Explore Cartagena: Playa Blanca

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On Christmas day, we went to the beach! Playa Blanca is a beautiful white sand beach just a short boat ride from Cartagena. Cartagena has some beaches, but they are mostly grey sand and in developed areas (like Boca Grande). Since we were on vacation, we decided to spend a little extra money by visiting Playa Blanca.

We booked a boat trip from Bodeguita dock at the small bay near the Museo de Arte Moderno. Many boats seemed to carry tourists all over on different trips, and we were lucky that we had three Spanish-speaking Colombians with us to make sure we got on the right tour! By the time we got on the boat, it was about 8:30am and the sun was already blisteringly hot.

If you need anything, it’s best to bring it with you. We didn’t bring much, just a lot of water, a lot of sun block, some books to read, our cameras, and some cash.

The boat ride was about 40 minutes, first through sheltered waters and then through open ocean. We got off at Playa Blanca, but most people on the boat continued to the Rosario Islands. The rest of our group would soon return and then spend some time at the beach, and we would all have lunch together at one of the local beachside restaurants.

There is no dock on Playa Blanca, so the boat literally beached itself and we had to either jump off into ankle-deep water, or use a rickety portable ladder. This wouldn’t be a good trip for those with mobility issues, unfortunately.

The beach is not very wide, but very long. We had to walk along the beach, passing small, colourful restaurants and hostels to get to the particular restaurant where we would be having lunch.

For those wanting to stay longer, the hostels seemed like a basic but easy way to stay at the beach. I’m not sure any of them had running water, but does that matter when you’re sleeping in a hut on the beach?

The water was a beautiful clear blue, and the sun in the sky shone bright. It was a perfect day at the beach!

The seven of us claimed a beachside table, some chairs, and lounge chairs. We would use this as our base and take turns to lounge. By now we were thirsty, so Tomiko and I each ordered a piña colada, which was delicious and served in a fancy martini glass. They weren’t cheap, since everything has to be transported to the island, and we paid tourist prices. However, there is no match for a piña colada on th beach! The others shared a bucket of beers in ice, which went down nicely throughout the day. We had brought some snacks with us, but we were still hungry for lunch!

The beach was beautiful and the water was oh-so-warm. It reminded me of the beaches in Trinidad, but without the big waves. The water was quite shallow, but after a sandy dropoff, there were large rocks and pieces of coral covering the sea floor. I bashed my feet on one of these so bringing water shoes would have been helpful. Some of our group had brought waterproof sandals and were fine, but it took some effort to avoid getting bruises and scrapes when swimming over these rocks in the shallow parts.

There were also a lot of vendors passing us on foot, selling jewelry, oysters, ice cream, ceviche, and massages. Most of the cash we brought was for our drinks, so we ended up not buying anything.

For those who want to do more than lounging on the beach or swimming in the water, there were other activity rentals available. People could rent time on a sea-doo or ride a banana boat, but we skipped that.

At lunchtime, the restaurant served everyone a fried fish, coconut rice, slaw, and fried plantains. Everything was perfectly delicious and I really need to learn how to make Colombian coconut rice!

After a few hours it was time to pack up. We climbed aboard our boat using that portable ladder, and set sail for Cartagena. The sea was rougher in the afternoon, but our captain was also a speed demon. He donned a black rubber raincoat (like from I Know What You Did Last Summer) to protect himself from the sea spray. We were completely soaked by the waves and sea spray, and while some people screamed with excitement, others were quite pissed off. After carefully drying ourselves after swimming, we were once again soaked through, now this time in our actual clothes. Thankfully I only had my camera with me and I was able to protect it from the water. Some warning, or a sharing of raincoats, would have been nice!