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Isla Barú is where you’ll find Playa Blanca, considered one of the most beautiful beaches not only in Colombia, but in all of South America. It’s also home to the country’s National Aviary.
Introduction to Playa Blanca
With powdery white sand and crystal clear waters of several shades of blue, Playa Blanca is the kind of beach people dream about. So what’s the catch? On my very first visit in 2014, all I had to do was walk down the beach about 10 minutes to find a quiet spot free of noise, crowds, and fewer vendors.
That experience has all but disappeared forever. When I visited again in February 2019, it seemed like there’s not one inch of the beach that hasn’t been built up by mass tourism. Boats and jet skis fly through the water without any regard for safety, spewing disgusting fumes of gasoline into the air. Vendors constantly pester you while you’re trying to relax, coming back time and time again even after you’ve firmly told them “no”.It’s been transformed from paradise into a nightmare.
Gone are the peaceful corners where you can quietly relax without hundreds of people all around you. I haven’t been back since, but friends report things haven’t gotten better. It’s safe to say I will probably never go back. I prefer to remember it as it was.
Still, Playa Blanca remains a popular budget option for locals and backpackers in Cartagena. It can be visited as part of a day trip with or without the Rosario Islands, or you can come via bus or boat and stay as many nights as you want in primitive accommodation.
But I’ve warned you…
Getting to Playa Blanca
Getting to Playa Blanca from Cartagena is easy. You can organize any kind of trip through your hotel or directly from the boat companies outside the docks.
Going by Boat
The best and easiest way to get there is by boat. All boats usually leave by 9am from the docks near the entrance to the walled city. You won’t find another departure for the rest of the day.
There are a few options to choose from. The first is a direct trip to the beach, about an hour and a half on a large slow boat or 45 minutes on a speedboat. The second is a trip with a short stop at the Rosario Islands, also available on a large boat or a speedboat. For safety purposes, we were told the large slow boats were better.
For direct trips by boat, expect to pay around COP$95,000 per adult and COP$85,000 per child age 3-10 (as of December 2024) with lunch included. Some direct trips offer the possibility of an overnight stay at Playa Blanca with a return ticket valid for the next day or two.
For the tour on a large boat including the Rosario Islands, it should cost roughly COP$120,000 per adult and COP$105,000 per child age 3-10 (as of December 2024), including the boat trip and lunch at Playa Blanca. It most likely won’t include the tax of COP$20,000 per person (as of December 2024) to enter the national park that encompasses the Rosario Islands.
Taking a Shuttle
Tour companies also run shuttles to the beach for the day. It costs about COP$60,000 per adult and COP$50,000 per child age 3-10 (as of December 2024). You’ll pay around COP$90,000 per adult and COP$80,000 per child age 3-10 if you want a beach chair (as of December 2024). Shuttles leave around 7am and return to Cartagena around 2:30pm. Lunch is included.
Using Public Transportation
The more adventurous way to get to Playa Blanca is by public bus and motorcycle taxi. When I went with Marisol, we took this option. Why? Only because we got up too late and missed the boat!
We arrived at the docks in Cartagena around noon expecting to find someone to take us to Playa Blanca but everyone said we couldn’t leave until the next morning. A man in a green shirt who works at the docks told us it’s possible to go by bus and motorcycle in about 90 minutes. He jumped in a taxi with us and took us to the bus that would go closest to Playa Blanca. We boarded the bus and paid the fare.
The bus was jam packed with people, packages, food, bikes, construction equipment and more. It left at 1pm and the attendant notified us to get off when we reached the point on the route closest to Playa Blanca. Once off the bus, we hopped onto motorcycle taxis that took us to the beach in about 15 minutes.
Hiring a Taxi
A more expensive but faster option is to go by taxi. It’s not so bad if you have a small group of three or four. When my father visited, we hired a taxi to take us to Playa Blanca and wait for us the entire day. We shopped around until we found a driver willing to take us for a fair price. At the beach, we offered him lunch and drinks but he thanked us and did his own thing until we were ready to head back to Cartagena.
Our Experience Staying Overnight at Playa Blanca
The entire beach at Playa Blanca is lined with primitive hostels, so finding a place to stay isn’t a problem. You can find a cabana for the night or stay in a hammock for a lower price. Marisol and I decided to spend a couple nights at Playa Blanca, and I’ve written about our experience here.
