Cartagena Reports

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]This will be my first trip to Cartagena and I am committed to staying at the Intercontinental Cartagena de Indias Hotel which looks to be in Bocagrande. I presume it is not chica friendly.

When I was in Bogota I managed to visit a few houses and had good experiences there that I have reported on.

After reading the posts, I still feel uncertain about the best options in Cartagena, for some fun in the daytime / late afternoon. I also feel a little leary about taxis after reading the TaxiRobbery account, though it sounds like Uber in Cartagena may be okay.

Ideally, I would safely walk from my hotel to a place with the chicas, but I am guessing that is not possible given the location I'll be staying at. Given that the place is likely not chica friendly, I presume, I can't just arrange for a girl to come to my room.

As you can tell, I am little nervous about safety-related issues, though I didn't have any trouble walking around in Bogota. Would appreciate advice. Thanks.[/QUOTE]I have always felt safe using the public yellow taxis in CTG. Though I do speak Espanol fluently, and can negotiate a fair price?

As they don't use meters, just quote you a price, I recommend you asking the hotel staff what they estimate it would cost to go somewhere?

Can't answer for Uber. Never used Uber.

Hotel wise I stay at the Hilton properties, and I am a high Diamond member.

Regarding the Intercontinental, I always book a room for (2). It would help your game if you have some hotel status?

I would ask the front desk about a walk in guest policy? And make sure the chica has her ID (cedula) on hand!

Good luck. Have a great time. Hope you can stand the heat and the humity.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]This will be my first trip to Cartagena and I am committed to staying at the Intercontinental Cartagena de Indias Hotel which looks to be in Bocagrande. I presume it is not chica friendly.

When I was in Bogota I managed to visit a few houses and had good experiences there that I have reported on.

After reading the posts, I still feel uncertain about the best options in Cartagena, for some fun in the daytime / late afternoon. I also feel a little leary about taxis after reading the TaxiRobbery account, though it sounds like Uber in Cartagena may be okay.

Ideally, I would safely walk from my hotel to a place with the chicas, but I am guessing that is not possible given the location I'll be staying at. Given that the place is likely not chica friendly, I presume, I can't just arrange for a girl to come to my room.

As you can tell, I am little nervous about safety-related issues, though I didn't have any trouble walking around in Bogota. Would appreciate advice. Thanks.[/QUOTE]I've never had a problem using a the public yellow taxis in CTG. But I also speak fluent Espanol.

None of taxis have or use meters. You are charged a flat rate. Your priority is finding what the going rate should be?

Can't answer for Uber. I have never used Uber.

My hotel chain of choice is Hilton. But I recommend you always book a room for (2). It also helps if you got some hotel status.

I would ask the front desk about their visitor policy, and always make sure the chica has her ID, cedula in your case.

I have always felt safe walking around CTG. But always be aware of your surroundings. Be safe, have fun.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]
After reading the posts, I still feel uncertain about the best options in Cartagena, for some fun in the daytime / late afternoon.[/QUOTE]If you really took the time to read most significant posts here, scrolling back many months or better years using the RoD (it was conceived for that), you would not write that.

Plenty of reports clearly indicate all options here. There is EVEN A MAP! What are the best for you? Try and choose.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]I also feel a little leary about taxis after reading the TaxiRobbery account, though it sounds like Uber in Cartagena may be okay.[/QUOTE]Forget all that. All taxies in CTG are safe, as in Bogota too. This does not exclude that one could be once robbered, but the same principle applies also when you fly and you do it even if you read that some plane crashed.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]
Ideally, I would safely walk from my hotel to a place with the chicas, but I am guessing that is not possible given the location I'll be staying at. Given that the place is likely not chica friendly, I presume, I can't just arrange for a girl to come to my room.
.[/QUOTE]Forget walking from Bocagrande to Centro. It's half an hour with 33°C and 95% humidity day time. By taxi, it's 6 k each way. How many times did we write this already? Last time few posts ago? You pick taxi from the street 24/24. Just be aware of fares in advance, to be not overcharged (again, RTFF).

