🇨🇴Cartagena
A walled Spanish port on the Caribbean, all bougainvillea balconies and fortress stone, and the most photogenic old town in South America. Also the hottest, priciest and most hustle-heavy stop in Colombia — worth it, in smaller doses than you'd think.
Mid-range figures, per person
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and luxury scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Fares are into Bogotá, the main hub; Medellín and Cartagena also have direct flights from Florida and a few other US hubs. From Europe, Avianca flies London–Bogotá direct, and Iberia and Air Europa connect via Madrid. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Entry & visa
Not for US, Canadian, UK, EU or Australian passports: you get up to 90 days visa-free, extendable to 180 days in a calendar year. You must complete the free Check-MIG form on Migración Colombia's official site between 72 hours and 1 hour before your flight in, and again before flying out — ignore the paid lookalike sites. Canadians pay a reciprocity fee on arrival. Rules can change, so check your government's advice before booking.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Cartagena is the most expensive city in Colombia, and inside the walls prices are pitched at visitors — a dinner that costs $20 in Medellín is $40 here. Cards are accepted in hotels and most walled-city restaurants; beach vendors, taxis, street food and the boat pier are cash only. Colombian ATMs charge foreign cards a flat COP 12,000–30,000 ($3.60–9) per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often, from machines inside banks or malls, and decline the offer to convert to dollars. When a card machine asks '¿cuántas cuotas?' (how many installments), say 'una'. Always ask the price before you accept anything on the street or beach.
What locals earn
| Typical monthly income (national) | ≈ COP 1.8–2.5 million ($550–750) | Cartagena's is lower than Bogotá's or Medellín's, and informality is higher on the coast. |
| Minimum wage (2026) | COP 1,750,905/month ($530) | Up 23% in 2026, plus a COP 249,095 transport allowance for low earners. |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Menú del día outside the walls | COP 20,000–30,000 | $6–9 |
| Arepa de huevo or empanada from a stall | COP 4,000–8,000 | $1.20–2.40 |
| Casual restaurant, per person | COP 40,000–70,000 | $12–21 |
| Dinner inside the walls, per person | COP 90,000–180,000 | $27–55 |
| Coffee | COP 3,000–10,000 | $0.90–3 |
| Beer · cocktail in the walled city | COP 10,000–18,000 · 35,000–55,000 | $3–5.50 · $11–17 |
Transport & trips
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Transcaribe bus ride (2026) | COP 3,900 | $1.20 |
| Taxi, minimum fare (2026) | COP 12,250 | $3.70 |
| Taxi, airport → walled city (2026 zone fare) | COP 19,400 | $5.90 |
| Rosario Islands boat tour | COP 100,000–220,000 | $30–67 |
| Pier tax at La Bodeguita (cash) | COP 31,500 | $9.50 |
Sights
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Castillo San Felipe de Barajas | COP 38,000 | $11.50 |
| Walking the city walls | Free | Free |
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Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | COP 55,000–110,000 ($17–33) | Mostly in Getsemaní. Check there's air conditioning in the dorm, not just the lobby. |
| Budget hotel | COP 180,000–300,000 ($55–90) | Small guesthouses in Getsemaní and San Diego; rooms are often small and windowless. |
| Mid-range hotel | COP 400,000–800,000 ($120–240) | Restored colonial houses inside the walls, usually with a plunge pool. |
| Luxury | COP 1,500,000+ ($450+) | Converted convents and mansions in the walled city. |
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Trip cost calculator
$249 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group; flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- From the airport
- Rafael Núñez (CTG) is 10–15 minutes from the walled city. Use the official taxi line outside arrivals: you're given a slip with the fixed zone fare — COP 19,400 ($5.90) to the walled city or Getsemaní in 2026 — before you get in.
- On foot
- The walled city, Getsemaní and the walls themselves are all walkable, and the best way to see them. It's hot: walk early, retreat to your hotel pool at midday, and go out again from around 4 pm. The Transcaribe bus system (COP 3,900, ~$1.20) runs along the main avenues, but visitors rarely need it.
- Taxis
- Cartagena's taxis have no meters; fares are set by zone and the minimum is COP 12,250 ($3.70) in 2026, with a small night surcharge. Agree the price before getting in. Uber, DiDi and inDrive also operate, in the same legal grey zone as elsewhere in Colombia.
- Boats
- Trips to the Rosario Islands and Barú leave from the La Bodeguita pier opposite the walled city in the morning. You pay a cash pier tax on top of the tour price; almost no advertised price includes it.
Map
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Neighborhoods to stay in
- Walled city (El Centro & San Diego)
- Balconies, plazas and restored mansions — the reason you came. San Diego, the northern half, is a little quieter. Expensive, and loud at weekends near the bars.
- Getsemaní
- Just outside the walls, with street art, cheaper hotels, the best bar scene and a neighborhood that still has residents. The first choice on a budget.
- Bocagrande
- High-rise hotels on a long, grey-sand city beach, 10 minutes by taxi from the old town. Good for families and pools; not for atmosphere.
