Advisory for visitors: Under the US State Department system Colombia is at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel” (issued 31 March 2026). The UK FCDO tells people to avoid specified border and rural regions, including the southern part of Bolívar Department, and does not list Cartagena. While sightseeing in the city, guard against phone and chain theft, scopolamine in drinks and unlicensed cabs. Use app or hotel-booked taxis and keep your camera strap short.

Advisory for visitors: Colombia is rated Level 3, “Reconsider Travel”, by the US State Department (issued 31 March 2026). The UK FCDO names border and rural regions to avoid, including the south of Bolívar Department, but not the city of Cartagena. For couples out in the evening, the main hazards are chain and phone snatching, drinks drugged with scopolamine (sometimes after a dating-app meeting) and taxis hailed on the street.

Advisory for visitors: The US State Department places all of Colombia at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel” (31 March 2026). The UK FCDO’s list of areas to avoid covers border and rural regions, among them southern Bolívar Department, and does not include Cartagena. Around the attractions below, the issues to expect are bag and phone theft, scopolamine-spiked drinks and taxis without a licence. Ask your hotel to book cars, ignore strangers offering food or flyers, and keep valuables out of view.

Advisory for visitors: Colombia is a Level 3 (“Reconsider Travel”) country in the US State Department system, set on 31 March 2026, and the UK FCDO tells travellers to avoid a list of border and rural regions that includes southern Bolívar Department. Cartagena itself is not on that list. What you are likely to meet there is petty crime: snatched phones and gold chains, drinks laced with scopolamine, and taxis with no licence.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Two days: one arrival walk, one island day Two days in Cartagena means one evening in the Old City and one full day on the water, nothing more. This plan skips Castillo San Felipe and the museum crawl entirely to protect the Rosario Islands day, the one excursion that actually justifies the trip.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Three days adds the cheap novelty day to the island trip Three days keeps the same arrival-and-island spine as the 2-day plan and adds El Totumo mud volcano, a genuinely cheaper day than a second Rosario Islands trip.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Four days adds a free beach day to the island-and-mud-volcano spine Four days keeps the 3-day plan’s arrival, Rosario Islands day and El Totumo trip, then adds a cheap Bocagrande beach day since the city’s own beach costs nothing beyond a taxi and lunch.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Five days adds the cheaper beach town to the same spine Five days keeps the 4-day plan’s island day, mud volcano and Bocagrande beach day, then adds La Boquilla, a fishing-village-turned-beach-spot north of Cartagena that runs cheaper than another full island trip.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days: every water day this trip has, plus a free finish Seven days keeps the full 5-day plan’s island day, mud volcano, and both beach days on Colombia’s Caribbean coast , then adds a free Getsemani deep dive and a genuine flex day before departure.

Two days, one spine: the walled city, then the fortress Two days covers Cartagena’s Old City core: a full day inside the free walled city and Getsemani’s evening streets, then Castillo San Felipe and La Popa the next, timed around the heat. It’s tight but complete for a first visit; add the 3-day or 7-day version if you have more time. Book these before you go Check Getsemani hotel rates on Booking.

Three days: the walled city, the fortress, then Getsemani properly Three days keeps the same 2-day spine, walled city plus Castillo San Felipe, and adds a third day for Getsemani’s history and a Bocagrande beach half-day, rather than rushing a day trip you won’t enjoy in the heat. It nests into the 4-day and 7-day versions if you extend later. Book these before you go Check Getsemani hotel rates on Booking.

Four days: the same walled-city spine, plus a market and a kitchen Four days keeps the 3-day plan, walled city, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani and Bocagrande, and adds a fourth day for Bazurto Market and a cooking class, the two most requested additions once the headline sights are done. Shorten to the 2-day plan or extend to the 7-day version, which adds a Palenque day trip. Book these before you go Check Getsemani hotel rates on Booking.

Seven days: the walled city, the fortress, and one real day trip Seven days keeps the 4-day plan’s walled city, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani, Bocagrande, Bazurto Market and cooking class intact, then adds three more days: a San Basilio de Palenque day trip, a flex/beach day, and a final relaxed day before departure. Shorten to the 2-day or 3-day plan if a week is more than you need. Book these before you go Check Getsemani hotel rates on Booking.

The walls are free. Everything past the gate has a price tag Cartagena’s walled Old City, the Ciudad Amurallada, is Colombia’s best free attraction: 11km of 16th-century ramparts you can walk any hour, no ticket required, part of a UNESCO listing since 1984. Everything else prices in Colombian pesos (COP), not dollars, running roughly 3,236-3,260 COP per US dollar in July 2026, verify the same-day rate, since the peso is volatile.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Cartagena’s real budget trip is the water, not the walls The Old City walk and Getsemani’s street art cost nothing. The Rosario Islands boat day does not: budget roughly 159,000 COP for the standard adult tour (139,000 COP for a child), plus separate pier, park-entry and insurance fees (roughly 40,000-55,000 COP in cash) that most advertised prices leave off.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Cartagena’s real sights are on the water, ranked by what they cost The Old City walls are free and Cartagena’s best sight, the Rosario Islands, is not: budget about 159,000 COP for a standard adult boat day, plus three separate cash charges that most tour prices leave off: a pier-use fee (roughly 18,000-34,000 COP), national-park entry (13,500 COP for the Rosario sector in 2026) and compulsory accident insurance (about 8,800 COP per person).