Finding a Place to Stay
After an adventurous bus ride and motorcycle taxi from Cartagena, we arrived at the entrance on the crowded touristy part of the beach. Immediately, people started coming out of their hostels and restaurants pleading us to stay or eat with them.
We didn’t want to be near the crowds so we took the advice of my friend Tyra who told me to walk as far down the beach as possible before deciding on a place to stay. She recommended El Paraíso de Mama Ruth but there were still too many people around for our liking. When she visited in 2008, there was nothing past Mama Ruth’s and the rest of the beach was completely empty. Things have definitely changed! (Note: As I mentioned earlier, there’s no longer a peaceful section of the beach.)
Hostal Playa Blanca
We kept walking until we arrived at the very quiet Hostal Playa Blanca, about 15 minutes from the entrance to the beach. It’s a wooden structure with cabanas and a balcony on top, and there’s free WiFi. They have sun chairs and a small restaurant under the cabanas. With no running water, bathrooms and showers are very simple. There’s one shower and one toilet shared by everyone at the hostel. There are no doors to the cabanas, but we didn’t have a problem keeping our valuables safe.
For our meals, we had to choose from chicken, spaghetti, or fried fish, and there was also breakfast. Fresh juices, beer, water, and soft drinks were available for purchase. If you don’t want to eat at the hostel, you can walk up the beach and find several other hostels and restaurants with delicious fish, seafood, and other dishes.
The cabanas were comfortable but the mosquitoes at night were unbearable. Make sure you bring plenty of bug spray. We did and were still eaten alive! It was the main factor in our choosing to return to Cartagena the next day rather than stay another night on the beach.
The beach itself is wonderful. It was great being in a quieter and more secluded area of the beach (Note: again, not secluded anymore!). It was very peaceful. The only problem was the occasional men on jet skis racing through the water without caution. We thought it was a bit dangerous for people who wanted to go further out than waist-deep water, but this occurrence was much less frequent than on the more crowded section of the beach.
Getting Back to Cartagena
When we were ready to leave, the hostel had its own speedboat to take us back to Cartagena. It was supposed to take 45 minutes. One of the motors happened to die just after we left the beach and it ended up taking double. It got dangerous when the boat stopped and the waves started knocking us around. Even worse, there were 15 people plus all of their bags piled into it, and the captain didn’t have a phone or radio. We did make it back safely, but some of the people were a bit traumatized by the experience.
What to Do on Isla Barú
Other than Playa Blanca, there are plenty of private resorts elsewhere on Isla Barú catering to both overnighters and day trippers. They’ll have transportation from Cartagena in the morning and back in the afternoon. There’s also the National Aviary.
National Aviary of Colombia
The National Aviary (Aviario Nacional) is Colombia’s premier bird sanctuary. It features over 1,800 birds from 138 different species and is the largest aviary in the Americas. It’s the best place to see some of Colombia’s rarest birds in one place. Furthermore, most of the birds were seized by Colombian authorities from animal smugglers, some in very poor conditions. They were sent to the National Aviary for recovery and future release.
The aviary is located just under an hour from Cartagena near the entrance to Playa Blanca. It makes for a great half day trip or a full day with the afternoon on the beach. If you don’t have a car, you can try your luck with a taxi or hire more reliable transportation from Ecoturismo Los Pinos. They offer door to door service from your hotel plus two hours of waiting for various prices. We split the cost among three people and really enjoyed the park.
Visiting the National Aviary
Admission to the aviary is COP$70,000 for foreign adults and COP$50,000 for foreign children aged two to 12 (as of February 2024). It’s open daily from 9am to 5pm. Bug spray is for sale if you don’t bring your own (recommended). The other negative is the terrible humidity, so dress comfortably.
The National Aviary has a pleasant trail that runs through several different habitats represented in Colombia. Two hours is recommended to enjoy it to the fullest. There’s also a bird show near the end of the trail. Two cafés are along the trail and there’s a gift shop at the end.
Among the birds on display are harpy eagles, Andean condors, several species of parrots, toucans, flamingos, and more. Species are listed in both Spanish and English with a map of where they can be found in Colombia and what they eat.
