the Ultimate Guide to Playa Blanca Colombia: The Truth About Cartegena’s Famous White Beach

Playa Blanca on the Isla Baru Peninsula, is widely regarded as one of the best beaches to beat the heat near Cartegena. Just an hours drive south of the city, this beautiful, vibrant and bustling beach is popular amongst local and visitors alike. However, overcrowding, relentess hawkers and the treacherous journey to reach the beach can take away from some of the luster of Playa Blanca. Discover if its worth the hype, or if this beach is played out.

Cartagena, like the rest of Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, is hot—extremely hot. When we traveled along the north coast in December, the temperature hovered over 30 degrees, even at night. After sweltering for a few days in the city, we decided to head out to find the best beach to visit near Cartagena. We wanted to get away from the humid heat of the city and get back to the cool ocean breeze.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to look too hard.

Just an hour’s ride south from Cartagena on the Isla Baru Peninsula, Playa Blanca Colombia, is a hugely popular destination for Colombian and foreign tourists alike.

But after combing through many of the reviews online, which were either glowing five star reviews, or totally scathing reviews trashing it, we were left wondering if Playa Blanca was even worth visiting. Unable to find a satisfactory answer online, we decided to head out there and find out for oursleves if Playa Blanca was really an overhyped tourist trap, or if its reputation as one of Cartegenas best beaches was warranted.

We ended up camping right on the beach on Playa Blanca for two nights, and this is what we discovered.

Is Playa Blanca Worth Visiting?

Yes, it is, as long as you know what to expect and can avoid the crowds!

Accessible, scenic, with clear blue water, gorgeous white sand and jaw dropping sunsets, its easy to see why this beach has become a mainstay on the tourist circuit.

However, there is no denying that Isla Baru’s Playa Blanca has become a victim of its own popularity. You’ll need to battle crowds and aggressive hawkers or carefully time your visit if you want to carve out your own slice of paradise here on the busy beach.

Jet Skis and tour boats speed by, reggaeton blares, and garbage is often strewn across the beach. If you are looking for a relaxing and intimate beach trip, this may not be it.

That being said, if you can get into the swing of things and enjoy the energy of beach during the day and then hold out until the crowds disperse to enjoy the serenity and the beautiful sunset, you can enjoy one of the quintessential Colombian beach experiences here.

How Long Do I Need to Spend at Playa Blanca?

We would strongly suggest spending at least a few hours at Playa Blanca making sure some of that time is outside the busiest part of the day between 10:00 and 16:00 when the tour boats are operating. That means getting there a bit early or better yet, staying for sunset which is absolutely magic here.

If you can fit it into your itinerary, staying overnight at Playa Blanca will allow you to enjoy this beautiful beach in its all of its serene beauty in the calm evenings and still early mornings.

Consider extending your trip by exploring the beautiful Islas del Rosario further.

How to Get to Playa Blanca?

Playa Blanca’s appeal is partly due to its accessibility from nearby Cartegena. Whether you’ve got your own wheels or you’re traveling by public or private transport there are a range of options for getting to Palya Blanca.

Self Drive Cartagena to Playa Blanca

If you have your own set of wheels, Playa Blanca in Baru, Colombia, is easily accessible from Cartagena. Head south out of the city on Highway 90 to 90B. From there, follow the signs to Isla Barú, the Peninsula on which Playa Blanca sits. Once you near the beach, you’ll turn off onto a dirt road that, depending on the time of year, is in poor to worse condition. Take it easy, but do not stop for the local kids trying to escort (/extort) you for parking.

Bus to Playa Blanca Cartagena

There are a range of tour companies offering bus rides between Cartegena and Playa Blanca.

Tickets start around 30,000 COP ($7 USD) and services run several times a day.

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Boat to Playa Blanca Cartagena

Speed boats leave from the main port in Cartagena and tickets cost cost approximately $100,000 COP ($25 USD). The trip takes just an hour and can be a scenic and convenient wyat ot reach the beach. Be aware the trip can also be ucomfortable in poor conditions!

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Private Transfer to Playa Blanca Cartagena

If you prefer to travel on your own time, consider a private transfer to Playa Blanca. While this might not be the cheapest option for reaching the beach it can be economical if you have a couple of friends with you and it’s definitely the most convenient.

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When is the Best Time to Visit Playa Blanca?

Playa Blanca is busy year-round. However, it is most crowded during weekends and holidays; if possible, try to come outside on a quiet weekday rather than on the weekend. Additionally, if you can come outside of the busiest hours, which are between 10:00 and 16:00 each day, you will enjoy a much more tranquil experience!

Playa Blanca Pros and Cons

The Best Bits About Playa Blanca

The Beach Is Stunning (When Everyone Leaves)

If you can manage to find yourself a slice of sand amongst the beach chairs and tourists and can wait out the day, you will be rewarded with a stunning beach. When the tourists leave around 4:00 pm, it is evident why Playa Blanca is so popular with the locals. The removal of beach towels and chairs reveals fine, white sand beaches, the return of families to their cars invites calm water a beautiful shade of turquoise blue, and the fading of the day clearly shows the original appeal of Playa Blanca.

If you can outlast the locals and day-trippers, I can promise you that you will be able to enjoy your time at Playa Blanca.

The Sunsets Are Magical

Some of the best sunsets we saw in Colombia were from the beach of Playa Blanca. With most day-trippers gone by 4:00 pm and few holidaymakers spending the night, the beach was mostly ours each night for sunset. Watching the sun drop behind the Pacific Ocean while sipping on a Colombian Club was one of the highlights of our time in Playa Blanca.

I mean, who doesn’t love a good west coast sunset?

