Cartagena In 2008

[adamqqq]

I have been around the world on this little post divorce adventure... In Colombia I have been to Medellin, Cartagena and Barranquilla. There is just no comparison. Barranquilla first off just sucks. It's an awful, decentralized, ugly, industrial, dirty, dangerous city. Medellin certainly has hot women, but the city itself while not dangerous is dumpy, ugly, hard to navigate, no where to walk, etc. I found a few nice casas but they are scattered around and difficult to deal with. Everything has to be by taxi.

Cartagena is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I did best flying with COPA... Avianca is the one where the pilot ran out of gas and crashed on Long Island, no thanks. Copa flies direct for me from LA to Panama and then to Cartagena. There are many flights from other US cities to Panama for the connection. Here is a city which has a HILTON hotel and also many cheaper ones (I stayed at the Dann $105/night phone 0115756650000 and the Cartagena Plaza $77/night phone 0115756654000). Nice places to walk, things to see, an historic old city, beaches, islands, ETC. Great food, very smoking hot chicks both of the girlfriend and paying variety. I posted some photos, check them out and don't hesitate to visit. The "dangerous" part of Colombia is the jungle area in the southern part of the country. Here there are police, tourist police, military, etc., they don't want anything weird happening to a foreign tourist.

[benedict_smythe]

Some sensational info there Adam. Thanks for sharing. I just got back from Colombia 2 weeks ago and had a truly awesome time. I share your thoughts on Medellin. I spent most of my time here due to tucking into a nice local girl but other than the chicks, the place is a shithole. I developed a pretty nasty sore throat after 3 days.

Will definitely check out Cartagena this year when I head back. Any other tips?

Thanks again for the pics and information.

BS

[diablito1]

Adamqqq-
If you have the time, I have a few questions.
- How far is it from the airport to the colonial center and how much
- Best places to change money--I prefer to carry cash and only use the ATMs as an emergency
-Things to do( I am flying in my colombiana friend of 3 years from Costa Rica, so I won't be able to enjoy LDV, etc---I know-like bringing sand to the beach)
-Any experience with Isla Tierra Bomba, as the hotel that I am staying at, Tres Banderas, has a sister hotel on the isla
-Best clubs for couples( maybe next trip I'll go solo)

[adamqqq]

I ain't giving advice to anyone going there with a woman... That doesn't make any sense...

[diablito1]

I can understand your confusion, but in my defense, I have been spending 4 months a year for 3 years traveling with this hot chocolate colombiana. We have been all thru Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. Like clockwork every morning she is waking me up humming my favorite tune, and then proceeds to take care of my dirty work 3 more times a day, including massages, doing my nails, haircuts, etc. After years of dealing with the chicas of CR, this one is honest, watches out for my intoxicated self, never has RFMed me, has taken care of my family upon their visits to Central America
Anyway, thanks for all your help.

[otiers]

Diablito1,

Hopefully, I can be some help. My memory however is not great since my wife is from Cartagena and I just get in the taxi and go where she tells the driver.

From the airport, it is about 10 minutes to El Centro, however it depends if your driver thinks he is Juan Montoya, it may take less. Expect to spend 10,000 to 12,000 pesos. There is a money exchange at the airport. It is located just to the left past the immigration kiosks. The rate is not good however. There are ATM's in the main terminal which are secure and give good exchange rates. The last time I was there, you could get about 300,000 at a time.

You can take a boat to Rosario Islands. If you take the fast boat, you will get wet. I had to buy a new wallet after that trip. The slow boat is a bigger boat that you can move around a bit. There is an aquarium which is OK, you can also go snorkeling. The trip my family took had a meal at one island and it had a pool to swim.

You need to take the Chiva bus. It has about 10 rows of benches and they provide rum and coke. They play music and you will need to participate when there is dancing. The bus makes several stops in the old city. I had a lot of fun ( even my 75 year old parents).

Dinner in Santo Domingo Square is nice. There are vendors and small bands coming by the tables, but usually if it becomes too much of an annoyance, you can ask the security guy to wave them away from you. I have been going for 5 years and I have a favorite waiter named Darwin who speaks English and will remember you as you enter the square. After dinner, negociate for a horse drawn carriage to take you to Bocagrande and Laquito along the beachfront. At night it is very romantic.

There are casinos in both Bocagrande and Laquito. I enjoy LaPerla, but I am partial to it because I met my wife there playing roulette. I still enjoy going because of my wife's elderly friends go there and end up talking more than playing. They are there every night.

During the day, you can eat lunch at the many outdoor cafes along the beach. There is one restaurant that is located next to my son's grade school and is across the street from the beach. It is on the road to the airport. Sorry I forgot the name, but some tables are covered with a grass roof.

