Dora De Zubiria - Fantastic Cartagena Tour with Dora the Explorer
Feb 2025 • Couples
We stopped in Cartagena on a cruise in 2020. In our Roll Call before our cruise and on Trip Advisor Dora Tours came highly recommended. We loved the tour and the city so much we decided to book Dora again and we weren't disappointed. It was even better the second time, though Mercedes who lead our tour in 2020 was very knowledgeable and seemed to know almost everyone in Cartagena. Mercedes has since retired.
I contacted Dora a number times with questions and she got right back to me. We probably booked a year before our trip. We are always early with everything. Booking so early, our tour leader was actually Dora herself.
The sail into Cartagena on a cruise ship is the most beautiful sail in we have experienced. We found on our entire cruise that Port side of the ship was the place to watch sail ins. And the Cruise Port itself is gorgeous. Columbia is a major global exporter of cut flowers, second only to the Netherlands, and the flowers in port were lovely.
We were directed in an email from Dora to meet at the end of the pier and be met by staff wearing green jackets. And they were waiting there as described, wearing green jackets and holding signs. We left the ship as early as we could and Dora staff met us just after 7:30am. Another bonus for us was the early tour. It was 4 hours in length and we were on the road by 8am. Cartagena was hot in the morning and would be hotter later in the day. There were 4 tours from our ship that day - Dora 1 and 2 and 3 and Private Tour. Dora group tours take a maximum of 16 people and we travelled in a small modern air conditioned tour bus.
Our first stop after driving through rush hour traffic was up a winding road up La Popa. The view from the monastery at the top of the hill was outstanding. Dora had a lot to share about the colourful history of Cartagena and obviously loves her stunning city.
We made a quick stop after that at San Filepe de Barajas Fort. I remembered it from last time. Our bus was parked close by and Wilmer, our driver stayed with the bus. We just stopped for a few minutes for a couple of photos. In every almost video or review of Cartagena I've read about the aggressive vendors. And here at the Fort they were relentless. It bothered me a lot more the first time and this was the worst spot. A quick 'No thank you' and they moved on to the next person. There were also woman dressed up in traditional costumes. Of course they offer to take a picture with you or you just take a picture of them. If you go ahead, it will cost you. I paid $1 each the first time, but this time I just said 'No thank you.' We never felt nervous or unsafe during the tour, just be prepared to say 'No thank you, a lot"
We stopped next at the Dungeons, which are now a series of shops. We aren't into shopping, and Dora offered the option of going with her assistant, Emma up by the wall that surrounds the Walled City. We chose the Emma option and she was an excellent tour guide as well. Emma grew up inside the walled city. We still had a few minutes to shop after our tour with Emma and bought a few t-shirt gifts for back home.
The hi light of our tour was of course inside the Walled City. Dora informed us that the walls were completed in 1796 to defend the city from pirates. The walled city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Inside the walled city we visited different plazas and churches. There were a lot of opportunities to take pictures there. Of all the stops on our cruise - (Cartagena, Panama, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) Cartagena was my favourite, mostly thanks to Dora Tours and the amazing architecture of Cartagena.
Our bus ride back to the cruise port took us through the neighbourhood of Getsemani and we were walking back through the Port Oasis and on our ship by 12:30. Just in time for lunch.
Thanks so much Dora, Emma & Wilmer.
Great day with Dora
Mar 2025 • Couples
We had a wonderful day with Dora! She is obviously very proud of her city and her country and we leaned a lot from her! It was a great tour!
Dora The Explorer Rocks
Mar 2025 • Couples
Excellent tour! We were met at the port with a clean 17 seat van with great A/C. Dora was a professional and knowledgeable guide who shared her love of Catagena. Our driver was able to maneuver around the big tour buses and city traffic with expertise. A highlight was touring La Popa. We always felt safe and in good hands with Dora. There are many street vendors who Dora handled with a calm ease. Shout out to Dora’s assistant Emma. I liked how she was always behind our group making sure no one strayed. Dora assured us we were always in a 15 minute radius of the port so no worries on making back to the ship in a timely manner.
Written March 21, 2025
"DORA THE EXPLORER-----WONDERFUL TOUR”
I made plans to meet with Dora's group the day our cruise Jewel of the Seas arrived. We got in later than expected because of an emergency stop the ship had to make in Haiti but Dora was outside waiting for the group around 10 a.m. It was a beautiful new air conditioned van and she took us all around for 3 hours, loved the Old City walk and would recommend the tour to all. It left a memorable experience of Cartagena.....
Mary Ann from Fl.
“Cartagena tour with Dora the Explorer”
I booked a private tour with Dora for the day our cruise ship docked in Cartagena. She met the 3 of us promptly at the agreed on time with a car and driver. They took us for a pleasant day tour around Cartagena which is a charming and pleasant town with beautiful colonial architecture. We went at our own pace, never rushed, and had plenty of time to take photos, linger to enjoy the views, etc. She brought us back to the dock on time to board before our ship sailed. Dora's English is excellent and she knows the history and other interesting stories about Cartagena, so we learned a lot as we toured around town. We all had a wonderful day and would go back to spend more time in Cartagena and take another tour with Dora.
