HIGHLY recommend - My husband and I were so pleased with our tour of Palenque. We were picked up by a team member Maria Jose. She was both professional & welcoming! Palenque was about an hour away from our hotel, on the ride there Maria Jose pointed out monuments and gave us info about each area we passed through. Once we got there we received a warm welcome from our translator & Palenque tour guide. Learning all about the African roots within this town was amazing! All staff members we encountered were so friendly & knowledgeable. We loved the dance performance and all of the other Black cultural pieces throughout the town. The lunch was so good AND authentic. We made so many memories on this tour & will recommend to anyone visiting Cartagena!

This was a very well... - This was a very well organized and meaningful experience. “This is not part of the tour but if you look outside the window, there is a tree that inspires me. The tree has fallen as you can see, but it’s still growing” - Dyson (the palenque tour guide and great guy)

Two thumbs way up! - We had an amazing tour from Cartegena to Palenque and the Aviary! Palenque is such an important part of Colombian history and I felt in awe of what has been built there. Had a great time with the two guides (one spoke English and Spanish and the other spoke Spanish and Palenquero). We got to learn about their rich history, medicine, boxing, language, dance, and ate lunch. After a substantial car ride we got to see the Aviary. This was super fun and it was great to see so many birds. The birds seem very well taken care of and I loved the bird show. You should certainly check out this tour company to support a small woman owned POC run business!

Fabulous day at San Basilio de Palenque and Aviary - We had a wonderful time visiting San Basilio de Palenque and the National Aviary with a group of eight friends. Maria Jose was extremely responsive and easy to communicate with. She arranged transportation, food, guides and entrance fees so we didn’t have to worry about anything. The San Basilio de Palenque tour was fascinating. It was very experiential, so get ready to dance, try herbal tea, and box in the gym of world champions! (Easy to opt out if you don’t want to, but try pushing yourself outside your comfort zone!). One quick note, I had read a review saying negative things about Daison, and it couldn’t be farther from the truth. He was helpful and informative, and translated everything word for word (and I can vouch for that because I’m bilingual). We also learned that calling someone “feo” (ugly) has been reclaimed as a term of endearment, so the reviewer who was offended by that need not have been. The aviary was spectacular— there are free bird shows in the morning and afternoon (only in Spanish). But just walking around is a huge treat. We could have spent even longer there! The only challenge was the heat, which is obviously outside La Perla’s control, but I would recommend bringing a personal fan or spray bottle for the day. Overall highly recommend, and also happy to support a woman-owned company!

Interesting and cheerful - We toured the village with a local guide. attended traditional dances, visited the boxing school, an activity in which everyone was free to participate was offered. I appreciated the welcome, the information and the good humor of the guides. The coconut fish meal was excellent! It was very hot, a hat or parasol were essential.

Afro-Colombian Adventure! - This was a highlight of our time in Cartagena. We really enjoyed being immersed in the culture and warmth of Palenque! Dayson, our guide, was phenomenal! He spoke excellent English and was able to answer all of our questions, not only about Palenque, its culture, and the people, but about Cartagena in general. I highly recommend that you ask for him when doing this tour. This was a great end to our time in Cartagena!

Dayson and Jhon were excellent guides. - The guide Dayson arrived on time and was respectful the entire time, as was our native guide Jhon. The food was delicious, I recommend the fish in coconut milk.

Had a mind blowing trip,... - Had a mind blowing trip, the information in this trip was incredible, I can’t believe I didn’t know this story before. We even got to participate and learn cultural things along the way. As a pro Black person who studies history, this was a wonderful journey. Tour was one of the highlights of my trip, I definite recommend.

MUST DO! Add this tour to your Cartagena visit! - This was an absolutely amazing tour from the Tour Guide Dayson and the local tour guide and the locals showing us around their beautiful and amazing city and the delicious meal provided. The African dancers showed so much love for my birthday, and even provided me with a small gift. I had fun dancing with the dancers and interacting with the locals in general and learning their language.

Good Tour, but Tour Guide Was Distrespectful - This was a great tour overall, the Pelenque people and culture was so beautiful! The dancing was jaw dropping! WASH SUNSCREEN because it is HOTTT!However I found our tour guide Dayson to be uninterested in the tour. On route to Pelenque, he was in the car explaining the Pelenque history to another fluent spanish speaking passenger, and when asked to explain it, he replied, ‘ the pelenque ppl will tell you”. Also while translating for our Pelenque tour guide, when the tour guide said negra/negro which translates to black women/men, Daysons translation was “ the ugly people like him” which i found extremely distrspectful during a black history tour. The Pelenque ppl also, initially, used Dayson to translate the meaning of their traditional dances, however, Dayson translated their 2-3 minute explanation in 10 seconds … as a result, they found a Pelenque man who spoke fluent engligh to translate on their behalf instead.