I enjoyed El Centro during the day because of all of the activity. The streets are narrow, so be aware of cars. There are many fine shops and if someone has their door open, look inside at their houses. They are expensive and beautiful. There is so much energy in El Centro, but it is hot during the day.

You can visit the top of the fort. I never made it to the top, but the view is great. If you need to go to a mall, there is one about 15 minutes from El Centro. It is called Castenella (sic) and is about a 15,000 peso ride. We have a 3 bedroom apartment about 5 minutes away although I still live in the US.

Near the mall, there are baseball, soccer, and bullfighting stadiums. I am not sure when there is anything scheduled.

The beaches are not the sandy white like you find in Florida and the water is not blue, but it still very entertaining. Many vendors, but grab a couple chairs and cover for 20,000. They will try to get more out of you. Sit there and watch everyhting around you. I have eaten the fresh fruit and do not have a problem with it. Also a lady will be walking around selling sweet items. Very good. If you want fish, you can have it delivered to your chair.

I enjoy Cartagena and will be there in three weeks. First my wife and I need to take care of some business in Bogota first, but I hope to get a week relaxing in Cartagena.

I hope you enjoy your trip.

[diablito1]

Otiers-
Thx for all of your information--great stuff.
You are a gentleman

[otiers]

Let me know if you need specific inforamtion and I can ask my wife. Have a great time, it is a romantic city, especialy if you have a special girl with you. If you were alone, there are other options which have been posted on this site previously.

[raggayute]

I am in CTG at the moment staying at a Language school in Getsemani. I was planning on getting an apartment in another Barrio and getting me some paid pussy. But like my time in BCN last year there are girls at the school who have made it clear they want to fuck. Students and non students and i have not even made it to the paid sex as yet.

I have also been hanging out on the street with locals who are hooking me up with all the young local trim. So things are good.

Tomorrow my dance teacher is helping me find an apartment and i know what she wants and shes going to get it.

This is not what i had planned for but i will keep u all informed.

Thats for those who have given info on CTG.

[escierto]

You got that right, dude. It's a frigging paradise of pussy.

[Nasty Moon]

You got that right, dude. It's a frigging paradise of pussy.

What is the best time of the year to travel to Cartagena? How does the casas work?

Thanks in advance!

[escierto]

I would not go during Semana Santa (Holy Week). There will be a ton of Colombian tourists and many working girls go home that week. One option is in mid November when they have the Miss Colombia contest. It would be crowded then as well but probably better for both pro and non-pro action.

[Skyjuice]

Wanted to treat myself to a nice trip after getting back from Iraq and out of the army. I was thinking about Colombia for the entire year i was out there, praying that a mortar wouldnt come my way. Soon as I got back to the states, I started looking at flight prices and condo rentals. Got there in June 06'. Flew into CTG with a non-military buddy of mine from NY and stayed in laguito... we shared a nice 2 bed/2bth with terrace facing the beach. LDV was only a 5 minute walk from the condo we rented. Awesome. Food was at nearby restaraunts was good. we rented the space from my contact person, Mery,..she worked for several condo owners and was a sweatheart. she showed us the best place for money exchange, food shopping andhooked us up with a trusty taxi guy. We did the sight seeing bus tour thing..went to the fort and a monestary..hang out in the old city a few times. Anyway, 10 days of fun, sun and banging chicas on the 8 and up scale. I'm just looking forward to the day when I can get back there. From what most of the taxi guys kept telling us...the annual beauty pagent is the best time to go to Cartagena.. i think it happens somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd week of November. They say tons of hot chicas from all over the country go there during that event.

[coonie]

I just googled Dann HOtel and they are asking $163 US per night

[coonie]

I recdntly returned from 4 nights in Cartagena and will relate some of my experiences. Cab fare from airport to El Lequito I was charged 10,000 ($5.)I rented an apartment from Juan at $75/night. Apartment was nice, very close to Hilton, and was well satisfied except I would stay in Bocagrande area as it is closer to more of the restaurants, shops and beach. The LDV was about a 5 minute walk from the apartment. On the nights I visited LDV I would estimate about 40 chicas in there, mostly 6's and 7's. Nothing gets started until after 11PM. On the day I went to the beach my tout rounded up about 3 girls to pick from and they were not anything special. Best action I got was from a gal I picked up outside my apartment for $50. She did it all!

Cab driver talked me into going to Playboy Club.. It is a long ride and I think the idea was to just get a big cab fare. There were aobut a dozen gals there and nothing special.

Best exchange rate was at the banks. I got over 2000/$1. There are plenty of good places to eat aroudn the Bocagrande and El Lequito areas and prices are reasonable.

Best mongering is definitely the streets and LDV