islas del rosario

Playa Blanca is recommended for it's white sands and clear waters. It is located in the Islas del Rosario and accessible both by boat and now by land. It is a popular tourist destination as well as for locals and i found it to be crowded and filled with street vendors that constantly try to sell their crafts. Everything has a cost, including the chairs, beach umbrellas or cabanas. There is food and drink for sale. We took the boat ride offered for a round trip. That day the waters were choppy and specially the ride back was quite brutal with the motor boat catching lots of waves and dropping hard on the water. I felt is was dangerous and definitely not recommended for anyone with back or knee problems.(none of this was informed to passengers at all) I would avoid visiting this beach.

We did the day tour to Isla Rosario and Playa Blanca from Cartagena with the speed boat..It is a lot of boat riding in a small uncomfortable boat for only 1,5 hours each at the two place.Besides the day tourists the boat took also goods and ony way travelers which led to additional stops along the way and costs us a lot of time. So in the end we could only spent 1,5 hours at Playa Blanca Beach instead of the promised 3 hours. Besides that Isla Rosario is not beautiful. The tiny coral Island is full of beton, has no real beach and the uncounted boats dropp minutely tons of tourists off there. You can only choose between snorkling and the Aquarium/Delphin show. If you do not want to do one of that, get of the boat in Playa Blanca first with the oneway travelers. This gives you more time there.Playa Blanca itself was for sure a lovely relaxed beach in the past. By now it is packed with ugly plastic covered sun selters and crowded with sales guys in the day visitor area of the beach.On the opposite side with the hostels it looked nicer and more relaxed.

I have gone to the islas various times, choosing the slow boat option. In the end, you spend 200.000 pesos and about two hours outside of the boat. The rest of the time, you are in the boat, which is by no means comfortable. The aquarium is nice, with its dolphins and hammer head sharks. Playa Blance, where the boat stops on the way back, is beautiful but a bit marred by all the local people hustling to sell stuff. Going to the islands is a nice experience, as there are lots of interesting things and views to see. This is really only something you do once, though, and I would recommend going on a weekday, when there are fewer people. Otherwise, the boat will be too crowded and you will not find a place to sit for the 6-7 hour duration of the trip.

Islas del Rosario are a best place to visit and have a rest and feel the cariibean soul, sunny, lenty of waters blue colors, spectacular houses

Boat trip was great, very fast boat. Playa Blanca was great. Snorkling was ok on the Islas del Rosario.

We went to Isla del Encanto and Gente de Mar resort on Isla Baru. Both had nice beaches, Isla Baru better because the water was truly clear turquoise. Gente de Mar was quite expensive compared to Isla del Encanto, I guess we had to pay extra for the beautiful beach. The boat ride to Encanto was about US$30/person including lunch and the bar tab for water, beer, cocktails for three people came to about $40 so all in all pretty reasonable.

Unfortunately this trip was not a tour of the National park and islands. Yes, we went there by boat but that was it. We stopped at one island where one could go to an aquarium and stopped by some jetties to pick up passengers. We did see some small islands from the boat. All comments were in Spanish delivered at very fast pace. We did stop at Playa Blanca on the way out and the beach in th morning was very nice. By the time we got back the wind was gusting and it ws quite unpleasant. We did do some snorkeling from the boat instead of the aquarium and it was a total rip off. We were told it was one hour and it was 20 mins max. Also not much to see at all and gear was poor. I had a badly leaking snorkel. At 30,000 pesos that was ridiculous. We had a very hairy ride back with huge waves crashing into the boat. Not much of a tour and not for the faint hearted. A shame tthere seems to be little choice on visiting this naional park. Better choice would be to get iff at Playa Blanca and enjoy the beach before the wind arrives. This requires purchasing a transfer only which is cheaper.

We booked what we thought was a tour to Islas del Rosario as per our rep from Sunwing, and ended up on Isla del Pirata which had no beach whatsoever, rocks leading to the water which was way too deep for children, a bar which served only rum or beer, and very little shade from the intense heat.

Absolutely fabulous! Go when the 'mar is not agitado! a great day trip,a fabulous location and could be considered for an overnight stay!

I went to Isla Baru, Playa Blanca and Isla Cocoliso!! Both great! Although in Cocoliso no vendors bother you. Skip the aquarium visit unless you have small kids. It's a waste of time! Much rather enjoy those gorgeous clear waters and white sand beaches! I love Colombia!!

If you want to see clear blue water and white sand, make the trip over to Islas del Rosario. I booked an excursion through my hotel and I was not disappointed. Breathtaking views, pristine waters, exactly what I needed.

It´s almost a must-see when in Cartagena but is it worth the price, the all day excursion and the hassle? Sure, the islands are pretty and the beach is really nice. But they come at a cost of being pushed through mass tourist processing. First of all, be careful to select the boat you like. The large slow Alcatraz or one of the small high speed boats - be aware that the small boats make a very rough ride especially in the windy afternoon. But they are faster (if they don´t have engine trouble like the one we used). Also be aware that at the beach you have to jump or climb off and on the boats - elderly people better use Alcatraz which has some sort of ferry. Finally be aware what is or is not included - pricy add-ons are offered once arrived, like snorkeling or the aquarium.

The trip to islas del rosario is only worth it if you go snorkel there, Playa blanca is OK but always crowded. There are less crowded beaches in Baru, but less known, so the normal tours won't take you there. You won't find a lot to eat here, stay with the fresh fish and avoid other meats since they might not be in good conditions.

The islands themselves are very nice. Average service from the staff on the islands we visited. The tour company we went with were unsafe and unprofessional though. I would recommend snorkeling but it is very tiring: wear a lifejacket and it will be much easier. We were given no safety instruction when taking snorkeling. The boat ride was also very fast, uncomfortable and unsafe. We were also rushed to finish and get us back. If you are going with a tour company, be careful which one you select.

Buying tickets and boarding the boats was total chaos but somehow we ended up on the right boat. However the captain seemed to delight in hitting the biggest waves as hard as he could which resulted in a torturous 1.5 hour ride there and back. Impossible to take photos as we had to hang on to keep from being thrown from our seats. Islands were ok but not worth the awful ride!