Gaviota Charming Island Home-Isla Grande EH

Our spacious private cabin is a five-minute walk from the Caribbean ocean on Isla Grande, one hour from Cartagena. It’s part of Isla GrandeEcohostal, a local family business. We encourage visitors who want to get off the beaten path, be immersed in Afro-Caribbean culture, and try an eco-adventure. The cabin is set up to comfortably host families and groups. A small breakfast and coffee are included each morning. Isla Grande Ecohostal is a locally owned and operated family business. Gaviota cabin is equipped with WiFi (but the service quality depends on the provider), three bedrooms, large balcony with hammocks, private bathroom, and kitchen with a small fridge and stove. Our cabins are powered by solar electricity. The rooms are equipped with mosquito nets and fans (no A/C). We make use of rainwater for the shower and faucet. Our eco-hotel offers a restaurant with delicious local food (lunch or dinner is around $20,000 to $50,000 Col pesos per person) and next door is a small store where guests can buy basic goods. When guests arrive, they can expect clean linens, towels and soap. The nightly cost includes rental of the whole house, as well as a small breakfast and coffee each morning. Transportation, eco-tours, lunch/dinner, drinks and services while on the island are all paid separately but can be organized through us. Our family on the island speaks only Spanish, so it’s helpful if our guests speak some Spanish as well. If you need anything, just ask. At her store, Arnida sells basics like bottled water, cold drinks, mosquito coils, canned/dry food, snacks, eggs, oil, sugar, salt, condiments, some fruits and veggies, beer, rum, and shampoo. Plan to bring anything else with you from Cartagena. Isla Grande is the largest of 27 islands that make up the Rosario Island national park. Miles of walking trails span the island, where there are no roads or cars. It is home to a music-loving Afro-Caribbean community of 1,100 people. The small town of Orika is 30 minutes from our eco-hotel. Colombia is on the equator, so temperatures on the island range from 80 to 90 degrees year-round with high humidity. Eco-Hotel Playa Libre is located on the east side of the island toward the point or La Punta. We are on the main trail past Parques and before Laguna Encantada. Many of our neighbors are friends and family who own and operate their own eco-hotels and visit regularly. Few people speak English. We assist all guests as needed with transportation questions and planning. Our family can pick up and drop off guests from Cartagena in our private boat until 2 pm ($700,000 Col pesos round trip per group). Smaller groups may opt to take a tourist boat to the island from Bodeguita dock at the center of Cartagena. Tourist boats leave Cartagena once per day around 9 am, costing $65,500 Col. pesos per person including the tourist tax. Arrive by 8:30 am and ask for Deniris at the first door. We highly recommend trying some of the mouthwatering fresh seafood on the island (lobster, crab, octopus, conch, prawns, shrimp). One of the best ways to keep cool is by swimming in the turquoise waters at the nearby beaches. One of our favorite activities is a scenic tour of the islands by boat, stopping at the Oceanarium, at our favorite beaches, and eating at a local restaurant on the waterfront. We also love to snorkel the coral reef and canoe through the mangrove trails. At night, you can swim or snorkel Laguna Encantada to see the bioluminescent plankton. It’s also fun to visit the town of Orika on a Friday or Saturday night when the locals listen to loud Champeta music and dance into the night.