The Islas del Rosario Are Easily Accessible from Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca is an excellent jumping-off point to visit the nearby Islas del Rosario (Rosario Islands).

The Islas del Rosario is an archipelago off Colombia’s coastline and one of the country’s natural national parks. Located only 50 km from Cartagena, it is an easy escape from the heat. Most of the islands are private homes to the wealthy (Pablo Escobar once owned one of these private islands) or resorts, leaving only a few to be visited and explored.

While tours can be arranged with a number of hotels and hostels in Playa Blanca (and even arranged from Cartagena), we recommend arranging a boat driver yourself. Through shrewd negotiation skills, we managed to locate a local boat owner and scheduled a full-day tour of the Islas del Rosario for only COP $250,000 (~USD ~80), a fraction of the cost of an organized tour.

On our tour, we cruised past several of the private islands marveling at the architecture of the homes and the surrounding crystal blue waters. We spent 1 – 1.5 hours snorkeling, swimming with various types of fish, and admiring starfish, sea urchins, and coral.

Afterward, we headed over to Cholon, a peninsula where the locals love to party. Private or rented boats line up, blaring loud music, and visitors are lured into little cabanas partially submerged in the Caribbean Sea. Vendors sell overpriced food such as their version of ceviche (fish tossed in tomato sauce), lobsters, prawns, and the like. Beers and spirits are also available, but if you can also BYO to cut down on costs.

From there, we headed over to explore some of the less developed islands. This was more our style. We sat back, enjoying the crystal clear blue waters, sipping Colombian beers, and basking in the sun. We visited two more “private” islands before making our way back to Playa Blanca around 3:00 pm. 

Overall, visiting the Islas del Rosario was one of the highlights of our time in and around Cartagena.

Playa Blanca Can Be Budget Friendly

A trip to Playa Blanca Colombia is budget-friendly if you want it to be and plan ahead. We camped directly on the beach for less than USD $3 a night, made our own meals, drank Colombian Clubs and rum on the beach, which we brought with us, and did this all for less than $25 per person per day.

If you want a cheap budget-friendly beach in Colombia, then Playa Blanca is a great place to start.

We set up tents in front of Hermanos Rocha for only COP $10,000 a night per person (~USD $3)! With access to basic toilets and a small kitche it was rustic, but it is not every day that you can enjoy a stunning beach for less than $5 a night!

Playa Blanca has Surprisingly Good Food Options

For a beach with a reputation as overly touristic, we were pretty impressed with the food offerings here.

While prices might be a little more than back in Cartegena, you can definitely still find decent quality food at an affordable price. You’ll find local restaurants serving classics like fried fish and patacones as well as international fare like pizza.

The Downsides of Playa Blanca

The Crowds Can Be Horrendous

Once you hit the beach, restaurants and bars line the high tide mark, leaving very little white sand to be seen. Beach chairs and tourists alike littered what remained of almost every inch of remaining sand.

When we first arrived, the beach was so crowded that our initial instinct was to turn around and drive to another to spend the weekend, but ultimately, we decided to just wait it out. If we could find a spot on the beach to relax, maybe it would not be so bad.

I’m glad we did. Playa Blanca’s reputation for being crowded is certainly deserved. However, we’ve been to plenty of crowded beaches and enjoyed them nonetheless. We embraced the frantic energy of the beach, and suddenly, at 4 p.m., the crowd dissipated, and we had the beach to ourselves!

The Hawkers Are Persistent and Many

Another common complaint, and something we experienced firsthand, was the relentlessly aggressive hawkers here.

From the moment we turned onto the dirt road that leads down to the beach, we were beset by young locals vying for the right to lead us toward a carpark (a service they expected compensation for). Once we hit the beach, we were swarmed by vendors offering food, massages, and trinkets.

They were definitely persistent but we were equally persistent and soon we got into a the habit of singing out “NO POR FAVOR”, when we saw them approaching from the corner of our eye.

There is a Bit of Trash Problem

Sadly, the beach here is not always looked after as well as it should be by visitors, and we found plenty of trash strewn both along the beach and in the areas behind the beach. This is definitely sad to see and it can detract from the experience.

The Crowds Create Noise and Pollution

Our final complaint about Playa Blanca is the jet skis and speed boats that disturb this otherwise tranquil beach. Unfortunately, the number of powered watercraft, many of them blaring loud reggaeton, is too great to ignore, and the only thing to do is to wait until they clear at the end of the day, around 4 p.m.

Where to Stay at Playa Blanca Colombia?

Camping

Some restaurants and hostels allow campers to set up tents on their patch of sand. If you are down to camp, head to Hermanos Rocha. At only 10,000 COP per person they offer basic amenities right on the beach and were super friendly when we visited. Finding this spot definitely made our time on Playa Blanca more enjoyable.

Vista Linda Cabaña

For simple rustic rooms on the beach you can’t go past Vista Linda Cabanas where a double rooms start from around $30 making it an economical option.

Baru Maggy Beach

Another option right on the beach, Baru Maggy Beach, offers clean, comfortable rooms starting at $50 per night.

La Cabaña de Geronimo

If you are looking for a little more luxury, while still being right on the beach, , check out La Cabaña de Geronimo. Rooms start from around $100 per night.

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Other Playa Blanca Tips and Information

Is there a cell signal at Playa Blanca Colombia?

Claro 4G mobile internet is available on Playa Blanca. Some hotels also offer Wifi.

Can you drink the water at Playa Blanca?

It’s not advised to drink tap water in Colombia. Bottled water is available from hawkers and restaurants, but due to steep prices, it’s a good idea to bring your own.

What do you reckon? Do you think visiting Playa Blanca Colombia is worth it? Let us know in the comments below!