Diving Columbia

[Jessica Anderson]

So my hubby surprised me today and told me that we are going to Cartagena, Columbia in September! woohoo! I've never been there so I was checking out the nautical charts tonight to get ideas for some water exploration. From the Navionics SonarChart (see screenshot below) it looks like there is a nice ledge just off the Cartagena coast. Anyone have experience with diving there? Where should we go? Dive outfit suggestions? Thanks everyone!

 

[lthomas132]

Cartagena, especially Old Cartagena is a beautiful city. My wife & I did a 2 week tour of Columbia starting at Bogota, then Medellin, then Santa Marta, then Taganga, ending at Cartagena, back to Bogota. Didn't do any diving at Cartagena but we had just been to the seaside village of Taganga, south of Santa Marta. We stayed several days in Taganga, a very laid-back village with a few dive shops. I did 2 tanks with Poseidon Dive Center, http://www.poseidondivecenter.com/index.shtml with a guide while the rest of the group snorkeled. The water was slightly murky with vis 50-60 ft. but very warm. There was some hard corals, morays,barracudas and small fish. Saw the largest brain coral I had ever seen along with several sea slugs. Never even got wet in Cartagena; the beaches looked ugly along with the water. I would highly advise going south for diving but enjoy Old Cartagena for what it is, an old Spanish city. Have fun!

---------- Post added August 13th, 2015 at 06:05 AM ----------

Also, brush up on your Spanish, you'll need it as very little English speaking in Cartagena. Be sure and stay in the Old Town area; it's by far the prettiest. We stayed at Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia (Cartagena, Colombia) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor.

 

[ScubaSteve9]

How was the diving? Where did you dive and who with?

My wife and I are currently in Panama City taking a sail boat down to Cartagena in a few days. We're looking at doing some specialties while we're there (deep/nitrox), should have done them on Utila while we did out DM course.

After this we're heading down to the Galapagos.

 

[dhpd]

I've dove Taganga and Santa Marta several times. This year and last, the cost to dive in Santa Marta is insanely cheap. I paid $40 for two dives, gear included.

Visibility was pretty good--not quite Caribbean quality, but nearly as clear as Fort Lauderdale, FL. There's a marine sanctuary, but I'm not sure how respected those boundaries are. I saw lots of sea life, but the most impressive were the gorgona fields. FIELDS OF GORGONA! Yes, it was great.

I dove in Jan and Feb and both years the water was low 70s, just a little chilly for the worn 3mm wet suits the dive operator was providing. I doubled them up.

 

[Maus]

Jessica,
about diving in Ctg quite a few options: most of the dive center dive Isla Baru as diving in Rosario Islands is a full day trip. You need to check with local dive operator.
Generell Sept and Oct in rainy season , so viz can be horrible, temp of the water should be around 28°.
Scuab Steve: If you want to do Nitrox Spec in Taganga keep in mind that only a few have Nitrox avaliable.