Beach Day Trip from Cartagena: Isla de Tierra Bomba

The first outing of our trip was to one of the many islands off the coast of Cartagena. The beaches in the actual city are not the best and tourists and locals alike will hop on a bevy of boats every morning to the many private beaches on various islands. For most options, you can catch a small motor boat from the beach at BocaGrande or at the marina just outside Old Town, where you’ll be bombarded with competing offers for white sands and luxury accomodations. These will generally take you to a beach resort which run the gamut in price and quality on Isla Grande or one of the Rosario Islands. It’s about a 45 minute boat-ride there, but what you’ll learn from almost any review of an island day trip is that winds pick up significantly over the course of the day and the rides back to the city are notoriously rough and can take over an hour.

The more savvy visitor will opt for Isla Baru, home to Playa Blanca, aptly named for the white sands, which can actually be accessed by driving (or taking a bus) south from Cartagena and taking a short boat ride to the beaches.

But if you are really looking for low-key luxury, I recommend booking in advance with Blue Apple Beach House. This boutique hotel and beach club opened in 2016 and is located on Tierra Bomba, a quick 20 minute boat ride from the city. There is a beach, two pools, a full bar and restaurant, private loungers, even a ping-pong table. If you are looking for a party atmosphere visit on the weekend, we went on a Monday and it was very relaxing.

Rather than navigating the loud Old Town marina, you meet the resort’s dedicated boats at Marina Santa Cruz in Manga, just outside of Getsemani (it was a quick taxi ride from our AirBnB). The short trip around Tierra Bomba takes you past an impressive fort to the side of the island that looks out onto the Carribbean, instead of back to the city like the island’s other beach options. You are delivered to a small dock and it’s a short walk to where you are greeted by one of the many amazing staff members and led to your very own sun-lounger complete with your name on a placard.

Honest moment, we are both very pale and have had more than one vacation soured by sunburn. So we applied our SPF 100 and settled into our shady sun-lounger with a perfect view of the turquoise waves and minimal risk of melanoma. True relaxation 🙂 Blue Apple has a great drink menu, I recommend the spicy margarita. Around 11:30, our wonderful waiter Joe came to take our lunch order and told us when it was time for lunch he would come get us.

All of the reviews said that Blue Apple is a standout because of the food. Most day trips to island beaches in Cartagena include a prix fixe lunch of either grilled whole fish or grilled chicken breast with rice and vegetables, with quality depending on the location. Blue Apple offers a full menu with appetizers, vegetarian options, a burger with bacon, and several versions of their signature dish – paella. I opted for the seafood paella and it was delicious.

We ended the day lounging by the pool, taking a dip to cool off. You have the option of returning to the city at 4:00 or 5:30 but obviously we opted for the latter. The trip back was definitely rougher than the trip there but we were thankful that it was only 30 minutes instead of an hour, and perfectly timed to watch the sun set. The boat can drop you off at BocaGrande, back at the marina where we left from, or to Old Town. We walked home marveling at what a lovely day we had and convincing one another that yes, I do think you got a little sun!

So now you are wondering, how do I have this amazing experience? I booked our day trip online, you pay in advance just $10 per person to cover the boat ride there and then the rest of the costs are settled when you leave. For round-trip transport, drinks, lunch, and the beach lounger for two people, we paid about $120 USD total plus tip. For day-trippers, there is a food and drink minimum of 100,000 Colombian pesos, or about $30, per person. Our per person breakdown is below:

Boat transport there: $10
Beach-lounger with towel: $10
Lunch and two cocktails: $30
Boat transport home: $10

You can also stay on the property in one of the five bungalow cabanas, several of which have their own plunge pool, or one of the five rooms in the main house. Which, if I hadn’t already booked our AirBnB for the full week when I found Blue Apple, we definitely would have done for at least one night. And they also host weddings!

Lastly, Blue Apple won me over with their social enterprise. In 2018, the owners launched a separate not-for-profit called Green Apple, which focuses on recycling and diverting waste. They are a non-profit partner of another of our favorite spots in Cartagena, Cafe Stepping Stone.