Travel to Cartagena, Colombia: the whole trip, decided in order

Six decisions in the order you make them. Entries 1, 4 and 6 and the margin follow your month.

Why people go. The walls, the fortress and the colonial streets are one UNESCO site, and the Rosario Islands are a day out by boat. In 2025 Migración Colombia counted 1,665,292 international entries and exits through Cartagena’s airport.

Why Americans go. A US passport needs no visa for a short visit (foreign ministry list, 1 September 2026). The airport’s operator lists American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and Spirit among its carriers, and United has announced routes from Washington D.C. and Houston. Many come by sea: of the cruise passengers registered at Cartagena in 2024, 61.9% were from the United States and 12.4% from Canada.

Two things surprise people. First, the heat: at 13:00 the shade feels like 37 to 39 °C (99 to 102 °F) in every month, and even 7:00 feels like 30 to 35 °C (86 to 95 °F). In February the streets are cool enough to walk until 9:45 and again from 16:45; in September only until 7:15 and from 21:15. The second is prices: official prices are low and the walls are free, but every boat day adds 31,500 COP a person at the dock, taxi fares in the city are set by zone under Decreto 0051 de 2026, Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena, of which the airport’s table is the part published, and rooms, meals and boats cost what the seller asks.

Who it does not suit. Anyone who wants a beach outside the hotel door: the city beaches are rock groynes and rented tents. Anyone who wants to be out at midday: the shade at 13:00 is past the guide’s walking line in every month. And anyone whose plans follow the advisories: the US rates all of Colombia, Cartagena included, Level 3: Reconsider Travel (advisory of 31 March 2026), citing crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and natural disasters. None of the US, UK, Canada or Australia lists the city among areas to avoid; Canada and Australia name it for drugging, pickpocketing and unlicensed tour boats.

The old town is small: Centro and San Diego inside the walls, Getsemaní outside the main gate, 10 minutes apart on foot. The walls are free; the fortress charges 38,000 COP a foreign adult. The hour decides the day, not the distance.

• Cool morning, hot midday, sunset, after dark: things to do in Cartagena, sorted by the hour.
• A morning loop before the heat, the sea wall at sunset: the walled city in two walks.
• Murals early, Plaza de la Trinidad at night, street noise if you sleep there: Getsemaní, to stay in or to visit.
• The fortress opens at 7:00 and its ramps have no shade, so go early: Castillo San Felipe de Barajas.
• The sea across the road, the Clock Tower 37 minutes away on foot: Bocagrande against the old town.
• Fritters at breakfast, fried fish and coconut rice at lunch, sweets by the Clock Tower: Cartagena food, dish by dish.
• Most mapped bars are inside the walls and in Getsemaní: Cartagena nightlife by barrio, with the way back.
• Sunset barely moves, from 17:37 in November to 18:28 in July: the Cartagena sunset, from the sea wall or a boat in the bay.
• Independence day is 11 November; the January festivals and Holy Week also move prices and crowds: the festival year.

For the history on the morning loop, the shared walking tour of the historic center and Getsemaní covers both sides of the gate.

Clear shallows and pale sand need a boat or the road to Barú. Day boats leave 8:00 to 8:30 and are back about 16:30, and the national park’s fees are paid per person at the dock, on top of the tour.

• Five island groups, sorted by your time and how you take a fast boat: the island picker.
• Speedboat, day pass, catamaran or private boat: the Rosario Islands, four ways.
• Playa Blanca is 39 km by road, or one stop of a boat day: Isla Barú and Playa Blanca.
• Beach clubs, a public beach and the Bocachica forts across the bay: Tierra Bomba.
• Eighteen day passes by boat, lounger, lunch and dock fees: Cartagena beach clubs.
• Every beach from the hotel door to the islands, nearest first: Cartagena beaches.
• The San Bernardo Islands lie 76 km south in a straight line, 90 minutes to 2 hours each way by the listings: stay a night (San Bernardo Islands).
• What a private boat’s price covers, and the fees it often leaves out: boat rental for your group.

For a first island day with no plan of your own: the 5-stop Rosario Islands day tour with lunch, a shared boat.

Four kinds of tour leave once a day, in the morning, and are worth booking before you fly: the shared island boat, a private boat, the mud volcano and Palenque. Walks, food tours and sunset boats can usually wait for the day before.

• Two to five nights, each day on the clock for your month: the itinerary.
• A city day, an island day or a ship day, planned hour by hour: the day planner on the front page.
• Eleven areas compared by walk, beach, bars and pool: where to stay.
• Twenty hotels in colonial houses, by pool, roof and street: boutique hotels. Inside the walls, Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia describes a roof terrace with deck chairs.
• In November 2026 the tour listings on GetYourGuide and Viator stated free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start: Cartagena tours, sorted by when to book.
• A morning, a day, or too far, on one ring map: day trips.
• The mud volcano is 57 km by road and fills a morning: Totumo.
• San Basilio de Palenque is 64 km by road, a full day with a guide from the town: Palenque.
• The bird park on Barú takes a morning, or a day with Playa Blanca: the Aviario Nacional.
• The typical ship docks in Manga at 7:30 and sails at 18:00: your hours ashore.

It is hot at every hour of every month; what changes is rain, wind and the sea. Airport taxi fares, the bus fare and site fees are set by decree or by the operator.

• Heat, rain, sea, ships and hotels on one ribbon: the best time to visit.
• Every hour of every month: Cartagena weather.
• Four government advisories side by side, and who to call: is Cartagena safe?
• The prices set by law, with a day budget in pesos: is Cartagena expensive?
• The free Check-Mig form opens 72 hours and closes 1 hour before your flight: Check-Mig and the entry rules.
• The airport taxi to Bocagrande is 34,400 COP at the zone fare: from the airport to your area.
• A direct flight, a connection, or the road: how to get to Cartagena.
• The flight against the bus, door to door: Medellín to Cartagena.
• Marsol gives 5 hours by van; the bus and a private car on the same strip: Cartagena to Santa Marta.
• Walk, taxi, app or bus, hop by hop: getting around.
• Old town, city and islands at three scales: the map of Cartagena.
• The tables to download and cite: Cartagena data.

Who edits the guide and how it is made: about cartagena.info. How the partner links earn and what a click records: the affiliate disclosure and the privacy page. Who took the photographs and drew on which data: photo credits. A correction or a question: contact.

1. Pick your month: it sets the walking hours and the sea.
2. Fix the number of nights.
3. Choose the area to sleep in, by the walk.
4. Choose the island day.
5. Read the advisories and their precautions.