CARTAGENA LODO DEL TOTUMO VOLCANO lunch pool and beach

This excursion was terrible. The people were very unprofessional and made people very uncomfortable. Two people a local and a tourist got into an altercation where the local was responsible for removing the tourist personal belongings off the bus. No where to put your important personal items. They are money hungry and tried to charge me for my own shoes that was sitting on the bottom of the Volcano. They charge for shoes, wash, food, drinks, photos, everything so be cautious because this is not all in the description at all. One of the employees an older man started down and flirted with a minor. They cursed at us and disrespected all tourist after the local started the altercation. In the event having us sit at the police station for over 4 hours. I travel 10 times a year and participate in many excursions and this is the first time I have had any experience with this. I have heard many things but this was by far the worst. Even after trying to dispute the charge the merchant claimed false statements about the whole process causing me to show documented video and picture proof.

This experience is unlike anything we've ever done before in our travels. The drive out to the volcano is about an hour or so.This is a very rustic, natural place with humble and friendly people. Climb up to the volcano isn't hard, but is steep. You descend down a short 3 or four steps into the mud and you cannot sink any deeper then chest level. There are 2 men in the mud who will give you a massage, if you want. Expect to tip Anyone who assists you. We paid a young man to take pics and videos of our experience 10,000 COP each person. Great pics and very trustworthy. When coming out of the mud,it is a little slippery, just go slow and they help you. You walk down a short path to a lake to wash off. There are ladies there who will help you wash,again, expect to pay.We chose to do it ourselves and it was fine, the tour guide doesn't rush you. Wear water shoes! The path is rocky and hot! The mud feels like a silky clay. We found our skin softer and smoother afterwards. For us, the feeling was very sensory satisfying. After you wash off, back in the van and about 30 mins to a beach club for lunch, beach time and they have a pool and bar. The driver arranged everything and made sure we were comfortable and then left us to enjoy ourselves and relax. The club has wi-fi. Drink prices ,depending in what you prefer, range between 10,000 - 50,000 COP. Very limited, if any English spoken here but we used Google translator and were fine. Staff was very friendly, professional and accommodating. Do this activity for a once in a lifetime experience.

If the experience for me was unpleasant, the natives are reckless in every way to get a tip, they massage you without your consent is like They catch you and don't let you go, and the ladies who help you get the mud out is exactly the same, they outrage you in an unpleasant way and the agency when you book doesn't send you any confirmation of the instructions of said tours, I was told that they would pass at 9:20 by the monument of the pasted but it turns out that they passed at 8, and then they don't answer after 4 calls informs me that they will pass me a driver like 11:30 to 12 hrs to take me to the volcano Horrible experience with both the agency and the natives

I was so excited to take this trip. I booked at 7:51am because the trip started at 9:20. I was told I wasn’t able to get transportation because I was out of the tourist area I had to make my way to a meet up spot. I arrived to the meet up spot at 8:20am. Stood there until about 9am. A native asked me what tour I was taking. We got in contact with the tour guide and was told the tour started I was suppose to be to the meet up spot at 8am. She was going to give me a refund because the instructions weren’t clear. I have received a refund. I’m still in shock how I was able to book a tour that started at 8am. Couldn’t get in contact with nobody. Didn’t get a WhatsApp alert. Just was all over the place.

Completely unacceptable. The tour operator ignored all messages before the tour, then sent a WhatsApp message at 2:00 a.m. and showed up nearly an hour earlier than the confirmed pickup time. When we weren’t ready due to their mistake, they refused to reschedule. Viator backed them and denied a refund despite clear miscommunication. Zero accountability, zero customer service. Avoid this tour and Viator if you want reliability.

The tour bus arrived and there was zero communication whether it was the correct bus. We had to ask the driver if it was the correct bus. The tour agency did not prepare us in advance for the day. We traveled about an hour to the Volcano. What they don’t tell you is that you’ll have to strip all of your clothes off in a dirty river. There are no showers or other water to rinse off in. Secondly, we had no towel. Again, it was not communicated that we would need one. After “rinsing” off, we got back on the bus to continue to our next destination (lunch). It was 11:45am. After a few minutes on the bus, a physical altercation broke out between other tour guests. The Colombia police was called and we all had to exit the bus. We remained at the location for an hour while the police took statements. There was ZERO communication to us by the tour agency. Finally after an hour we boarded the bus, along with the police, and made a detour to the actual police station where we waited on the bus for an additional hour and a half. The inside of the bus smelled like gasoline, so we exited. Again, zero communication from the agency as to how long it would take or what was going on. At this point it is 2pm. No lunch. No drinks. Stranded in the mountains with zero service. We attempted to call an UBER, but no service. At 2:45 we finally left to the next destination where we had lunch. Food was cold at this point. To make matters worse, I got food poisoning from the fried fish because they failed to keep at the appropriate temperature. We finally arrived back at the hotel at 6pm. We were supposed to reunite at 3:00pm and this resulted in us missing another itinerary. The only reason Im giving 2 stars because the mud bath was neat, but overall a poor experience.

I really enjoyed this activity. I was hesitant with a few reviews saying the locals at the volcano expect a tip and will come on the bus for it. I didn't find this to be a problem because I read this before hand and the guide notified us of this before we go on site. Now, the volcano was a fun experience and it was cool being in the mud but my favorite part was the trip to the beach. Most parts of cartagena is filled with vendors who are trying to sale you something. However, at this beach, it was only our tour group and a few others which made for such a relaxing beach experiences. The views of the mountains behind the beach few amazing. We ate a delicious meal then the guides left us to chill by the pool or on the beach. I 100% recommend for a relaxing getaway from the busy streets of Cartagena and especially the hustle in the Rosario Islands.

It was very good and I enjoyed. However they need to be specific which tipper will you need to pay. It was relaxing n a very different experience.

This was the best experience ever. Our tour guide Liliana was great. The volcano tour mud experience was great. I would do it again. Loved the private beach experience after. The food was good too. My best friend and I had a lovely time. Would do it again. The only down side is once you get to the destination for the mud experience it needs to be organized better. Liliana prepared us so it wasn’t too bad. Overall great experience.