Rosario Islands Day Trip from Cartagena: Which Boat Tour, What It Costs, and Playa Blanca vs Rosario
Rosario Islands day trip from Cartagena: which boat tour to book, real 2026 prices in COP and USD, the port tax, and whether Playa Blanca is better.
I have been to Cartagena, but I did not make it out to the Rosario Islands on that trip. The first day in Cartagena post and the honest worth-it review cover what I saw of the city itself. What I did not do was the boat day, and it is the single thing I would fix if I went back, because the things to do in Cartagena guide landed on the same conclusion recent travellers keep landing on: the Rosario Islands are the one big spend in Cartagena that is worth making.
The problem is that "Rosario Islands tour" covers five different products at prices from under $10 to over $900, and the cheap end is where almost every bad review comes from. So this is the booking-decision version, pieced together from 2025-2026 operator pricing, the Cartagena TripAdvisor forum and recent traveller write-ups: which tour type, what it costs once the port tax is added, where the boats leave from, and whether Playa Blanca is the better shout.
The short answer: which Rosario Islands tour to book
If you only read one paragraph. For a couple or a solo traveller who wants a calm, all-inclusive day, book the Bonavida shared catamaran. For maximum beach time on sand rather than coral rock, book a beach club day pass at a quieter club (Gente de Mar, Isla Bela or San Pedro de Majagua). For a group of eight or more, a private speedboat is cheaper per head than any of the above and skips the crowded stops. Skip the sub-$10 dock tours entirely, and treat Playa Blanca as a weekday-only alternative rather than the plan.
The five ways to do a Rosario Islands day trip
Every Rosario Islands product from Cartagena falls into one of five buckets, and the bucket matters more than the operator.
| Tour type | Typical 2025-2026 price | Group size | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared speedboat, 3-5 islands | 200,000-400,000 COP ($50-100 USD) | 20-45 people | Budget island-hopping | Overcrowding, upsells, unrequested stops |
| Shared catamaran (Bonavida) | 375,000 COP (about $90-95 USD) | 50-70 people | Couples, solo travellers, families | Slow crossing, limited beach time |
| Beach club day pass (pasadía) | $72-216 USD with boat | Capped by the club | Beach-first, lounger and lunch | Fees not always included |
| Private speedboat | $680-950 USD per boat (6-12 people) | Your group | Groups of 8+, choosing your own stops | Park fees per person on top |
| Overnight on Isla Grande | $100-300 USD per night, meals included | n/a | 5+ nights in Cartagena | Solar power, evening-only AC |
The shared speedboat island-hopper is the default product and the most polarising one. Recent TripAdvisor reviews describe 90 minutes waiting on the dock in the heat, a "private" tour that turned out to hold 45 people, and a transport-only booking that took two hours because it detoured via Playa Blanca first. The pattern is consistent: the bad days were booked at the pier or at a rock-bottom price.
The Bonavida catamaran comes up most in recent recommendations, with over 2,100 five-star reviews across booking platforms. Check-in is 8am at door 3 of Muelle de la Bodeguita, back around 4pm, and the 375,000 COP adult fare includes the park ticket and dock fee, snorkel gear, a non-alcoholic open bar and a seafood-rice lunch cooked on board (children 7-14 pay 191,000 COP). The trade-off is a slow sail, so island time is roughly 10am to 2:30pm.
Beach club day passes (pasadías) are what the TripAdvisor forum regulars steer people toward when they ask for "no party boat." A pass bundles the speedboat from Bodeguita, a welcome drink, a lounger and lunch. Gente de Mar gets singled out for sand rather than coral rock and no loud music; Isla Bela is the budget favourite; San Pedro de Majagua includes the park fees. Bora Bora is the adults-only party club, with front-row beds priced on top of the pass.
A private boat stops being a luxury at about eight people. And the overnight is the version I would push anyone with a spare night toward, because every day boat has left by 3:30pm and the islands are a different place after that.
What it actually costs once the port tax is added
The advertised price is rarely the price. Three separate charges get collected at the dock or a floating checkpoint, and which ones the operator has folded in varies by listing.
| Fee | 2026 amount | Who collects it |
|---|---|---|
| Corales del Rosario national park entry | 25,000-31,500 COP (about $6-8 USD) | Park checkpoint or pier |
| Corpoturismo dock fee | about 18,000 COP (about $4-5 USD) | Muelle de la Bodeguita |
| Mandatory maritime insurance | about 8,800 COP (about $2 USD) | Pier |
Recent guides put the combined total at 40,000-45,000 COP ($10-13 USD) per person when nothing is included, and nearer 30,000 COP when the operator has covered the dock fee. Either way, carry 30,000-45,000 COP in cash per person; the card readers at the collection point fail more often than they work. The Bonavida catamaran and San Pedro de Majagua include the fees; most shared speedboats and cheaper day passes do not.
