Which Cartagena private tours suit your plans?
Cartagena private tours make the most sense when their particular route or transport arrangement matches your day. The city walk combines the walled city and Getsemaní with accommodation transfers. The private boat gives your party two hours on the water from La Bodeguita. Totumo is a four-hour excursion with admission, while Palenque has a longer cultural programme with music, a museum and lunch. These are four different choices rather than interchangeable versions of the same tour.
Prices below are starting prices recorded in November 2026. The city walk starts at 81 USD per person, Totumo at 98 USD per person and Palenque at 161 USD per person. The boat starts at 256 USD per group for up to twelve people. Keep that group price separate from the individual prices when setting your budget. The boat's capacity applies to that product; the other private choices have their own arrangements.
Private experiences
Choose a city walk with tastings, a mainland excursion or a private boat for up to twelve people.
Hand-picked tours, booked through GetYourGuide. Prices are indicative starting prices in US dollars (as of October 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Private boat for up to twelve
- Ice-filled cooler
- Bathroom on board
- Bluetooth sound system
The price is per group of up to twelve people.
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Private Palenque visit
- Local guide
- Traditional lunch
- Musical presentation
Confirm your accommodation for pickup.
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Private Totumo excursion
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Ticket
- Soda/Pop
This private excursion is priced per person.
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Private city walk
- Tour guide
- Food tastings
- Risk insurance
The castle is included only in the five-hour option starting at accommodation.
Check availability →Four private routes with different purposes
Choose the city walk for the historic quarters with transfers, the boat for a two-hour outing with your party, Totumo for a mud-volcano visit or Palenque for music, food and cultural stops.
A private walk through the historic quarters
The four-hour city option starts with accommodation pickup and links the walled city with Getsemaní. It includes a guide, hotel pickup and drop-off, food tastings and risk insurance. Lunch is extra. Choose it when the transfer and a guided visit to both historic areas are useful parts of the same arrangement, particularly if you want to keep the city as the day's main focus.
Centro and San Diego hold historic buildings and squares, while Getsemaní brings the history of artisans and enslaved people into the visit. The World Heritage property covers the port, fortifications and group of monuments. Reading the walled-city guide beforehand helps you decide which subjects interest you, from the defences to the historic urban quarters. It also gives context for time you spend independently after the guided route.
The five-hour option adds San Felipe and starts from accommodation. The fortress has steep ramps, steps and potentially slippery tunnels, making suitable shoes, sun protection and drinking water practical essentials. Choose the city-only option for the neighbourhoods, or the longer option when the fortress is part of your intended day. The San Felipe guide explains the separate visitor considerations.
Starting from the cruise terminal
The four-hour version also has a cruise-terminal start. The five-hour fortress version starts from accommodation. This distinction matters when fitting the activity around a ship visit: the terminal option is a specific way to begin the city route. Use the city walk as your main scheduled activity and leave space around the start and finish for your own ship arrangements.
A private boat for two hours
The boat departs from Muelle de la Bodeguita, nave 1, in the historic centre. At 256 USD for the group, it accommodates up to twelve people for a two-hour tour. An ice-filled cooler, an onboard bathroom and a Bluetooth sound system are included. Food and drinks are extra, so this is a boat arrangement rather than a catered evening package.
Choose it when sharing the boat with your own party is the point of the outing. The cooler and sound system are useful concrete differences from a guided walk or land excursion. For a public alternative, the ninety-minute bay cruise starts at 40 USD per person and includes music, selected rum drinks and soft drinks, with harbour tax extra. The bay-cruise comparison helps you weigh those different service packages.
Authorised boarding, life jackets and suitable sea conditions remain part of responsible planning. Keep the boat time distinct from reaching the pier.
Totumo with admission and a guide
The private Totumo excursion starts at Camellón de los Mártires, Calle 31 #71-48, in Centro. It lasts four hours and starts at 98 USD per person. An air-conditioned vehicle, admission, a soft drink and a guide are included; gratuities are extra. The concrete reason to choose it is the private excursion with admission already part of the package, rather than a general promise about changing every stop.
Totumo is near Santa Catalina in Bolívar and involves a mud-volcano visit. Choose it for that activity, without attaching medical expectations to the mud. The shared snack option starts at 55 USD per person and includes admission, a typical snack, a guide and pickup and drop-off at selected hotels. Compare the meeting arrangement and food as well as the price on the Totumo page.
Palenque with music, lunch and cultural stops
The private Palenque outing starts with hotel pickup in Cartagena and lasts seven and a half hours. At 161 USD per person, it includes return hotel transport in an air-conditioned vehicle, a local guide, a musical presentation, traditional lunch and fruit salad. Cultural stops include the Benkos Bioho monument, Ruperta's house, Patio Sikito, the Palenque Museum and murals, alongside a boxing class and the Kid Pambele boxing gym. Personal expenses and gratuities are extra.
San Basilio de Palenque is in the municipality of Mahates, Bolívar. Its language and Afro-Colombian traditions are central to the cultural space. This option suits a day centred on that programme rather than another city walk. Its recorded five-star score comes from one review, a very small basis for judging consistency. The Palenque comparison includes the shared alternative starting at 131 USD per person with lunch, rum tasting, a dance show, guide and return hotel transport.
Private or a small-group outing?
A shared route is a sensible choice when the activity itself matters more than exclusivity. The historic-centre and Getsemaní walk starts at 15 USD per person for two and a half hours, with a guide and both neighbourhoods, excluding hotel transport and food. Shared Totumo and Palenque outings likewise offer different packages at lower starting prices. Group sizes are product-specific. Use the tour overview to choose by route, meeting arrangement and included services.
Private-tour questions
Is the boat price per person?
The starting price is 256 USD per group for up to twelve people. The tour lasts two hours and includes the cooler, bathroom and Bluetooth sound system.
How long is the private city walk?
The base option is four hours. The five-hour option includes San Felipe in the route and starts from accommodation.
Which option can start at the cruise terminal?
The four-hour city option offers that start. The five-hour fortress option uses accommodation pickup.
What does the private Totumo price include?
From 98 USD per person, it includes an air-conditioned vehicle, admission, a soft drink and a guide for the four-hour outing from Camellón de los Mártires.
When is sharing a tour a useful alternative?
For a city introduction, the two-and-a-half-hour shared walk starts at 15 USD per person. Choose it if a guided route through both quarters meets your needs and you can arrange your own arrival.