- Tip 1: Change money at the airport. We went in 2016 so this might not be relevant. I always like carrying cash on me.
- Tip 2: Use uber while traveling. You usually get the best drivers and there’s less likelihood of danger because your phone is always being tracked.
Highlights of our trip to Cartagena:
- Day Tour w Drinks: Rumba Chiva
- Sunset at Cafe Del Mar
- Dinner at La Cevicheria
After dropping off our luggage, the first thing we usually do is take a tour of the city to get the lay of the land. We went to the Rumba Chiva Day Tour and it was a fun way to see the top attractions in Cartagena. They have an open bar and loud music. On this tour, the highlights were the San Felipe de Barajas Castle and La Popa Convent. La Popa convent is the highest point in Cartagena and has a great view of the city.
The best place to watch the sunset while enjoying a drink is Cafe Del Mar Cartagena. I love the atmosphere there, especially during sunsets, but I wouldn’t recommend having dinner. They were very late with my food, and I get ornery when I’m hungry. It’s better to go strictly for drinks. For dinner, we loved the fresh ceviche at La Cevicheria. As with all high-quality places, there’s often a line to get in, so I suggest calling ahead to reserve a spot. The seafood in Cartagena is fantastic—definitely take advantage of it!
Daytime and nighttime were both great times to wander the Walled City. During the day, we roamed around and admired the beautiful buildings, which made for excellent photos. At night, we wanted to go to Cafe Havana because it was recommended by a lot of people. It’s a club, so I don’t know if we would do it now. We couldn’t get in one night because there was a blackout, it happened twice while we were there. Fortunately, they’re not citywide and the power usually returns quickly.
We went to the beach at Playa Blanca, which is about an hour away. We took a taxi, but you can probably hire a bus or limo for a group. The beaches are typically very crowded, and while they may not be the best in the world, they’re great if you’re looking to soak up some sun. We had fresh fish cooked on the beach and asked our driver to join and he was very happy about the experience. We rode in an Uber there and paid him to drive us back. He was happy with getting the full Uber price to his pocket with extra cash tip.
We stayed at the Oz Hotel and were told to visit as many pizza places as possible because many of the Colombians we spoke to were huge fans of pizza. We love chocolate so we went to ChocoMuseo, where you can take a free tour to see how chocolate is made. The chocolate was fantastic, and we enjoyed it with coffee at Juan Valdez. There are better coffee places in Cartagena, and we wish we had planned ahead to find them.
Finally, we really enjoyed the cigars at the Cigar Factory. It looks like they aren’t around anymore but they were such a good place to enjoy a cigar by the main street next to Cafe Havana.