Beach club pricing from the 2026 day-tour listings, boat included: Isla Bela $72, Mantas Beach $79, IBBIZA $89, Mangata Ocean Club $108, Bora Bora and Pao Pao $109, San Pedro de Majagua $124, Capri $125, Paue Beach Lounge $127, and Corona Island at $216 for the top end. Add $10-30 for drinks and an automatic 10 percent service charge.
Private boats price per vessel. Nauty 360 lists $680-950 USD for a 6-12 seat speedboat with a DIMAR-certified captain; smaller boats from other operators start around $350, and hourly listings run about $65 an hour with an eight-hour minimum. At ten people, a $680 boat is $68 each, cheaper than the catamaran before counting the flexibility.
All-in per person, by travel style:
| Travel style | All-in per person | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | $60-110 USD | Shared speedboat or Isla Bela pass, fees in cash, own snacks |
| Mid-range | $100-150 USD | Bonavida catamaran or a mid-tier day pass, a couple of drinks, tip |
| Luxury | $150-300 USD | Private boat split 6-8 ways, or a Corona Island pass with extras |
Where the boats leave from
Three departure points, and knowing which one your booking uses saves a panicked 7:45am taxi.
Muelle de la Bodeguita (Av. Blas de Lezo, on the bay side of the Old Town walls beside the Pegasos statues) is where nearly all shared tours, the Bonavida catamaran (door 3) and most day passes board between 8 and 9am. The dock is chaotic at that hour: hundreds of people, dozens of boats, vendors selling tours on the spot. Several reports say a small premium to a reseller who walks you to the right boat is worth it. Turn up 30-45 minutes early.
Marina Santa Cruz in Manga (Calle 25 #24A-16, across the bridge from Getsemaní) is the usual departure for private boats. You meet at the gate, leave around 9am, and it is calm compared to Bodeguita.
Todomar marina in Bocagrande handles some Playa Blanca speedboats and beach club transfers. Check the confirmation rather than assuming.
The public lancha to Isla Grande also leaves from Bodeguita, departs when full (last boat around 9am), takes 90-120 minutes and costs about 60,000-90,000 COP one way. Fine for a backpacker with an overnight booked; wrong for a day trip on a schedule.
What a typical day looks like
Operator timetables from 2026 converge on the same shape.
- 7:45-8:30am: check-in at the dock, pay any fees not included, in cash. The catamaran leaves at 8:30am; speedboats between 8 and 9am.
- 9:30-10:30am: arrive. Speedboats take 45-60 minutes; the catamaran and public lancha closer to two hours. Isla Grande's popular clubs are reportedly full by 11am.
- 10:30am-1pm: the first swim or snorkel stop. San Martín de Pajarales has the best reef and the Oceanario, which recent visitors call sad and skippable. Isla del Pirata gets praise for capped numbers and 8-12m visibility. Cholón is the party lagoon with floating bars.
- 1-2:30pm: lunch: cooked on board the catamaran, at the club on a day pass, or a fried-fish plate at a beach restaurant on the shared boats, sometimes with a charge that was not in the listing.
- 2:30-3:30pm: everyone leaves; the afternoon swell makes this non-negotiable.
- 4-5pm: back at the dock, choppy in the dry season.
That is four to five hours of island time on a good day, which is why the overnight makes sense if there is room in the itinerary.
Rosario Islands vs Playa Blanca
The comparison that gets asked most, and recent reports have shifted it decisively toward Rosario.
| Rosario Islands | Playa Blanca (Isla Barú) | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting there | Boat only, 45-60 min speedboat from Bodeguita | Road via the Barú bridge in 45-50 min, or 50-55 min by boat |
| Typical cost | $50-100 shared, $72-216 day pass, $680+ private, plus $8-13 fees | Club vans and passes $38-129 USD; a private driver about 300,000 COP for the day; no park fees |
| Sand | Mostly coral rock, sand at a handful of clubs (Gente de Mar, Isla del Encanto) | Long white-sand beach, the best sand in the area |
| Water | Clear, calmer at the sheltered clubs, reef visibility 8-15m | Clear and open horizon, but boat traffic and jet skis close to shore |
| Crowds | Capped at clubs; Isla Grande public spots busy by 11am | Hundreds of buses by mid-morning; 3.4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from nearly 4,800 reviews |
| Vendors | Minimal at clubs, some at public beaches | Constant: 2026 reviews describe approaches every 30 seconds and the "free sample" bill trap |
| Best day | Tuesday to Thursday, dry season | Tuesday to Thursday, early, then walk to the quieter Playa Tranquila end |
| Verdict | The pick for water, calm and value | Only if Rosario does not fit, and only midweek |
Playa Blanca's problem is not the beach. The 2026 TripAdvisor reviews praise the sand and water clarity, then list the rest: jet skis passing over swimmers, fuel smell from boats moored off the beach, cans on the sea floor, and lunch bills that shock. The overland option is real (Nena and Mambo run air-conditioned vans from Bocagrande and the convention centre, and Mambo's $38 pass is the cheapest beach day in the area) and it avoids the port tax, but it delivers you to the busiest beach on the coast at the busiest hour.
