5-Island Speedboat Tour in Cartagena and the Rosario Islands

Badge of Excellence

Cartagena, Colombia

8 to 12 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

travel insurance
Bilingual Local Guide
Lunch

30,000 cop voucher for typical lunch with different options
Bottled water
Use of Snorkeling equipment

Use of Snorkelling equipment
First stop: Bocachica (Panoramic View)
Big Island: 45-minute snorkeling activity
Private Island: Enjoy a beachside lemonade
Barú Island – Mambo Beach Club : Lunch voucher of 30,000 COP redeemable from the menu
Anaho Island

Alcoholic Beverages

Liquor, cocktails among others.
Towel service.
Dock tax

COP29,000.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Muelle de la Bodeguita - Puerta 1
Centro, Cartagena, Cartagena Province, Bolivar, Colombia
A team member will be waiting for you, please be there at 8:00 a.m. We leave at 8:30 a.m. We will contact you to confirm

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.7:30 am

Itinerary

Centro Historico

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Fuerte de San Fernando de Bocachica

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Isla Grande

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Isla Grande

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Playa Blanca

1 hour 50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Baru (Pass By)

Isla Tierra Bomba

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 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

Elena_C

This was a fabulous way to spend a day. My husband and I enjoyed snorkeling and visiting the different islands and their beaches. Sergio our guide was very helpful and gave great tips for dealing with the vendors. I like how they had us wear life jackets when we were out in the open water, many of the other boats, their passengers were not wearing life jackets. I felt that we were in really good hands with Sergio and the crew.

Reviews

4.5

based on 259 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

It’s ok

Elvira_Z, Jun 2025

It was a bumpy ride, don’t recommend bringing children. Snorkeling was good but beach experience not so much. It’s not comparable to Caribbean experience

Response from Host, Jun 2025

I hope you are well. We work hard to provide excellent service. We appreciate your comment, as it helps us strive harder and provide quality service.

Meh

Leticia_B, Mar 2025

I should start off by saying that I don’t like big group tours like this to begin with and was apprehensive from the start about signing up to do this. The check-in process was chaotic and unorganized. We felt a little bit like cattle. All of the stops on the tour were just OK. We weren’t in any place long enough to really get a feel for it. I actually think that the tour could be greatly improved by cutting the amount of stops down from 5 to 3. Our favorite stop was in Baru. When we arrive there, we were told we only had 40 minutes to eat and enjoy the beach. The food was surprisingly good though we ate it as quickly as possible so that we could take my daughter to play in the water. It turns out that we were not there for 40 minutes. We locked out and got to be there for about an hour and 15 minutes. We got back on the boat and the tour guide who had been chilling very helpful. The entire time lost his mind because apparently someone drink “too much water”. My family of three only had one bottle of water, but the tour guide just kept saying who drank more than one bottle? Who drank more than one bottle? I’m sure no one intentionally drank more than the allotted amount. But the behavior of the tour guide made it very uncomfortable for everyone. It left us feeling uncomfortable and just wanting to get off the boat. I would recommend saving the money and just taking an Uber to Baru, since it is a peninsula. You will get to fully immerse yourself in the experience rather than being herded from one place to another.

Response from Host, Apr 2025

I hope you're all well. We'll take into account all the points you're raising to address them and thus be able to improve and provide better service to the people who visit us and want to tour the islands. Thank you for your comment. This helps us improve and provide quality service.

Island advetnure

Jacqueline_S, May 2024

Had a lot of fun on this tour. History, snorkeling, and partying. What more could you want. Make sure to bring pesos in case you care to patronize the numerous vendors who will approach you. Otherwise “no gracias” will work after a few attempts. Caesar our tour guide was excellent and made sure we all had a great time. Would recommend this tour.

Response from Host, May 2024

Thank you very much, it has been a pleasure serving you and the most important thing for us is that you as clients are satisfied with what you have obtained, that is why we like that the attention of the guides and the service we provide is transparent. I hope you visit us again and take us into account as a tourism agency.

