Torre del Reloj and Plaza de los Coches
Centro · 45 min
Walk in through the Clock Tower gate while the square is still in shade and the sweet sellers under the Portal de los Dulces are setting up. By ten it is 88°F (31°C) and full of tour groups.
Cartagena · Colombia · 3 days
3 days in Cartagena
Three days built around the heat: the walled city on foot before ten and after four, the fortress and Getsemaní with a salsa night, and a boat to the Rosario islands or Playa Blanca. Each day is one part of the city: on foot where you can, by taxi where the heat or the hill says so.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 23 stops
- 4 with a ticket
- from CO$200,000 a day
When to go
December to April is the dry season: highs of 88 to 90°F (31 to 32°C) all year, but January and February see almost no rain and an evening breeze off the sea. May to November is the wet season, with October the wettest month (around 235 mm) and short, heavy afternoon storms rather than gray days. The Hay Festival fills hotels from January 28 to 31, 2027, the classical music festival runs in early January, and the independence fiestas around November 11 are loud and booked out.
Where to base yourself
Sleep inside the walls (Centro or the quieter San Diego end) if the budget allows; everything on days 1 and 2 is on foot from there. Getsemaní is cheaper, livelier and ten minutes' walk from the Clock Tower, but noisy until late. Bocagrande is high-rise hotels and a city beach, a taxi from everything else.
Getting around
Walk. The walled city is a kilometer across and Getsemaní is next door. Taxis have no meters; fares run on a zone table set by the city each year, so agree the number before the door closes (CO$12,000 to CO$18,000 for a hop like Getsemaní to Bocagrande). The only rides you need are up to the Popa and back, and to the airport.
Day 1
The walled city on foot
- FromYour hotel in Centro and San Diego
- 1
- 4 min · walk
- 2
Plaza de Bolívar and the Cathedral
Centro · 45 min
The shadiest square in the city, with the palenqueras in their fruit baskets on the corners. The Cathedral charges a small entry with an audio guide; the tower is the thing to see from outside.
- Next door
- 3
Palacio de la Inquisición
Centro · 75 min
The Museo Histórico de Cartagena, with the instruments of the tribunal downstairs and the city's history upstairs. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays and holidays, and free on Sundays.
- Next door
- 4
Museo del Oro Zenú
Centro · 45 min
Free, air-conditioned and across the square: one floor of Zenú goldwork and the hydraulic culture that made it. Tuesday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Monday.
Free
- 9 min · walk
- 5
La Mulata, Calle Quero
Centro · 75 min
A Caribbean lunch menu that changes daily: posta cartagenera (beef in a dark sweet sauce), coconut rice, a fresh juice. Around CO$40,000 a head; the line starts at one, so arrive before it.
- 11 min · walk
- 6
Iglesia de San Pedro Claver
Centro · 45 min
The church and cloister of the Jesuit who met the slave ships; his remains are under the altar. A small ticket covers the museum and the courtyard; check the door for the day's closing time.
- 13 min · walk
- 7
Plaza de San Diego and Las Bóvedas
San Diego · 60 min
The quiet end of the walled city: the small square, then the 23 dungeons built into the wall at Las Bóvedas, now craft shops with the only shade on that stretch.
- 6 min · walk
- 8
Sunset on the walls
Centro · 75 min
Café del Mar on the Baluarte de Santo Domingo is the famous spot: arrive by 5:15 p.m. for a table and expect high prices. The wall from Las Bóvedas to Santa Catalina gives the same sea and sky for a vendor's beer.
- 19 min · walk
- 9
La Vitrola, Calle Baloco
Centro · 120 min
Cuban kitchen in a colonial house with a live band most nights. Order the ceviche and a fish of the day; book a day or two ahead or eat early at the bar.
Day 2
The fortress and Getsemaní
- FromYour hotel in Centro and San Diego
- 1
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Pie de la Popa · 90 min
Open daily 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; go early, as the stone is an oven by ten. Tickets sell online at the fortifications site (the full rate is for foreigners, Colombians pay CO$33,000), and the tunnels are the part worth the climb.
CO$38,000
- 25 min · walk
- 2
Convento de la Popa
La Popa · 75 min
The hilltop convent with the whole city, the bay and the islands below. Taxi only, with a round trip agreed (around CO$40,000 from the castillo); open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., entry around CO$11,000.
- 2.6 km · transit or taxi
- 3
Puerta del Reloj to Calle del Arsenal
Getsemaní · 45 min
Taxi back down to the Clock Tower, then walk the bay side into Getsemaní along Calle del Arsenal past the convention center. Stop for a limonada de coco wherever there is a fan.
- 10 min · walk
- 4
Caffé Lunático, Calle Espíritu Santo
Getsemaní · 75 min
A small Spanish-Caribbean kitchen on one of the mural streets: fish of the day with coconut rice, or the ceviche. The terrace is the shady side at lunch, around CO$50,000 a head.
- 6 min · walk
- 5
Getsemaní street art walk
Getsemaní · 75 min
Calle de la Sierpe, Calle San Juan and the Callejón Angosto, once the sun is off the walls. The murals are the neighborhood's own history, painted by residents and visiting artists; the bunting over Calle de la Sierpe is the photograph everyone takes.
