A Quick Guide To Playa Blanca, Colombia (Isla Barú)
If you’re looking for an amazing Colombian expierence and crystal clear Caribbean water, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome to Playa Blanca — an island that you’ll never want to leave! If you’re making your way to Cartagena, you must spend at least a day or more on the stunning Caribbean region island.
On my recent trip to Cartagena, Colombia, I visited a beautiful island called Playa Blanca which is located on Isla Barú, here is what you can expect from this beautiful island, where to stay, what to bring, things to do and what you should know.
I spent 5 days in Cartagena, Colombia and after about 2-3 days in the city center Cartagena, I decided to venture off to one of the nearby islands. I personally think that if you love to explore and are good at waking up early morning and exploring cities, 2 full days in Cartagena’s city center is enough. A blog post about all that is coming soon but for now, you can check out my 2 vlogs of Cartagena:
Cartagena Colombia Vlog: Day 1 (Old Town)
Cartagena Colombia Vlog: Day 2 (Castillo San Felipe de Barajas)
But, for now, let’s talk all about Playa Blanca…
Intro To The Islands In Cartagena, Colombia
The island of Playa Blanca is considered to be located in Cartagena, oddly enough it’s also considered to be in the Caribbean region. Cartagena has over 27 small islands near its coastline. Some of the islands are private islands, others are for locals only and of course, some are there for tourist to visit. The most popular islands to visit by tourist are Playa Blanca and Rosario Islands. Rosario Islands seemed to be the more popular choice for tourist and on most travel websites has the most amount of tours.
Why I Picked To Visit Playa Blanca and NOT Rosario Islands
However, I chose not to go to Rosario Islands because most of the cheap tours were sold out and for personal reason. I am a big animal activist and don’t support tours or locations that cause animal cruelty, which is what I believe about the Oceanarium Rosario Islands. It’s a small aquarium, that features a dolphin show in a pool that’s way too small for the animals. I elaborate more on that in the video below that I created and if you want to truly see what a day on this beautiful island would look like, plus all the things there are to do on Playa Blanca then please watch it.
What To Except From Playa Blanca Island
Playa Blanca is a pretty busy island full of backpackers and hammock life. It reminds me of something you would find in Thailand but way cheaper. There is a long strip with many bars, backpacker style restaurants, hostels and beach life. People’s goal in life is to chill by the beach all day, sipping away at some rum and coke, beer or coconut water, taking an afternoon nap on a hammock and getting a tan. It’s SUPER laid back, but also has a party vibe to the island, similar to Cancun or Playa Del Carmen in Mexico.
The ocean crystal clear color is unreal, although the sea can get rough at times with the waves unfolding and you do need to watch out for huge rocks in certain spots. They are normally hidden where the waves fold. I had my good share fair of trippin on them a few times and it wasn’t pretty and totally hurt. I couldn’t walk for a few days normal, so please be careful.
Haggling and bargaining is a pretty common thing on the island, so if you’re good at it, definitely bargain, don’t get ripped off. More on that a little later…
Things To Do On Playa Blanca
So what can you expect to do in Playa Blanca? It’s pretty basic. You can chill on the beach all day and work on your tan, you can also rent a jet-ski, get a massage, make friends, enjoy some cocktails, walk around and explore the different cafes on the island. It’s pretty basic.
Once you get to the island you can rent a jet-ski, go on a boat ride and more. These things are all booked once you get there since most of the activities on the island are privately run and are to be paid in cash only. Definitely, bargain on these.
For more on things to do, check out my vlog above.
How To Get To Playa Blanca
There are 2 ways to get to Playa Blanca, one is by boat and other by a shuttle bus which is how I got to the island. It is said that by boat it takes longer and the sea is always super rough which gives many motion sickness. So I would definitely recommend the shuttle way. The city created a bridge that connects to the islands.