My read from the aggregate: one beach day, spend it on Rosario. Two beach days, or a tight budget on a Tuesday, and Playa Blanca via a club van is a decent second. The is Cartagena worth it review rated the Rosario trip a 9 and the city beach a 5, and nothing in the 2026 reports moves either number.
Season, wind, and sargassum
Three seasonal factors change the day more than the operator does.
Wind. The dry season (December to April) has the best visibility, the calmest mornings and the windiest afternoons. From late December, boats leave the islands closer to 2:30pm and the return crossing is rough enough that nearly every recent review mentions it. Seasick-prone travellers should sit at the back of a speedboat, or take the catamaran, whose reviews do not complain about the ride.
Rain and cancellations. April to June and September to November are the wetter windows, with September to November flagged by operators for the most cancellations. A full refund policy matters more than a low price in those months.
Sargassum. Seaweed season in the southern Caribbean runs May through August, peaking in June and July, and both Rosario and Playa Blanca get it in bad years. Dry season is safe; a July booking is a coin toss.
Peak pricing. December 16 to January 14 carries a 20-35 percent surcharge with several private operators, and the archipelago is busiest in December, then June and July with Colombian school holidays. January 15 to March is the sweet spot: standard pricing, 25-30m visibility, and fewer boats midweek.
Which tour to book for which traveller
The decision tree I would hand a friend.
- A couple on a first Cartagena trip: the Bonavida catamaran. Fees included, lunch on board, the smoothest ride, the most consistent reviews.
- Beach-first, lounger-and-lunch travellers: a day pass at Gente de Mar, Isla Bela or San Pedro de Majagua. Sand, capped numbers, no music.
- A group of 8-12: a private speedboat from Marina Santa Cruz. Cheaper per head, and the captain can anchor off the quiet side of Isla Grande.
- Backpackers on a tight budget: a reputable shared island-hopping speedboat booked online at $50-70, never the dock deal.
- Anyone with five or more nights: an overnight on Isla Grande. Hotel Rosario de Mar and Cocoliso Island Resort both have late-2025 and 2026 reviews praising clean rooms and staff, with the caveat that the island runs on solar and a generator, so air-con is evenings only.
- The party crowd: Bora Bora's adults-only pass or a Cholón boat.
- Families with young kids: the catamaran or a sandy-beach day pass. A dry-season speedboat slam is hard on small children, and coral-rock shorelines are hard on small feet.
If Cartagena is one stop on a longer Colombia route, the Cartagena vs Medellín comparison settles which city gets the extra night, and the things to do in Medellín and things to do in Bogotá guides cover the inland equivalents.
Where to stay for an island day
The dock is on the Old Town side of the bay, so the zone you sleep in decides how painful the 7:45am check-in is. Compressed version here; the full where to stay in Cartagena comparison has hotel picks in each zone.
Stay in the Old Town (Ciudad Amurallada) if you want to walk to Muelle de la Bodeguita in ten minutes and roll from the boat straight into the rooftop bars; it is the most expensive zone and the easiest for a boat day. Stay in Getsemaní for the same walk to the dock at half the room rate, plus Plaza de la Trinidad for the evening after. Stay in Manga if you have booked a private boat, because Marina Santa Cruz is in this neighbourhood. Stay in Bocagrande only if you want a high-rise pool and a beach outside the door; it is a 10-15 minute cab to the dock and the Playa Blanca club vans pick up here.
Quick picks: first-timers, Old Town. Budget, Getsemaní. Private boat group, Manga. Families wanting a pool, Bocagrande. For the same zone-by-zone treatment in the capital, the where to stay in Bogotá guide is the parallel.
Recommendations
The short list I would want before booking:
- Book online with an operator whose reviews you can read, never at the pier, never the sub-$10 offer.