Things to do
The old city
Restaurants
Nightlife
Islands & beaches
Tipping & etiquette
- Ask the price first, every time — for fruit, a hat, a massage, a photo with a palenquera in her fruit-bowl headdress. Once it's done, the price is whatever they say.
- The women in colorful dresses carrying fruit are palenqueras, from San Basilio de Palenque, and photos with them are a paid service. Agree the amount first.
- Beach vendors are persistent. A calm, repeated 'no, gracias' without stopping works better than engaging.
- Dress for the heat, but beachwear stays on the beach — shirts on in the old town and in churches.
- 'No dar papaya' — don't make yourself an easy target — applies here as everywhere in Colombia: phones away on the street, especially outside the walls at night.
How to spend a trip to Cartagena
The heat sets the timetable: sightsee from early morning to late morning and again from late afternoon, and spend the middle of the day indoors or in water.
One day is enough to see the walled city and Getsemaní well, if you work around the midday heat. The islands don't fit.
- Early morningThe walled city before the crowds: the Puerta del Reloj, the plazas, the balconies.
- Late morningCastillo San Felipe de Barajas, before the heat peaks.
- AfternoonLunch and a long break somewhere with air conditioning, then Getsemaní's murals.
- EveningSunset on the city walls, dinner at Celele, then Plaza de la Trinidad or salsa at Café Havana.
Three days is what this guide recommends: two for the city at a heat-appropriate pace and one on the water.
- Day 1The walled city and San Diego in the morning, the walls at sunset, dinner inside the walls.
- Day 2Castillo San Felipe de Barajas early, then Getsemaní and Plaza de la Trinidad, and Café Havana at night.
- Day 3The Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca by boat from the La Bodeguita pier. Bring cash for the pier tax.
Five days is more than Cartagena needs unless you want a beach holiday. Use it as the Caribbean end of a Colombia trip rather than stretching the old town.
Safety & common scams
The walled city, Getsemaní and Bocagrande are heavily policed and feel safe by day and into the evening. The daily nuisance is the hard sell — vendors, touts and overcharging — rather than danger. The serious risk, as in Medellín, is drugging and robbery via dating apps or strangers met in bars, which the US and Canadian governments both specifically warn about in Cartagena; offers of drugs or sex work on the street are also a route into robberies and police shakedowns. Unlicensed tour boats have had accidents, so book islands trips through your hotel or an established operator. The US advisory for Colombia overall is Level 3, 'Reconsider travel', largely for rural armed-group regions that don't include Cartagena.
Scams to know
- The 'free' massage — on the beach, someone starts rubbing your shoulders or feet as a 'sample', then demands COP 100,000 or more. Say no clearly before anyone touches you.
- Island tour add-ons — a cheap Rosario tour becomes expensive once the pier tax, the aquarium entry, lunch and 'island fees' are added. Ask exactly what's included, in writing, and bring cash for the pier tax.
- Menus without prices — seafood 'by weight' or a menu with no prices, and a bill several times what you expected. Ask the price before ordering, especially for lobster and fish.
- Dating-app setups — a new match proposes meeting at your hotel or a bar they pick, and you're drugged and robbed. Meet in busy public places, and never take someone new back to your room.
- Street drug offers — a seller offers cocaine and a 'police officer' appears moments later to demand a bribe. Decline and walk on.
Emergency numbers: 123 is the national emergency line. Tourist police patrol the walled city and Getsemaní.
Phone & internet
Claro has the best coverage, with Movistar and Tigo also good in the city; buy a prepaid SIM at an official store with your passport and ask them to register your phone's IMEI, or it will be blocked after about 20 days. An eSIM from Airalo or Holafly skips all of that. Coverage on the islands is patchy.
First-timer FAQs
Are the beaches good?
Not in the city. Bocagrande's sand is grey and the water murky. For the Caribbean you picture, take a boat to the Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca on Barú, and go midweek.
Is Cartagena expensive?
For Colombia, yes — hotels and restaurants inside the walls cost roughly double what they do in Medellín. Stay in Getsemaní and eat lunch outside the walls to bring it down.
How hot is it?
Hot and humid every day of the year, around 30–32 °C. Build midday breaks into your plans, stay somewhere with air conditioning, and drink a lot of water.
How many days do I need?
Two to three: one or two for the walled city, Getsemaní and the fortress, and one for the Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca. Beyond that it becomes a beach holiday rather than sightseeing.
Similar cities to consider
Japan's kitchen and its most unpretentious big city: neon canal-side food streets, castle grounds, and a local motto — kuidaore, eat until you drop.
The walkable, developed heart of the Riviera Maya — Quinta Avenida's shop-and-restaurant strip, a ferry to Cozumel's reefs, and some of the world's best cenotes just outside town. Livelier and more convenient than Tulum, less raw.
Brittany's lively capital — half-timbered squares built for cider and galettes, a huge student population, and the easiest launch point for Mont Saint-Michel and Brittany's wild coastline.
Cartagena or…?
Side-by-side cost comparisons with the other Colombia guides — and its rivals abroad.