South America
Colombia
Bolivar Department
Cartagena District
Cartagena
Things to Do in Cartagena
Cartagena Connections Walking Tours
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Cartagena Connections Walking Tours

See all things to do
See all things to do
Cartagena Connections Walking Tours
4.5
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About
Tours with Cartagena Connections give you a shortcut to experiencing Cartagena like a local. In addition to the popular WALKING TOURS (street art, street food, orientation, history, shopping, ghost etc) we also provide tours of the Mercado Bazurto and gastronomic tours. We also act your clued-up English-speaking friends in answering your questions and making your reservations for the islands, private boat hire, mud volcano, mangroves, cooking classes, rum tasting, paragliding, skydiving, dance lessons and all the best stuff Cartagena has to offer. We've been doing this for 4 years now, so you can trust that we are legitimate and will do our best to help you get the most out of your Cartagena stay.
Cartagena, Colombia
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
444 reviews
Excellent
370
Very good
38
Average
13
Poor
15
Terrible
8
Solomon B
Brooklyn, NY7 contributions
Great Connections: Tour guides, Business, Tours were all top-notch
Feb 2020
I loved the tours that I took with this company. I took two tours. The street food tour offered food and a little history and really helped me get oriented with the city. Jan was a terrific guide. This tour was geared for all people so some people really were into it and some people didn't taste all the food. But you can have whatever adventure you choose.I love doing these type of tours at the beginning of a trip so I know which spots to hit up later and so I know how to get around. I also did the Mercato market tour and there would have been no way I could have managed that excursion on my own, especially to the degree and the immersion that I did with Jan. It was really a special trip and really not for everyone. I would highly recommend the Bazurto Market Tour for real foodies and for people who really want to see all spectrums of the Cartagena food culture. It was one of my favorite things I did in Cartagena but I know it's not for everyone. Finally, I cannot say enough about Jan who had a passion for his work. And I cannot say enough good things about Catalina (the point of contact for sales and customer relations) who went above and beyond helping me organize my trip. I have so little time in my daily life, so to have Catalina help me with the details was more than I expected. I am truly grateful to Catalina for arranging, helping, communicating and generally guiding me through some of the best experiences I had in Colombia. I am a very happy customer!
Written February 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Derek H
Ottawa, Canada304 contributions
Great way to unravel Cartagena
Feb 2020
Catalina helped the 6 of us understand the history, cuisine, culture, and art of her home city. She spoke of the colonial legacy and the current dynamics with equal fluency. But her passion for the street food and art really brought the city to life (and sated our thirst and hunger). We all agreed that if you're spending a few days in Cartagena, one of them must be with a tour guide like Catalina.
Written March 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
winnertravels
New York City, NY23 contributions
An Excellent Adventure
Jan 2020
My mom and I had a private (I think it just happened that way) street food tour of Cartagena with Henry. This was such a memorable experience. Henry was very knowledgable about the history of the city and told great first hand stories since he has lived there his whole life. He answered all our questions and showed us parts of the city I wasn’t noticing on my own. Secret alleyways with the best food vendors and local people. The tour made the city come even more alive. I highly recommend taking a few hours of the day to enjoy! Thank you!
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sudann Ebanks
Coral Springs, FL1 contribution
Unprepared, Unprofessoonal, and Rude
Aug 2021 • Friends
Kristy is a rude and unprofessional person to work with. We had issues with our 7:10 am PCR appointment and got back to our hotel 15 minutes before our transportation arrived. Ronal (our transportation/driver) was very understanding and told us to talk to Kristy to reschedule. When we did that, Kristy told us to pay for today AND tomorrow to reschedule, told us we lacked honor (lol?), and said it was unfair to the other vendors. Even though she knew it was something out of our control, she continued to speak to us in a condescending and rude manner, demanding that we pay for a tour we wouldn't be able to attend. SAVE your time and energy booking ANYTHING with Cartagena Connections. What type of business has no preparations outlined in case of and last minute cancellations or emergencies? A dumb one. Anywho, we decided to take our hard earned money else where and complete our tour with a tour company that was ACTUALLY professional and respectful, not to mention extremely knowledgeable and funny. I highly recommend anyone considering the Palenque Tour go with Freedom Tours of Palenque. Kristy must've busted her head when she got rude and then asked for money later. You catch more flies with sugar than salt. Take this as a learning lesson Kristy. We would've tipped extra because of the inconvenience but when you get rude and nasty, you get nothing.
Written August 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kristy E
wow. just when i thought i couldn’t be any more disappointed by this client’s actions she goes and writes a horrible review. for everyone reading this review i’ll set out what took place. sudann booked in for a palenque tour for 3 people. the pick up was confirmed for 9am from her hotel. another solo traveler booked for the same tour and met at the same pick up point. sudann was made aware via email and whatsapp that another client would be joining the tour. it is important to know that this tour is run by local guides from palenque. we help facilitate but the money goes to the community. the local guide, ronal, arrived to pick up sudann and her two friends at 8.55am. he was told by sudann that they were going to take a covid test and that they would like to change to the following day. this was communicated AT THE TIME OF PICKUP. Ronal had already rented the transport and driven from palenque 1 hour to pick them up. and there was also another client now waiting in the van. ronal calls me to tell me what was happening and to ask me to help explain to sudann why if he came back the next day it would create new charges. i asked sudann if it would be possible to instead take the covid test when they returned from palenque instead. she said that would be ok but she asked if ronal and the other client could wait 2 HOURS for them to eat and change and then they could be ready to leave at 11am. considering there is an hour drive to palenque and considering there was another client waiting this whole time.i responded that it was far from ideal but ronal, afraid to lose the booking said he could do it if we checked with the other client if it was ok. when i wrote back to say that ronal and the client had agreed. they said they wanted to cancel. at that point, super disappointed, i explained that ronal had already spent for the transport (which charges by the hour and would have charged for the extra 2 hour wait time as well), that community members had already been booked for the day, lunch preparations were already underway and that a solo traveler had already been accepted for the tour (we have a two person minimum for this tour due to the high costs involved— so she would not ordinarily be able to do the tour on her own). i said it was super disappointing and that i would be paying out of my own pocket so that the other client could still do the tour and so that ronal and the community of palenque would not lose money due to sudann’s last minute cancellation. i would have thought sudann would have felt some shame and guilt knowing the impact her last minute cancellation had on a community that can’t really afford these losses. instead she comes here to make it all somehow even worse. punishing me and my business when i already had to pay out of pocket to try and minimize the impact of her wrongs. on the positive side, thanks to her actions, ronal and his crew now always requires pre-payment and no longer operates on the honor system. so hopefully this isn’t an issue in the future.
Written January 6, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
mrh16
Boston325 contributions
Best Way to Sample Street Food
Mar 2020
The Food and Culture tour was a great way to sample street food - being able to try small portions of many items, instead of getting full after one large fried item otherwise. Christine the tour guide, was able to choose fruit for us and ask the vendors to cut them a certain way so we could all taste. We learned about the current culture of the neighborhoods - very different than the walled old city. We also got a quickie salsa lesson!
Written March 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hungarianhc
San Francisco, CA185 contributions
A fantastic, family friendly way to start our Cartagena Trip!
Feb 2022 • Family
Wow - what a great way to begin your trip in Cartagena. Our tour guide, March, was amazing. First of all, she was incredibly responsive over WhatsApp. I was traveling with my parents, my kids (ages 4 years, 6 years, and 7 months). We were running a bit late and had some last minute schedule changes… no problem at all. March was responsive over WhatsApp and made finding her easy. As for the tour itself, it was so nice. We got to experience a variety of neighborhoods in the Cartgena old town, and March really did a great job explaining the history of each part of the town and what’s happening there today. We took a street food walking tour. Some food tours are all about feasting on local cuisine and leaving stuffed (I do enjoy those!). This tour is more about experiencing a great walking tour of the city while enjoying street food samples as you pass through town.

