land travel from baq to ctg

Clinman says on Jun 5, 2008, 09:06:

The minivans are not allowed into BAQ airport. I have only taken the minivan from Hotel Dann Carlton in BAQ to CTG Hilton and took about 1.5 hours but I was the last person to get off the bus. I am sure someone will provide information on a nearby pickup point where a BAQ air port taxi can drop you off for the mini bus pickup and of course the buses run on the half hour

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rjstuff says on Jun 5, 2008, 10:01:

There are many van services and most pick you up from your hotel or home - we have done both. The driving time is about 1.5 to 2 hours but if they are picking up a lot of people then you may have to wait. You can call them from the airport and they will pick you up at the airport - here are two
Inter Tours 362-1209 or 369-3725
Invertours - 360-4359 (www.invertours.com)
Have Fun.
The cost is about 25.000 pesos (15 dollars) or you can take the whole thing by yourself for about 200.000 pesos (125 dollars).

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rjstuff says on Jun 5, 2008, 10:55:

It may or may not work to just hop onto a normal bus - my friend from New Jersey did this from Santa Marta to go back to Barranquilla. They took a cab to the bus terminal in Santa Marta, then took the bus to Barranquilla and then a cab from the bus terminal to home - it cost them more time and money than our van that picked us from the apartment in Santa Marta and dropped us to our home in Barranquilla.

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phillyguy says on Jun 5, 2008, 11:29:

Thanks for the info.

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toneloc24 says on Jun 5, 2008, 11:32:

From Barranquilla (BAQ) airport, Invertours/Marsol, et al, may pick you up in one of their taxi cabs to take you to the nearest office in BAQ. That will probably cost you the same as a regular taxi into BAQ city proper, approx. 20.000 pesos. From there, you can catch the next available van service to Santa Marta (SM) or Cartagena (CTG) for 25.000 pesos. Marsol is 18.000 pesos.

The service is door-to-door, and takes about 1 hr 15-30 mins from departure to city. If you are reserved on a 2:00pm van, they will generally start to collect passengers for their respective pick-up points at 1:00pm, preceded by a call. The van leaves the office for the arrival city at 2:00pm, or as close as possible.

They generally pick up and drop off people in the most logical route to and from the city. Meaning, for example, if someone is going from BAQ to Crespo, they will get dropped off before somone going to Bocagrande. This generally extends the trip 30 mins or so more. Or, if you can't wait. Jump out at the CTG station and catch a cab into Bocagrande or Centro.

The main reason for this is logistics. The BAQ airport is nowhere near the main route which goes to either Santa Marta or Cartagena. However, the van service will stop at the CTG and SM airports, as it is in route.

To rent the entire van will usually cost you 150.000 pesos.

Re: Buses. Cheaper, but in my opinion, not worth it. Once I took a bus from BAQ to CTG, and it took approx. 4 hours from arriving at the BAQ bus station at 11:00 am, and getting to Bocagrande at 3:00pm . The bus was supposed to be an express bus. Somehow that changed without notification.

Hope that helps.

"PBH is dead!!!!"

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el flaco says on Jun 6, 2008, 02:01:

The problem is that the Cartagena bus station is a long way from Cartagena. So the door to door service is better. Get a taxi to the Mar y Sol office from the airport. They have a waiting room and just around the corner is an internet cafe.

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tigredelnorte2 says on Jun 6, 2008, 11:28:

First off leave with pleanty of daylight ahead. 2pm at the latest. I took a bus from Baranquilla to Cartagena a couple of years ago. The fee was about 18 thousand pesos as I remember. From the Airport to the bus station in Baranquilla should be less than 10 thousand pesos. Ask the driver before you get in the cab. I believe that now there is a prepay service kiosk in the Airport, where you pay for the taxi, and provide the receipt to the cabbie. This is much better, and there is less cheating. Most buses are direct, but some do pass through villages on the way. The bus station in Cartagena is not all that far from Boca Grande (the swank area of Cartagena). I remember paying the cabbie about 8 thousand pesos. 15 minutes max to Boca by taxi from the Cartagena buss station. Good luck. If you speak good Spanish all should be pretty easy.

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guacharaca says on Jun 8, 2008, 17:08:

toneloc24 is correct. Furthermore, riding with Invertours is far safer than a regular bus. Regular buses pick up regular street people on route and that is not good for you if you have any attachment to your possessions.

Colombianos: Las armas os han dado independencia, las leyes os daran libertad. (Santander)

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