Our top pick6,463 reviews
6.5 - 7 hCartagena: 5-Stop Rosario Islands Tour, Lunch, & Beach Clubs
★ 4.6 · 6,463 reviews
- 6.5 to 7 hours, Five stops with beach clubs
- Lunch included
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
All twelve listings, side by side
Rosario Islands day trip: all twelve boats compared
A Rosario Islands day trip can be a seven-hour run with five stops and lunch, or a two-hour sail that never leaves Cartagena Bay. Twelve listings sit here; ten reach the archipelago. This page sets all twelve side by side — fare, hours, the boat each description names and the stops it writes down.
Quick answer
The short answer. Ten of the twelve listings here are a Rosario Islands day trip; the other two are a two-hour sunset sail inside Cartagena Bay and a beach club day on Barú. The ten run $65 to $360, mostly six and a half to eight hours. The most reviewed carries 4.6 on 6,463 reviews, at $73; the next listing has 2,744.
Every Rosario Islands day trip here, at a glance
- Listings on this page
- Twelveten go out to the islands
- Fares for a day out
- $65 – $360seven of the ten sit at $85 or below
- Lowest fare for a day out
- $65the party boat, 4.5 on 325 reviews
- How long the day runs
- 6.5 to 9 hoursone listing gives no length
- Boats that say catamaran
- Two of twelvefour say speedboat, five say nothing
- Reviews behind the twelve
- 13,009weighted to 4.59
- Most reviewed listing
- 6,463 reviewsrated 4.6, at $73
- Lunch named in writing
- Nine of twelvesnorkelling in six, beach club in three
What you are choosing between
Twelve listings, and what separates them
Ten boats go out to the archipelago. Two do not, and that is the first thing to settle.
In theory the twelve sell the same afternoon: a boat out of Cartagena, warm shallow water, lunch along the way. They are not interchangeable. Between the cheapest and the highest fare sits a gap of $295, and two of the twelve never go out to the archipelago.
Settle that point first, because it costs people their day. The two-hour sail is a sunset on Cartagena Bay; the eight-hour beach day stays at Playa Blanca on Barú, a peninsula you can also reach by road. Both are worth booking for what they are; neither is a Rosario Islands day trip, and both are marked in the tables below.
That leaves ten. Seven of them are $85 or below, the band most people choose from. Above it: the catamaran at $119, the hotel beach day at $136, and the one Rosario Islands private boat tour at $360. All ten are a Rosario Islands boat tour Cartagena visitors can book for a single day; one of them hands you the boat itself.
Every trip, current fare
Every Rosario Islands day trip, fare and hours
All twelve, current fares and the length each description gives. The last column divides the fare by the hours door to door. Three rows carry a dash on purpose: two give a range of hours, one gives none, and dividing would invent a figure nobody published. The two rows that stay close to the city are marked.
| Tour | Length | Price | Where it goes | Cost per hour, door to door | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena: 5-Stop Rosario Islands Tour, Lunch, & Beach ClubsLunch included | 6.5 - 7 h | $73 | Five stops with beach clubs | — | 4.6 · 6,463 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands Catamaran with Lunch and SnorkelRosario Islands | 7.5 h | $119 | Catamaran with lunch and snorkelling | $15.87 | 4.5 · 2,744 |
| Cartagena: 6-Stop Rosario Islands Snorkel, Aquarium, & LunchLunch included | 7 h | $75 | Six stops, snorkel and aquarium | $10.71 | 4.6 · 1,745 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands Excursion with Snorkeling and Playa Blanca in BarúRosario Islands excursion | 7 h | $77 | Snorkelling and Playa Blanca | $11.00 | 4.8 · 1,336 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands 5-Stop Party Boat Tour with LunchLunch included | 6.5 h | $65 | Party boat, five stops | $10.00 | 4.5 · 325 |
| From Cartagena: 4 or 5 Islands with Snorkeling, Beaches, and LunchSnorkelling and beaches | 8 - 9 h | $67 | Four or five islands | — | 4.0 · 149 |
| Cartagena: Full Day in the Rosario Islands with Snorkeling and Beach ClubBeaches of the Rosario Islands | 7 h | $70 | Full day with snorkelling | $10.00 | 4.9 · 49 |
| Cartagena: Sunset on Cartagena Bay aboard a Brand New CatamaranCatamaran | 2 h | $60 | Sunset on Cartagena Bay | $30.00 | 4.6 · 49 |
| Full Day at Isla Baru, Playa Blanca in Mambo Beach ClubIsla Barú | 8 h | $30 | Full day at Playa Blanca | $3.75 | 4.3 · 50 |
| From Cartagena: Full-Day Rosario Islands Tour & OceanariumRosario Islands | 8 h | $85 | Full day with the oceanarium | $10.62 | 4.7 · 8 |
| Cartagena: Islabela Islands Boat Trip with Lunch & CocktailCocktail included | 7.5 h | $136 | Boat trip with lunch | $18.13 | 4.2 · 55 |
| Cartagena: Private Speedboat to the Rosario Islands and BaruRosario Islands and Barú | $360 | Private speedboat | — | 4.3 · 36 |
Reading the fares
What the money buys, line by line
The floor. A Rosario Islands day trip starts at $65 — six and a half hours, five stops, lunch in the title, routed to Barú and Cholón with a fort along the way, on 4.5 on 325 reviews. It also calls itself a party boat, worth knowing before you book a quiet day on it.