RTFF RTFF.

P.S.: Bogota is 100 times less safe than CTG.

I've been in Carta from Thursday to Sunday July 14th -17th for bachelor party. My reviews are mixed. I'll be honest this isn't my favorite city. We have bounced around all the club's around the clock tower, I don't know which club is which. We rented a three story house with 2 pools in the walled city so most of the time we grabbed girls we liked and brought them back to party at our place. They ranged from 150 k to 400 k. I only paid 150 k thanks to the board telling what the real rates are, but My friends don't speak Spanish and the chicas people saw our house and figured we had millions so they asked for more. I couldn't babysit everyone.

Flight was only $340 round trip from fort Lauderdale.

Now to the negatives. This city is way too hot. The air just sits inside the city all day no breeze. I am born and raised in south Florida so I'm used to heat and humidity but this is something else.

Then you have to deal with the hustlers. Holy smokes it never ends. They are relentless on every corner. I'd put this place ahead of Nassau and Jamaica as far as people trying to sell you everything and anything. Who told these guys that Americans want to smoke cigars in 95 degree heat? That's the last thing on earth I want. Anyway.

Having been to both Panama and Costa Rica I'd rank Carta last. Give me Jaco beach in costa or the Veneto in Panama any day of the week. Walk down stairs and the woman are waiting for you.

To each their own but I won't be coming back here. I am glad I did it of course but there are better places in central / south America in my opinion. Maybe I will have more positive vibes when I look back in the future as opposed to writing this burned out on the last night of my trip.

[QUOTE=BigLubes;1909899]Now to the negatives. This city is way too hot. The air just sits inside the city all day no breeze. I am born and raised in south Florida so I'm used to heat and humidity but this is something else.

Then you have to deal with the hustlers. Holy smokes it never ends. They are relentless on every corner. I'd put this place ahead of Nassau and Jamaica as far as people trying to sell you everything and anything. Who told these guys that Americans want to smoke cigars in 95 degree heat? That's the last thing on earth I want. Anyway.[/QUOTE]Yep, that was my opinion also. CTG is overrated and will never be a major tourist destination because nearby destinations in the Caribbean that are closer to the US have better beaches, weather, and the touts are not a constant harassment. Also, it looks to me the airport is built in an area that makes it difficult to expand, there's not much infrastructure for more flights, most of the tourism is internal.

If you can weather the negative factors (forgive the pun) I suppose it's a good thing for CTG fans that the destination will never reach critical mass. In fact, I suspect that it's precisely the touts especially, but also the weather, prevent a lot of 2nd visits from US citizens and other countries.

While many Colombians might still consider CTG to be the prime tourist attraction of the country, they might be sadly misinformed if they consider it a great choice for a beach or tropical vacation; better to go to Santa Marta or perhaps further up north in the Guajira region (not much for mongers up there though). Colombians with some money can fly to San Andres island I suppose, although there's no monger scene there either. Rich Colombians with passports have the full set of options obviously; Miami and Orlando are the obvious popular choices that most Colombians dream of going to rich or no.

CTG weather can be just awful during certain months of the year; the heat can be stifling even in the nighttime unless you're right by the sea. I took a Bogotana with me to CTG one time and one particularly hot afternoon, I thought this chica was going to suffer a heat stroke! Folks here complain about the heat in Cali, but I find Cali to be much better weather-wise with its famous cooling breezes at night, something you will be surprised is not so often found in CTG. Some nights it was almost impossible to have a romantic stroll through the streets of the old city with your chica because of the stifling heat.

There are certain sectors in Bocagrande where the hustlers are not so bad but in many areas in the old city, it's almost like a gauntlet you have to get through. It's one of the curses of looking like an obvious gringo tourist. I just keep mumbling no gracias with no eye contact, and I never slow down (or speed up!) Any change in direction, pace, or eye contact just gets them to try harder almost by instinct. Wear dark sunglasses and never be distracted by any hawking of wares.

[QUOTE=BlackPage;1907481]That's the kind of updates we like to read! Concise like a war bulletin, thorough over all the items. Thank you!

