. The bartender kept the drinks flowing, which was a nice touch. Yes, it does get hot, and the sun is strong, so definitely bring plenty of sunscreen. Also, the trip back can be longer due to traffic, but it's still well worth it. Overall, this was a perfect beach day with beautiful scenery, great service, and an unbeatable vibe. Don’t listen to the negative reviews—this tour is a must-do!

Response from Host, Oct 2024

ch Good morning, we appreciate your valuable feedback, it helps us to be better every day Thank you very much

Perfect Day Trip!!!

Erin_P, May 2023

Perfect day trip for family or couple. Tour guide was amazing she made sure to translate everything for us since there was another group on the tour who only spoke Spanish. Very accommodating with pick up included, free fresh bananas and guava while on the beach with a great lunch included. Only downside is they charged full price for my two year old toddler and the ride leading to the beach was extremely bumpy along with a steep rocky hill you needed to walk down to get to the actual beach. But once there we took a 3 minute boat ride further down the beach where it was way more private and less crowded.

Response from Host, May 2024

Hello Erin! Thank you very much for your comments and taking the time to write to us, we work daily to improve our services, We hope that on your next trip We can have the pleasure of serving you again, We work to generate unforgettable experiences. Have a Good day.

Great beach and water.

Francisco_M, Aug 2022

The beach, water and staff were great. What I found was that the area were the bus dropped us off was very disturbing. It was very dirty with trash all over and it was very difficult to walk to the beach. Also, the people trying to sell you stuff were very annoying and sometimes intimidating. Once we were taken by boat to our section everything was great but still had people trying to sell stuff.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Dear custorme, it´s a really pleasure tu us read your opinion, and know that you liked the beach. About the way that you have to walk to take the boat, we really sorry about it, we are going to let know to the autoritys for get help in this part, and work with them to give a soon solution to this problem. About the selling people, remember that it is a public beach and they can work there, and that's the reason why we go to an apart beach, although this is not totally set apart of this problem but is less than on the other beaches of the zone. We are working everyday to do the best for our customer and that´s why is important to us this types of opinions. We hope that you can come back to Cartagena and take again this tour with us to bring you a best service. Best regards.

ENJOY PLAYA BLANCA

Philip_L, May 2021

The trip overall was very good BUT, you MUST be VERY CLEAR with the ladies that do the massages on the beach or they will overcharge you without question. They will try to charge you 100,000 pesos when you can have them done for 80,000 pesos or less for an hour. Make sure you have the PRICE for massage and anything you buy on the beach Before They Start and before you buy anything!! The driver was excellent, 5 stars, and he will handle everything for you at the beach from best beach location to chairs and towels to food, which is VERY GOOD!! The water is like in the Bahamas!! YES, there are LOTS of beach vendors but, go with the flow and just say No Gracias. They will.keep coming by but, after a couple of refusals, they will thin out. The tour and location is well worth having to deal with the vendors as, they are not rude or obnoxious, just very persistent, lol!! Leave the attitude at home, kick back relax and enjoy the country, this company is the BEST!! I WOULD RATE THE COMPANY 5 STARS PLUS FOR COST, PROFESSIONALISM and overall FUN!! ENJOY!!

Response from Host, May 2024

¡Hello Philip! Thanks for you comment We appreciate, We hope that on your next trip we have the pleasure of serving you again, We work to generate unforgettable experiences. Have a Good day!

Great Tour Guide with Amazing Beaches

Marlon_B, Oct 2019

The experience overall was great. The only thing I would change are the amount of vendors on the beach and their persistence to try to sell you something. Even the women who offer messages were just a bit much. Of course none of this is at the fault of the tour or the tour guide. If the government of the department or state could regulate the vendors more, the experience would have been a lot better. It was hard to just relax and soak up some sun when you're constantly approached by vendors to buy something. Again, this is not the fault of the tour company or the tour guide; it was just my overall experience.

Response from Host, May 2024

¡Hello Marlon! thank you for your comment, we appreciate it, We hope that on your next trip we have the pleasure of serving you again, We work to generate unforgettable experiences. Have a nice day!

Cheap price for a nice place to be...

Arno V, Jan 2018

Cheap price for a nice place to be. Better than the beaches at Bocagrande. But even at Playa Blanca you are accompanied by people selling their stuf...

Response from Host, May 2024

Hello Arno, thank you for your comment, we appreciate it, we hope that the next time on your trip to Cartagena we can give you the best experiences. Have a nice day

Day of relaxation in paradise.

Lubianca_S, Mar 2026

Playa Blanca, quiet! A place to relax and enjoy the paradise! The guide was super attentive and the place we stayed is simply AMAZING. The lunch was wonderful! The silence of the place was the big difference, since I don't like loud sound on the beach. I still had the opportunity to rub my hair and do a wonderful massage! I highly recommend!

Auto-translated

Response from Host, Apr 2026

Receba um cordial cumprimento. Agradecemos muito por compartilhar sua experiência conosco. Ficamos felizes em saber que você desfrutou de um dia de descanso em um ambiente tão especial, e que a atenção da nossa guia, assim como o local e o almoço, contribuíram para tornar sua experiência ainda mais memorável. Esperamos recebê-lo(a) novamente em breve.

Sem resumi

MIlton_S, Jun 2024

Creio deveria retirar como destino para mais pessoas não se decipcinarem como fiquei. Tem outros destinos melhores ofertados por vocês, não prejudicaria portfólio de vocês, pelo contrário vai melhorar a qualidade das ofertas.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Bom dia Agradecemos sua opinião, lamentamos o inconveniente no passeio para Playa Blanca. Agradecemos por especificar o que aconteceu para que possamos tomar as medidas correspondentes. Estamos surpresos e preocupados, nosso compromisso é melhorar o melhor serviço a cada dia Obrigado