The middle. Six listings sit between $70 and $85, and this is where most of the reviews live: the five-stop day with beach clubs at $73 on 4.6 on 6,463 reviews, the six-stop day with the Oceanarium at $75 on 4.6 on 1,745 reviews, and the Playa Blanca excursion at $77 on 4.8 on 1,336 reviews — the best rating with real weight behind it.
The top. Three ask more, each for its own reason. The catamaran at $119 is a sailing day with a coral reef and lunch with drinks, on 4.5 on 2,744 reviews. The $136 speedboat day buys a beach at a hotel. The $360 listing is the private one; whether that buys a seat or the boat it never says.
Per hour. The cheapest hour on a day out is $10.00, shared by two listings — a number worth using only among the ten island days.
Boat and stops
Which boat, and which stops it names
The same twelve, read for two things the fare never tells you: the kind of boat the description names, and the stops it writes down. «Not named» is not a complaint — it means the description says boat and leaves the rest to the booking page.
| Tour | Boat the description names | Stops it puts in writing | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartagena: 5-Stop Rosario Islands Tour, Lunch, & Beach ClubsGoes to the islands | Not named | Five stops, beach clubs, none named | 6.5 - 7 h | $73 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands Catamaran with Lunch and SnorkelGoes to the islands | Catamaran | Rosario Islands, a coral reef | 7.5 h | $119 |
| Cartagena: 6-Stop Rosario Islands Snorkel, Aquarium, & LunchGoes to the islands | Speedboat | A fort, a marine habitat, the Oceanarium | 7 h | $75 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands Excursion with Snorkeling and Playa Blanca in BarúGoes to the islands | Speedboat | Playa Blanca on Barú | 7 h | $77 |
| Cartagena: Rosario Islands 5-Stop Party Boat Tour with LunchGoes to the islands | Not named | Barú, Cholón, a fort | 6.5 h | $65 |
| From Cartagena: 4 or 5 Islands with Snorkeling, Beaches, and LunchGoes to the islands | Not named | Four or five islands, unnamed | 8 - 9 h | $67 |
| Cartagena: Full Day in the Rosario Islands with Snorkeling and Beach ClubGoes to the islands | Not named | Rosario Islands, a beach club | 7 h | $70 |
| Cartagena: Sunset on Cartagena Bay aboard a Brand New CatamaranNot an island trip | Catamaran | Cartagena Bay, no island stop | 2 h | $60 |
| Full Day at Isla Baru, Playa Blanca in Mambo Beach ClubNot an island trip | Not named | Playa Blanca, a beach club | 8 h | $30 |
| From Cartagena: Full-Day Rosario Islands Tour & OceanariumGoes to the islands | Passenger boat | Tierra Bomba, Isla Grande, Barú, Oceanarium | 8 h | $85 |
| Cartagena: Islabela Islands Boat Trip with Lunch & CocktailGoes to the islands | Speedboat | Rosario Islands, a hotel beach | 7.5 h | $136 |
| Cartagena: Private Speedboat to the Rosario Islands and BaruGoes to the islands | Speedboat, private | Beaches and islands, unnamed | — | $360 |
The catamaran question
Two of twelve say catamaran, and one stays in the bay
This site is named for catamarans, so here is the straight version: two of the twelve descriptions name one. The $119 sailing day goes to the islands with a coral reef, lunch and drinks, on 4.5 on 2,744 reviews. The $60 sunset sail is two hours on Cartagena Bay, on 4.6 on 49 reviews, and never reaches the archipelago. If sailing is why you are booking a Rosario Islands day trip, one listing here does both.
The others say something else, or nothing: four name a speedboat, one a passenger boat, and five say boat and stop there — a silence that covers the most reviewed listing on the site. A Rosario Islands boat trip on an unnamed hull is not a worse day; it is a day you cannot picture in advance.
Stops split the same way. Four descriptions name real places: Playa Blanca on Barú; Barú and Cholón; Tierra Bomba, Isla Grande and Barú with the Oceanarium; a fort with a marine habitat. The rest only count them. Nine of the twelve put lunch in writing, whether it is a Cartagena boat trip Rosario Islands bound or the beach day on the peninsula.
The verdict
Which one to book, and when not to
One default, three reasons to depart from it, and one trap.