How is Evissa? That was my favorite club last time I went to CTG (March), at roof top at the left of Reloy Plaza, watching the tower. The best for music and ambience, but not for finding girls, rather to bring them there.

Aldo. So sad. What's wrong with him now? His Elektra for many years was the best in town, the place to go after 3 am. In March, Opera was always empty, while Space was full. I agree with your feeling about girls in Space. But being it so crowded, one can always find someone interesting.[/QUOTE]Thanks. I don't know the club Evissa, so can't comment. Aldo's spot wasn't getting as many girls because he was more selective of which ones could enter and then more strict with rules for them. When he had Electra, there wasn't another viable option for the girls. Paying customers (guys) followed where there were more girls, which has been Space. Many of the girls in Space, Aldo would not let in his place. I understand why he was selective, but the 4 am crowd wasn't as discerning. It is what it is.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]This will be my first trip to Cartagena and I am committed to staying at the Intercontinental Cartagena de Indias Hotel which looks to be in Bocagrande. I presume it is not chica friendly.

When I was in Bogota I managed to visit a few houses and had good experiences there that I have reported on.

After reading the posts, I still feel uncertain about the best options in Cartagena, for some fun in the daytime / late afternoon. I also feel a little leary about taxis after reading the TaxiRobbery account, though it sounds like Uber in Cartagena may be okay.

Ideally, I would safely walk from my hotel to a place with the chicas, but I am guessing that is not possible given the location I'll be staying at. Given that the place is likely not chica friendly, I presume, I can't just arrange for a girl to come to my room.

As you can tell, I am little nervous about safety-related issues, though I didn't have any trouble walking around in Bogota. Would appreciate advice. Thanks.[/QUOTE]I haven't stayed at the Intercontinental Cartagena, but I imagine they will want you to indicate 2 adults on your reservation before arrival and then register your 2nd guest when there. So you book a room for two people, and if you hit it off with a particulsr girl , you will want to present her at the front desk as your registered guest for your stay. They'll get her information from you, make a copy of her ID, and have her sign off on the room as well. As long as you aren't looking to change girlfriends, doubtful you'll run into much problem unless she's a problem type of girl, LOL. She's your girlfriend, you're basically representing that you know her and vouch for her.

If you're looking to bring a different girl as your registered guest to your room everyday, you can probably expect to run into a problem with registering a different girl. You could just walk straight for the elevators with your new girl in hopes that no one says anything. If it's a busy time during the day, better chance. That being said, I'd recommend just using a love motel for girls you have just met, and then if you hit it off with one particular girl and want to wifey up, then register her as the 2nd guest in the room at the hotel, and have her hangout with you at the pool, stay overnight, GFE, etc.

Assuming that you will only be in the tourist zones and other safe zones, you don't need to be nervous. You will spend most of your time in Bocagrande, el Centro, el Laguito, Castillogrande and Getsemani, and possibly some time in Crespo, Manga, Marbella, Canapote and Daniel Lemaitre depending on whether you use love motels, go to certain restaurants, etc. If you want to visit local casas, then you will be going to other neighborhoods that can be a little sketchy and you will just taxi to front door and then directly taxi out. For a first time visit, my suggestion is to stick with the freelancers in the first few zones mentionred, unless you are with a trusted fellow member or trusted local.

While a few taxistas will inflate the fare by a mil peso or two, safety travelling to, from and within the zones mentioned should not be a worry. I've always just flagged down a yellow taxi off the street while in any of those zones in Cartagena. The fares are published annually by the mayor's office. There's a night premium of 500 pesos starting at 9 pm, but they'll just round it up a mil peso instead. So the set 6 mil peso fare from Bocagrande to el Centro becomes 7 mil. There is a premium on all fares to and from the airport. The current fare between the airport and Bocagrande is 17 mil. The white taxis that you will see at your hotel will be more; you decide if you want to use them and pay a premium. I've never used Uber, nor EasyTaxi in Cartagena, as I've never found it necessary, but you can if you want.

