Last updated on March 15th, 2016 at 08:05 am
As we were planning to leave Cartagena for Barranquilla we wanted to find a comfortable, low-cost option for travel to Barranquilla that would get us there in a reasonable time. Being budget travelers were willing to for go the comfort and reasonable time frame to get the best price.
We knew we would take a bus, which bus was not clear immediately. We had seen green buses with red lettering on the front driving around Cartagena as we walked back from old town. We had read online these buses shuttled passengers to the main bus terminal on the eastern outskirts of Cartagena. At the terminal, we could catch a bus to Barranquilla for a good price. There was a shuttle bus stop 5 or so blocks from our Airbnb apartment so initially this was the way to go for us.
The night before we were to leave for Barranquilla our Airbnb hosts, Walter, and Tara, stopped in to say goodbye and find out where our next stop would be. They were very helpful, giving us good tips and advice our first days in Colombia. We told them our plan and they looked at us in a frightened way that said,” don’t do that!”, they knew the luggage we had to haul. Tara said travel to Barranquilla can be so much more comfortable and convenient for almost the same price as taking the bus we had planned to. We said, do tell! Cheap, comfortable, air conditioned, even comes with a movie transport to Barranquilla?? This exists?? They come to pick you up if you want? We’ll take it!
We packed up the next morning headed down to the lobby to have the security officer call the travel company, Berlinasur, to pick us up. He advised us it would be quicker if we took a taxi to the Berlinasur office and grabbed a shuttle to Barranquilla from there. The office was close so the officer negotiated a fair taxi price for us and we were on our way. Berliastur is a shuttle service that offers transport to Barranquilla, Santa Marta all over Colombia actually. They have shuttle vans and full size touring buses depending on the distance. All come with air conditioning and comfortable seats. Berlinastur prides itself on timeliness, they strive to always be on time and they were for our trip. We road in a shuttle van to Barranquilla. It was a cool, comfortable, quick ride The driver cued up a movie and we were in Barranquilla before it was over. The trip took about an hour and a half.
The pricing for Berlinastur bus and shuttle service is very good, 19000 COP or $11 CAD each. I definitely would consider riding with them to be excellent value and a down right deal for the service and comfort you get on their vehicles. We will be riding with them again here in Colombia. I love learning about great deals for getting around the places we visit. What great deals on getting around have you found while traveling?
Rental in Barranquilla: We found one, How We Thought We Wouldn’t
so glad I stumbled upon this… planning a little gals trip for my mom and I in a few months, and we will need to get to Barranquilla from Cartagena at some point to fly back to the US, this sounds much better than the other options I have heard of!
Also, did they drop you directly at your destination in Barranquilla? Or at their offices/bus terminal? Thanks!
Tracey, thank you for your post, it’s been hard to find good information like this online.
Did you buy your tickets with Berlinastur ahead of time? Was there a predetermined shuttle schedule? Or did you just call up the company when you were ready to leave and they were ready to take you?
On another note, how frustrating that you arrived in Barranquilla before the movie was over! He could’ve at least driven around a bit so you could see how it ends 😉
Cheers,
Adam
We didn’t buy our tickets ahead of time Adam. There is a regular schedule for the shuttles. We were advised to go directly to their main office and buy tickets and hop on a shuttle there.Apparently, the wait for a shuttle could be quite long if you call for a pick up depending on the number of other passengers that had called for pick ups as well. The shuttle we took left directly from the office with no stops to pick up more passengers in Cartegena. Hahaha, luckily the movie wasn’t that interesting so we weren’t broken up about missing the end. It dropped us at the main office in Barranquilla.
HI Tracey,
Thank you for this post! I was worried how I would get from Cartagena to Barranquilla traveling solo. Need a safe ride, but can’t spend too much. This sounds great! I would love to talk with you about your experience. I work for Saveur magazine and love hearing travel stories 🙂
I couldn’t see on the Berlinastur bus website a route from Cartagena to Barranquilla? Maybe you can help!
Best,
Allie
Hi Allie, Berlinastur offers a great service from Cartegena to Barranquilla. When I visited this page http://www.berlinastur.com/Servicio_Especial/, it shows their service from Cartegena to Barranquilla? When we traveled with them we went directly to their office, bought tickets, and hopped in the van to go to Barranquilla.The door man in the apartment we were staying advised us to go directly to the station because that was the quickest way to get a ride.Thier phone number and address is found under the contact tab at the bottom of the webpage. I hope that helps!