It really helped give us our bearings to get started in Cartagena. If you have little children, this tour could be a really good option. I was wearing my 7 month old on a carrier, and my wife was pushing our passed out 4 year old in the stroller. March did a great job of helping navigate streets and finding ones with wide enough sidewalks for the stroller. We especially enjoyed visiting the Getsemani area, and we will return to purchase art.

We started our tour in the late afternoon, and it wrapped up at a food truck park on the water. Absolutely perfect ending. Thanks for the amazing tour, March!
Written February 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wilkinsonm18
Toronto, Canada21 contributions
historic walking tour - the guide makes it!
Feb 2020
Historic Walking Tour-Excellent! Henry was the perfect guide -informative, accommodating and a sense of humour. He answered all our questions about the city past and present, showed us around Cartagena's lovely streets and personalized the tour. Even found us a great spot for dinner when we finished. Loved it! A great way to start our stay in Cartagena.
Written February 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sam
Brookline, MA72 contributions
Henry on the Food and Culture Tour was Incredible
Mar 2020
My girlfriend and I took the Food and Culture Tour last week with Henry and it was incredibly informative, both on the street food that is available in the old city as well as the culture of the various portions of the old city and Getsemani. It was immediately apparent he was from Cartagena - on the streets during the tour Henry repeatedly ran into friends and acquaintances. He knew all of the vendors we stopped at during the tour, and was well versed in their background and history. When the tour continued into Getsemani, we saw lots of public murals, which Henry had an immense amount of knowledge of, including photos with the painters as the murals were put up.

We learned more about Cartagena's history during the tour than at any other point during our stay, and we would definitely do a tour with Henry again.
Written March 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KristyBreanne
49 contributions
Street food: food, culture, history and more!
Apr 2023 • Couples
This street food tour provides so much bang for your buck! We originally did this tour in 2017 and loved it so much that we chose to book it again this trip. Our guide Kristy is such a wealth of knowledge about the area and its history, which she generously shares throughout the tour. I recommend doing this tour early in your stay, so that you know all the best street food stops and neighbourhoods to visit throughout your trip. Although they say it’s not enough food for a meal, we were quite full after! Definitely follow their advice and bring a bottle of water (or you can buy one on the way). As a bonus, they give amazing recommendations throughout the tour! We love this company’s focus on supporting the local people and embracing a more authentic version of Cartagena. For those who have struggled with responses, I encourage you to reach out through WhatsApp. I think it’s important to remember this is a small team. We have been so grateful for the experiences they have connected us to. Patience and flexibility is always required in Colombia, but it’s so worth it!
Written April 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David G
15 contributions
Epic tour with wildly talented guide
Feb 2022 • Couples
Wonderful experience from beginning to end. A group of us took Kristy’s 230pm street food tour and we’re blown away but her knowledge, sense of humor, and presentation. The food was great and abundant, but she really was the highlight. Seamlessly weaving history and hilarious anecdotes while navigating the busy streets on foot and doing it all with a smile. One of the best tours worldwide. Also, such a deal. Would have paid 2x her asking price. Great ambassador for the city of Cartagena.
Written February 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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