Region: Bolívar Department · Colombia
Where to stay in Cartagena
Cartagena is a city in Bolívar Department, Colombia, home to about 915,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- CTG3 km · Rafael Nuñez International Airport
- Currency
- COPColombian peso
- Time zone
- America/Bogota
- Plugs
- A, B · 110 V
- Emergency
- 123
- Language
- Spanish
About
About Cartagena
Cartagena ( KAR-tə-HEN-ə), known since the imperial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea.
The city was one of the first sanctuaries of freed African slaves in the Americas. It is populated by an ethnic mix representative of Colombia's own variety. It was fortified and functioned as the center of the Inquisition in the region. Cartagena has almost 1 million inhabitants, and is on the northern coast at the Caribbean Sea. It gets extremely crowded in the December holidays and the holy week, when schools are out and most Colombians take their vacations.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Cartagena
See
Cartagena has several faces; one of a dirty, sprawling Caribbean metropolis, in Bocagrande the one of a massive "hotel ghetto" and finally the old town with its well-polished face of a once affluent colonial city. Cartagena's main attraction is its historic old town surrounded by the city wall. Main entrance is the Clock Tower Building. The walled city includes the neighbourhoods Centro, San Diego, Getsemaní and the modern part La Matuna. The oldest part of Cartagena is around Plaza Trinidad in Getsemaní.
- Plaza de los Coches
- Plaza de la Aduana
- Convento & Iglesia de San Pedro Claver
- Museo Naval del Caribe
- Plaza de Bolívar
- Palacio de la Inquisición
- Museo del Oro y Arqueología
- Catedral de Santa Catalina
- Iglesia de Santo Domingo
- Casa de Rafael Núñez
- Monumento a la India Catalina
- Castillo de San Felipe
Do
Nearby coral reefs, powdery beaches, impressive mangroves, and waterways complement the historic and urban beauty.
- Chiva Bus
- Latin Dance Lessons
- Spanish Classes
- Casa Cultural Colombo Alemana de Cartagena
- Nueva Lengua
- Raíces: Spanish & Culture
- Playa Blanca
- Bay of Cholon
- Islas del Rosario
- Festival lnternacional de Música
- Hay Festival
- Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Cartagena to stay in
In the Ciudad Amurallada, the most famous hotels are Sofitel Santa Clara and Charleston Santa Teresa, both old monasteries renovated in the 1990s. Either of them have fabulous facilities - expect prices like Monaco. Otherwise, the newest part of the city, Bocagrande, offers the largest number of hotels of all prices. You should always try to stay in the ciudad amurallada, since this is what makes Cartagena unique, rather than its beaches, which are normally too crowded and not really clean. If you cannot afford the five-star hotels, you may try with colonial houses turned into hostels, but they are rather small and sometimes getting a room there may be a matter of luck.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Where the places to stay in Cartagena are
16 places to stay in this guide with known coordinates, grouped by straight-line distance from the city centre (the point Wikidata gives for Cartagena), nearest first. Distance on foot or by road is longer.
8 places
- Hostal La Guaca · 1.4 km
- Casa Bustamante · 2.1 km
- Hotel Boutique Castillo Ines Maria · 2.1 km
- La Terraza De Estella · 2.2 km
- Casa Ébano 967 · 2.3 km
- Hotel Santa Cecilia B&B · 2.4 km
- Luna Cartagena Airport Hotel · 2.4 km
- Bastión Luxury Hotel · 2.6 km
6 places
- Hotel Estelar Bocagrande · 3.2 km
- Gente de Mar · 3.3 km
- Decameron Cartagena · 3.5 km
- Hotel y Restaurante Iguanas Pizzas · 4.1 km
- Hotel Summer · 4.1 km
- Vista Mare Beach House · 7.8 km
Where to stay
Hotels in Cartagena
16 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Estelar Bocagrande | 2016 | 3.2 km |
| Bastión Luxury Hotel | 2.6 km | |
| Casa Bustamante | 2.1 km | |
| Casa Ébano 967 | 2.3 km | |
| Decameron Barú | 22.0 km | |
| Decameron Cartagena | 3.5 km | |
| Gente de Mar | 3.3 km | |
| Hostal La Guaca | 1.4 km | |
| Hotel Boutique Castillo Ines Maria | 2.1 km | |
| Hotel Santa Cecilia B&B | 2.4 km | |
| Hotel Summer | 4.1 km | |
| Hotel y Restaurante Iguanas Pizzas | 4.1 km | |
| La Terraza De Estella | 2.2 km | |
| Luna Cartagena Airport Hotel | 2.4 km | |
| Makani Luxury Wanderlust | 12.0 km | |
| Vista Mare Beach House | 7.8 km |
All 16 hotels in Cartagena, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Cartagena
Cartagena has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; October is the wettest, with about 227 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Cartagena travel calendar 2027: every day with public and school holidays, sunrise and sunset and the typical high and low (also as JSON).
Public holidays in Colombia, 2026
Shops and offices may close on these dates.
Getting there
Getting to Cartagena: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rafael Nuñez International Airport (CTG), about 2.5 km from the city centre in a straight line; Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ, 97 km) and Las Brujas Airport (CZU, 124 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
The old town in particular is best explored walking. Most places in Bocagrande are also within walking distance. To reach other destinations such as the San Felipe fort, Bocagrande, Castillogrande, airport, etc. there are many buses running all over the city. Ask the driver or other people who are waiting which bus goes to your destination. An urban bus ticket cost COP$2,300 sold by the driver (A bus driver doesn't accept the money. Locals use a plastic card to go inside a bus. August 2023).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
CTG · Rafael Nuñez International Airport
BAQ · Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport
CZU · Las Brujas Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Cartagena
Eat
Cartagena features a rich fusion cuisine, combining ingredients and methods of the New and Old worlds, as well as of the original African, Arabian and other legacies of its inhabitants. Eating set menu lunches and dinners in local restaurants called 'corrientes' costs around COP$6,000. A typical dish consists of fried fish (if you are by the beach), chicken or meat, served with coconut rice (arroz de coco), fried plantains (patacones) and salad. There are many places that sell COP$2,000 fruit juices. Colombia boasts a very good range of exotic fruits that can be mixed with water or milk.
Drink
The most common type of coffee in Colombia is the sweet tinto. This can be bought from street vendors all over Cartagena for COP$500. Most bars and clubs are found in the old town or at Avenida del Arsenal near the Convention Center. Plaza San Diego is a square with a lot of bars and restaurants, very lively in the weekends.
Stay safe
The touristed old town is not more dangerous than a city in the first world, but going off the beaten path to the periphery of the city there is a real risk of getting robbed. Be very careful when walking at night specially around lonely parts of the city. Locals are in general helpful and kind. The street vendors can be very annoying, but a simple "No quiero nada" in Spanish will keep them away.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Cartagena: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Cartagena?
Cartagena has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; October is the wettest, with about 227 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Cartagena?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rafael Nuñez International Airport (CTG), about 2.5 km from the city centre in a straight line; Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ, 97 km) and Las Brujas Airport (CZU, 124 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Cartagena?
Colombian peso (COP).
Nearby
Destinations near Cartagena
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; public holidays from python-holidays (MIT); places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.