Cartagena
Colonial mansions and convents inside the old sea walls, Getsemaní just beyond the gate, the Rosario Islands on the horizon, and the airport a short drive up the shore.
- Arrival
- Rafael Núñez International · CTG
- To the city
- About 20 minutes to the walled city by car
- Private jets
- General aviation terminal and two FBOs at CTG
- Best time
- December to April
The city
Inside the walls, and just outside.
The walled city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and much of its best lodging is in old houses: a count's eighteenth-century mansion on Plaza de Santo Domingo, a seventeenth-century convent in San Diego, three linked homes around a courtyard and a 300-year-old aqueduct. Getsemaní, just outside the walls, is the bohemian quarter, and now has a Franciscan cloister begun around 1555 turned into a hotel.
It is hot all year, around 31 to 32 °C, with the sea near 27 to 29 °C. The dry months run from December to April, with almost no rain from January to March. The wet season builds from May and peaks in October, with a lull in July.
Arriving
A runway on the Caribbean shore.
Rafael Núñez lies in Crespo, on the shore north of the old city, with a single 2,600-metre runway. It handled 7.7 million passengers in the past year, on routes to eighteen cities abroad.
- Panama City 55 min
- Punta Cana 1 h 55
- Aspen 6 h 05
- Lagos 11 h 30 long-range jet
- Rome 12 h 00 long-range jet
When to go
December to April.
Hot and humid in every season. December to April is the dry season, with under 40 mm of rain a month; July brings a short lull, but it sits between wet months, so we leave it out. October is the wettest month, with over 200 mm.
- 31° J 8 27°
- 31° F 2 27°
- 31° M 6 27°
- 32° A 34 27°
- 32° M 102 28°
- 32° J 110 29°
- 32° J 97 29°
- 32° A 130 29°
- 32° S 140 29°
- 31° O 218 29°
- 31° N 129 29°
- 31° D 35 28°
What to see and do
Days in and around Cartagena.
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Landmark
The walled city
Cobbled streets, wooden balconies and plazas, at their best when lit after dark.
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Landmark
Getsemaní
The quarter beyond the walls, where a 1925 Beaux-Arts club by Gastón Lelarge stands beside the Franciscan cloister.
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Landmark
The Rosario Islands
An archipelago off the coast, within a day's sailing of the city.
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Culture
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Spanish engineers raised this fortress on the hill of San Lázaro from 1639, and visitors can walk part of its tunnels.
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Culture
Palacio de la Inquisición
Home of the Museo Histórico de Cartagena on Plaza de Bolívar, with rooms on the Inquisition tribunal and the city's historical archive.
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Culture
Museo del Oro Zenú
Gold, tumbaga, ceramic and shell pieces made by the ancient peoples of the bay and the Caribbean savannas, shown free of charge off Parque de Bolívar.
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Culture
Convento de la Popa
Augustinian friars founded this convent on the hill above the city in 1607, and its cloister and religious museum are open to visitors.
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Opera & music
Cartagena Festival de Música
Each January this classical festival plays in the Teatro Adolfo Mejía and old convent chapels of the walled city, reaching its twentieth edition in 2026.
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Culture
Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias
Writers, musicians, journalists and film makers, more than 180 from 25 countries, gathered in 2026 for the festival's twenty first Colombian edition.
Official site -
Golf
TPC Cartagena at Karibana
Jack Nicklaus designed these 18 holes north of the city, with the back nine opening onto the Caribbean.
On the calendar
A date to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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9–17 Jan 2027
Music & opera
Cartagena Music Festival
21st edition of the classical music festival in the walled city of Cartagena, with concerts in theatres, chapels and squares.
Teatro Adolfo Mejía
In 2 months
Where to stay
Courtyards, a convent and a cloister.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Hotel Casa San Agustín Three old houses round a palm-lined pool and a 300-year-old aqueduct, raised to two MICHELIN Keys in 2026.
- Casa Pestagua A handful of rooms in the eighteenth-century mansion of the Count of Pestagua, beside Plaza de Santo Domingo.
- Four Seasons Hotel Cartagena A Franciscan cloister, a 1925 social club and four old cinemas joined into one hotel, the last interiors of François Catroux.
- Sofitel Legend Santa Clara A seventeenth-century convent with 126 rooms and suites, and day trips to a sister hotel's island.
- Cinco Quintas Hotel Boutique Twenty-one rooms around a central courtyard, with a pool and a terrace on the roof.
Where to dine
Where to book in the old city.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Colombia. One table is on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025; the others are recommended by Frommer’s, with Frommer’s prices.
- Celele Latin America’s 50 Best 2025, No. 5 Caribbean Colombian Getsemaní
- Carmen Frommer’s Seafood $$$ Walled city, Ananda hotel
- Club de Pesca Frommer’s Seafood $$$ An old fort above the marina
- Maria Frommer’s Italian $$$ Walled city
Elsewhere in Colombia
More reasons to come.
- Rosario Islands Coral islands an hour by boat from Cartagena.
- Bogotá The capital at 2,600 metres, the Botero museum and the old quarter of La Candelaria.
- Medellín The city of eternal spring, in a green valley of the Andes.
- Salento Coffee farms, and the tall wax palms of the Cocora valley.
- Santa Marta The oldest city in Colombia, with Tayrona national park next door.
Flying to Cartagena?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.