“Terrific Tour of Cartagena, Colombia! Saw A Lot!”
Four couples sailing on the RCI Jewel of the Sea 1/24/11 Southern Caribbean cruise (who met on the Cruise Critic boards) pre-arranged a tour of Cartagena, Colombia with Dora De Zubiria's Company. Very personal emails and phone calls from Dora, she's a real pleasure to talk to, you could tell she loves to show off her city!.
We all decided that we wanted to spend quality time in the Old Town and opted not to do the 1/2 hour shopping at a mall (I personally need more thatn a 1/2 hour to shop!)
We arrived in Cartagena on 1/29 and were immediately greeted by our English speaking guide Fernado Lopez Prens and our driver Pilar. We had an air-conditioned bus - which was fortunate as it was very hot & humid. Each time we came back to the bus Pilar had it nice & cool!
Our first stop was to La Popa Hill, which was up a very winding road. The 440 year old monastery is built on a 500 ft hill, the highest point in the city - so from there you could see both Old Town and the New City. Great photo op! There was a serene courtyard with beautiful flowers and a small museum with history of La Popa and the Virgin de la Candelaria.
It was extremely busy, as their annual Patron Saint's Day (La Virgin de la Candelaria) is on February 2. Many people were making pilgramages, they would walk up the hill to thank the Virgin for a favor that had been granted during the previous year. We actually saw one man who was crawling up the hill on his hands & knees over cobbled stones.
Next we were off to Fort de San Felipe. Our entrance fee was paid by Fernando and we spend about an hour touring the whole fort, actually walking the historic tunnels and turrets. Fernando described the battles that had been fought here over the centuries.
Next we went to the Old Town and walked narrow streets with beautiful balconies and ornate wood residential doors. Walked through Plaza Bolivar with Simon Bolivar's statue and a fountain under a grove of trees and many benches for sitting in the shade. Also passed by the statue of Christoper Columbus as we walked to the Church of San Pedro Claver, he was the "slave to the slaves" and the first South American saint. There was a beautiful cloister courtyard with trees, walkways and two parrots. The church was serene and had large stained glass windows.
After a short bus ride we arrived at Las Bovedas in El Centro, which is a series of 23 shops that were originally dungeons. A few of us decided to go to the Bullfighters bar where we purchased two Eagle beers from owner Juan for $5.00. All of Juan's bullfighting mementos are on the walls (including several bull heads!)
On our trip back to the cruise ship we passed by the Walled City and the Clock Tower.
The amazing thing was Dora doesn't ask for a deposit and we paid at the end $65.00 per person (for a party of 8) for the 4.5 hour tour. A tip was definitely earned by Fernando & Pilar. Dora and her team want to make sure you are totally satisfied. And we were!
We booked with Dora and were very happy. She was our tour guide and the driver was great too. Smaller vehicles can get to La Popa Monastery which was very nice. The old city walking portion was excellent and we saw the fort as well. Stopped for coffee at Juan Valdes which was excellent while our companions shopped for emeralds. There were four of us in the van.
Dora was excellent with substantial knowledge and passion for her home.
I would just like to put in a plug for Dora's tour - we just took it last week and had a wonderful tour. We almost missed it - we didn't realize that they were going to be right at the gangway, and we walked all the way to the cruise terminal where you get the taxis, etc. Wandered around there for awhile and we were about to give up when we saw someone with a sign with the name of the person who organized our tour. We ran up to her, and she said that the tour had already left, but she found a taxi to take us to them (which was a challenge in itself, because none of them wanted to go that short of a distance). She stayed with us in the taxi and got us reunited with our group. We went to La Popa, the Fortress (awesome views at both) the Dungeons and the old city. They then took us (at our request) to a restaurant for a late lunch, which was very tasty, although slow service. We then had time for a very quick bit of emerald shopping, and then back to the boat. Our tour guide was excellent, and Dora called several times when we were on the tour to make sure that all was going well. I was very impressed with the day and the tour!
Cartagena tour with Dora
In December of 2009, my elderly mother, sister and I booked a tour with Dora at www.cartagenatour.com We thoroughly enjoyed the attention to detail our tour guide "Dency" showed us. As we disembarked, Dency was waiting for us with a sign indicating our group name. We left promptly at 9AM and did not return to the ship until 2PM. The private, air conditioned van held the three of us, our female driver (great navigator) and our guide Dency. Our first stop at La Popa, was my favorite. What a view!!! Dency explained the surrounding sights, the monastery and even kept the peddlars at a distance. We toured the fort, the walled city, the Dungeons (handicraft shops) and even stopped at a local bakery where Dency bought us pastries. We drove around the city as she pointed out the highlights of Cartagena. I highly recommend this tour group. We paid $90 each and tipped at the end of the fabulous tour.
We just used Dora for the October 26th tour to the Panama Canal. Everyone in our group of 8 loved the tour which Dora suggested in her extremely prompt emails during the planning stage. We had Dora lead our tour and everything that everyone else said above was true. We all had fun and found Cartagena interesting. I highly recommend her.
