cartagena, co
Cartagena is the immensely popular port and coastal town in North Eastern Colombia. It’s known for its colorful streets, street art, walled city and impressive historical center, Afro-Caribbean roots, and probably most notably amongst young tourists, its party scene. Colombia as a whole is known for its partying but Cartagena is up there with the most popular destinations to do it. There’s also realistically two Cartagena’s. New Cartagena, and Old Cartagena. New Cartagena is characterized by Miami style high rise condos with 360 ocean views. Old Cartagena is where you will find the history and culture. This, in my opinion, the old part, is where you will want to spend all your time. My personal opinion on Cartagena was rather lukewarm. It’s certainly a beautiful city with lots of culture and history but the tourism and the general boom of it over the past years has deteriorated the beauty of it in my opinion. There are so many tourists around everywhere, especially when the cruise ships roll in. It’s also oppressively hot. The middle of the day is nearly unbearable. With the tourists come the street vendors and hecklers. Never in my life have I been heckled so hard as in the streets of Cartagena. There is every meter it seems a different person trying to sell you a souvenir. After which that same vendor who was selling a souvenir turns almost immediately into a person asking if you want to buy cocaine or weed. They are relentless, they are annoying, abrasive and they don’t give up. When you are here in Cartagena it becomes almost an acquired skill being able to avoid them or go out on the streets without them getting under your skin. It may sound or feel rude, but avoiding eye contact unless you are looking to buy a souvenir with anyone who looks like they are selling, will really improve your experience. With all that being said, the over tourism, street heckling, oppressive heat, chaos, dichotomy between those who have and don’t have, I liked Cartagena more than I thought I would. It’s a worthy stop for everyone coming to Colombia. Come through for 3 days. No more. If you want to do less, then that is okay too. But don’t stay for a week. There is absolutely no need to do that. You can realistically do everything that you would want to do here in a day. The street art, nightlife culture in the street, the Getsemani neighborhood and drinking streets and the walled historic city are all interesting and worth visiting. The culture here is pretty amazing.
Cartagena shouldn't need much in the way of explanation for its location. It’s located in the Caribbean Sea in the far north of the country. Extremely close to Panama. So close actually that many people to get from Panama to Colombia or vice versa simply take sailboats. More on that on the San Blas page.
It’s one of the largest cities in Colombia and has a major international airport. No matter where you are in the country there will be simple busses and shuttle access if you decide to go by land. If you want to fly, the Cartagena airport is also very common.
The international airport here is coded CDG and is located here.
There are two important zones to know about in Cartagena as a tourist. They are below.
Easily my favorite part of Cartagena is the afro Caribbean neighborhood of Getsemani. I would never stay in any part of town other than this part ever again if I went back to Cartagena. Its touristy here of course, but its more full of travelers as compared to the touristy historic center. At night the streets erupt with parties and people just drinking on the streets until around 4 in the morning. During the day its bustling with street art and the colorful graffitied walls are amazing to just walk around and stare at. For me, Getsemani is the simply best part of the town of Cartagena.
The historic center of the walled city is the part that, you guessed it, has the history of being the walled fort city from centuries in the past. There is tons of history here but with that comes with the overwhelming level of tourism you would find in a place like Florence Italy. For me its a great place to walk around and go experience, but I had about had my fill here after an afternoon.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
The town is booming. From a tourism perspective at least it is exploding. With that comes an intense amount of hotels and hostels everywhere.
The hotels can range from local little spots to extremely fancy. For me I stuck with the hostels. Of which there are tons of them ranging from quaint and familiar to huge and party oriented. I stayed at the whole range.
If you are with a group, airbnb here is also a great option.
If you ask me this is the best hostel in Cartagena. I absolutely adore the Getsemani area. When compared to the rest of Cartagena that is. Its real, full of life, chaotic. Compared to the historic center its much less touristy and more travelery as well. The hostel istels is super clean, comfortable, theres always a great group of people there and its a perfect mix between being able to meet people and being able to go and party. They have a bar on the premises with nightly welcome drinks and all that. Lovely pool as well thats perfect for cooling off from the oppressive Cartagena heat.
Super simple and cheap hostel really well located right next to the Plaza de Trinidad in Getsemani. This place is absolutley not anything special but its a cheap and well located option.
Nice and rather quiet hostel in Getsemani. A good option if you want something thats going to be clean and nice but also relatively quiet.
The best party hostel in Cartagena. Its located in the historic center in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. It's always full of young people, most of whom are looking to have a good time. The dorms are really nice and the facilities as well, especially for a party hostel. So if that's what you are looking for, I can recommend this place.
Viajero is essentially the Selina of Colombia. They are in every major place that you will end up trying to go visit. They are well done and usually its a great place to go meet people. For me though, they are almost always extremely over priced and not worth staying at. I would pass on these in general unless you are on a high budget and just want something really nice.
This isnt in Cartagena but it should be noted on the list. Its about 15 kms from town and its located right on a pretty cool beach. Which if you are in Cartagena, is going to be pretty hard to find. People come out here for a few days to chill on the beach.
EATS
Theres food everywhere here. Its a massive tourist magnet. Theres a whole a whole lot of places though that I would consider tourist traps so be careful. Some expensive spots with very much so below average food.
Beyond that theres definitely a fine dining scene here thats good. I never got into that aspect of it but if you are into it I am sure there are plenty of food bloggers out there who have dedicated websites for expensive food.
The options I have outlined will be for the most part, the cheaper options to eat.
