The 15 Best San Basilio de Palenque Tours

1.Palenque´s tour, dance show, lunch, pick-Up inclu

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 182 reviews · 6 hours · from $112Our pick

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local guide such as Roiman or Royman. Explore murals, ancestral places, a museum, music, dance, language, and a traditional lunch of fish, chicken, or pork. Round-trip hotel transport, water, rum tasting, and an English or Spanish-speaking guide are included.

“Roiman was an excellent tour guided! He provided an amazing immersive experience in culture, community, and tradition. Such an outstanding wealth of knowledge. Palenque tour was a beautiful experience!!! Highly recommend book this tour you’ll love it . The food was freshly prepared full of flavor and love 🖤💙💚”

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2.Tour a san Basilio de Palenque desde cartagena

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 123 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $110Top rated

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a bilingual guide, visit the Casa de Tambores and Casa del Arte, learn about sweets and ñeque, see Kid Pambelé’s statue, eat lunch, and enjoy a traditional dance show. Guides such as Ramon and Jovanni have led this small-group cultural visit.

“The Palenque Native Dancers were outstanding. The tour company was poor. They picked us up 30 minutes late. The van had no air conditioning with 90 degree temperature. Go see the dancers with a different company.”

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3.Palenque Tour and Road to Emancipation

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 83 reviews · 6 hours · from $108

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with guides such as Romeo and Damaso, then meet local artists, dancers, musicians, and a traditional healer. Visit the town square, museum house, Palenque Viejo, and Kombilesa Mi, learn Bantu words, join a drum and dance session, and eat a typical Palenquero lunch.

“Excellent guide with tons of knowledge about Palenque. Romeo is the best tour guide.”

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4.Mud Volcano and Palenque Cultural Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $225

Leave Cartagena at 6:00 AM for El Totumo’s therapeutic mud bath, then continue to San Basilio de Palenque. Guides such as Miguel, Moses, and Abraham lead visits to the museum, medicine house, boxing monument, music and dance performances, candy makers, and a traditional lunch. Expect a long, active day with local food and plenty of cultural contact.

“Tour exceeded my expectations! It was an amazing mixture of cultural history and relaxation. My tour guide Leandro was prompt in picking me up from my hotel. We arrived at the mud volcano and we were the only one there! It was a very relaxing experience and the breakfast offered was scrumptious. Palenque was a very informative tour and the lunch served was very scrumptious. This tour is a must do !”

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5.Visit Palenque with natives : history, culture and ancestral legacy

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 53 reviews · 6 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $102

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a native guide and, when needed, an English translator such as Gabriel or Liliana. Visit the Benkos Bioho monument, a traditional house, medicinal patio, music spaces, murals, boxing monument, and local food table. This private six-and-a-half-hour tour costs $102 per person.

“This tour of San Basilio de Palenque was an experience I will cherish forever. The tour was led by Leo, who took us around to hear from other natives of the town, which added an authentic and deeply enriching layer to the visit. They shared not only the history and culture of Palenque but also their personal stories and traditions, making the experience intimate and unforgettable. One of the highlights was the vibrancy and resilience of the Palenque community, beautifully conveyed through their music, dance, and cuisine. We were invited to participate in making music with a known Palenque musician, learn boxing moves in the local boxing gym, experience a…”

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6.San Basilio de Palenque Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 49 reviews · 6 hours · from $78

Travel 50 kilometers from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local English or Spanish-speaking guide. Learn about Benkos Biohó, the Cimarrones, Palenquero language, coded hairstyles, music, and daily life. Walk through town, visit cultural stops, enjoy a local lunch, and add an African drum show if your booking includes it.

“The Trip was amazing. The history of Palenque needs to be shared and I strongly suggest any and everyone to visit if they are in the area.”

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7.Tour cultural to san Basilio de Palenque from cartagena

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 45 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $99

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local guide such as Moises Abraham, Royman, or Romeo. Visit the Casa de Tambores, Casa del Arte, a replica village, sweet-making and ñeque demonstrations, Kid Pambele’s statue, a central restaurant, and a surprise dance show. Lunch, bottled water, hotel transport, music, and dance are included.

“A small village of friendly people. It is safe. You will feel welcome and learn about the culture. Blue and Rayman were good hosts.”

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8.Private Tour with Certified Guide of San Basilio De Palenque

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 4 to 6 hours (approx.) · from $130

Travel from Cartagena in a private, air-conditioned car with a native guide such as Sofia or Vincent. In San Basilio de Palenque, learn about Benkos Bioho, practice drums, make coconut sweets, cook a UNESCO-recognized dish, visit a medicinal garden, and try boxing.