Taxi fare: Bocagrande to and from Manga, or Crespo, or Marbella, or Canapote, or Daniel Lemaitre is 9 mil pesos, and then add a mil peso for 9 pm and after. Want to know more? Keyword search on "tarifas taxis mayor cartagena 2016" and you'll find a pdf of the published fares from March of this year. The Mayor's office annually publishes the fares for each year. No, I don't take it with me, but I do scan through it once a year to note any increase from the prior year.

Walking. From where you are staying, LDV in el Laguito will be an easy walk as well as Playa Hollywood. If you want to go to LDV, go after 11 pm and before 2 am and give yourself 45 minutes or so to see what girls come and go. For Playa Hollywood, generally in the past the freelancers were more apt to be there from 3 pm to 5 pm. Some streetwalkers can be found strolling along San Martin Av in Bocagrande from Hotel Caribe to Hampton Inn from 6 pm - 10 pm. Your hotel is in very close proximity to the San Martin Av strolling area.

Go to the top floor of the VIP club around 10 pm and grab a table. The unattached girls will be coming in shortly. They'll move down a couple of floors to the electronic music a couple or so hours later. Nothing strike your fancy, go back outside and grab a seat on a bench and scout all the girls walking around. Approach as you so choose. Still nothing? Grab a 7 mil taxi outside wall in front of tower and head to LDV before 2 am. Nothing? Then 7 mil fare back to el Centro to check out Space around 3:30 am.

For Love motels to take these girls to, go look at the list put together by WorldTravel69 on the Cartagena List thread. I typically go to Las Dunas, but I can vouch for the other two that are nearby and in same general vicinity as well.

[QUOTE=Sammi123;1908850]This will be my first trip to Cartagena and I am committed to staying at the Intercontinental Cartagena de Indias Hotel which looks to be in Bocagrande. I presume it is not chica friendly.

When I was in Bogota I managed to visit a few houses and had good experiences there that I have reported on.

After reading the posts, I still feel uncertain about the best options in Cartagena, for some fun in the daytime / late afternoon. I also feel a little leary about taxis after reading the TaxiRobbery account, though it sounds like Uber in Cartagena may be okay.

Ideally, I would safely walk from my hotel to a place with the chicas, but I am guessing that is not possible given the location I'll be staying at. Given that the place is likely not chica friendly, I presume, I can't just arrange for a girl to come to my room.

As you can tell, I am little nervous about safety-related issues, though I didn't have any trouble walking around in Bogota. Would appreciate advice. Thanks.[/QUOTE]Since you specifically mentioned daytime / late afternoon action, maybe your schedule dictates that your encounters are strictly limited to a few hours in the afternoon each day. If that's your case, you should befriend someone there on the ground who knows a lot of freelancers. Could be a fellow member who lives in Cartagena or frequents there regularly, or connect with a local. Absent that, go to Playa Hollywood and ask for Fao. Rent a beach chair and tent from Fao. Do not be coaxed into renting from anyone else on this first visit. Just decline, and keep asking for Fao. Tell Fao to get a beer for the two of you and then chat him up snd befriend him. Given that your time is limited and you don't have a contact list of amigas in Cartagena, you'll benefit from befriending Fao, Emily and Jayson and asking them to assist you in your search.

Scratcth their back, they'll scratch yours. What is scratching? Use their services. Fao rents carpas, chairs, etc. And runs a tab for you to have beers / drinks brought directly to you. Emily is the best massage therapist on the beach and also does pedicures and manicures right there for you as you lounge. Jayson hustles and will try to help you find things and get you what you want without you having to leave your beach chair. Are you a guy short on time and whose time is money? If yes, then you won't mind paying for the convenience of having people do the leg work for you and have things brought to you. Relax, have fun and remember to ask how much and negotiate for everything. Be firm, but likeable and in good spirit in your negotiations and don't take offenseI

If you have ample time, or more time than money, then do all your own daytime scouting in the heat and humidiy of Cartagena; don't utter a word to a local guy, don't get a carpa or chair, and just go it solo making eye contact and striking up conversations with chicas as you make your way walking the beach and sidewalks. Be like the guys seen breaking into a trot when a tout approaches them, lol. Beach scene isn't you? Befriend someone who knows the local casas.

