The Rosario Experience - I do recomend if your in Cartagena go spend a day in the Rosario Islands this was a great experiance if you like beach an snorcal colorfull fish we had a great day, it is a bit exhausting but we could handel it

Awesome Plankton if you survive - Overall, we had a good time but feel a lot could have been done to improve this excursion, especially considering that Viator prices are higher than local prices, we expected a lot more for the money. We knew that “private boat” didn’t mean we would be alone on a boat, but we also didn’t expect them to actually pack the boat with the max capacity of 20. I believe the website said it would be a max 12 participant trip. Yet, the tour was fun and we had a good time. We first checked out Escobars plane and went snorkeling, then to Cholon for lunch. Then Agua Azul island for an hour. Finally to playa blanca to wait out the sunset. On the islands we had to make some wet landings which nobody explained and the islands were very packed with tourists and people selling us stuff. Plus, we never did 5 islands. We counted Cholon, Agua Azul, and I guess the island with the Aquarium is three. Playa Blanca is a peninsula so maybe that’s 4? Where’s the fifth “island”? We weren’t too bummed about it but still. Playa Blanca was the best part of the trip, next time I’ll just get a taxi from Cartagena to Playa Blanca and call it a day. We waited for sunset, had a guide explain the plankton to us in Spanish and headed to a different boat to go to the nearby lagoon. This is where the tour really took a nosedive. In addition to the people from our original tour, we were joined by like 20 other people. We had to board these two little dingy boats from the beach in darkness. We are young and able, but a lot of older people bailed. Especially after the other boat, not the one we boarded, crashed into the beach ejecting all the passengers. It was wild, unsafe and me and my wife couldn’t believe it. But when we got to the lagoon, it was amazing. The plankton illuminating the water with our every movement and the sky full of stars above. Truly a highlight of our trip. But then it was time to board the boat. A ladder would have been great, but the dingy doesn’t have a ladder. We had to climb in from the side with the aid of the captain. Lots of people had trouble. No one explained this and I can’t imagine how any of the older passengers would have gotten back back in. Overall, terrible communication, planning, organization and safety. But an amazing plankton bioluminescent experience. It’s colombia. I guess it is what it is.