Great Tour and Snorkeling

Meagan_H, Mar 2024

Snorkeling was definitely the best part of the trip for me. There were lots of fish and sea life to see. The lunch that was provided was delicious. Our tour guide was fluently bilingual and was incredibly personable and friendly. The tour of the fort on San Fernando wasn’t that exciting and a bit too long, but everything else was great. Remember to bring cash for tipping and buying extra snacks and beverages. Other passengers did it right by bringing their own cooler full of drinks. *the sellers at the docks said that there were going to be lots of biting bugs, that was definitely not true when we went, we didn’t get a single bug bite

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thank you very much for your opinions, it has been a pleasure serving you and the most important thing for us is that you as clients are satisfied with what you have obtained, with us I hope you visit us again and take us into account as a tourism agency.

There was a joyful group...

Anca_M, Mar 2024

There was a joyful group with us so that we have forgotten the time of waiting ( more than one hour) for them so that we could start the trip.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

We have handled several boats these days that want to live the experience and that has taken us a little longer in logistics, we are trying to improve, we hope the wait was worth it :)

No a good trip, we...

German_S, Feb 2024

No a good trip, we couldnt fulfill the itinerary. Stops seemed to be organieced to spendo money, no enjoy wat was advertised.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused. We will continue working to improve our services so that our patients are satisfied.

Great experience!

Zachary_R, Feb 2024

we had such a fantastic experience on this tour and it was all thanks to our tour guide Charlie! Not only was he focused on providing a culturally immersive tour, he was focused on the safety of his guests and ensured that everyone had a wonderful experience. If you can, book this tour and request Charlie for the best experience possible!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for trusting us! We are very happy that you are satisfied with our service! We hope to see you again soon!

The tour is the height of mediocrity.

Jeffrey_P, Jan 2024

First, the staff was friendly and did their job. No one was exceptional though or stood out. It was more like a cattle drive, and their job was less about taking care of the customers and more about shuttling them to the next place to buy drinks. But everyone seemed to do their job. Second, this isn't a sight-seeing tour. It's an expensive bar-hopping venture. The only place that didn't offer food or drinks or ask for money was the very short snorkeling part. That was supposed to take 45 minutes but we were in the water just over 30. For comparison, the stop at the Encantado Beach Bar was supposed to take 45 minutes as well and lasted an hour and a half. The beach is a debris field literally. They dumbed broken coral, bricks, and chunks of concrete in the water, probably to prevent erosion. However, it's not great for swimming. The fort tour was actually good but also rushed, and they still shuttled you through the handful of people hawking the same beads you've seen everywhere else. I didn't mind tipping the guide, and you should plan to do so. These people need that to live on. The only stop worth making was the Baru beach one. The beach was beautiful and they give you lunch there (mind you the lunch is only up to 30 mil pesos and the only thing on the menu for that price is ceviche. Mediocre ceviche at that. Everything else is extra and over priced compared to anywhere else. That can be forgiven since this is an isolated beach.) The Cholon stop was horrific. It's slated as the party spot, but it's simply an overcrowded area with tiki huts and tables in the water. Service was so slow that at best you can get a drink before time to leave. And one has to figure it's like standing in a toilet. Third, the boat is packed tight. The occupancy was listed as 34 people and there were 35, not including the crew. Life vests were required which is fine with me, but they don't fit anyone larger than a medium. They needed to max this tour out at 28-29 people for comfort. Now the only thing that made the tour worthwhile was the added plankton tour. That was very cool. It was also a cattle tour with too many people. Also there wasn't a lot of explanation about what to expect from it. It's not part of the first tour, and they leave you at Baru saying that another tour guide will arrive around 4:30. They leave at 3:30. Sergio did arrive and he was the best of the bunch. However, it was three hours from when the first tour left until the plankton tour started. The service at the Mambo Beach Bar basically stopped when the first tour left. Ideally if you are doing the tour, be sure to have hydrated and kept the sun from burning you so you can enjoy several hours in the water. The tour itself takes you to a little bay after dark. You jump in and swim around. The plankton glows when you move, and it's awesome. Difficult to get pictures though, but so very cool. Overall, I'd probably book the plankton tour separate and skip the Rosario Island "tour." It might be a great tour for someone who has never snorkeled or gone to a lot of beaches. The boat ride wasn't bad either, but because of the tight quarters, you can't really see out much so it's not a sight-seeing ride. For a little more, I'd charter a private boat to actually see some of the island or just plan to stay there for at least a day or two.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

We regret the inconvenience presented, we apologize for the news presented, we will work on the continuous improvement of our experiences.

