Aviario Nacional de Colombia: a morning, or a day with Playa Blanca

The Aviario Nacional de Colombia is a private bird park on Barú, 38 km by road from the Clock Tower of Cartagena, Colombia. The Aviario gives the drive as 50 to 60 minutes and the walk round as 1.5 to 2 hours. Be at the gate when it opens at 9:00: on its own, you are back in the city by about 12:00. Playa Blanca is 1.4 km further on, so the aviary and the beach make one easy day.

• Only the AviarioYou want birds more than sand, or have one free morning.
• With Playa BlancaYou want a beach day anyway and have a car or a tour for the whole day. Birds first, sand after.
• Skip itYou only want the beach, or you are off a cruise ship: the drive and the walk take the whole morning.

The Aviario sits at km 14.5 of the road to Barú, past the Canal del Dique, beside the junction where the Vía a Playa Blanca turns off. From there it is 1.4 km by road, about 5 minutes by car, to the south end of Playa Blanca. Map: Aviario Nacional on Google Maps.

Your own way. The Aviario has no transport of its own; it says Barú has no public transport and suggests a taxi, a private driver or a rented car. Its visitor page lists independent drivers from the taxi rank at the Clock Tower, with an estimate for a car for four, there, waiting and back: 250,000 to 300,000 COP. Agree the price, the wait and whether Playa Blanca is included before you set off. A driver who brings you may walk round with you on showing his papers.

Driving yourself. The Aviario warns that people wave cars down at the bridge, the Ararca turn-off and in front of the Aviario to sell guiding to Playa Blanca, and advises not to open the window or stop. More on the road and taxis: is Cartagena safe.

Open since February 2016, the Aviario describes itself as a conservation body that shows Colombia’s birds in settings close to their natural habitats. By its own count it keeps 170 species and about 1,700 birds on 7 hectares (the Aviario’s description).

The route runs one way round, self-guided, on a signposted earth path with gentle slopes. It passes 22 exhibits, from large walk-through aviaries to radial aviaries, marshes and lakes, in three settings: tropical rainforest, coast, desert. There is no walking back against the flow.

The birds. The Aviario’s own pages introduce, among others, the Andean cock-of-the-rock, the harpy eagle, the king vulture, the scarlet ibis, flamingos, toucans, macaws, owls, pelicans and the jabiru.

With a local ticket and no Colombian ID, the gate charges the difference. Buy online at the Aviario’s ticket shop, where you choose the visit date at checkout; download the tickets and QR codes beforehand, because the signal at the Aviario is weak. The gate takes cash, debit and credit cards, and Bancolombia QR-code transfers. Lockers cost 5,000 COP. Other prices in pesos: Cartagena prices.

• Food: no food may be brought in; your own bottle of water is allowed, and feeding the birds is forbidden.
• Animals: none may be brought in, pets included.
• To wear: the Aviario suggests comfortable clothes, sneakers, a cap, sunglasses, sunscreen and insect repellent.

With children. The walk is 1.5 to 2 hours on earth paths with gentle slopes, one way round, with no short cut back to the gate, and no outside food goes in. For the show at 11:30 and 15:30, check the sky: it is not held in the rain. Ask on the Aviario’s WhatsApp line whether a stroller can go round.

With a wheelchair. The Aviario says it has wheelchairs for those who need them and that the path is adapted for an easy walk. The tours below are another matter: their listings say they are not wheelchair accessible or not suitable for reduced mobility. A hired car to the gate is the way in.

Most tours sell the Aviario with a Barú beach day; one private tour goes to the Aviario alone. Each includes the ticket.

• Aviary National Park Tour with Hotel Pickup (GetYourGuide): the Aviario only, 5 hours, private, with hotel pickup; the driver speaks Spanish.
• National Aviary of Colombia and Playa Blanca: Nature and Sea (GetYourGuide): 8 hours with hotel pickup, the walk on your own, lunch at a beach club and time on the sand; the beach insurance is extra.
• Full-Day Tour Isla Barú: National Aviary and Playa Blanca (Viator): 7 to 8 hours from 8:00, with a bilingual guide, a lunch voucher and travel insurance.
• National Aviary and Mambo Beach Club, Playa Blanca (Viator): about 8 h 30 min, meeting at 8:00 at Sibarita del Mar on Avenida Blas de Lezo, by the Pegasos statue in front of the Clock Tower; lunch and sun chairs. Water, towels and government fees are extra.

Tour or your own way. A tour sets the hours, including when you leave the sand. A hired car has you at the gate at 9:00 and lets you choose. Every kind of tour in the city: Cartagena tours.