Cartagena Reports

I'll be headed down to ctg in a couple of months with 10. 15 friends that are looking to get the full Cartagena experience. One problem I am running into is where to stay. Does anyone know of a very large house / mansion that can hold 10+ people and is located in the old city or bocagrande? We have a sizable budget, so it's more of finding a good house that includes a staff than a cost issue.

Otherwise, any recommendations for a large hotel that is centrally located and prepago friendly? Budget would probably be $200 per night per room for hotel. I've always stayed in apts for 2 or 3 people in ctg, so this is new territory for me. Any help is appreciated.

[QUOTE=Paracite; 1354431]I'll be headed down to ctg in a couple of months with 10. 15 friends that are looking to get the full Cartagena experience. One problem I am running into is where to stay. Does anyone know of a very large house / mansion that can hold 10+ people and is located in the old city or bocagrande? We have a sizable budget, so it's more of finding a good house that includes a staff than a cost issue.

Otherwise, any recommendations for a large hotel that is centrally located and prepago friendly? Budget would probably be $200 per night per room for hotel. I've always stayed in apts for 2 or 3 people in ctg, so this is new territory for me. Any help is appreciated.[/QUOTE]Paracite, I will try to get the info of a new reconstructed house in the old city not a lot of people know about, then I will post it here, Friends of mine from Ctg were telling me about it a while ago. I think I was told it has 7. 8 bedrooms

So, in summary, Cartagena IMO has become much more expensive and hardcore than what I fondly remember from my past trips. Hopefully, the information I passed on above will be helpful to CTG newbies and subsequent trip reports from other CTG vets may give truer refection of CTG today.[/QUOTE]Good report, I find Ctg a bit too expensive nowadays, I guess Tony's BS is over, I heard Jayson is the man on playa holliwood now to spot the prepagos chicas and for chairs, drinks or whatever have you, you can rely on Jairo.

[QUOTE=CartaAngel;1354542]So I guess Tony's BS is over, I heard Jayson is the man on Playa Hollywood now to spot the prepagos chicas and for chairs, drinks or whatever have you, you can rely on Jairo.[/QUOTE]With any "intermediary" on the Playa Hollywood scene, you can expect markups in the prices of the chicas, food, and drinks. If your are on this beach for the first time, it may be ok to go ahead and use someone, but you should know how you are paying for the "services" of these type of intermediaries. I will admit, that on my first trip in 2009, I was intimidated trying to talk to the girls on this beach (as opposed to to the bar / club scene) and used Tony the entire week I was there. Regarding the prepagos, any chica or group of chicas around Tony or Jayson (I don't know "Jairo") are going to be working girls and all these guys really would do is call the chica over from wherever they are sitting to sit by you so that they get commissions on the drinks, food, and chicas. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you know the game upfront. But, it's just as easy to walk over to a chica or group of chicas and just saying hello and offering a drink because they are are going to be working girls in that part of the beach. (Wouldn't consider all the girls to be be working girls outside of this area in Playa Hollywood).

Also, a little clarification (thanks to "Fabio" that I referenced before) : a "prepago" is a girl that will have sex for money once in a while (maybe the equivalent of an "escort"?) and has an other job or is a student and a "puta" is a girl that works in the casas and other high mileage establishments and its their "job" (the equivalent of a "prostitute"). I'm not sure what you would call the girls that come to CTG for a short period of time to work in LDV, Pleyclub, or ISIS, but then again, I wouldn't consider these to be high mileage places.

I was informed by my friends in Cartagena that a very popular jewelry shop next to LDV got robbed by 2 guys and a woman who passed themselves off as cops, this turned out to be a bad situation for the Cartagena police department which is losing credibility, check out this link from Cartagena's local newspaper [url]http://m.eluniversal.com.co/cartagena/sucesos/buscan-responsables-de-atraco-joyeria-100115[/url]

I don't post much, but appreciate the info here so wanted to contribute.

I don't like to waste money or flash it around like an idiot, but I am not really a budget monger. I respect the guys who are extremely frugal and ingenious at finding bargains. But I thought it might be useful to also post some info for guys who are ok spending more at times.

