Cartagena, Colombia

Where ships dock

Taxi or tour; the historic center is about 3.2 km (2 miles) away.

• Cartagena Cruise Terminal (SPRC), Manga

Best time to go

Ships call through most of the year. The port's 2025–26 season ran from July 15, 2025, to June 28, 2026, with 175 cruise calls.

It's warm year-round, around 27°C (81°F) on average. Late November to late April is the drier, breezier stretch and the tourism board's pick for beaches and islands.

Ship tour or go independent?

Cartagena is a good port to plan your own day. The ship docks, the old city is a short taxi ride away, and booking your own walking or fortress tour gives you more choice and lets you set the pace. At San Felipe you can also hire a guide at the ticket office. Island boat trips are longer and depend on the sea, so pick one whose schedule clearly fits your time ashore, or take the ship's version if you'd rather leave the timing to the cruise line. Browse the tours below and use the time-ashore filter to narrow them down.

• The terminal sits about 3.2 km from the historic center, so plan on a taxi or tour transfer each way.
• US and UK advice is not to hail taxis on the street. Use a licensed taxi booked by phone or app, or a pre-booked tour.
• Small boats to the islands can face rough seas in December and January. Check for life jackets and pick a tour with a clear return time.
• Rosario Island trips run about 45 minutes each way by speedboat and up to 90 minutes on slower boats. Allow for that on a short call.
• Shops don't take US dollars. Carry pesos or a card, and use ATMs inside banks or malls.

Getting around

Rideshare limited

• TaxiLicensed taxis in Colombia are yellow with white plates. Both the US and UK advise against hailing taxis on the street; book one by phone or app, or through a business. No official fare table for the cruise terminal was found, so confirm the price before you ride.
• RideshareThe UK government notes that well-known taxi companies can be booked through apps such as Uber and Cabify, and the US advisory suggests using a dispatch or car-service app when you can.
• WalkOnce you reach the historic center, explore it on foot. The route along the city walls is free and open to the public.
• FerryThe bay is the jumping-off point for the Rosario Islands, Barú and Tierra Bomba. Many Cartagena companies sell boat trips to the Rosario Islands as tour packages.

Per UK advice, apps such as Uber and Cabify can be used to book well-known taxi companies. No official source says whether private-car ride-hailing is allowed, so plan on a licensed taxi or a tour transfer.

Money, tipping & phones

Money

Colombia uses the peso (COP). Prices are written with dots for thousands, so $10.000 means ten thousand pesos. Shops don't accept US dollars; exchange houses do, and they want clean, undamaged bills. Visa and Mastercard are widely taken in hotels, restaurants and malls. When paying by card, choose to pay in pesos.

Phones

The cruise terminal has Wi-Fi.

Must-sees

• The walled city (UNESCO)Ride neededColonial walls, built in stages from the late 1500s to 1796, ring a historic center of plazas and churches. UNESCO listed the port, fortresses and monuments in 1984.
• Castillo de San Felipe de BarajasRide neededThe big fortress on San Lázaro hill, dating from 1657. Open daily 7 a.m.–6 p.m.; the full ticket is COP 38,000 (2026 rate).
• GetsemaníRide neededOnce the quarter of artisans and enslaved people, fortified from 1631. Today it's known for street art, music and bars.
• Palace of the InquisitionRide neededAn 18th-century building by Bolívar Park, once the seat of the Inquisition tribunal and now the city's history museum.
• Rosario IslandsRide neededA coral archipelago of about 28 islands inside a national park, reached by boat tour in about 45 minutes by speedboat.

Free & cheap near the pier

• Walk the city wallsFreeA public route runs along the colonial walls around the historic center, with views over the sea and the old town.
• Port Oasis at the terminalA garden inside the cruise terminal with more than 1,200 rescued animals from 78 species. It's open only to cruise passengers arriving or boarding there.
• Getsemaní street artFree to wanderWalk the streets of the old artisans' quarter and look for its murals; the tourism board suggests a graffiti tour here.
• Clock Tower and the plazasFreeThe early-18th-century tower marks the main way into the walled city and its squares and churches.

Eat like a local

• Arroz con chipi chipiRice with chipi chipi clams, one of the local dishes Colombia's tourism board recommends.
• Pork loin in tamarind sauceAnother local dish on the tourism board's list.
• Shrimp creamCrema de camarones, a creamy shrimp dish the tourism board names among Cartagena's flavors.
• CevicheThe tourism board suggests eating it in front of the Clock Tower.
• Fresh fruit from palenquerasLook for the palenqueras, women selling fruit in the walled city.
• Portal de los DulcesAn arcade of stalls selling traditional sweets made with Caribbean fruits.

Rainy-day backups

• Palace of the Inquisition (Historical Museum)The city's history museum, founded in 1924 in an 18th-century colonial building that once housed the Inquisition tribunal.
• Gold MuseumMore than 500 gold pieces plus ceramics from the Zenú and other pre-Columbian cultures.
• San Pedro Claver church and museumA church built between 1580 and 1654, with a museum about the Jesuit priest who protected enslaved Africans.
• Caribbean Naval MuseumNaval history near Santa Teresa Square in the walled city.
• La SerrezuelaA shopping center in the city's old bullring.

Safety & scams

Official advisoryUS State Dept: Level 3 — Reconsider travel (as of March 31, 2026). The advisory covers all of Colombia; Cartagena and Bolívar are not on its Level 4 list.

• The State Department's Level 3 applies countrywide. Some other regions are Level 4, but Cartagena isn't one of them. US government staff in Colombia may not hail street taxis or use public transport.
• Don't hail taxis on the street. Use a licensed taxi booked by phone or app, or a tour with transport.
• Criminals sometimes drug drinks or food to rob people. Don't leave drinks unattended or accept them from strangers.
• Watch your phone, jewelry and watch. Pickpocketing and robbery are a problem on the Caribbean coast.
• Use ATMs inside banks or malls during business hours, not on the street.
• Seas between Cartagena and the islands can be dangerous for small boats in December and January. Make sure life jackets are on board.
• In an emergency, dial 123 for police and emergencies; 146 reaches the coast guard.

From official government and port sources. Check the latest advisory before you travel.

Accessibility

At the pier

Ships dock at the terminal, so there's no tender. The port does not publish step-free or wheelchair details for the terminal.

• Castillo de San Felipe is free for visitors with a notable disability plus one companion.
• The old town's streets are stone-paved; plan extra time if you use a wheelchair or walker.
• Island boat trips use small boats on open sea and may not suit limited mobility.