How Payment Works for a Cartagena Bachelor Party

Updated: September 8, 2026 · by Marta Fernández, founder of CABÚ Viajes, local operator in Cartagena de Indias (RNT 215668).

In short: a deposit to hold, the balance before the trip, always against a company invoice and never into a personal account. What can be moved and what cannot is written into the quote, before you pay.

Why this page exists

The number one fear for a group planning a bachelor party in Cartagena is not the safety of the city: it is losing the deposit. Polished websites that ask for 100 percent upfront and then stop answering. It is common enough to deserve a page of its own, not one line buried in terms and conditions.

Here is how the money works with us. And it applies just as well if you end up booking with someone else: if your operator cannot explain this same thing in writing, that is your answer.

How payment works

• Deposit. It holds the house, which is the piece that sells out. Until it is paid there is no reservation — we say that plainly instead of letting you believe the date is being held.
• Balance before the trip. With its date agreed from the start, not a surprise call two weeks out.
• A company invoice for every payment. Not a transfer receipt: an invoice.
• Never to a personal account. Not ours, not anyone’s. If you are asked to wire money to an individual name, stop there.

What is included and what is not

Every quote is itemized per unit: the house, the boat, the van, the chef, each with its price and its billing unit. And it carries its list of what is not included — the part almost nobody writes down and the one that causes every argument: flights, travel insurance, tips, club spending, extra fuel if the boat changes route, personal expenses.

The reference ranges for each component are published openly at how much a Cartagena bachelor party costs. There is no secret rate that changes depending on who asks.

If the group changes size

This is the most common misunderstanding and it is worth saying before signing: the house, the boat and the transport are charged per unit. If the group drops from 16 to 12, the total does not drop — the per-person price goes up. What does adjust is the per-head items: chef, entries, some activities. Telling us early always leaves more room than telling us the week of the trip.

Changes, cancellations, and the day the sea says no

We are not going to publish one tidy policy that sounds good and then does not hold, because every house and every vessel has its own. What is fixed:

• The change and cancellation terms for each component are written into the quote, before you pay anything. If something cannot be moved, you see it there and not in an email when it is already too late.
• In high season the house is the most rigid piece. December, New Year and Holy Week run on their own rules, and we tell you those when quoting, not after.
• The boat is the captain’s call. If the sea is not fit to sail, nobody sails. It moves to another day when the itinerary allows — which is why the island day goes on the first full day — or it is swapped for a plan on land.

How to check we are who we say we are

Without asking you to take our word for it: RNT 215668, free to verify in the Colombian National Tourism Registry, operating since 2021. The full guide to vetting any Cartagena operator — including us — in ten minutes is at how to verify a bachelor party operator.

Split payments and minimum group size

• You can pay in instalments. A deposit holds the house and the rest is split across payments on a schedule agreed in writing from the start. This is not bank financing or interest-free credit: they are direct payments to the company, each with its invoice.
• We work with groups from 6 people. Worth knowing before you ask for numbers: because everything is charged per unit, a group of 6 pays for the same house and the same boat as a group of 12, so the per-person price climbs. At 6 or 8 people a smaller house and a speedboat instead of a catamaran usually makes more sense, and the quote reflects that.

Frequently asked questions

How much has to be paid upfront?

A deposit to hold the house and the balance before the trip, always against a company invoice. Never 100 percent upfront: if someone demands it to "secure the date", that is the clearest red flag there is.

Who is the payment made out to?

The company, never a personal account. A transfer to an individual leaves no commercial trail, and that is exactly how money disappears in this business.

What if the group drops from 16 people to 12?

The house, the boat and the transport are charged per unit, so the total does not go down — the per-person price goes up. What does adjust is the per-head items: chef, entries, some activities. Telling us early always leaves more room than telling us the week of the trip.

Can we change the dates?

It depends on each supplier and how far out you are. Houses are usually the most rigid in high season. The honest version is this: every quote states in writing what can move and what cannot, before you pay anything.

What if the sea is rough on the boat day?

It moves to the next day if the itinerary allows — which is why the island day goes on the first full day and not the last — or it is swapped for a plan on land. That call belongs to the captain, on safety grounds, not to the group and not to us.

Can we pay from the US or Mexico?

Yes. The method and the schedule are agreed in the quote, and every payment comes with its invoice.

Can everyone pay their own share?

Yes. Each person in the group can pay us their share directly, and each one gets their own receipt in their own name. One person does not have to front the whole trip and then chase eleven friends over WhatsApp.

This is the part nobody warns you about when you organize a bachelor or bachelorette party: whoever books ends up being the group's bank. They front several thousand dollars, and from that moment the trip turns into a collections job. We have seen groups fall out over it before anyone boarded a plane.

How it works

• The quote arrives with the total and the per-person price. That per-person number is what each person owes — no surcharge for paying separately.
• The deposit holds the house. The organizer can cover it or the group can split it: what matters is that it arrives in full, because until it does the house stays available to another group.
• The balance gets split. Each person pays their share on the written schedule, and every payment is invoiced by the company.
• You can see who has paid and who has not. We track it and share it with the organizer, so nobody has to keep the tally by hand.

The part we say out loud

The per-person price comes from dividing a total, not from adding up individual prices. If someone drops out, the total does not drop: the house, the boat and the van cost the same for 10 people as for 12, so what goes up is everyone else's share. That is why it is worth closing the list before splitting the payments, and why the schedule goes in writing from day one.