What is the best time to visit Cartagena, Colombia?
Weather-wise it's always warm here and the temperature hovers around 28C pretty consistently. The dry-er months are typically December through to April. .and there's also a really refreshing coastal breeze/wind at this time that cools things down and makes for excellent kitesurf conditions.
These months are also "high-season" which means everything is also more crowded and more expensive. But then also potentially more fun!
Or you could time your visit to correspond with the myriad of festivals and events: November Independence and Beauty Contest celebrations; FICCI film festival; Hay literature festival; Classical music; Fried food festival, kiteflying month etc etc
Rainy season is technically between May-ish and November-ish.. this past year it didn't start until June. Rainy season can mean short sharp showers, often in the afternoon or overnight. It can sometimes mean raining for an entire day.. but I could count these days on one hand. The rain seems to refresh and clean things. And warm rain can actually be very pleasant. Also.. don't worry too much about your booking to the islands.. somehow even if it is raining in Cartagena, bad weather seems to burn off in the islands.
June, July, August is a lot less busy tourism-wise.. it can also feel extremely hot due to high humidity and no breeze. But there's good deals to be had and you often get the beaches all to yourself.
So, um.. in summary. It's pretty much always a good time to visit Cartagena. So come already!
Is it safe to visit Cartagena, Colombia?
Yes. 99.99% of visitors will spend their entire time in the areas of the walled city, Getsemani, Manga, Bocagrande, Castillogrande and La Boquilla. Nothing in life is certain, but it is extremely unlikely that you will encounter anything that could be considered unsafe in these neighbourhoods. There is a huge police presence in and around these areas (especially Centro and Getsemani), which may intimidate you initially and make you wonder why they could possibly need so many police.. but you get accustomed to them soon enough and their presence seems mostly one of deterrence.
What's the deal with the toilet paper?
So yeah.. this takes some getting use to. In Cartagena, and potentially in the rest of Colombia, flushing toilet paper is a no-no. Instead you will encounter zillions of signs plastered all over the bathroom walls written in varying degrees of comprehensible English directing you to place the paper (and anything else) in the waste bin to the side. Yes it's gross. I haven't flushed paper in almost 3 years. You do get use to it. It's something to do with the insufficient plumbing system in place.
And while we're on the subject, in many public bathrooms the paper won't even be in the bathroom stall. There will instead be a giant communal roll before you go in, or a lady waiting for a tip before she hands you your ration.
Can I drink the water in Cartagena, Colombia?
Hmm.. I've (Kristy) been here for almost 3 years and have drunk the tap water the entire time and never been sick. BUT I have superhero powers when it comes to immune systems.
My advice is to stick mostly to bottled water, but don't stress out too much about ice in your drinks or brushing your teeth.
How do I pay you?
Yes! Money is good! Thank you! Cash on the day in US dollars or Colombian pesos is great. We´ll normally collect the money at the end of the tour. If for whatever reason it is more convenient for you to pre-pay for any of the tours with us, you can follow this paypal link (but please be sure to confirm with us the payment before you make it.. it may be that we are not running the tour that particular day).
For payments for the other tours or activities we might book in for you (volcano, islands, segway etc) you can pay the operators direct on the day. For boat hire, a deposit of 50% is required a minimum of 1 day earlier. This can be collected from your hotel or alternative arrangements can be made. Unfortunately we can't accept payments for 3rd parties to our paypal account.
How much time is enough time?
Um. You´re talking to somone who has chosen to make Cartagena her home.. so no time is ever enough in my opinion. Really how much time you need is very relative.. you can come for a long weekend and tick most things off or you can stay for a week and have a truly relaxing vacaction. At a minimum one day sightseeing: centro historico + castillo san felipe; one day relaxing: islands, spa, a long lunch etc; and one day exploring an area further afield or outside the main tourist zones; fishing villages of La Boquilla or Tierra Bomba, the Mercado Bazurto etc Making sure to experience as much music and dancing in the evenings.
Kristy, what brought you to Cartagena in the first place?
I get asked this question every single tour, normally at least twice. And even though I really don´t mind answering it, I´d rather be talking about all the wonderful things I love about Cartagena instead. So.. I´m going to answer it here.. sorry for the verbose nature and please skip if you, very sensibly, have no interest...
