Soaking up the Cartagena Old Town
Summary
Wandering through the historic old town of Cartagena, it’s easy to let your mind wander and think back to the time of discovery, adventure and pirates as you soak up the cobbled streets and stunning architecture of this UNESCO World Heritage site. This, plus some great restaurants, make Cartagena one of the must visit sites of Colombia
Unfortunately, the downside is that it gets super busy with the sheer volume of tourists (I got the impression Cartagena is the #1 choice destination for people’s first visit to Colombia), and some of the most intense number of hawkers I’ve seen anywhere in the world. This also makes some of the plans for trips to the nearby beaches or those islands to the South West not quite the romantic paradise you’d have hoped for
Definitely worth the visit though as Cartagena has to be in the top 5 Old Towns in Latin America
highlights
#1 Getting yourself lost in the beautiful cobbled streets of the Old Town and imagining what it must have been like back in the days of discovery, adventure and pirates
#2 Trying some of the many fantastic restaurants on offer throughout the Old Town
#3 Having a drink overlooking the winding streets from one of the rooftop bars
#4 Chilling . . . for 10mins . . . on one of the many beaches . . . before you get hassled!
#5 Checking out the Sea Walls that surround a long side of the Old Town and give great sea views
Travel Tips
- The Old Town is big enough to get lost in and I suggest you do exactly that. Wandering through the streets and losing yourself in your imagination for what it would have been like was the highlight for me. Make sure you wander along the sea walls and, if in the mood, pick up a guide
- Beaches – I think many people come to Cartagena thinking it will be the lovely combination of Old Town (yes) and paradise-style beaches (less so). There are some nice beaches, its just that they are rammed and you need to be prepared for very regular hawkers (genuinely some of the most persistent I’ve experienced in the world, although often not without charm!):
- Beaches by Boca Grande – not really much to write home about, but nice for a walk along the beach and if you’re staying in a hotel nearby
- Beaches a boat ride away to the South West near Islas del Rosario – far nicer than those in Cartagena, but, again, rammed. Be prepared as well for some bumpy seas to get there
- Bars & Restaurants. Some awesome spots in Cartagena. I’d recommend:
- Restaurant – Montesacro Resto Bar, and eat at the bar
- Restaurant – Restaurante Donde Olano, and eat in the courtyard
- Bar – Townhouse Boutique Hotel, great rooftop views
- Restaurant – Caffe Lunatico, if you’re in the Getsemani / La Matuna area for lunch
- Hotels. We tried both staying inside and just outside of the main Old Town area. Looking back, on balance I’d say aim for staying in the Old Town as its just more convenient, especially after a day of walking around the Old Town in the heat. But I would say that if you’re on a budget that some of the areas outside the Old Town are also nice, quieter and give you more of an insight into other neighbourhoods (often which are packed with great restaurants). Both places we stayed at I would recommend:
- Old Town – Hotel Boutique at the Park. Very cool inner courtyard and views over one of the central parks
- Outside the Old Town – Peregrinos Hostel Cartagena de Indias. Way cheaper option, yet very nice with decent rooms. 15min nice walk into the Old Town
- Safety – felt safe throughout the time in Cartagena. Very different vibe to Bogota and Medellin
- Book recommendations:
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the traditional must read literature. At times it can be a little slow going, but it created its own genre (magic realism . . . obviously) and very much tells the story in a round about way of many of the difficulties faced by Colombia
- To give a perspective of just what it must have been like for the American civilisations before the Spanish arrived, I highly recommend 1491 by Charles Mann. It will change your view from what is likely to be that of basic jungle tribes / Indians hunting the buffalo on the plains to what they really were – in many ways equally sophisticated civilisations to those of Eurasia
- For a broad, often quite opinionated, overview of modern South America, I also recommend Viva South America Oliver Balch
- Broader Colombia – for how Bogota can fit into a bigger 3 week trip to see the highlights of Colombia, see 3 weeks in Colombia for itinerary and tips
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Similar Old Town Experiences round the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone