Cartagena is a city in Colombia located on the Caribbean coast.  Things to do in Cartagena include;

  • Historic center, Plaza de los Coches and the Clock Tower
  • San Felipe de Barajas castle
  • Cartagena City Walls
  • La India Catalina Statue
  • Los Zapatos Viejos
  • Las Bovedas
  • San Pedro Claver church
  • Cartagena Cathedral
  • Getsemani
  • Bocagrande
  • Cartagena to Aruba Ferry

After visiting the points of interest of Cartagena, I travel from Cartagena to Aruba by boat.

Cartagena Panoramic

Cartagena, Colombia

A view of Cartagena from Bocagrande

If you’ve been to Bogota or Medellin and enjoyed the eternal spring climates then you’ll encounter a big change arriving in Cartagena.  Cartagena is the coast, Cartagena is the Caribbean!  It gets very hot here during the day and has a very tropical feel, even more so with how the locals dress and look.  The people of Cartagena are called Costeños by those of other parts of Colombia.  How good is your Spanish?  Good luck understanding the Costeño accent!

Cartagena Clock Tower, Plaza de los Coches

Clock Tower, Cartagena, Colombia

Clock Tower at Plaza de las Coches, Cartagena, Colombia

There are 3 mains areas you could stay in Cartagena, all offering many bars and restaurants;

  • Historic Center – The most expensive part to stay, but right inside the walled center.
  • Getsamani – This is where backpackers stay, a short walk from the city walls.
  • Bocagrande – There are some famous hotel chains here and a beach but it’s a short bus or taxi ride away.

It’s possible to walk around the historic center on the ancient walls.  During this walk, you’ll enjoy great views of the historic center, Bocagrande, the castle and the Caribbean sea.  The famous place to go to watch the beautiful sunset over the Caribbean sea is Cafe Del Mar which is located on city walls.  Outside the restaurant here are street vendors walking around selling cold beers (you need to haggle the price) if you don’t wish to go in the restaurant to watch the sunset.

Cartagena Sunset

Sunset from Cartagena, Colombia

Sunset from Cartagena, Colombia

You should definitely pay a visit to the San Felipe de Barajas castle, just not in the middle of the day when it’s incredibly hot.  As well as a castle it’s a super fort, the most significant fort built in the new world by the Spanish.  Its quite a walk to get to the top but worth it for the panoramic views of the city and of course the castle.

It is probably best to take a taxi to the Castle but you can also walk to it.  If you do decide to walk to the castle I’d recommend passing the India Catalina monument and los zapatos viejos on the way.

Galeon Bucanero

Pirate Ship, Cartagena

Pirate Ship, Cartagena

There is a pirate ship in Cartagena called Galeon Bucanero.  As Cartagena is a city famous for pirates it’s worth a quick look at the ship.  For photographers a pirate ship makes for great photography.

Not far from the Galeon Bucanero you’ll find the port for boats to the Rosario Islands.  I would recommend arriving at the port before 9am to find a boat.  You could even go the day before and see what can be organised for the next day.  Another method of visiting the islands would be to take a tour or catch the bus.

Cartagena to Aruba

Pullmantur Caribbean Cruise

Pullmantur Cruise Ship

The next stage of my trip was originally to go from Colombia to Panama over the land route, crossing the infamous Darien Gap.  I had read that this route was potentially quite dangerous and had been been thinking of getting a sailboat as a safer alternative.  In many of the hostels of Getsemani, there are advertisements for these sailboat services.  They vary from 3-6 night trips to Colón, Panama often passing through and stopping in the picture perfect islands of San Blas.  I then decided to go from Cartagena to Aruba by cruise ship.

Cartagena to Aruba by Boat

I decided that because I had such a good time on my Celebrity Cruise to Antarctica, I should check for a cruise to Panama.  I was lucky enough to find the Spanish speaking Pullmantur cruise which had an itinerary of Cartagena to Aruba as well as  Curaçao, Caracas and Panama City.  The price is not much different to the sailboats and the cruise is all inclusive (including alcoholic drinks).  Although I’d miss visiting the San Blas islands, I’d visit Aruba and Curaçao as well as Caracas, Venezuela.

Aruba to Caracas