So! I´d always wanted to live overseas. I grew up with a world globe on my desk in a family that prioritised travel over a new car and that had an ongoing subscription to National Geographic. I travelled a lot growing up but had never achieved that dream of actually living overseas, mostly due to the fact that in the relationship I was in, we owned retail businesses that kept us tied to Australia. Anyway.. when that relationship ended I found myself free to pursue the dream once again. It was December 2011. My friends were getting married in San Diego, California on June 3. I decided to take the 6 months to travel South America on the way to their wedding, then after the wedding find somewhere in the world to live. I thought maybe Shanghai or Istanbul would be incredible, but really had nothing firm in place and definitely no job to go to.
I packed all my favourite dresses and had a going away party where I declared to anyone who asked that I was leaving "indefinitely". How amazing to be able to say that?! Do you have a job? No. Do you know where you will live? No. Somehow though I was confident that things would turn out just fine and I was very open to any opportunity that might have presented itself.
So I arrived in Cartagena, not speaking Spanish and not knowing anyone. I fell in love. Not with a boy. Ugh, how boring! But with the colour and warmth of the town and the people and the way of life. I also saw a tremendous opportunity to establish something in tourism. As I tried in my broken Spanish to uncover the true Cartagena, I was surprised and dismayed by the lack of tourism options in English that appealed to my interests and the way I like to experience a new destination. With the announcement of a soon to be established direct flight from New York, my fate was sealed. I attended the wedding in San Diego, but left all my things here in Cartagena. Finally returning to call this magical town home in August 2012. After 18 months working with the wonderful This is Cartagena, I started to build Cartagena Connections, initially by providing free walking tours of the city and subsisting on tips and English classes. Now, after thousands of visitors and clients and tours and emails and answered questions, Cartagena Connections continues to grow and receive positive feedback. So much so, I have been very fortunate in being able to welcome more fantastic "llaves" to the team. Together we continue to learn and grow and share and love all things Cartagena Connections.
Yay!
Um.. what is Juan Sebastian's real name?
So here in Colombia, most people have 4 names. Yes 4! 2 first names, 2 surnames. So sometimes we refer to Juan Sebastian Burgos Ortiz (his full name) as Juan or Sebastian or Juan Sebastian or even Juanse (which is a common abbreviation of Juan Sebastian). Yes, we know it is confusing. Sorry! The good news is Juan Sebastian is super easy going and will pretty much answer to whatever you want to call him.
LOTS MORE FAQ coming soon!! In the meantime, send your questions here.
Weather-wise it's always warm here and the temperature hovers around 28C pretty consistently. The dry-er months are typically December through to April. .and there's also a really refreshing coastal breeze/wind at this time that cools things down and makes for excellent kitesurf conditions.
These months are also "high-season" which means everything is also more crowded and more expensive. But then also potentially more fun!
Or you could time your visit to correspond with the myriad of festivals and events: November Independence and Beauty Contest celebrations; FICCI film festival; Hay literature festival; Classical music; Fried food festival, kiteflying month etc etc
Rainy season is technically between May-ish and November-ish.. this past year it didn't start until June. Rainy season can mean short sharp showers, often in the afternoon or overnight. It can sometimes mean raining for an entire day.. but I could count these days on one hand. The rain seems to refresh and clean things. And warm rain can actually be very pleasant. Also.. don't worry too much about your booking to the islands.. somehow even if it is raining in Cartagena, bad weather seems to burn off in the islands.
June, July, August is a lot less busy tourism-wise.. it can also feel extremely hot due to high humidity and no breeze. But there's good deals to be had and you often get the beaches all to yourself.
So, um.. in summary. It's pretty much always a good time to visit Cartagena. So come already!
Is it safe to visit Cartagena, Colombia?
Yes. 99.99% of visitors will spend their entire time in the areas of the walled city, Getsemani, Manga, Bocagrande, Castillogrande and La Boquilla. Nothing in life is certain, but it is extremely unlikely that you will encounter anything that could be considered unsafe in these neighbourhoods. There is a huge police presence in and around these areas (especially Centro and Getsemani), which may intimidate you initially and make you wonder why they could possibly need so many police.. but you get accustomed to them soon enough and their presence seems mostly one of deterrence.
What's the deal with the toilet paper?
So yeah.. this takes some getting use to. In Cartagena, and potentially in the rest of Colombia, flushing toilet paper is a no-no. Instead you will encounter zillions of signs plastered all over the bathroom walls written in varying degrees of comprehensible English directing you to place the paper (and anything else) in the waste bin to the side. Yes it's gross. I haven't flushed paper in almost 3 years. You do get use to it. It's something to do with the insufficient plumbing system in place.