Dangerous but was worth going

Giuseppe_S, Jan 2024

The best part was to see the bioluminescente plancton after an amazing sunset at the beach. The negative part was that they plan only one stop for snorkeling and they DID NOT tell us that the current was REALLY STRONG. Safety first!

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thanks for trusting us! We are very happy that you are satisfied with our service! We hope to see you again soon!

GREAT for the action seekers, NOT for the beach bums

JamesA_H, Dec 2023

It was a great day out on the water. Overall the Captain and crew were excellent! They made sure everyone was informed and had a great balance of fun and education. My favorite stops were the forte and playa blanca. The only con is I feel it was one island too many for the time. We wanted to have at least 1 stop where we could chill on the beach in the shade for 90 minutes. Cholon was unique but Encantada island (the private one) could have been skipped because as soon as you get settled after having a drink you have to leave. Playa Blanca in Baru was the best and we wish we had another hour there.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

We appreciate your comments, these will help the continuous improvement of the quality of our services. We hope to see you again soon!

Great Day

Elena_C, Nov 2023

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thanks for trusting us! We are very happy that you are satisfied with our service! We hope to see you again soon!

COMPLETE SCAM

LorenzoStefano_C, Apr 2023

🚨WATCH OUT: it’s a scam. I was the only one on the boat paying 135€, through Viator while all the other paid 60€ through local agencies. DON’T BUY IT HERE, there are plenty of agencies in Cartagena (and hotels themselves) providing for the same service for 50% of the price.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

We are sorry to hear that your experience was not satisfactory regarding the price paid for our service. We want to clarify that our prices on the Viator platform may vary due to its internal policies and commissions. However, currently our prices on the platform are lower than the amount you mention. It is important to take into account that when booking through local agencies or sales channels authorized directly by our company, you could find more competitive prices. We appreciate your comment and we will take into account the information provided to continue improving and offering a quality service at a fair price for all our customers. If you have any other concerns or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Not worth it

Sean_Z, Sep 2022

I read a couple of the one star reviews posted for this tour group and thought - how bad could it be? Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Here are the highlights: 1) Tour was inefficiently organized. I was not on my way to the islands until at least 90 minutes after my pick up. There was a period of time where we just stood on the island waiting. 2) Cholon was not an experience I would like to go through again. Some may like the “party vibe” but let me tell you the hygiene conditions were something I have never seen before. The water that everyone stood in to party and eat was absolutely disgusting. The island was filled with trash. And they charge you for using extremely dirty outhouses. The food was very overpriced, and I saw a few people washing cooked lobsters in muddy water before selling it. 3) Playa Blanca portion had the restaurant. The food that was made and provided was not something I would eat again. They also let in massage vendors who won’t stop pestering you and won’t stop touching you to “give you a taste”. Avoid at all costs. I wouldn’t go on this tour again if they paid me.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Thank you for your comment, we are sorry to read this, we always try to improve our service and make it more pleasant for everyone. Have an excellent day.

UGH, such a disappointment. Not worth the money. Party island water where people stood in was filthy and crowded.

Dawana_F, Sep 2022

We didn’t see 5 islands. The party island water was filthy where people stood in to eat and drink. The best park about one of the island was the lunch that included fish. The flies were ready to attack as soon as the food came out. Dogs walking around while you eat. Not worth the money.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Thank you for your comment, we are sorry to read this, we always try to improve our service and make it more pleasant for everyone. Have an excellent day

Disappointing

Kiran_R, May 2022

Honestly, not worth the price tag. They were incredibly disorganized from pick up. My group was the first group picked up in the walled city, then we went to the hotels in Boca Grande, and then back to pick up more passengers in the walled city. We then waited over 30 minutes in the sun for the boat to arrive. Every time we asked the guide how much longer, she would say 10 more minutes. Out of all the tours we've been on in Colombia, we've unanimously agreed that this was terrible. There was nothing informative provided. Also, lunch isn't really included. You get a credit at one of the restaurants that gives you only the cheapest food option and then the guide even screwed up that order. This is 100% a tourist trap pretending to be a tour. I had priced chartering a private tour for 4 which would've been cheaper but I thought a group vibe would be more fun. Should've just gone with private boat.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Good morning, we are very sorry for what happened, we work to improve.

