You’ve finally arrived in Cartagena! The airport doors swing open and you are greeted by the screams of taxi? taxi? taxi? It’s overwhelming. Chances are you need a ride but you want to get your bearings in this new place and before you can do that you’re being yelled at by a dozen guys offering you a ride. That’s their strategy. Overwhelm you into submission. But if you make a bad choice you over pay or end up in an illegitimate taxi. That’s right, just some guy with a car pretending to be a taxi driver. So the purpose of this post is to help you understand the traps that are being set for you and how to navigate your way to the hotel so you can have a drink and begin your trip without being annoyed by your taxi experience. 

Fist of all I don’t want to give you the wrong impression about Cartagena. It’s not a city filled with tourists scams but they do exist and it starts at the airport. So let’s get started. When you pick up your bag from the x-ray machine you will walk through a sliding door and through a second door where the first group of guys will be asking you if you want a taxi. These guys do not drive the taxis. They are simply going to walk you about 20 feet further to a line of taxis, put your bag in the back and ask for a tip. I advise you to say no thank you to these guys and keep walking. Next you walk through the last door and that’s where the sea of taxi drivers and transport companies are standing with their signs. If you have a transport company picking you up it will be here. Just say no to all the offers for a taxi and look for your name on a sign. Be sure to have the driver’s phone number in case you don’t see him.

Ok so assuming you need a taxi you will usually see a line of yellow cabs waiting at the curb. If there are not any there just wait patiently because they will be there any minute. Now for the best tip I have for you. There are guys who own cars or use their friends car to go to the airport and try to pick up passengers. Most of these guys are harmless and are just trying to make a buck but you have no idea who they are and it’s not a good idea to get in a car with them. These guys are sneaky and I’ll admit they tricked me before. What they do is they will lean on a yellow cab, sometimes even by the drivers door. They look at you and ask taxi? Thinking its their yellow cab they are leaning on you say yes. The guy walks over to you and grabs your bag. You allow this because you assume he is going to put it in the trunk but instead he says right this way and starts walking with you. He’ll chat with you and say his car is parked right over there. You get to his car and it’s not a taxi. It’s an awkward situation to break away from but anytime you’re in a situation that doesn’t feel right you must walk away.

So when you walk out to the taxi cabs look for the first yellow cab in line and ask for that cab. If someone tries to walk you somewhere else say no i want this one. The owner of that cab is there and ready to take you. They will try to grab your bag and get you going but hold on a second. Before you get in the cab tell him where you are going and negotiate the price with him first. This shows the driver you know what you’re doing and you will get in another cab if the price isn’t right. Most of you are staying in the old city or Bocagrande. These places cost between 20,000-30,000 pesos from the airport. Because the drivers wait at the airport a little while they usually want the higher end. But you should not pay more than 30,000. They may ask 40,000 and its up to you to agree or not and really its only another 2 dollars but that would be on the high end. If you are a larger group and you require a van or an SUV you can expect to pay more but not more than 70,000. 

Lastly, it’s a good idea to have the address and punch it into your google maps so you can follow along and make sure you’re headed to the right place. If you’d like a driver to be there waiting for you with a sign I can put you in contact with some good guys who are honest. Give us a call at 1-800-707-4163. If you found this helpful please consider booking an ATV tour with Cartagena ATV.