Cholon
Best for. Travellers who specifically want the Cartagena boat party, a day of music, drinks and rafted up boats over shallow water, rather than a quiet swim or a beach club on the sand.
Best spot. The shallow anchorage itself at the Cholon inlet, where the boats gather and the floating bars and vendor canoes work the crowd. The small beach, La Playita de Cholon, is the edge of the scene rather than the point of it.
Know this. This is a party spot reached only by boat, not a walk on beach. Prices for boat trips, drinks and food are set by operators and vendors and are to be confirmed. Come for the scene or skip it.
It is worth being plain about what Cholon is, because the name gets dropped alongside real beaches and it is not one. Cholon is a shallow inlet at the tip of Isla Baru, about an hour by boat from Cartagena, and it is famous for one thing, the party. On a busy day dozens of boats, from speedboats to yachts, drop anchor and raft together over water that is often only waist deep, and the whole scene turns into a floating club, with music across the water, drinks passed from boat to boat and vendors cooking seafood from canoes. If that is the day you want, Cholon delivers it like nowhere else near Cartagena.
What it is not is a beach in the sense most people mean. There is a small patch of sand, La Playita de Cholon, in a clearing among the mangroves, but you do not come here to lay a towel and swim quiet laps. You come to be on the water in the middle of a crowd, and the experience lives or dies on whether that appeals. The access tells you everything, since there is no road in and the only way here is by boat, either a shared party trip with thirty or forty strangers or a private charter if you want your own deck. That effort and cost are the entry fee to the scene, not to a stretch of sand.
The honest cautions matter more here than on a normal beach. Prices for the boat, the drinks and the food are set by operators and vendors and shift with demand, so treat every number as to be confirmed and agree it before you commit. With alcohol, boat traffic and a shallow crowded anchorage in the same place, safety is your own responsibility, so keep clear of propellers, watch anyone who has been drinking and mind children closely, since there is no lifeguard. Come for the party with open eyes and Cholon is a genuinely memorable day. Come expecting a serene Caribbean beach and you will have taken a long boat ride to the wrong place.
A floating party, not a beach club
Cholon has no beach club on the sand. The bars float, the vendors work from boats, and the whole scene happens over the anchorage rather than on a lounger.
The club layer at Cholon is literally afloat. There is no fixed beach club, no manicured sand and no rows of daybeds. Instead, palm thatch shacks stand in the shallows, vendor canoes move between the boats selling cold beer, cocktails and fresh seafood, and bottle service is delivered to the larger yachts. It is a party built on the water, and the closest thing to a club here is whichever boat you arrive on, which is why so many people book a private charter or a well run shared trip to have a base for the day.
If your idea of a day out is a proper beach club, with loungers, a pool, a kitchen and a calm swim, Cholon is not it, and you would be happier at a serviced beach elsewhere on the Cartagena coast. Our Cartagena beach clubs and beaches guides are honest about where the sand, the service and the swimming are genuinely good and where the scene is really the point, as it is here. Tell us what you actually want from the day and we can help you choose between the Cholon party, a quieter Baru beach, or a beach club with a lounger and a lunch, since all prices at Cholon are set by operators and to be confirmed.
Only by boat from Cartagena
There is no road to Cholon. The only way in is by boat from Cartagena, a trip of about an hour each way to the tip of Isla Baru in the Rosario Islands archipelago. Most visitors go on a shared party boat that carries thirty or forty people and covers the round trip, while a private charter buys you your own deck and pace at a higher cost. Book with a reputable operator, confirm what the price includes, and be clear that weather can move or cancel a trip, since this is an open water crossing.
Plan the day around the boat rather than the beach. Bring sun cream, water, cash for the vendors and floating bars, and a dry bag for phones and valuables, since almost everything happens on and in the water. Agree prices before you buy, keep clear of moving boats and propellers in the crowded anchorage, and watch anyone who has been drinking, as there is no lifeguard or organised safety cover. Choose a calm, dry day in the December to April season for the best of it, and a weekday if you want the scene without the heaviest weekend crush.
Photo: ROBERTO ISAZA via GoogleNot ready to book?
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Cholon is a boat access party spot rather than a beach club, but tell us your dates and party size and we will help you sort a Cholon boat trip or a beach club day elsewhere near Cartagena. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Cholon
Where is Cholon near Cartagena?
Cholon is a shallow inlet at the tip of Isla Baru in the Rosario Islands archipelago, about an hour by boat south of Cartagena. There is no road to it, so the only way to reach Cholon is by boat, either on a shared party trip or a private charter from the Cartagena waterfront.
Is Cholon a beach or a party spot?
It is a party anchorage first and a beach a distant second. The scene is boats rafting up over shallow water with floating bars, vendor canoes and music, and there is only a small patch of sand, La Playita de Cholon, at the edge. People come to be on the water in a crowd, not to lay a towel and swim quietly.
How do you get to Cholon?
Only by boat from Cartagena, a trip of about an hour each way. Most visitors take a shared party boat that carries thirty or forty people and covers the round trip, and a private charter costs more but gives you your own deck. Book with a reputable operator, confirm what is included, and expect weather to occasionally move or cancel the crossing.
How much does a trip to Cholon cost?
Prices are set by the boat operators and the floating vendors and shift with demand, so every figure should be treated as to be confirmed. Shared party boats are commonly quoted around a set per person price for the round trip, while drinks, food and private charters cost extra. Agree all prices before you commit so there are no surprises on the water.
Is Cholon safe?
It calls for real care. There is no lifeguard and no organised safety cover, and alcohol, boat traffic and a crowd all share the same shallow anchorage. Keep well clear of moving boats and propellers, watch anyone who has been drinking, mind children closely, and use a dry bag for valuables. Treat it as a party on the water rather than a safe swimming beach.
When is the best time to go to Cholon?
The dry season from December to April brings the most settled weather and the biggest, liveliest crowds, with weekends and holidays the busiest. It is a fair weather, high energy day out, so pick a calm sunny date. A weekday gives you the scene with a little less crush, and a rough or wet day is best avoided given the open water crossing.