The Rosario Islands Port Tax and Park Fee

The “port tax” or “dock tax” that most Rosario Islands tours leave out of their price is two official charges paid in Cartagena before you board. Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia charges COP 13,500 to enter the Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo national park, one amount for every visitor (Resolution 551 of 2025, in force from 1 January 2026). Corpoturismo, which runs the Muelle Turístico La Bodeguita, charges COP 18,000 for the use of the pier from 1 January 2026 (circular of 23 December 2025). Together they come to COP 31,500 a person. Every visitor must also hold the park’s accident and assistance insurance (Resolution 273 of 2024), for which the park authority publishes no price (all checked November 2026).

The short answer

Budget COP 31,500 a head for the two official charges, in cash or by card, unless your day says they are in its price, and expect to show proof of the park insurance. Of the days carded here, only the sailing catamaran puts the national park fee in its price. When a tour page shows a total other than 31,500, the two issuer figures above are what the park and the pier charge; ask the operator what the difference covers before you pay it.

The park entry fee

Resolution 551 of 19 December 2025 sets the 2026 entry fees for Colombia’s national parks. For the Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo park it prints one amount for everybody, with no separate rate for foreign visitors: COP 13,500 for the park, and COP 11,000 for the San Bernardo sector alone. In 2025 the figures were COP 13,000 and COP 10,500 (Resolution 695 of 2024). The park’s own web page lists only the San Bernardo sector (COP 11,000) and no figure for the Rosario sector (checked November 2026), so go by the resolution. The fee is the same in every month.

The dock-use fee at La Bodeguita

Corpoturismo, the administrator of the Muelle Turístico La Bodeguita, set its dock-use fee at COP 18,000 from 1 January 2026 in a circular to operators and agencies dated 23 December 2025. Its FAQ describes the fee as a charge passengers pay for the use of the pier’s facilities. The 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, the gates open at 7:00 AM, and a ticket is valid for 7 calendar days from printing, in the year it was bought. Corpoturismo serves boats to the national park, Playa Blanca, Isla Barú and Tierra Bomba from the pier.

31,500, in pesos and dollars

COP 13,500 for the park plus COP 18,000 for the pier is COP 31,500, the exact figure that most carded days print as their port tax or dock tax. Neither issuer publishes the total; it is the sum of the two. At the official rate of COP 3,235.59 to the dollar on 4 November 2026, COP 31,500 is about US$9.74 a person.

The park insurance

Parques Nacionales requires every visitor to the park, Playa Blanca and Isla Barú included, to hold accident and assistance insurance under Resolution 273 of 2024. In a news item of 14 June 2026 it said the requirement had been in force since 1 March, that a visitor without the insurance is not admitted, and that the insurance is separate from the entry fee; the approved insurers are Positiva (with Magenta Seguros) and Zurich. The park authority does not publish the price, and an exemption from the entry fee does not lift the insurance duty. Where a carded day states the insurance, the table below gives its figure in that day’s own wording.

Children

The park resolution exempts children under 5, and adults over 62, only when they are Colombian, resident in Colombia or nationals of an Andean Community country, so a visiting foreign child is not named as exempt. Corpoturismo’s circular does not say whether children pay the dock fee. Plan on paying both for every member of your group, and ask your operator if you are travelling with a small child.

Every carded day, and what its price leaves out

Prices per person, except where a row says per group (checked November 2026). The park fee from Parques Nacionales and the dock fee from Corpoturismo, checked November 2026. Operators price by date and season, so treat the prices as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Different amounts on some tour pages

Two other days from Cartagena show figures that do not add up to the issuers’. Caribbean Tour Packages' 4 or 5 islands day shows a dock tax of COP 39,500, payable in cash only; the park fee and the dock fee come to COP 31,500. Backpackers Cartagena's 5 Rosario Islands VIP Speedboat Experience shows a port tax of COP 18,000 and a national park assurance of COP 8,800, and does not mention the COP 13,500 park entry that Parques Nacionales charges every visitor. On any day like these, budget for the issuer figures, and ask the operator in writing what any larger amount covers. Two smaller days put the fees in their price, without the amounts: Hightoursesmeralda's sports boat tour includes “all applicable local taxes and port fees”, and Banana tours' VIP beach club day includes “all dock taxes”.

Comparing prices with the fees in

A day at $73 on promotion, usually $81, checked November 2026 plus COP 31,500 at the pier is not the same buy as a day with the park fee in its price. The sailing catamaran, from $119 (checked November 2026), is the carded day with the National Natural Park fees and boarding fees included, so set it against the others with the fees added to theirs, not without them. Whatever you book, the insurance is a park requirement on top.