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Cartagena: 5 Islands & Snorkel Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★ 2.33 (3 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/9

Duration8h

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Five islands in one day: snorkel a sunken plane, taste fresh seafood on the water

You start at the clock tower in Cartagena and spend the day island-hopping through the Rosario Islands with a guide. Snorkel at Isla Grande where a sunken plane sits on the seafloor, taste fresh seafood on Cholón, swim and sample tropical fruit at Agua Azul, then have lunch at Playa Tranquila before returning to your hotel by 4pm. Hotel pickup and all meals are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Meet at Plaza de Cervantes clock tower
Panoramic tour of Rosario Islands
Snorkel at Isla Grande
Stop at Cholón for seafood tasting and music
Sea bath and fruit tasting at Isla Agua Azul
Lunch at Playa Tranquila

The Experience

Picture this: you're anchored off Isla Grande, mask on, looking down at a plane resting on the seafloor surrounded by coral and fish. That's the moment most people remember from this Cartagena day trip. The boat picks you up at the clock tower in Plaza de Cervantes in the morning, and from there you're heading straight into the Rosario Islands—27 islands total, though you'll stop at five. The guide walks you through what you're seeing as you cruise past the archipelago, pointing out the geography and the history, especially the Fort of San Fernando on Bocachica. It's the kind of narration that makes the landscape click into place instead of just being blue water and green trees.

The snorkeling happens at Isla Grande, and it's the centerpiece of the day. You get in the water with a guide, and the visibility is usually good enough that you can actually see what's down there—the coral formations, the schools of fish moving in sync, and yes, that plane. It's not a massive wreck, but it's there, and there's something about seeing it that makes the whole thing feel less like a tourist checkbox and more like an actual discovery. After you dry off, the boat takes you to Cholón, the party island, where there's music and a seafood tasting right there on the water. It's casual—fresh fish, shrimp, whatever came in that morning.

Then Agua Azul for a fruit tasting and a swim in one of the clearest parts of the archipelago. Your last stop is Playa Tranquila, where lunch is a proper sit-down meal with several options, not a rushed plate. The boat gets you back to your hotel around 4pm, which means you still have the late afternoon to yourself. The whole day moves at a pace that doesn't feel rushed, and the qualified personnel running it know the water and the islands well enough that you're not just being herded from point to point.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off, a guided panoramic tour of the Rosario Islands, snorkeling equipment and instruction at Isla Grande, seafood tasting at Cholón, fruit tasting and swimming at Agua Azul, and a full lunch with multiple options at Playa Tranquila before returning to your hotel around 4pm.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Cartagena travel agency

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the main Rosario Islands experience in a single day without arranging your own boat, snorkeling gear, or island-hopping logistics—the fixed schedule and included meals mean you show up at the clock tower and everything else is handled.