Book the five-stop day with beach clubs at $73 unless something below applies. It is our top pick for a reason you can check: 4.6 on 6,463 reviews, close to half the reviews on this site, where the next listing has 2,744.
Book the Playa Blanca excursion at $77 if you want snorkelling and a named beach rather than a stop count: 4.8 on 1,336 reviews.
Book the catamaran at $119 if sailing is the point and $46 more is worth it.
Book the party boat at $65 if the fare decides it — the cheapest boat trip to Rosario Islands here.
Do not book on the rating alone, and do not book either of the two that stay close to the city if the islands are what you came for.
Book direct
Four listings worth comparing before you book
Four ways to spend a Rosario Islands day trip: the most reviewed day, the best-rated excursion with snorkelling, the six-stop day with the Oceanarium, and the catamaran.
Rosario Islands excursion1,336 reviews
7 hCartagena: Rosario Islands Excursion with Snorkeling and Playa Blanca in Barú
★ 4.8 · 1,336 reviews
- Seven hours, Snorkelling and Playa Blanca
- Rosario Islands excursion
- Meal included
- Free cancellation
$77$11.00 / hour
Check availability→ 
Lunch included1,745 reviews
7 hCartagena: 6-Stop Rosario Islands Snorkel, Aquarium, & Lunch
★ 4.6 · 1,745 reviews
- Seven hours, Six stops, snorkel and aquarium
- Skip the line
- Lunch included
- Free cancellation
$75$10.71 / hour
Check availability→ 
Rosario Islands2,744 reviews
7.5 hCartagena: Rosario Islands Catamaran with Lunch and Snorkel
★ 4.5 · 2,744 reviews
- 7.5 hours, Catamaran with lunch and snorkelling
- Rosario Islands
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$119$15.87 / hour
Check availability→ How long a day
Six and a half hours, or nine — pick first
Length is the choice people make last and regret first. A Rosario Islands day trip here runs from six and a half hours to nine, and the fare barely follows it: the shortest island day is also the cheapest, the longest is $67 on 4.0 on 149 reviews.
Six and a half to seven hours. Five listings, including the two most reviewed: out, three to six stops, lunch, back.
Seven and a half to nine, or unstated. The catamaran, the hotel beach day and the Oceanarium day run seven and a half to eight; one gives eight to nine; the private boat gives no length, and we left that cell empty rather than invent one.
Common mistakes
Five mistakes this table is meant to prevent
Each one has cost somebody a day out, and each one is visible in the table above.
- 1. Taking the sunset catamaran for an island day
Two hours on Cartagena Bay at $60. Its description never mentions the archipelago.
- 2. Taking the Barú beach club day for the islands
Eight hours at Playa Blanca for $30, on 4.3 on 50 reviews. A beach day on the peninsula, not a day out.
- 3. Reading a rating without the count behind it
The 4.9 stands on 49 reviews, the 4.7 on 8.
- 4. Assuming the boat is a catamaran
Two descriptions of twelve name one. Four name a speedboat, one a passenger boat, five name no type at all.
- 5. Setting $360 against the per-person fares
It does not say whether that buys a seat or the boat, and gives no length.
Your checklist
Five lines to settle before you pay
Five lines a Rosario Islands day trip should answer before you pay.
- Does it go out to the islands?
Ten of the twelve do; the other two are marked.
- How many hours, door to door?
From 6.5 to 9, except the private boat.
- Is lunch in writing?
Nine of the twelve name it; three say nothing.
- How much evidence is behind the stars?
Counts run from 8 to 6,463 reviews.
- Are the stops named, or only counted?
Four descriptions name places; the rest only count them.
Ten of the twelve are a Rosario Islands day trip, from $65. The most reviewed is $73 on 4.6 on 6,463 reviews.
See the fares→Common questions
Rosario Islands day trip — common questions
How much is a Rosario Islands day trip from the city?
The ten that go out to the archipelago run $65 to $360, and seven of them are $85 or below. The cheapest is the six-and-a-half-hour party boat.
How long does the day take?
Six and a half to nine hours: five listings at six and a half to seven, four at seven and a half to eight, one at eight to nine. The private boat gives no length.
Which listing has the most reviews?
The five-stop day with lunch and beach clubs: 4.6 on 6,463 reviews, at $73. Next is the catamaran, 4.5 on 2,744 reviews.
Are all of these boats catamarans?
No. Two of the twelve descriptions name a catamaran, and one of those two is a two-hour sunset sail on Cartagena Bay. Four name a speedboat, one a passenger boat, five do not say.
Is lunch included?
Nine of the twelve name lunch in the title or the description. The other three say nothing about food, so read the listing before you assume.
Can we have a boat to ourselves?
One listing is private: a speedboat to the islands and Barú at $360, on 4.3 on 36 reviews. It names beaches, islands and snorkelling, and gives no length.
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