To many, the appeal of Cartagena is the influx of freelancers from elsewhere who are in town for a come up and the all night party scene.

[QUOTE=Hilltopper;1910319]Since you specifically mentioned daytime / late afternoon action...[/QUOTE]I second all that!

I add just one more note: if you have the time to go out at night, no matter what time, go to Reloy Tower. That's where all freelancers gather (but not daytime). Even if you have no time to play at night, you can still talk around and take phone numbers of the girls that seem more reliable to you. 6th sense here rules!

Are you busy at night with work colleagues? Go to dinner with them, wait everyone leaves to go sleep, wait 15 more minutes, then go out and grab a taxi to go to the Reloy. There are opportunities until 4 am.

There is one more opportunity which is seldom mentioned: the Club Europa, near Getsemani, which is open 24/24. In the morning or at non-standard times it may be an opportunity to consider.

One of the things to do in Cartagena is a day trip to Islas del Rosario. However, the boat never leave too early and due to rough seas begins return journey soon after 16:00. Also a usual procedure is to pass by and drop merchandise etc. At Playa Blanca. The passengers sit and wait. When one finally arrives, usually at Isla Grande (with different villages, many of them called Isla something as if they were different islands of the archipelago of 27.), the time left over is rather limited.

On my last trip I spoke to people that seemed to have arrived much earlier and they told me they came straight to the island as the trip was organized by their hotel. Forgot the name but I'm sure more than one offers the activity. Now I think it's at least worth asking if one could pay and go with them on this the and thus save time.

So my question is has anyone been on a boat trip organized by a hotel and which hotel was that?

No gracias is good but I prefer "no tengo dinero" then they run away I am serious. It works.

[QUOTE=Phunluv;1909929]Yep, that was my opinion also. CTG is overrated and will never be a major tourist destination because nearby destinations in the Caribbean that are closer to the US have better beaches, weather, and the touts are not a constant harassment. Also, it looks to me the airport is built in an area that makes it difficult to expand, there's not much infrastructure for more flights, most of the tourism is internal.

If you can weather the negative factors (forgive the pun) I suppose it's a good thing for CTG fans that the destination will never reach critical mass. In fact, I suspect that it's precisely the touts especially, but also the weather, prevent a lot of 2nd visits from US citizens and other countries.

While many Colombians might still consider CTG to be the prime tourist attraction of the country, they might be sadly misinformed if they consider it a great choice for a beach or tropical vacation; better to go to Santa Marta or perhaps further up north in the Guajira region (not much for mongers up there though). Colombians with some money can fly to San Andres island I suppose, although there's no monger scene there either. Rich Colombians with passports have the full set of options obviously; Miami and Orlando are the obvious popular choices that most Colombians dream of going to rich or no.

CTG weather can be just awful during certain months of the year; the heat can be stifling even in the nighttime unless you're right by the sea. I took a Bogotana with me to CTG one time and one particularly hot afternoon, I thought this chica was going to suffer a heat stroke! Folks here complain about the heat in Cali, but I find Cali to be much better weather-wise with its famous cooling breezes at night, something you will be surprised is not so often found in CTG. Some nights it was almost impossible to have a romantic stroll through the streets of the old city with your chica because of the stifling heat.

There are certain sectors in Bocagrande where the hustlers are not so bad but in many areas in the old city, it's almost like a gauntlet you have to get through. It's one of the curses of looking like an obvious gringo tourist. I just keep mumbling no gracias with no eye contact, and I never slow down (or speed up!) Any change in direction, pace, or eye contact just gets them to try harder almost by instinct. Wear dark sunglasses and never be distracted by any hawking of wares.[/QUOTE]

Hi all,

Anyone going to be in Cartagena during 10th-14th August to grab a beer and share info!

Looking at doing some tourist stuff also as well as hunting! Get in touch.

GS.

Hi,

Does anyone have the working URL for the CTG map. I keep getting the "request access"screen!

