Drumming and Dancing in Cartagena/La Boquilla

There aren't enough words to describe what a wonderful time we had with Marelvy. She was extremely interesting and knowledgeable about Cartagena. The tour was full of surprises and beautiful sights. Cartagena is indeed a beautiful city. I had booked her for 4 hours and an offer to take her to lunch. That we did at Celele (excellent restaurant! I will review separately). We were fortunate enough to spend an additional 4 hours with her. It was right up there with one of the very best tours I have ever had. She is indeed a treasure. (A side note we did not do the Drumming and Dancing Tour but a walking tour instead but it isn't listed on the options)

We thoroughly enjoyed our private historical walking tour with Marelvy. She’s wonderfully friendly and knowledgeable, and we had great conversation the entire time. Definitely take a tour with Marelvy if you’re interested in pirates because she’s written a history book on piracy in the Cartagena area. Conversation also covered architecture, history, food, the various convents and monasteries, battles and more. She also took us through some really neat neighborhoods outside of the old city walls that we would have never known about without her. There are other group tours available, but hanging out with Marelvy was a great experience.

Cruising with 10 friends, we like to organise our own tours with independent local agents. How pleased were we to come across Tour in Cartagena with Marelvy! From the outset communications were timely and professional, and Marelvy's rep was there to meet us at the quayside, despite some confusion over our arrival time. We had a really nice bus to ourselves, and made our way to the fishing village on the outskirts of Cartagena. Our trip started with a tour of the mangrove swamp in a dugout canoe, propelled by a local fishermen with a pole. We were taught how to cast nets to amass some bait, which our boatman then prepared and put into crab traps, which were then dropped into the river. 15 minutes later, lo and behold, we had 11 crabs. We then proceeded to a very local restaurant where we were served a delicious lunch of local fish with plantain and rice, all cooked over an open fire in the kitchen corner of the restaurant. The icing on the cake at the end of the meal was a plateful of the crabs we had caught, beautifully cooked and dressed. After a walk round the rest of the village, we had time to spend an hour in the old part of Cartagena before being returned to the port in plenty of time for the departure of our ship. Marelvy's 2 sons joined us on the trip, and made a video montage of our day, which she kindly sent us today, so we have a wonderful record of our time there. I cannot recommend this company highly enough! Marelvy herself was charming, friendly, funny and very knowledgeable. She made sure that we followed our own agenda rather than have one imposed on us. All in all, we had a fantastic day!

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This is a tour that is a delight to review. Email communication with her was wonderful as we planned this. The cost is dependent on how many are with you in the group and as it turned out it was just my husband and me. No problem. At the last minute, the NCL cruise line changed the day we would be in Cartagena and our time there. All was fine though as we were blessed that Marelvy herself could still do our tour. You know when your guide hugs you in greeting that it will be a great day. Our driver, Jose, was like a ninja. Whenever we were done with our walking portions, he was waiting for us and I was glad it was him and not me driving on those crazy roads! We began driving outside the city to La Popa, the highest point. Just gorgeous. She is a wealth of information and shared personal stories of herself as well. As we walk, she runs into so many people who know her. You can tell she loves her country. We went to Fort San Felipe, and then into the Old Walled City. We visited churches, clock tower etc. while learning so much. I said I wanted some coffee and we stopped at a store and she asked what the best coffee they had was. She asked if we wanted to shop more and got the sense she would have done what we asked of her. We were back in plenty of time to shop a bit. Tour lasted about 4.5 hours. Don't hesitate to book with her. You will love your day.