1. There has been discussion on this board about Fabio. I tried him. Many guys who post don't want or need a wingman. However, if you decide you do, you will satisfied with Fabio. He's a stand up guy and a professional who works hard to please and is honest. He will take you out for a night of drinking and show you around, he will perform concierge services like arranging excursions, he will make all your apartment arrangements and he will constantly show up with chicas as often as you want-2 times a day. 3 times a day; shape, color, size, age, whatever you want.

2. Spent first night out on the town. After a few drinks, hit the casas. Did a quick hit at one of the ST spots and then swung by Pleyclub, by now around 2 am, where I ordered carry out. A beautiful and very friendly 30-yr old from Cali. Very light skin. Claimed to be doing temporary work to pay for a medical procedure (nasal something). By far the oldest on the trip, but also easily the best GFE. She stayed until about noon the next day and was up for several rounds. This is very expensive. Can't remember exact amount so don't hold me to it, but I think the salida was around $250 (US). I tipped her separately at the end, which I think was optional. As much as I enjoyed, it was the last time I made it to the casa scene. Just too easy having Fabio show up with room service whenever needed. And far less expensive.

3. I also did an overnight trip to an island and stayed at the Majagua Resort. Took a companion. Also a very pricey activity. Overnight hotel, food, drink, boat transport: $350 (US) ish. It is good if you feel like getting away to some place isolated, quiet and different. Its a very small resort. At every meal, we saw all the other guests there. There was a large family gathering: mom and dad and about 4 couples of their kids in their 20's; one normal couple in their 30's; and 2 couples (of which I was part of one) with Anglo guy in his 50's and a Colombiana in her early 20's. Some might find that awkward.

4. I spent 2 days on the beach without companion. On the first I went to the famous Hollywood Beach and encountered Tony. As advised here I settled on 15k for cabana. On my first drink order Tony said,"Don't worry. Pay later." I said,"Here's some business advice. Never serve a drunk cocktails on credit." He laughed and said ok. So I paid every time rather than get into the drink count problem advised here. Every time I ordered a drink, he'd try some hustle. How about a drink for Tony? No tip? Bring your change later? Etc. But every time I'd counter to keep him from setting the terms. He was relentless in bringing girls by. Quite a variety and some very nice, but I declined. I did, however, have a lot of drinks so I'm sure Tony made out fine. As I was leaving I sat down with him and he poured a few drinks gratis from the end of his bottle of Medellin Rum and chatted it up. I enjoyed. The other beach day I spent on a different beach, and got a hustle similar to Tony's, but less aggressive. Drink prices the same. Was offered chicas but declined.

5. Other than a couple other excursions, I spent most of the time hanging at my apartment or nearby bars and restaurants with the chicas Fabio dropped off. All business is done directly with them. Typically they didn't ask or negotiate. Just took what I gave them when I sent them off, which was around $150k-$200k (COP) for ST, $250-$300k TLN depending on quality and amount of time spent. A couple did have specific demands up front which were too much, so we negotiated to an amicable agreement. Quality was unbelievable. Almost all were very enthusiastic about the work and eager to please.

If you get a chance to go, you'll enjoy!

Observing a few contrasts from my last extended stay 4 years ago.

First off I'll give myself a little intro being new to the Forum. I stayed in Cartagena for about 6 months back in 2008, then spent a lot of time in Asia and now I am finally back and plan to stay a year or so with a few side trips around south / central America.

