How to Get to the Rosario Islands from Cartagena

You reach the Rosario Islands by boat from Cartagena. Most boats leave from Muelle de La Bodeguita, the tourist pier on Avenida Blas de Lezo beside the walled city, and the ride takes 1 to 2 hours depending on the boat and its stops (Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia); Isla Grande is about 34 km from the pier in a straight line. Playa Blanca, on Isla Barú, is the only stop you can also reach by road. The simplest way to see the islands is a boat day such as Coco Cartagena Tours’ Cartagena: 5-Stop Rosario Islands Tour, Lunch, & Beach Clubs, from $73 on promotion, usually $81 a person (checked November 2026).

The calendar above is the island-hopping day, with 6,600 reviews (checked November 2026). The boat is back in Cartagena by 4:30 PM.

The short answer

Book a boat day that leaves from Cartagena and comes back the same afternoon: the boat, the stops and lunch are then settled, and you only carry cash or a card for the fees at the pier. Driving gets you to Playa Blanca and no further, because boats there do not take visitors on to the other sectors of the park (Parques Nacionales). Allow the whole day either way: boats leave Cartagena between 8:00 and 10:00 AM, and the harbour master sets the time to come back by the state of the sea.

Where the boats leave from

DIMAR, Colombia’s maritime authority, enables departures from Cartagena to the Rosario and San Bernardo islands from Muelle de La Bodeguita, from marinas and from nautical clubs, and every boat on that run must have at least two engines; tourist boats must belong to a licensed passenger company with current papers for the boat and the captain. Corpoturismo, which runs La Bodeguita, opens the gates at 7:00 AM. Before you enter the park, Parques Nacionales asks every visitor to attend a short induction talk and register.

Each carded day names its own start:

Starting points and pickups checked November 2026.

The fees you pay at the pier

Two official charges are collected before you board at La Bodeguita. Corpoturismo charges a dock-use fee of COP 18,000 from 1 January 2026 (circular of 23 December 2025); its cash desks open at Gate 1 from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and at Gate 4 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and a ticket is valid for 7 calendar days from printing. Parques Nacionales charges COP 13,500 to enter the park, the same for every visitor (Resolution 551 of 2025). Most tour pages print the two together as a port tax or dock tax of 31,500 COP. Every visitor also needs the park’s accident and assistance insurance (Resolution 273 of 2024). The port tax and park fee has the detail, day by day.

The crossing

The boats cross Cartagena Bay past the Bocachica fort and then the open sea to the islands. On the island-hopping day the crossing is 45 minutes each way, with five-minute sightseeing stops from the water at the fort and at Pablo Escobar’s former mansion on the way out; on CORALES CARTAGENA's snorkelling day the speedboat makes a 10-minute photo stop at the fort. The open-sea part can be bumpy, which is why several days are not suitable for pregnant women or people prone to seasickness. Parques Nacionales tells visitors to check that the boat has life jackets and to wear one; DIMAR asks the same.

Check dates for the boat day

By road to Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca is on Isla Barú, which a bridge joins to the mainland. From Muelle de La Bodeguita it is 38.7 km by road, about 1 hour 15 minutes without traffic, over the Campo Elías Terán Dix bridge near Pasacaballos and on through Ararca and Santa Ana (Parques Nacionales). That gets you to the beach and to Barú’s beach clubs, not to the Rosario Islands: boats do not take visitors on from Playa Blanca to the other park sectors. Freedom Beach Club's 10-hour day on Barú goes this way, by road from the Torre del Reloj with a short boat ride to the club, from $66 on promotion, usually $94 (checked November 2026). Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca compares the two kinds of day.