Cartagena, Colombia
Walled colonial city in Caribbean colours, with the Rosario Islands a boat ride away.
Best time to visit
Weather by month
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31° | 25° | 9 mm | prime |
| Feb | 32° | 25° | 7 mm | prime |
| Mar | 32° | 25° | 19 mm | prime |
| Apr | 31° | 25° | 72 mm | |
| May | 30° | 25° | 166 mm | |
| Jun | 30° | 25° | 172 mm | |
| Jul | 30° | 25° | 156 mm | |
| Aug | 30° | 25° | 181 mm | |
| Sep | 29° | 25° | 191 mm | |
| Oct | 29° | 25° | 256 mm | |
| Nov | 29° | 25° | 205 mm | |
| Dec | 30° | 25° | 61 mm | prime |
30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.
Cost
Serves travellers at Backpacker→Premium level. Typically around $90 a day on the ground.
Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.
What's on
Hay Festival Cartagena January
Literature festival
Independence Festivities November
Parades and the Miss Colombia pageant
Worth knowing
The walled city and Getsemani are next to each other and both are walked. Taxis for Bocagrande and the beaches further out. The Rosario Islands are about an hour by boat from the tourist pier, and the sea decides whether that hour is pleasant.
getting around · editorial
Rafael Nunez airport is inside the city, fifteen minutes from the walled town. It is one of the shortest airport transfers anywhere and the reason people come for three days.
getting there · editorial
The old city has almost no shade at midday and the walls radiate heat. Locals go out early and again after five, and you should do the same. Street vendors inside the walls negotiate hard and quote a different number to everyone.
know before · editorial
Cash for street vendors, beach chairs and boats; cards in hotels, restaurants and shops in the walled city. Agree the price for anything on the beach before accepting it, because afterwards is too late.
money · editorial
The heaviest rain comes around October, in short violent bursts that flood the streets. Otherwise the problem is not the season but the hour: this is a Caribbean city at sea level and it is hot and humid every month of the year.
when not to go · editorial
Inside the walls is the colonial postcard, with balconies and bougainvillea and prices to match. Getsemani, just outside the gate, is livelier, younger and full of bars and murals. Bocagrande is a high-rise beach strip that looks like Miami and behaves like it. Manga is residential and quiet, ten minutes from the centre.
where to stay · editorial
Quests
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Torre del Reloj
The gate of the walled city. Go in through it the first time.
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Tunnels built to echo enemy footsteps. They still echo.
The walls at sunset
Get up on the wall and walk. The sea on one side, colonial roofs on the other.
Getsemaní and the Plaza de la Trinidad
At night the square becomes the living room of the whole quarter.
Cerro de la Popa
The highest point in the city, and the only place from which it makes sense.
Playa Blanca
An hour by road or by speedboat. Go early and stay past three.
See
Walk the entire wall at sunset
Eat
Eat an arepa de huevo bought in the street
Arepa de huevo
Fried, from a street stall, at breakfast. One is plenty.
Caribbean ceviche
Made with coconut milk. It is not the Peruvian one, and it should not be.
Moment
Dance salsa in Getsemaní on a Wednesday, when it belongs to the locals
A night walk in the walled city
After nine, when the heat leaves and the streets stay.
Water
Islas del Rosario
A day by boat. The water changes colour three times on the way.