And while we're on the subject, in many public bathrooms the paper won't even be in the bathroom stall. There will instead be a giant communal roll before you go in, or a lady waiting for a tip before she hands you your ration.
Can I drink the water in Cartagena, Colombia?
Hmm.. I've (Kristy) been here for almost 3 years and have drunk the tap water the entire time and never been sick. BUT I have superhero powers when it comes to immune systems.
My advice is to stick mostly to bottled water, but don't stress out too much about ice in your drinks or brushing your teeth.
How do I pay you?
Yes! Money is good! Thank you! Cash on the day in US dollars or Colombian pesos is great. We´ll normally collect the money at the end of the tour. If for whatever reason it is more convenient for you to pre-pay for any of the tours with us, you can follow this paypal link (but please be sure to confirm with us the payment before you make it.. it may be that we are not running the tour that particular day).
For payments for the other tours or activities we might book in for you (volcano, islands, segway etc) you can pay the operators direct on the day. For boat hire, a deposit of 50% is required a minimum of 1 day earlier. This can be collected from your hotel or alternative arrangements can be made. Unfortunately we can't accept payments for 3rd parties to our paypal account.
How much time is enough time?
Um. You´re talking to somone who has chosen to make Cartagena her home.. so no time is ever enough in my opinion. Really how much time you need is very relative.. you can come for a long weekend and tick most things off or you can stay for a week and have a truly relaxing vacaction. At a minimum one day sightseeing: centro historico + castillo san felipe; one day relaxing: islands, spa, a long lunch etc; and one day exploring an area further afield or outside the main tourist zones; fishing villages of La Boquilla or Tierra Bomba, the Mercado Bazurto etc Making sure to experience as much music and dancing in the evenings.
Kristy, what brought you to Cartagena in the first place?
I get asked this question every single tour, normally at least twice. And even though I really don´t mind answering it, I´d rather be talking about all the wonderful things I love about Cartagena instead. So.. I´m going to answer it here.. sorry for the verbose nature and please skip if you, very sensibly, have no interest...
So! I´d always wanted to live overseas. I grew up with a world globe on my desk in a family that prioritised travel over a new car and that had an ongoing subscription to National Geographic. I travelled a lot growing up but had never achieved that dream of actually living overseas, mostly due to the fact that in the relationship I was in, we owned retail businesses that kept us tied to Australia. Anyway.. when that relationship ended I found myself free to pursue the dream once again. It was December 2011. My friends were getting married in San Diego, California on June 3. I decided to take the 6 months to travel South America on the way to their wedding, then after the wedding find somewhere in the world to live. I thought maybe Shanghai or Istanbul would be incredible, but really had nothing firm in place and definitely no job to go to.
I packed all my favourite dresses and had a going away party where I declared to anyone who asked that I was leaving "indefinitely". How amazing to be able to say that?! Do you have a job? No. Do you know where you will live? No. Somehow though I was confident that things would turn out just fine and I was very open to any opportunity that might have presented itself.
So I arrived in Cartagena, not speaking Spanish and not knowing anyone. I fell in love. Not with a boy. Ugh, how boring! But with the colour and warmth of the town and the people and the way of life. I also saw a tremendous opportunity to establish something in tourism. As I tried in my broken Spanish to uncover the true Cartagena, I was surprised and dismayed by the lack of tourism options in English that appealed to my interests and the way I like to experience a new destination. With the announcement of a soon to be established direct flight from New York, my fate was sealed. I attended the wedding in San Diego, but left all my things here in Cartagena. Finally returning to call this magical town home in August 2012. After 18 months working with the wonderful This is Cartagena, I started to build Cartagena Connections, initially by providing free walking tours of the city and subsisting on tips and English classes. Now, after thousands of visitors and clients and tours and emails and answered questions, Cartagena Connections continues to grow and receive positive feedback. So much so, I have been very fortunate in being able to welcome more fantastic "llaves" to the team. Together we continue to learn and grow and share and love all things Cartagena Connections.
Yay!
Um.. what is Juan Sebastian's real name?
So here in Colombia, most people have 4 names. Yes 4! 2 first names, 2 surnames. So sometimes we refer to Juan Sebastian Burgos Ortiz (his full name) as Juan or Sebastian or Juan Sebastian or even Juanse (which is a common abbreviation of Juan Sebastian). Yes, we know it is confusing. Sorry! The good news is Juan Sebastian is super easy going and will pretty much answer to whatever you want to call him.
LOTS MORE FAQ coming soon!! In the meantime, send your questions here.