Restaurants
Healthy bowl spot right next to the Plaza de Trinidad in Getsemani. Its a really nice fresh option compared to the mountain of fried food available in Colombia.
Arepa spot on one of the main walking streets in Getsemani. Not going to be the cheapest arepas in the world. Not street food price. But they are a great intro to the local Colombian street food.
Theres lots of street burger spots around Getsemani that pop up. Worth a try, especially late at night. But be careful. They are huge and will probably make you want to go to sleep.
My favorite street empanadas were in the corner of plaza trinidad in Getsemani. They are like $.50 and they will fill you up for the night. The pin is as close as I can get but the photo is of a cop eating one of them so look for this stand.
Probably the most popular street food here, especially amongst Colombians is the Salchipapa. It's a massive plate of fries covered in sauces and sausages. Its a mini coronary but its worth a try. Best spot is in the Plaza Trinidad in Getsemani.
Theres a small Plaza called Plaza del Pozo which is really quiet and cute. A small pizzeria here has chairs and tables set up and its a great spot to grab a pizza.
A famous spot in the historic center. It is probably some of the best ceviche I have ever had. But its expensive. If you have a night out in your budget then this is a good spot.
A really great spot for lunch or brunch. Won't be budget food but not that expensive either. Food is delicious with a lovely environment around it as well.
Nice spot to come for sunset. They have a few food trucks and a bar. The food won't be super cheap but you have options and it will be pretty trasty.
NIGHTLIFE
Cartagena is a nightlife city. People come here to party and nothing else sometimes. So if you are looking for something, you can find it 7 nights a week. Make sure to go his a salsa club as well.
My favorite stuff to do here from a partying perspective was just to go out on the streets and drink. Its full of people every night a week its just so much fun. Theres a really big club scene here as well that I wasn't as much of a fan of, its your typical multi level clubs that you can find anywhere but some of those will be below as well.
Bars and Clubs
Hands down the best place to go out in Cartagena. Was one of my favorite nights out in the entire country actually. Its a classic salsa bar with roots dedicated to Cuba. They have a nightly 10 piece band and its just amazing. Cover is about $10 which is pricey though. Worth it to do at least once though.
Calle 28 and 29 are called the Umbrella Streets of Getsemani. They are tiny little walking streets that are lined with bars. The whole way up and down serving 2 for 1 mojitos and rum and cokes and whatever all night. People just walk up and down, pick a plastic table and sit and drink all night long. Its lively, its fun, its culturally unique and I went all the time.
Physical 2nd story club in Getsemani thats the only club like place that I would recommend here in the area. It gets crowded and full every night for the most part.
A little restaurant and bar located along the wall in the historic center. Its the best place easily to come and watch the beautiful sunset. It's always crowded though so get there early.
If you are like me, drinking in the street is very fun. Just walk to Plaza Trinidad and you can buy beers and cocktails from anywhere and just hang out drinking in the square.
Probably one of the more popular clubs in the historic center. Its a few stories and the different stories have different vibes.
A lot of the hostels have pub crawls that get you together and to a few different places. I would go sometimes to meet people and its never a terrible idea. If not touristy. I would recommend the one from Republica.
Awesome local club that will be full of colombians going wild to reggaeton. I really recommend this spot.
A kind of at any kind of the day place. But I usually ended up here late at night. Its where the pub crawls ended and its a good mix between super loud and popping club and bar.
SIGHTS
For being such a popular tourist city I wouldnt actually say that there is all that much to do here in Cartagena. The places to see in the city itself really encompass the historic center and Getsemani. To achieve doing those well, you really just have to walk around. Maybe take a walking tour. But the still in the city is easy and relatively straightforward.
Outside of that there are some beaches and islands taht require a day trip in order to arrive at. A lot of people do that and the options are below. But in my opinion, they are pretty touristy and overblown.
The reason anyone really comes to Cartagena is to get a glimpse at and walk around the really amazing and beautiful walled city of Cartagena. Its the part that has been here since colonialism and its pretty beautiful to be honest. It looks like an old spanish or italian city. Take a walk around, go check out the wall, its beautiful.
Unless you skipped straight here in this log then you probably already know the I think Getsemani is the place to be. The cultural center of Cartagena if you ask me.
My Favorite little plaza in Getsemani. I came here almost every night without fail to just sit, people watch and enjoy the organized chaos going on around me. Also a great place to come to eat. But this should be on every persons list in Cartagena.
Theres amazing artists in Getsemani and the Center and supporting the local artists is a really cool thing to do. Also its amazing art and would be a phenominal souvenir. The main art street in Getemani is linked.
To ge the most out of Cartagena itself, take a walking tour. They are free and run for the most part on tips but that doesnt mean you shouldn't tip. They are super informative and a great way to see as much as you can in as short a time as possible.
A day trip from Colombia is the island and peninsula or Baru. Its really popular and gets extremely crowded. Its not the most crowded surrounding beach though.
Extrememly crowded beach outside of Cartagena. If you can get there first thing in the morning then you may be able to beat some crowds but its very touristy as are all the beach destinations outside of Cartagena.
This one is the closest to actual Cartagena. Its only about a 5 minute boat ride and it gets you to some beaches. The beaches can be beautiful, but crowded.
This is the best thing to do from an ocean perspective outside of Cartagena. Its a really stunning archipelago of islands. Tiny islands like the San Blas. Its an hour boat ride so you will lose some crowds because of this. You can also spend the night out here which is cool.
SURFING
There is practically no surfing in the entire country of Colombia. For the most part this section will be blank.