“This tour of Palenque was amazing! This was an eye opening cultural experience that will forever stay with me. There are other people that can give a tour but if you are blessed to have Sofia as your tour guide, you’re in for an unforgettable, fun and highly informative tour. Walking through Palenque you’d feel welcomed and the warmth of the people and enjoy the art of the scenery. It felt like a hidden gem in Colombia which in my opinion it is. Sofia kept us engaged throughout the whole tour. She took the best footage of my friends and I when we wanted to film or photos. She taught…”

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9.Visit San Basilio de Palenque with a Native

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 35 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $115

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local host such as Victor or Pedro. Spend about eight hours exploring the town, learning about its African roots, visiting candy makers, musicians, dancers, boxers, and an herbalist, then sharing a fresh fish lunch. Small groups are limited to 10 people.

“This is a great story about the resilience of black people. This highly recommend for people of African descent who doesn't have an opportunity to go to Africa. It's a beautiful snapshot of how life was, and still is in many parts of Africa. My only two gripes with the tour were; A. They didn't pick us up, which other Viator tours have done in other countries, and it wouldn't have been inconvenient. B. The tour started an hour late because they were waiting for other people to show up, meaning we were standing out in the heat for an hour too. Despite these minor issues, I still highly recommend…”

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10.Palenque African Roots Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 33 reviews · 6 hours 5 minutes (approx.) · from $105

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local guide such as Victor, learning about Afro-Colombian music, food, medicine, language, and Benkos Biohó. This six-hour private-vehicle tour includes lunch, water, a tropical raspado, and a small group of up to 10 people.

“This was such an amazing experience and absolutely my favorite tour in Cartagena. We learned so much about Palenque, and it was so inspiring. Can't wait to go again!”

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11.Tour to San Basilio de Palenque – African village

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 32 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $127

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque in an air-conditioned vehicle, then learn about the first free African town in the Americas from local guides. You’ll visit the native house, see Benkos Bioho’s monument, walk through local streets, eat fish with coconut rice, and share music and dance with residents.

“Great history tour with Sofia and the homemade lunch was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS 😋 I'd book this tour again to have that homemade meal again. Book It!”

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12.San Basilio de Palenque Guided Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 11 reviews · 6 hours · from $92

Travel from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a local English- or Spanish-speaking guide. Walk the town, visit its house museum, learn about Benkos Biohó, hear local music, meet a natural medicine practitioner, see boxing practice, eat a local meal, and cool off with a raspado or ice cream.

“Malheureusement le guide ne nous a pas expliqué l’histoire de la libération, ni relaté les faits de Bihio, à peine a-t-il effleuré le sujet. Bref, rien de bien intéressant.”

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13.PALENQUE Tour AFRICAN TRADITIONS with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 10 reviews · 7 hours · from $49Best value

Travel by air-conditioned vehicle from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque with a bilingual guide. Walk through the town, learn about its African traditions and Palenque language, visit the museum, medicinal patio, Benkos Biohó Plaza, and Kid Pambelé Plaza, then enjoy a typical lunch and Ñeque before returning to Cartagena.

“Tour guide was friendly and nice but Seemed like the tour was cut short. It ended very abruptly and we hardly had time to explore. Wish we could have seen more!”

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14.Mud Volcano and Palenque Cultural Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 8 hours · from $225

Leave Cartagena with guide Miguel for a small-group day at El Totumo Mud Volcano and San Basilio de Palenque. Float in warm mineral mud, rinse by fresh-water shower, then meet local guides, musicians, dancers, cooks, and traditional medicine practitioners. Lunch, transport, drinks, and cultural activities are included.

“This was an excellent excursion and Miguel was awesome! I heard some people say it costs too much but for an ALL DAY immersive experience it was worth every penny!!! The attention to detail the company took to plan this excursion made it so. Eveything from them knowing the perfect times to arrive at the various destinations to bring extremely knowledgeable about the area was very impressive. And did I mention it was all inclusive? So yeah with others you may pay alacarte but with this one, once you've paid the only thing left is gratuities. We had breakfast, lunch, refreshments, mud volcano, history lessons and an immersive (and hands…”

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15.San Basilio de Palenque Private Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 4 reviews · 7 hours · from $164

Travel privately from Cartagena to San Basilio de Palenque for a five-hour guided visit led in English or Spanish. Meet local residents, learn about Palenque language and customs, see the Benkos Bioho and Kid Pambele monuments, enjoy music and dance, and eat fish with coconut rice, salad, plantains, and local sweets.

“Amazing experience. Our guide Escarli and driver Rafael were great. Escarli was very knowledgeable”

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