- Next door
- 6
Plaza de la Trinidad
Getsemaní · 90 min
The square fills from dusk: arepas de huevo and chuzos from the carts, a beer from the corner shop on the church steps, dancers and a football game in the middle. Pay the street performers if you film them.
- Next door
- 7
Demente, Plaza de la Trinidad
Getsemaní · 90 min
Tapas and wood-fired pizza under a roof that opens to the sky, right on the square; walk in. Celele, two streets away, is the city's most serious Caribbean kitchen and books out weeks ahead.
- 3 min · walk
- 8
Café Havana
Getsemaní · 120 min
Live salsa on the corner of Calle de la Media Luna and Calle del Guerrero, with the band from around 11 p.m. on the big nights, Thursday to Saturday. It is quiet or shut early in the week; the cover varies, so bring cash.
CO$40,000 to CO$60,000
Day 3
The islands
- FromYour hotel in Centro and San Diego
- 1
Muelle de la Bodeguita
Centro · 45 min
Boats leave the pier by the Clock Tower between 7:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.; check in by 7:45 a.m. Bring cash for the park fee and boat insurance (about CO$40,000 a person), because the pier ATM runs dry.
- 33 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Islas del Rosario beach club
Islas del Rosario · 180 min
A beach-club day pass includes the speedboat both ways, a lounger and lunch, about US$80 to US$150 a person (Isla Bela cheaper, Capri at the top). Choose one with a speedboat, an assigned lounger, lunch included and the park fee stated up front.
US$80 to US$150
- Next door
- 3
Lunch at the club
Islas del Rosario · 75 min
Fried fish, coconut rice, patacones and a salad is the standard plate and it is in the price. Drinks are extra and the bar runs a tab; settle it before the boat is called.
- 14 km · transit or taxi
- 4
Playa Blanca on Barú, instead of the club
Barú · 90 min
Shared boats and group tours to Playa Blanca cost US$30 to US$50; a taxi over the Barú bridge takes about an hour. Expect persistent sellers, and look at photos from the last week for sargassum before you commit.
- 24 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Boat back to the city
Centro · 60 min
Clubs call the return boat around 3:30 p.m. and the crossing is 45 minutes to an hour, into the sun and spray. A dry bag for phones and a long sleeve for the ride earn their place.
- 10 min · walk
- 6
La Cevichería, Calle Stuart
San Diego · 90 min
The San Diego ceviche counter, open daily noon to 11 p.m. with no bookings: line early or go at nine. Order the mixed ceviche and the coconut rice, or try La Cocina de Pepina in Getsemaní if the line is too long.
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
Rafael Núñez airport is 3 km north of the walled city, 10 to 15 minutes by taxi. Use the official rank and read the posted fare board by zone before you get in: around CO$20,000 to CO$30,000 to the walled city or Getsemaní, more to Bocagrande, with a night and holiday surcharge. There is no train or useful bus for a visitor.
What a day costs
About CO$200,000 to CO$350,000 a day per person (roughly US$50 to US$90) for two meals, a ticket or two and a taxi; a set lunch is CO$30,000 to CO$50,000 and a sit-down dinner with drinks CO$120,000 to CO$180,000. The island day is extra: US$80 to US$150 for a club pass plus about CO$40,000 in park fees, or US$30 to US$50 for a shared boat to Playa Blanca.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Bring a long-sleeved shirt and a dry bag for the boat to the islands; the crossing is into the sun and spray.
- Carry pesos. Cards work in walled-city restaurants and hotels, but street food, boat piers, the Popa taxi and the salsa cover are cash. Draw from a bank ATM inside the walls, not the pier.
- The palenqueras in the fruit-basket photographs charge for the picture, a few thousand pesos agreed first. Ask before you lift the camera; it is their living.
- Do the outdoors before ten and after four. The middle of the day belongs to museums, lunch and a fan; this itinerary is built that way.
- Foreign tourists are exempt from the 19% hotel IVA. Show the passport with the tourist entry stamp at check-in and check the bill; not every hotel removes it on its own.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Make me a plan for day 1 if it storms in the afternoonWhich Rosario beach club suits two kids under ten?How much should the taxi from the airport to Getsemaní cost?Can I swap the islands for a mangrove canoe trip in La Boquilla?Is Café Havana open on a Tuesday night?
Questions
Is three days enough for Cartagena?
Yes. The walled city and Getsemaní fill two days at an honest pace and the islands take the third. Add a fourth day for a second beach, the mud volcano or San Basilio de Palenque.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 1. The Inquisition palace, the Gold Museum and San Pedro Claver are indoors and close together, and wet-season storms pass in an hour. Do not book the island boat for a day with a storm forecast; ask Waystop's Chat to propose another day and apply it.
Is Cartagena safe to walk at night?
The walled city and Getsemaní are busy and policed until late. Walk between them by the lit route past the Clock Tower, keep the phone in a pocket on quiet streets, and take a taxi back from anywhere beyond.
Do I need to book the castillo or the museums ahead?
No. The castillo sells tickets online but the gate line is short at opening. Nothing on days 1 and 2 needs a timed slot; the only booking that matters is the island boat, and Celele if you want it.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Cartagena. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.