Cartagena: Bazurto Market & Cooking Class with Lunch

Drive to Bazurto, Cook What You Buy, Eat What You Make

You're picked up from your hotel, driven to Bazurto Market for an hour of tropical fruit tasting and ingredient shopping, then taken to a local home where you cook one of seven dishes (stuffed fish, shrimp, soup, or vegetarian options) with wine and music included. Lunch is what you prepared. Transport, guide, water, snacks and all beverages are included. The whole day runs from pickup to dropoff.

Step-by-step itinerary

Bazurto Market visit and cooking class

• Visit Bazurto public market
• Taste tropical fruits
• Shop ingredients for cooking
• Drive 17 minutes home
• Participate in cooking process
• Taste wine, coffee, beers, water
• Enjoy music and dancing

The experience

You're driving through Cartagena toward Bazurto Market, the public market where locals actually shop. The minivan pulls up and your guide leads you straight into the noise and color of it: fruit stalls piled high with things you've never seen before, vendors calling out prices, the smell of salt and ripeness mixing together. You spend an hour here tasting tropical fruit, picking out the exact ingredients you'll cook with later. Mangoes, plantains, fresh fish, coconut: whatever you choose becomes part of your lunch. It's not a tourist version of a market. It's the real one, and you're shopping like someone who lives here.

Then you drive 17 minutes back to a local home where the cooking actually happens. Your guide walks you through it step by step: how to prepare stuffed fish with coconut rice, or garlic shrimp, or one of the other dishes on the menu. You're not watching from the side. You're doing it, hands in the work, tasting as you go. Music plays in the background. Wine, coffee, beer, water: whatever you want while you cook. Some people dance a little. The whole thing feels less like a class and more like cooking dinner at a friend's house, except the friend knows exactly what they're doing and you're learning without it feeling like learning.

Lunch is what you made. You sit down and eat it, and it tastes different because your hands prepared it. The cooking class in Cartagena works because it's not separated from the market or the eating. It's all one motion, from choosing the ingredient to tasting it finished. Hotel pickup and dropoff are included, so you don't navigate the city yourself. Groups of three or more get a better per-person price, which is worth knowing if you're traveling with friends.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and dropoff by air-conditioned minivan, a local guide, one hour at Bazurto Market with tropical fruit tasting, all ingredients you'll need, the cooking class itself, lunch (the dish you cooked), bottled water, snacks, and beverages (wine, coffee, and beer), while you cook and eat.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00 and 08:30

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (16 to 90 years) · Under 16: can't be included in the booking

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French and Italian

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 8 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Good to know

Infant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Duran Duran Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat something you made yourself and understand where it came from, without spending the morning figuring out markets or recipes on your own: the guide and the fixed itinerary handle both.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

How long is the whole experience?

About 4–5 hours total, including the 1-hour market visit, 17-minute drive, cooking time, and lunch.

What if I don't know how to cook?

The guide teaches you step by step. No experience needed. You're learning as you go.

Can I choose what dish to cook?

Yes. Options include stuffed fish, fried fish, fish soup, garlic shrimp, Posta Cartagenera (beef), cheese soup, or vegetarian dishes.

Is hotel pickup included?

Yes. Pickup and dropoff from your hotel are included. Confirm your pickup point when you book.

What's the group size?

Groups of 3 or more get a better per-person price. No maximum group size is specified.

What should I wear?

Smart casual dress code. Closed-toe shoes are required.

Are drinks included?

Yes. Wine, coffee, beer, and water are all included during the cooking and lunch.

Can infants come?

Yes. Infants can sit on an adult's lap, or specialized infant seats are available.