I've only taken two trips into centro since arriving and I was shocked at a few obvious changes even though I haven't sampled anything so I might be speaking a little early. The biggest obvious change I see right now is a serious increase in quantity and quality of women specifically in the area around the clock tower entrance (Puerto Reloj?). Starting outside of the walls on the walkway opposite the clock tower gate with all the benches and a few fountains, had a steady flow of workers from just after dark until midnight when I was leaving, probably much later too. Just in front of the entrance they were just loitering, two days in a row, and just inside opposite Tu Candela on the benches where you drink the cheap street-vendor beers there were at least a Dozen or two, some easily in the 8-9 range and most were still well above average. Secondly, from my observations many of these girls seemed to be operating through pimps rather than touts but I could be wrong and more surprising I didn't witness any successful hook-ups, more like guys getting shut down but for sure these girls were pros and happy to fondled and chatted up even if you didn't buy them a cheap-on-the-street beer. After walking the city for an hour or so on both nights, getting lost and drunk trying to find Bananas and my other old favorites, I felt like the working girl presence is more than double what I was seeing back in 08' at least on the streets outside the bars. And the non-pros I've met in the streets in the last few days seem to be a lot more open to getting to know people. I got 2 phone numbers in 2 days with ZERO effort. Maybe its the season, maybe its because my Spanish is better this go-around, I certainly didn't get any younger or better looking!

I'll eventually start checking out the bars and reporting more and what kind of rock-bottom prices I get quoted even though it seems this whole area is well covered in this thread, well done guys. I might give a different perspective as I have always been a cheap charlie and basically never go over 100k / 50USD for a take home all-nighter, I walk more than I taxi, and drink / eat where it's cheapest most of the time, plus I usually end up with a normalish GF scenario as I am here semi-long term and there are plenty of these opportunities if you are here more than week and speak the most basic Spanish. Anyone wanting to hook up with girls other than regular pros, I'll share a little secret, Badoo is a very very good free website and as I can now see, well represented in Cartagena in addition to lot of other destinations. You could probably even have a GF with plan B and C on standby before you arrive (I did) if you want to save cash or have an option a little less mercenary than the bar / street girls.

Being new to the city all over again trying to feel out the 'scene' and not really knowing anyone yet I'm also very keen to hook up with any folks from the Forum for a drink / hang out and for anyone new visiting I could probably be a good wing-man with plenty of free time on my hands and having had several months scoping this place out albeit a few years ago, plus I speak a bit of Spanish (enough to easily translate a transaction and get around) , not to mention I've sworn off any paid full-service situations for myself for the next few months until my regular GF leaves town, even though I'm still interested in checking out the scene in the mean time.

As I get more connected with the scene in Centro where I do 90% of cruising I'll post any updates and anyone out there in Cartagena now or visiting in December please let me know!

Anyone have contact info for Fabio? Also looking to get a Sim Card for my blackberry when I'm in LAGuito next week. Anyone know where the nearest Place might be?

[QUOTE=Joey Smith;1355678]Anyone have contact info for Fabio? Also looking to get a Sim Card for my blackberry when I'm in LAGuito next week. Anyone know where the nearest Place might be?[/QUOTE]There is a tigo in Bocagrandre 5 minutes walk from hotel caribe

Once again drinking in clock tower Plaza next to 'Donde Fidel's' till the wee hours eye-balling the talent and buscars and tourists (a favorite pastime of mine). My report a few days back about plenty of "8's" in that area outside of Tu Candelas was either beer goggles or the scene changed a lot on Saturday, now I would say just enough quality to choose from, but nothing standing out. Just outside the city across the street from the clock-tower on the benches I was actually getting what might have been the $5 dollar skanks from the park walking up, grabbing my junk, and saying "you want fucky-fucky". I was trying to get prices but they wanted me to follow them somewhere for further discussion and I wasn't leaving my little bench. I don't ever remember anything like that when I was here 4 years ago. This is going on around midnight, when I was honestly going to walk home, but alas I had a few more drinks and chatted up some Colombian Tourists and by 4AM (or so not sure) I started following this mob to Elektra, however you spell it, its 2 blocks from the clock tower entrance on the map.

1) We all got frisked / searched on the way there by the policia (see note below)

2) At around 4am I didn't notice anyone paying a cover charge.

3) Again, plenty to choose from even as it got closer to 5am.

4) Beers were 10, 000 COP, this is painful for a cheap charlie.

5) One of the Colombian tourists I was with was getting quoted 100K by some average girls, I assume for ST and also assume that I the Gringo might hear a different number quoted to me but who knows.