Tours
My day tour cost about $29 to the island which included pick up from hotel and drop off, transportation, lunch, lockers, tanning beds and hammock for the day. In total, the tour was about 8hrs long. Tours to this island shouldn’t cost more than $22-$40, Colombia is a crazy cheap country, I was honestly amazed as to how cheap everything was. There are tours that cost more, depending on what you are looking for.
Here are some tours I recommend:
Hostels & Hotels
This island is packed with a young crowd, I was actually amazed as to how busy this island was and how many young people were there, it’s like a mini Thailand.
Only after I got to the island did I realize that you can actually sleep there and I won’t lie and tell you I wasn’t totally considering it because I definitely was. There is an endless amount of hostels all located a few short footsteps from the crystal clear ocean water. This is definitely a backpackers dream in paradise. I personally feel like many backpackers and tourist just come to the island and then once they are there, they find themselves a hostel to stay at, but don’t quote me on that, I’m not sure. It’s just the vibe I got because it’s super laid back.
However, although there is an endless amount of hostels, they are fairly small and this island gets BUSY AF! So I’d definitely make a booking in advance for maybe at least the first 2-3 nights.
A Few Popular Hostels To Stay At:
Most if not all, of the hostels in Playa Blanca, are made out of wood, just as an FYI.
For more options CLICK HERE
Best Hotels on the islands
If you’re looking for more of a luxury expierence, check out these hotels.
What You Must Bring With You To The Island
CASH money
I totally made the mistake of not bringing enough cash with me to the island which totally sucked because you won’t be finding ATMs anywhere. I’m sure there are some but it’s a total odd find.
Many of the things you’re going to want to purchase are through street sellers, selling you fruits, coconuts, beer, water, sunglasses, hats, snacks, etc. So make sure you have some cash on you BUT don’t bring TOO much because after all Colombia is a third world country and has always been known for its crime rate, although you’ll feel totally safe on this island, I was traveling solo on this trip. But seriously, you couldn’t survive on the island without cash, so don’t forget.
Some places do accept dollars.
- Coconut Water – $4000 pesos
- Watermelon – $2000 pesos
- Beer – $1500-$2000 pesos
- Water Bottle – $1500 – $2000 pesos
- 30-min Massage – $80,000 – $100,000 pesos
- Jet-Ski Ride – $100,000 – $120,000 pesos
SUNSCREEN
I can’t stress this enough but this island’s sun is crazy strong! I’ve never been one to get sunburns and I arrived to Playa Blanca after traveling to Tulum, Mexico for a week and a half tanning every day and somehow I managed to get a ridiculous sunburn on this island. So definitely bring sunscreen
What I HATED About Playa Blanca
Although the island is a chill hang out spot, it’s also just as hectic. It’s pretty crowded and you will be asked all day, every day, every second if you want to buy something. This part completely drove me nuts and out of my mind. The haggling situation on this island is UNREAL! It’s the craziest I’ve seen in any other country in the world and let’s be real, I’ve been all over the world at this point, but this was just completely out of control!
The moment we arrived to the island, a group of women who do massages started following us for about a half a mile (no joke), the moment we put down our things, we were attacked with massage offers. They don’t take no for an answer and will repeatedly ask you and even when you say no, I’m not interested, they will try to give you a “demo – free massage”, which is a total scam. So don’t buy into it because you will be charged for it and gosh forbid you will tell them later, they will sit and watch you and come up to you ever 15mins to ask you. This happened to me before lunch, I said maybe later and one of the ladies literally sat across my table at lunch watching my every move and the moment I got up, came right back to me and asked me again.
The massage ladies seem to be the most aggressive and most persistent, but don’t get me wrong, besides them, people will try to sell you fruits — in all shapes and sizes, sunglasses, hats, earrings, beer, water and more. It seems to never end and takes away from the fun of just relaxing and getting a tan.
I hope you enjoy your time on the island! Have an amazing trip! If you have any questions, feel free to write them below and I will answer them!
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