- Carry 30,000-45,000 COP in cash per person for park entry, dock fee and insurance; card readers fail at the checkpoint.
- Confirm in writing whether the price includes the park fee, lunch, snorkel gear and a beach chair; upsells on the shared boats are the most common complaint.
- Go Tuesday to Thursday. Weekends and Colombian public holidays double the boats at every stop.
- Take a morning departure and accept that island time ends around 2:30-3pm; there is no late boat.
- Skip the Oceanario add-on; recent visitors consistently call it the low point of the day.
- Bring reef-safe sunscreen. The Rosario reefs have lost more than 60 percent of their coral cover since the 1960s, and the park asks for it.
- Wear reef shoes or sandals you can swim in; most club shorelines are coral rock, not sand.
- Make no plans for the evening; the return crossing plus the dock takes it out of people.
Final note
The Rosario Islands are the Caribbean that Cartagena's city beach is not, and the booking decision is mostly about avoiding the cheap end of the market. A catamaran, a quiet day pass or a split private boat all deliver the same water for $70-150 a head; the dock deals deliver the horror stories. Playa Blanca is a fine midweek second beach day and a poor first one.
I did not get out there on my own Cartagena stop, so this is the version I would book next time, not a report from the boat. If you have done one of these tours recently and something above has changed, tell me and I will update it. For the rest of the city, the things to do in Cartagena guide and the where to stay comparison are the companions to this one.
Frequently asked
How much does a Rosario Islands day trip from Cartagena cost?
In 2025-2026, a shared speedboat island-hopping tour runs about 200,000-400,000 COP ($50-100 USD), the Bonavida shared catamaran is 375,000 COP (roughly $90-95 USD) with lunch and park fees included, beach club day passes with the boat run $72-216 USD, and a private speedboat for 6-12 people is $680-950 USD for the boat. On top of that, budget 30,000-45,000 COP (about $8-12 USD) per person in cash for the park entry, dock fee and insurance unless your operator has bundled them.
Is the Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca better?
The Rosario Islands, for most travellers. Playa Blanca has the whiter sand and is reachable by road in 45-50 minutes, but its TripAdvisor rating sits at 3.4 out of 5 across nearly 4,800 reviews, with 2026 visitors describing vendors every 30 seconds, jet skis close to swimmers and hundreds of buses arriving mid-morning. Rosario costs more and needs a boat, but the water is cleaner, the beach clubs cap numbers, and the vendor pressure mostly disappears.
How do you get to the Rosario Islands from Cartagena?
By boat only. Nearly every shared tour and beach club day pass leaves from Muelle de la Bodeguita, the tourist dock beside the Old Town walls next to Muelle de los Pegasos, between 8 and 9am. Private boats often leave from Marina Santa Cruz in Manga, and some Playa Blanca boats use the Todomar marina in Bocagrande. A speedboat takes 45-60 minutes; the public lancha to Isla Grande takes 90-120 minutes and costs about 60,000-90,000 COP.
What is the Rosario Islands port tax?
There are up to three separate charges collected at the pier or a checkpoint: the Corales del Rosario national park entry (about 25,000-31,500 COP), a Corpoturismo dock fee (about 18,000 COP) and mandatory maritime insurance (about 8,800 COP). Which ones your operator has already included varies, so ask when booking and carry 30,000-45,000 COP in cash per person. Card readers regularly fail at the collection point.
Which is the best Rosario Islands tour?
For couples and solo travellers who want a relaxed day, the Bonavida shared catamaran is the most consistently rated option, with over 2,100 five-star reviews across booking sites. For maximum beach time, a day pass at a quieter club like Gente de Mar, Isla Bela or San Pedro de Majagua. For groups of 8 or more, a private speedboat from Marina Santa Cruz works out cheaper per head than the shared tours and lets you skip the crowded stops entirely.
Is the Rosario Islands day trip worth it?
Yes, and it is the one big spend in Cartagena that recent travellers most consistently rate as worth it. The city beach in Bocagrande is a working beach, so the islands are where the postcard Caribbean water actually is. The exceptions are the sub-$10 dock tours, which produce most of the horror stories (90 minutes waiting to board, 45 people on a 'private' boat, surprise charges), and Cholón, which is a party lagoon rather than a beach.
When is the best time to visit the Rosario Islands?
December to March for the calmest seas and best visibility, though afternoons get windy from late December to April so boats leave the islands around 2:30pm and the return is choppy. Sargassum in the southern Caribbean peaks from May to August, and the wettest stretch is September to November when cancellations rise. Whatever the month, a Tuesday-to-Thursday departure beats a weekend or Colombian public holiday by a wide margin.
