24 hours in Cartagena, Colombia

If you ever plan on going to South America, go to Cartagena.

We were on the Princess Cruise Line through the Panama Canal and our first stop was Cartagena, Colombia. We literally only had 24 hours in this gorgeous city which was not enough time but let me tell you how to cram it all in.

Take the walking tour of the Old Town. It will last around 2-3 hours but it starts pretty early in the morning so you will have the rest of the day to explore more.

The walking tour will tell you all the history of this unique port city and take you through the winding streets of the Old City. Now, if you’ve followed me for a while you know I LOVE walking tours, I think they are the best way to experience a city and learn about the history in a short period of time. And when you plan your trip to Cartagena I suggest taking this tour here. It is short, sweet, and to the point. Get your history and your free to explore and trust me, you want to explore.

So we started our walking tour around 8:30am in Heroes Square Centennial Plaza. We were quickly swarmed by men selling the Panama hat, bracelets, rosary beads, and trinkets of all kinds. I know a lot of people find this part of traveling off putting, but my best advice is to just ignore them, if you give them any indication you are interested in their product or them they’ll follow you around for hours.

Anyway, back to the point.

We headed through the gates of the walled city, the buildings are strikingly colorful as are the women in traditional Colombian dresses with baskets of fruit on their head dancing through the crowds. These women will hound you for money if you take their picture, be prepared.

Our tour guide took us through the Clock Tower, Carriage Square, the Statue of the Conquistador, Pedro de Heredia. We headed to Customs Square where the governor works and then saw the Statue of Pope John Paul in front of the Cathedral of Cartagena. And then we ended our tour in Bolivar Square.

Now, this sounds like a quick tour, and it was, but there are over 100 narrow streets in the old city of Cartagena so you have plenty to explore!

We wandered through the ally ways, stopped at food stands for empanadas, and watched street performers in the middle of the square.

Lunch time! One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to experience the unique amazing cuisines of each country.

This is my first time in South America so I was incredibly excited. We settled on a restaurant that was upstairs with a balcony over looking one of the many squares called Montesucro.

The menu was fantastic, we had our lunch tapas style with tuna poke de Colombia, calamari, and fried platanos with tomato, and they had two for one mimosas!

We spent most of our time in the old city, but we were also on a cruise with a very specific boarding time, I loved Cartagena and wouldn’t mind staying a few extra days, but missing the boat meant missing out on a few more countries, so we spent our time winding the narrow streets of the old city, through the colorful buildings, stopping at cigar shops and food stands.

But, if you have more time, you have to head over to Cartagena Bay for some sightseeing. Here is where you can get a miraculous shot of the Cartagena skyline and experience the more local, urban side of Cartagena.

All right, now Cartagena is definitely a beach city, so if you love Miami Beach you will love Boca Grande. This is the main beach area of Cartagena, surrounded by great bars and clubs, a center for all things party and a main vacation destination for people from all over the world.

If you have 24 hours, take your walking tour then head over to Boca Grande for a little beach action, get a beer or a cocktail at the bar of your choice, then have dinner in Cartagena Bay.

I will definitely be visiting this amazing city again and you can plan your own trip by reading my one page guide to all the best restaurants. My tour guide, Carlos, gave me all of these recommendations so you know it’s a good one!