National Aviary & Mambo Beach Club Baru - Playa Blanca

The aviary was so cool and it was so much fun to see all the different types of birds up close. Once we went to Baru, our lunch took a very long time, there were a lot of pushy vendors while we were trying to eat, and it didn't leave a whole lot of time for enjoying the beach. I do think that the bus/timing was well organized as much as the tour company could control, and when I asked for help with the lunch and the vendors, our guide did his best to support and help. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but the beach experience wasn't ideal.

We felt that they were not very well organized, there was confusion in pickup, wasteful waiting time in the aviary both to wait for the show and for pickup. The private club doesn't meet expectations. On the way back we had to wait in the white beach parking lot under the sun and without water for 1 hour why the bus had allegedly “spoiled”. Mike, our guide, who until that moment had been charming, instead of coming forward, disappeared completely. The icing on the cake was that, arriving in Cartagena the angry driver (the guide had already got off the bus) started yelling at us to get off the bus, telling him that he was not leaving us at the stipulated point told us that he could not go on to the point indicated why there were traffic restrictions, he left us lying on a 5-lane road without zebra crossings 20 minutes from the point where he supposedly should have left us. Very regular food.

Fantastic experience! The aviary was a once in a lifetime kind of experience. The variety of birds is spectacular, beautiful natural environment, a must see. Baru is beautiful as always, crowded on a Sunday but part of the deal. The guide was very well organized, friendly, professional. They take very good care of you, Sergio was awesome. Bus was comfortable with good AC. You do need to pay extra to get the loungers close to the beach at Club Mambo but it was worth it. Food was very good. All in all a terrific experience for the cost and well worth it.

Excellent service. I liked it a lot.

Could not get Wi-Fi to connect and all the signs were predominantly in Spanish. So it was like going to a Spaniel ah language bird exhibit. Bird show at end was completely Spanish. Would have been helpful to have language translation which would have been possible if Wi-Fi was connected.

Inexpensive - excellent value for a day trip to the aviary and playa Blanca. Trip is well organized, on time, and the guide Miguel/Mike was very knowledgeable, speaks excellent English, and has a very good way with people. Aviary is absolutely worth it and does excellent work as a shelter for trafficked birds. Beach club food options with the allowance are all very good though you can pay more for other options. No hidden costs or bad surprises. The bus is old and the ac is not super powerful, but it’s fine. Very happy with this trip.

The avary had so many different kinds of birds. The beach was nice. Lunch was so so but okay. The van ride was so so.

Hice un tour con Backpackers Cartagena y mi experiencia fue muy negativa. No esperaba lujos, pero sí respeto por el tiempo y, sobre todo, apoyo cuando ocurre un problema. Mala logística desde el inicio: El transporte llegó con más de 40 minutos de retraso al punto de encuentro. Lo peor vino al final: En el bus donde regresamos, mi billetera se salió del bolso (con cédula, tarjetas, dinero y la tarjeta del hostal). Al bajar para caminar hacia mi alojamiento me di cuenta de la pérdida. De inmediato contacté por WhatsApp a Isabel, quien fue mi punto de comunicación. Le pedí por favor que hablara con el conductor y con el guía Sergio (muy amable, pero yo no tenía su número). Era simplemente revisar el vehículo. La respuesta fue: “No somos responsables por objetos perdidos.” Cero empatía, cero interés en ayudar, pese a que expliqué claramente la urgencia: sin cédula no podía tomar mi vuelo de regreso. Solo me informó que el conductor “no era el de siempre”, lo cual contradice lo dicho por Sergio, quien lo presentó como alguien de confianza. Lo más frustrante: “El conductor no responde.” Ese fue el final. No hubo gestión mínima, seguimiento, insistencia… nada. Tuve que resolver todo sola (incluida denuncia policial) para poder viajar. Aclaro que Sergio, el guía, fue atento durante el tour. Pero la empresa y la atención de Isabel mostraron que, si algo sale mal, no hay soporte real. Viajar debería sentirse seguro. Aquí, no se sintió. ------------------------------------- I took a tour with Backpackers Cartagena, and my experience was very negative. I wasn’t expecting luxury, but I did expect respect for people’s time and, most importantly, support when something goes wrong. Poor logistics from the start: The transportation arrived more than 40 minutes late to the meeting point. The worst part came at the end: On the bus back, my wallet fell out of my bag (with my ID, cards, cash, and my hostel card). As soon as I got off to walk to my accommodation, I realized it was missing. I immediately contacted Isabel, who was my main point of communication. I kindly asked her to please speak with the driver and with Sergio, the guide (very kind, but I didn’t have his number). It was simply about checking the vehicle. Her response was: “We are not responsible for lost items.” Zero empathy, zero willingness to help — even though I clearly explained how urgent this was: without my ID, I wouldn’t be able to take my flight back home. She just told me the driver wasn’t the regular one, which contradicted what Sergio had said about him being trustworthy. The most frustrating part: “The driver isn’t answering.” And that was it. No follow-up, no insistence, no management… nothing. I had to resolve everything on my own (including filing a police report) to be able to travel. To be fair, Sergio —the guide— was kind throughout the tour. But the company and Isabel’s response showed that if something goes wrong, there is no real support. Travel should feel safe. This didn’t.

Super 👏 excellent experience really was very nice to visit several stations in this city, I was delighted of course I would come back

We found this activity very worthwhile. The birds were studying in color and scenery. The visit to the beach was also very good and the restaurant had excellent food for the price point.