[QUOTE=MojoBandit;1836618]This is the URL to the Map that we are all eternaly greatful to Hillbilly69 for providing. If the link doesn't work when you click on it, try copying and pasting.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?dg=feature&msa=0&ie=UTF&mid=zkLg5yUiZlc4.kWUZD-kV8nF8[/URL]

Well as most people know my reports suck but if you pm I can usualy give you the answers you want. Spirit flights here were all on time thank God. Last time it was a cluster fuck start to finish. For guys that like to party I had left stuff in same apartment hidden. Nothing starts a trip off better for me then finding my stash! Its like a treasure chest! So flights went great my treasure chest wasnt found by anyone! I got here about 1:30 in afternoon. Put my stuff away and headed to beach. Got a massage 40,000 peso from Luce Marina sister. (forget her name) but she sits with Fao the chair guy good people never any bushit.

Saw fucking Tony and alls he does is curse at me because I don't sit with him. Hes the biggest dick I ever met. I was here a couple months ago and he wasnt at beach 5 days. It was so nice. I really thought he died which would have been fine with me. I don't wish that on him of course but I really thought he died because pedro said he did pedro is is a dick too but no where near tonys league.

I haven't been to clubs because I met a girl last time and she fantastic so I spent first night alone. I was just beat up from travel. Spent last night with her 400,000 tdl. Pricey but well worth it. This girl is a total freak just the way I like them. We are going to a club tonight so I will let you know what I see.

Weather has been good because its breazy.

Went to LDV it was very quiet. I went with girl so it didn't matter to me. But this was first time I didn't see women outnumer men by like 5 to 1. Ones that were there were about 7-8 in looks.

[QUOTE=YouCan;1918375]Well as most people know my reports suck but if you pm I can usualy give you the answers you want. Spirit flights here were all on time thank God. Last time it was a cluster fuck start to finish. For guys that like to party I had left stuff in same apartment hidden. Nothing starts a trip off better for me then finding my stash! Its like a treasure chest! So flights went great my treasure chest wasnt found by anyone! I got here about 1:30 in afternoon. Put my stuff away and headed to beach. Got a massage 40,000 peso from Luce Marina sister. (forget her name) but she sits with Fao the chair guy good people never any bushit.

Saw fucking Tony and alls he does is curse at me because I don't sit with him. Hes the biggest dick I ever met. I was here a couple months ago and he wasnt at beach 5 days. It was so nice. I really thought he died which would have been fine with me. I don't wish that on him of course but I really thought he died because pedro said he did pedro is is a dick too but no where near tonys league.

I haven't been to clubs because I met a girl last time and she fantastic so I spent first night alone. I was just beat up from travel. Spent last night with her 400,000 tdl. Pricey but well worth it. This girl is a total freak just the way I like them. We are going to a club tonight so I will let you know what I see.

Weather has been good because its breazy.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=YouCan;1918375]Well as most people know my reports suck but if you pm I can usualy give you the answers you want. Spirit flights here were all on time thank God. Last time it was a cluster fuck start to finish. For guys that like to party I had left stuff in same apartment hidden. Nothing starts a trip off better for me then finding my stash! Its like a treasure chest! So flights went great my treasure chest wasnt found by anyone! I got here about 1:30 in afternoon. Put my stuff away and headed to beach. Got a massage 40,000 peso from Luce Marina sister. (forget her name) but she sits with Fao the chair guy good people never any bushit.

Saw fucking Tony and alls he does is curse at me because I don't sit with him. Hes the biggest dick I ever met. I was here a couple months ago and he wasnt at beach 5 days. It was so nice. I really thought he died which would have been fine with me. I don't wish that on him of course but I really thought he died because pedro said he did pedro is is a dick too but no where near tonys league.

I haven't been to clubs because I met a girl last time and she fantastic so I spent first night alone. I was just beat up from travel. Spent last night with her 400,000 tdl. Pricey but well worth it. This girl is a total freak just the way I like them. We are going to a club tonight so I will let you know what I see.

Weather has been good because its breazy.[/QUOTE]