Superb

pareshwar_k, Mar 2022

Great excursion. Took us to three beaches each with a different vibe and even got bday drinks. We also did snorkeling. Warning don't sit in the back of the boat unless you want to be drenched. But amazing excursion none the less and will do again!

Response from Host, Mar 2022

thank you very much for sharing your experience for us it is a pleasure to have attended you on such a special date, we hope you come back soon

Amazing tour

Jose_C, Mar 2022

Amazing experience. The tour guides were extremely attentive and made sure that everyone was having a nice experience. The snorkeling was also an awesome experience

Response from Host, Mar 2022

thank you very much we are glad to know that we were part of your unforgettable vacation.

Incredible way to see the best beaches of Cartagena

Elizabeth_R, Feb 2022

What a great experience! My friends and I booked this tour for our trip to Cartagena and it was everything we were expecting and more. The tour guide, Franklin, was super knowledgeable, friendly, and did his job so well. The three beaches were visited were all stunning, and then snorkeling was a lot of fun as well. The food was good and the other people on the tour were very fun! I would recommend this to anyone looking to explore the nice beaches that Cartagena has to offer. If it's windy outside, prepare for a rollercoaster on the boat ride back!

Response from Host, Feb 2022

thank you for your comment we are glad to know that we were part of your unforgettable vacation.

Amazing experience!!

Benjamin_G, Feb 2022

Amazing, amazing experience. One of the coolest things I have done in my life. Cannot recommend it enough!

Response from Host, Feb 2022

Thank you for choosing us to live this experience, we hope to see you soon.

Not again, not recommended, very disorganized !

CristinaG, Jan 2022

The worst tour I have done in Colombia, very disorganized, from the pick up time which was 1 hour and a half LATER, to long wait times - for other people, to get a boat. for the boat to be ready, etc. Cholon Island was extremely packed, a clear touristy trap, super expensive and trashy. We only saw Isla Grande from the boat and barely even spent an hour at Playa Blanca where we were rushed with the lunch and the departure , after we were told that we might come back to Cartagena by bus for 1.5h drive instead of the 30 min speed boat. Very disappointed and not worth the money.

Response from Host, Feb 2022

We are very sorry for your experience. Each opinion is constructive to be able to improve our services more and more, we can accomplish your expectations.

random walk

JoseRH_O, Jul 2025

I believe that in general the descriptions of the Viator tours from Cartagena do not correspond to what really happens. In our case, there was no scheduled stop at Cholon, but we had to stay there for half an hour as a bonus. But Cholon is really a bastard as they say in the other reviews. We did not land to see the Fuerte de San Fernando, we only stayed observing from a very large distance... The snorkeling ride was reasonable. We also went to two private beaches, one at first was shallow, but the last one had a beautiful view of the modern part of Cartagena. We had lunch in Barú, a beautiful and very long beach. It was reasonable. The shuttle was pretty fast and comfortable, but sometimes the "DJ" put the sound too loud, and it failed.

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Response from Host, Jul 2025

Boa tarde. Espero que esteja bem. Teremos em conta todos os pontos mencionados no seu comentário, pois isso ajuda-nos a melhorar as nossas experiências em Cartagena. Espero que tenha um excelente dia

Experiencia inolvidable

Olga_P, Aug 2023

Lo que mas nos gusto fue la actividad de snorkel y nadar en el plancton bioluminiscente. Lo que no nos gusto fue el retorno en bus, el estado del parqueadero en Barú es deplorable.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Apreciamos mucho tus comentarios sobre tu experiencia con nosotros al visitar los maravillosos lugares de Islas del Rosario y Barú en nuestra excursión en bote deportivo. Nos complace saber que disfrutaste especialmente de la actividad de snorkel y de nadar en el plancton bioluminiscente. Lamentamos escuchar que el retorno en autobús no cumplió con tus expectativas. Tomamos en cuenta tus observaciones estaremos trabajando en mejorar esta área para asegurar una experiencia más satisfactoria en el futuro. Valoramos tus comentarios, ya que nos ayudan a seguir brindando servicios de alta calidad. Esperamos que, a pesar de este inconveniente, hayas tenido en general una experiencia memorable con nosotros. ¡Esperamos verte de nuevo en el futuro para ofrecerte una experiencia aún mejor!