The market was quite the cultural experience. Look the market isn’t nice, but that’s not why you come here. It’s a deep immersive experience into the local culture and see how they actually live. I wouldn’t say this is the best place for families with small kids.

Great historical tour. A must visit for everyone. Much respect for the people for maintaining their history in such a proud way. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am appreciative.

My tour guide Roberto and the driver Alfonso, we great! Roberto's English was great and he was very knowledgeable about the history of the people and culture. The people were very nice and it felt like I went back in time as it is very much preserved. Additionally, he took me on a private tour of his neighborhood and even made Arpras with his family. This was something he volunteered to do at a very reasonable price. I told them that this was by far the BEST tour of the entire country. I am connecting him with my travel friends once I get back home.

This tour was the highlight of my trip to Cartagena!!! I learned so much about Afro-Colombian culture. The tour guides were very knowledgeable about the history of Palenque. A special shout out to Alberto for leading the tour and Vanesaa for capturing all of the activities we did while on the tour, with her camera. Highly recommend this excursion to anyone spending time in Cartagena.

Very pleasant trip thanks to the warm, pleasant and knowledgeable young guide, Roberto. He gave very good explanations at the birds reserve and was very caring and helpful.

If you are into some daring feats, this is for you. Probably best to book with tour office or those in the street for specific information regarding lunch and other sites / beaches/ mangrove tours. Bring bathing suit, you’ll be up to your neck in mud with a local assistant, working for tips, be generous… You will wash off in the lagoon below. Good luck!

Although the start of the trip was complicated due to unavoidable communication issues caused by Cartagena losing power/electricity, once I caught up with the group, the trip was fabulous! The guide Vanessa was professional, attentive, personable, helpful, knowledgeable, and patient. It was clear she really enjoyed being a tour guide and loved talking about and interacting with each of us in our small tour group, as well as the birds – many of whom she appeared to know as individual birds! As advertised, the trip to the public beach was short and I especially loved that it was outside of the tourist area. The typical lunch was good, and we ate in a palapa-type structure right at the ocean. Doesn’t get any more real in being with the locals than this! After going in for a short swim, while lying on a cot connected to the beach restaurant, I was approached by a woman who wanted to give me a mini massage which I was unsure about as I didn’t have much cash with me. Vanessa reminded me it was up to me and within my control to decide whether to have a service or not. I appreciated Vanessa’s clarification that the women that do the massages come from the small town right there and that this is how they make their subsistence income. Although I was low on cash, I took the plunge and decided on a short massage which was quite good! (I feel I can give this testament as I have been a licensed massage therapist for nearly 30 years). So, if you are looking for an authentic and enjoyable excursion to the aviary and then public beach for lunch with a friendly, knowledgeable, and professional local guide, I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone!

Great experience. Guide eas excellent. To many photos which I hope e to receive soon. Would recommend to my friends

We toured with Jesus and had a wonderful time! He was extremely knowledgeable about the birds and was really funny and engaging. This is such a beautiful aviary and very well maintained. Going to Isla Baru is the perfect end to this day. After walking around in the warm weather, a dip in crystal clear waters is a great way to close the day. We had a fantastic time!

I met an amazing guide Jenny, who showed me all hidden place of culture starts from cuisine and ends with music and variety of things u can buy there. For your first experience u definitely have to go with guide there, otherwise you will get lost there. It’s a massive place where you can get literally anything. My intention was to buy fruits and seafood, which I found there much cheaper neither in supermarket! Imagine king prawn, blue crab, wild shark etc. Jenny been so kind and patient with me as I was googling each of the fruit she showed me (and trust me there are lots of fruits which u will not find anywhere else) we had a nice fresh juices de from one it, named Nispero. (Tasted Kinda milky coco milkshake) Then we grabbed the local beer while she was explaining me the culture of the music here. I really really enjoyed her company! Fluent English (which is rare here) and at the end of that she made me feel so comfortable in all this crowd and made feel safe! Greeting to her!

Roberto picked us up from our hotel with Alfonso, our driver. Both were friendly and engaging. We made stops along the way with Roberto informing us about Colombia's history and it's people as we drove in a comfortable air conditioned vehicle. We arrived at the Palenque and ate a delicious meal of coconut fish and rice prepared by the ladies. Antonio, our Palenqueros local guide was friendly, thoughtful, and extremely knowledgeable about the history and people of San basilio de Palenque. He even brought umbrellas for the tour because he knew we would need them in the heat. He taught us some phrases in the local language still used in the Palenque. He introduced us to so many wonderful people and places with Roberto translating everything for us along the way. We were made to feel comfortable and were treated extremely well. Best day by far spent in Cartagena. Thank you Vivamos Colombia Travel, Roberto, Antonio, and Alfonso for a wonderful day!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wonderful tour of this lively market. Our guide, Vanessa, was knowledgeable and professional. They also provided a translator and photographer. All three of them made the tour so fun. We tried delicious food and enjoyed learning about the history of Cartagena. Would recommend to anyone interested learning about the lovely Colombian people, culture and food.

Palenque tour is probably the best tours I have ever done. It is interactive and informative which makes it an enhanced experience.

The best local experience I have had in Cartagena. Usually in Cartagena or on those island tours, wherever you go there are always tourists and you never really get the whole cultural experience, but this tour gives you a real sense of Colombia where you enjoy the nature in peace, so many tones of green in the mangroves while riding around your cano... Again, ones of the best experiences in Cartagena, definitely give it a try, you will be taking some of the best pictures of your life. One tip from me, go on the weekdays and ask your tour guide to use the local bus instead of an air conditioned car. Thanks a lot to Angelica and David!

Palenque gave me everything I needed for this trip which were history, culture and food! This tour was by far one of my favorite tours. The tour guy, Erick, was knowledgeable and fun. I give him 10 stars!