One of the great things about Cartagena is that you are only an hour or two away from unspoiled Caribbean beaches and islands. You can get to the islands by renting a private boat, going on a shared boat day tour (these tend to be ‘party boats’, and are often crowded), getting a day pass for one of the resorts or opting to stay overnight. The easiest accessible island, Baru is 40 minutes away by car and the more well-known Islas del Rosario (Rosario Islands), made up of 28 islands, is a couple of hours away by boat.
When I ran away from the sweltering heat of Cartagena, I opted to go to Isla Tintipán, part of the San Bernardo Archipelago (a group of ten islands) located in the Gulf of Morrosquillo, southwest of Cartagena. There are daily boats from Bodeguita pier in downtown Cartagena. I used the company ‘Tranq It Easy’ and the return trip cost about $60. It took two and half hours to get to Tintipán. I have written (here) about having not been totally blown away by the beaches on Tintipán, but there was a lot to like about the island.
Tintipán island is isolated and quiet, a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of Cartagena. It is a coral island and part of a National Park which means it abounds with natural tropical flora and fauna; the star of the show is the bioluminescent plankton. These tiny marine organisms sparkle or light up as you swim in the waters at night, a most magical sight. (There are night time phytoplankton tours that your hotel can organise. The chances of seeing the organisms is better on a dark, clear night). You can engage in a range of water sports like kayaking, snorkelling, paddle boarding etc on Tintipán; or relax and choose to do very little. You can take boat trips to other parts of the island or other islands in the archipelago for example Islote de Santa Cruz, an artificial island and the most densely populated island on earth (read about it here). And best of all, you can indulge in a wide range of the freshest seafood, often caught right on your doorstep.
However there are no grocery shops or stalls, no ATMs and only a couple of restaurants on Tintipán, therefore you are pretty reliant on the catering at your hotel. The downside to this is that you don’t have much choice and goods and services are quite expensive, for the quality you receive. In addition, there are restrictions on the number/weight of luggage you can take on the boats so a limit to the amount of stuff you can bring with you.
I stayed at Punta Norte, one of the oldest hotels on the island. The staff were welcoming and helpful. Only a couple of staff spoke passable English so it was a perfect opportunity for me to practise my Spanish. The food was incredibly fresh (I watched our food being caught!), but decidedly average. I was grateful that I had brought some snacks with me although I experienced symptoms of sugar withdrawal over the three days I spent on the island.
Punta Norte, as its name suggests, is at the northernmost point of Isla Tintipán. The hotel has its own private beach, gardens and a restaurant. The grounds are well designed, with lots of deck chairs and hammocks for lounging, and other cosy seating arrangements. And of course, the prerequisite instagrammable swing in the sea. I stayed in a first floor terrace room with sea views, and could watch both the sunrise and sunset from my room. The decor was rustic but the bed was comfortable and the bathroom modern.
The hotel was tranquil. There were only four other guests, none of whom spoke English so I was left to my own devices. Also, there was no internet! This was a huge shock to me when I arrived (don’t know why I expected there would be, when we were in the middle of nowhere), and I wondered how I would get through my three days on the island. I wished I had downloaded some Netlfix shows or had paperback novels to keep me company.
Instead, I learnt the art of doing nothing. I discovered the pleasures of lounging in a hammock for hours (they’re fantastic and I need one in my garden), watching crabs and boats go by. Or waking up at dawn and watching the brilliant sunrises (the days were often cloudy so beautiful sunsets were harder to come by). I took pictures (bemoaning the absence of the blue skies), read terrible self-published novels on my phone and for the first time on the trip, didn’t feel the pressure to ‘do stuff’.
I left Punta Norte once, to explore the main beach on Tintipán, a pretty white sandy beach. I went later in the day thereby avoiding the day trippers, who leave at 3pm. I think one of the things I found disappointing about the island was the amount of seaweed and litter on some parts of the shore. However this may have been because of the time of the year (I had the same experience in Tulum, lots and lots of seaweed). A few feet into the sea, you did get cleaner clearer waters.
It was at Tintipán beach I met Camilo, a lovely Colombian guy. We had the beach to ourselves, except for the locals. He was lodging on the main beach and told me he was the sole tourist on the beach and had been alone for days! Clearly, this is the place to go for scenic solitude. We waded in the water, wandered around the beach and explored inlets that led to mangrove forests.
Early nights were the norm on Tintipán Island, except if you didn’t mind being bitten to death by mosquitoes. The sea breeze and crashing waves were the perfect background to restful night sleeps; a tropical storm on my second night only added to the ambience.
Isla Tintipán is a great place to unwind, and disconnect from the world. If you’re ever in Cartagena, a trip to one of the islands is a must-do.
Visited May 2022.
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