Wow, what a great tour we had of Cartagena with Marelvy! She is a very special tour operator, with a great love of her city that she wants to share with her guests. We had searched for an option to the cruise ship’s excursions, and found such good reviews for Marelvy’s tours, that we contacted her by email. We had an almost immediate response, with full information, pricing etc. We also had great information provided before the tour as to what to wear, where to meet, etc. She is very organized, thorough and proactive. The tour we did was a variation of her Hidden Treasures of Cartagena Tour, with visits included to sites not included on the ship’s itinerary, with a group size of under 20. Her driver was excellent as well, and we traveled in a small comfortable air conditioned van, allowing for easy access to the sites and a more personalized tour. Her English was perfect (she is also fluent in Spanish and French), her knowledge of history in general and of Cartagena specifically was excellent. More details about her very interesting background can be found on her website. At the end of the tour (6 hours vs. the ship’s abbreviated 4 hour tour), we all felt as if we had spent the day with a good friend and visited a fascinating city. We highly recommend her tour!

As my (adult) son and I prepared for our four country visit to South America, we carefully researched various activities/options, seeking to maximize our time in each city. While we are generally not fond of tours (e.g. prefer time for spontaneous interaction/experiences), the outstanding reviews of Marelvy convinced us to hire her to provide a private six-hour tour of Cartagena, which genuinely ended up being one of the highlights of our trip! In addition to being completely fluent in Spanish/English (and French), Marelvy's background as a teacher, combined with her lifelong familiarity with the city, afforded us unique insight of the people, culture, history and nature of Cartagena, all presented in a fascinating manner, while also keeping us on track to see everything as planned. Marelvy had a wonderful colleague assist as driver, which enabled her to fully engage throughout the tour, without distraction or delay (e.g. dropped off in crowded area, without concern about parking) and made it easy to stop for a quick photo, bathroom break or purchase. In addition, Marelvy's enthusiastic intelligence, along with her passion for the history/culture and people (many of whom have clear affection for her, as demonstrated throughout the tour) ensured a wonderful experience at a very reasonable price; indeed, Cartagena is very fortunate to have Marelvy as an institution in their community!

Highly recommend Marelvy when touring Cartagena. A great tour guide who took us to see so many highlights of the city. She was also quick to respond back on emails.

We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide than Marelvy to show us around Cartagena - La Popa, Castillo of San Felipe, Getsemani, Spanish Cooperation building, the Old City Wall, the clock tower, Iglesia de Santo Domingo, etc. etc. It was our first time there and Marelvy took us not only to the usual tourist spots but also to hidden gems to show us how the local people live. All 4 couples in our tour group were so impressed with her knowledge, command of English, genuine warmth and friendliness. No wonder she gets only RAVE REVIEWS!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the absolutely fabulous tour of Cartagena and your wonderful commentary throughout our tour. All 14 of the people who went on your tour stopped me from time to time on the ship and thanked me for arranging this tour. Your tour was the highest HIGHLIGHT of our cruise!!!! You gave us so much information about your city’s history as well as the current situation in Cartagena. I will be sure to pass your information along to anyone who is heading to Cartagena!! This is a great tour for couples, families, friends, and business.

our tour with Julio. All 9 of us had a great time. I just wish we had more time off the ship. It was easy to meet Berina. We visited La Popa first and then the fortress. Being the only cruise ship in port and one of the first groups to get to La Popa was an added benefit. Julio was an engaging fellow and shared so much information with us about the sights, history, customs, religion, home life, vegetation, famous people, neighborhoods. He made me yearn to come back for the procession of the Virgin. We then went to Las Bovedas ( which I personally could have done without as all of the merchandise could have been bought in the walled city which was our next stop). The walled city was beautiful and so many people knew Julio and he them as we walked through. Made a stop at the chocolate museum shop, saw many sights, art and sculptures, local craft vendors,churches, learned local history of men and the church. It was nice being able to tie in historic things Julio told us at La Popa with the city as well. After the city we stopped at the Emerald museum which for me was another highlight as I wanted to purchase a Columbian emerald for my daughter who has a May birthday. Seeing the jewelers working and the large sample emeralds was another plus. Julio's knowledge and enthusiasm made for a really good day. I would recommend this tour to anyone I know going to Cartagena