Cartagena is beautiful.
Cartagena: minimum stay: 2 days; ideal: 3-5 days. PLEASE before you accept or buy anything, ALWAYS establish a price/negotiate a price. My group was naïve and got burned a couple times assuming fair play. Locals will take advantage of you if you don´t set the expectation for pricing/payment up front.
Cartagena in a Day: I won´t lie- I did CTG all wrong. I stayed for 2 weeks (bad decision in retrospect). You really only need 1-3 days. I lived, I learned and now you benefit from my mistakes. Do the following and you can move on to other locations after 24-36 hours in the colonial town. Get up early to catch the CTG City Tour via bus (Whatsapp my boy Pedro @ +57 300 7225859 to schedule a trip, he´ll talk baseball and NYC as he used to play in the minors and lived in Queens for 15 years); this trip should´t cost you more than 45k COP. It´ll take you to the Castle as well as to Convento Santa Cruz (10k COP) atop the mountain overlooking CTG (best view in town). After tour, walk through CTG streets to take in the beautiful colonial architecture, flowers draped across the roads and horse drawn carriages pulling people around. For sunset, make your way to Café Del Mar on the Wall (just walk westward until you run into the wall, climb the stairs and walk to the biggest/only restaurant on the wall). At night, hit one of my restaurant recommendations. If you want to dance and let loose, hit Eivissa to party to pop music and electronic with other foreigners. If you want a more authentic latin American feel, definitely go to Café Havana for salsa.
Activities:
Playa Blanca: if you don´t want to make the 3 hour trip to Parque Tayrona but crave beaches better than CTG´s, PB is your spot. Almost all hostels as well as guys near the Clocktower (Pedro can facilitate this) offer day trips for 50k COP. I couldn´t find it much cheaper. That just gets you round trip transport via bus or boat leaving at 8:30am. I don´t think there´s much difference (there isn´t a ton to see on the boat). The beach can be crowded and overrun with vendors as this is a popular tourist attraction. If you want to spend the night, you can do so but I´ve heard mixed reviews.
Bike Riding: One of the coolest ways (read: most convenient and temperature-wise) to see CTG is on bike. The roads are narrow but it´s quite safe to bike in the old town. Plus, it´s worth exiting the Old Town and biking along the oceanside drive to enjoy the city´s geography. I would suggest riding south along the beach to Bocagrande.
Trips:
CTG is a great jumping off point for many day trips because it offers an international airport with direct flights for many foreigners. Explore CTG but get out and see the following:
Parque Tayrona: a 3-4 hour bus ride north of CTG, this national park features breathtaking beaches and water/rock/cliff combinations the Pacific coast is known for (although Tayrona is on the Caribbean coast); you can hike into several small, oceanside villages and camp for as long as you´d like. If you schedule your plans in advance (or get lucky the day of) you can even stay in hammocks or private rooms on a massive rock at the end of a peninsula (see picture below). I recommend AT LEAST 2 days in this heaven (3-5 ideally). You can get busses from CTG here easily.
Ciudad Perdida: Older than Machu Picchu, you can visit this lost city if you are willing to take the trip 3-4 hours north of CTG. Tours can be arranged at all hostels as well as sourced directly from vendors at the Clocktower Square. Again- text my boy Pedro for basically anything you need in CTG.
Where to stay:
Media Luna Hostel: in the Getsemani district; has a great pool for socializing and cooling off from CTG´s oppressive heat and humidity. Big communal kitchen and rooms with and without AC. I strongly suggest paying more for AC. Has a finished rooftop and bar attached; on Wednesday nights, Media Luna has arguably the best party in CTG. Free for guests (I believe; 10-15k entry fee); live band plays. Good, social hostel.
Media Luna's pool is great. CTG is hotttt.
Getsemani Hostal: this place is chill and has its own pet toucan. You can play with the toucan and everything. He´s super friendly and it´s pretty fun to entertain yourself with him. The hostel has 8-10 person dorms; reasonable prices; small kitchen; bar; small back yard area. Probably 20 beds here so not a huge place, however, right in the heart of the activity.
El Viajero: The CTG location of this 8-10 hostel chain is great, however, the rooms turn the AC off from 10am-6pm. So if you´re hungover or want to sleep late, prepare that it may be hot. One of most expensive hostels in CTG (45k-60k COP/night). Great bar and social area, free salsa lessons twice a week; bfast included (juice, bread, jam, sometimes a meat); in-house travel agency (beware, you can almost always purchase trips cheaper near the Clocktower).
Dining:
La Cevicheria: This place is great. 4-5 outdoor tables with umbrellas line the cobblestone road. Tasty ceviche albeit somewhat pricey but Colombia isn´t known for the food and you´re in the tourist district so it´s to be expected. I recommend it.
La Cevicheria.
Patagonia Asados del Sur: Serving huge portions of Argentinian beef and traditional dishes, this place is a must. It´s located across from the La Cevicheria; prices are fair and you´ll leave stuffed. If you´re a carnivore, don´t miss this spot! Cash only
Restaurante 1621: Upscale restaurant (top 5 in CTG) set within the beautiful courtyard of the Santa Clara luxury hotel (which is a renovated convent and women´s school), this is a great date spot or place to treat yourself with friends. The food is phenomenal and the service is spot on. Colombia is more affordable than almost every other country in south America so don´t worry about the cost of dinner relative to other prices in CTG- you won´t be disappointed. Afterwards, ask to see the pool and then walk up to the top stairs and look at the view over the Pacific. It´s beautiful. PICS BELOW
Cuzco Cocina Peruana: Awesome Peruvian food in a beautifully-decorated setting, you can sit inside with AC or outside in the courtyard by their living wall. The ceviche was great and cocktails are tasty. A little pricey but it´s a great taste of Peru with attentive service. Good for dates or treating yourself. Strongly recommended. PICS BELOW
Nightlife:
Café Havana: Bar far my favorite place at night; this place offers one thing and one thing only- salsa dancing to live music (thurs-sat beginning at 1130pm). The band is phenomenal and the dancing is great. The place is intimate and doesn´t offer much free seating or bar space so come to dance. Gringos are fine here; I´d find a date somewhere and then bring them here (not many singles). Drinks=pricey and cover for men is more than 10k COP. Go at least once. PICS BELOW
Media Luna Wednesday Night Party: Live music, tons of people, hot sweaty. It´s packed with 22-30 year olds. If you don´t like the feel of a college-bar and being in crowded spaces, this isn´t for you.
Eivissa: Intimate, rooftop club packed with foreigners (westerners) dancing and mingling to Top 40s and electronic. No salsa music. Be wary of Colombian women here (most are for hire); no domestic Colombian beers (Corona and Heinekens are 10k COP each). Cover is ~10COP. Fun spot to party once or twice. If you go three nights, it´s time to leave CTG…
Café del Mar: This can be hit or miss but I spent a few nights here as Carlos Ramos was spinning incredible deep house for hours on end. No one really dances but it´s such a great view of the ocean and city that you can sit around talking to friends for hours. They close at 3am. Get here around 5pm to secure a seat for an incredible sunset. prime location = pricey drinks. PICS BELOW