After drinking outside most of the night before Elektra I was actually keen to dance a little but the girls there, as many as were approaching me would give me about 10 seconds of ass grinding and then ask if I want to fuck and any thing short of a yes resulted in a quick cold-shoulder. Not that I blame them I suppose but it really does seem to be all business these days.

I discovered a new scam as well. One of the low-life touts that tries to steer people in to Isis from the Clock-tower Plaza starts explaining to me that he has 'everything' which in Colombia if it isn't women it's probably a powdered stimulant, I quite often like to partake but this guy is way to shady and public so I say not now and oblige the hand shake before I walk off and he presses a small bag into my hand anyway that I didn't ask for and tells me I owe him 30, 000 COP! This guy was so shady / creepy / cracked out and with about 20 police standing around and I'm thinking no way but he won't take it back so I end up dropping it at his feet and walking away. I tell him I don't have any money so he will hopefully [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] off and he just keeps telling me, OK, give me 20, 000, then 10, 000 and eventually down to 2, 000 (1usd) , all the while sort-of grabbing my arm to stop me from walking off, unbelievable, all this for a bag that has god knows what in it but for sure it's not legit at 2, 000 COP. He follows me for a while telling me I'm going to have a serious problem with his boss or whatever who I eventually met later and explained everything too which resulted in the lower-level tout getting a little reprimanding. If anyone has tips on less shady ways to score PM me as my old connections are long gone. A little off topic for the forum I know but I thought it was worth a mention, I never saw this one pulled before and was glad to end up clean in the end considering the police checked us all on the way to Elektra later.

[QUOTE=SailingWhorist;1356674]I discovered a new scam as well. this guy is way to shady and public so I say not now and oblige the hand shake before I walk off and he presses a small bag into my hand anyway that I didn't ask for and tells me I owe him[/QUOTE]Knuckle tap with fist closed. FYI. Never shake paw here.

[QUOTE=Joey Smith;1355678]Anyone have contact info for Fabio? Also looking to get a Sim Card for my blackberry when I'm in LAGuito next week. Anyone know where the nearest Place might be?[/QUOTE][url]Http://www.sexcation-review.com/Travel-SouthAmerica-Col-Cart.html[/url]

About half way down the page.

I'm planning a Colombia trip but can't decide on which city. I rttf! But I'm still undecided. Medellin sounds good but I like to go to semi-pro night clubs. I read Cartagena asking $160 for TLN. I'm definetly not paying that! Help me out! Also I speak a little Spanish and definetly want an apartment. Having a beach like Sousa is a plus but not mandatory. So where is ground zero for chicas in Colombia? Or should I stick with Sousa and AC?

[QUOTE=HeadRack;1357212]I'm planning a Colombia trip but can't decide on which city. I rttf! But I'm still undecided. Medellin sounds good but I like to go to semi-pro night clubs. I read Cartagena asking $160 for TLN. I'm definetly not paying that! Help me out! Also I speak a little Spanish and definetly want an apartment. Having a beach like Sousa is a plus but not mandatory. So where is ground zero for chicas in Colombia? Or should I stick with Sousa and AC?[/QUOTE]From reading your post, and myself having been to both Sousa, and Colombia I think Sousa is a better bet as it has the better beach, and has good night clubs, and most important the Chica prices are way better in Sousa then say CTG. Also you will find that MDE has not much to do while a beach resort is much less boring. After all how much sexo can you take after a while.

[QUOTE=HeadRack;1357212]I'm planning a Colombia trip but can't decide on which city. I rttf! But I'm still undecided. Medellin sounds good but I like to go to semi-pro night clubs. I read Cartagena asking $160 for TLN. I'm definetly not paying that! Help me out! Also I speak a little Spanish and definetly want an apartment. Having a beach like Sousa is a plus but not mandatory. So where is ground zero for chicas in Colombia? Or should I stick with Sousa and AC?[/QUOTE]No matter how much we advise you to choose between Ctg, MDE and sousa the final decision is made by you, the one thing I can tell you though, is that if you take a chance and go to Ctg you will for sure have a good time, I know you will be another addicted gringo to Ctg city and all the honeys over there.