Hi loves! I want to share the top reasons for why you should visit Cartagena, Colombia. My husband and I recently went and absolutely loved it!
In addition, we recorded our trip and made a YouTube vlog video.
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The beautiful country of Colombia is located in South America. It is known as one of the biggest countries in the world and 4th largest in the continent of South America. Colombia is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The city that we visited was called Cartagena which is located on the northern part of Colombia. It sits right next to the Carribean sea.
Beautiful beaches
The climate in Cartagena is very hot and humid so dress accordingly. Wearing lightweight summer dresses is very popular among women.
Most of the beaches are located in Islas del Rosario and Baru. Playa Blanca in Baru being the most popular beach destination of them all.
Cartagena is also known for having white sand and crystal clear beaches. They also have multiple private islands all around for people to visit.
However, due to the high amount of local vendors in Baru (a public beach) some avoid going there. Instead, they aim for private beach clubs. One of the most popular beach clubs is Bora Bora. FYI it gets booked quickly.
During our trip we decided to go to Pao Pao Beach Club in Islas del Rosario. It was smaller than Bora Bora but that didn’t bother us. We felt relaxed and the ambience was perfect.
The cost was roughly 640,000.00 COP (Colombian Pesos) which is about $160 US dollars for my husband & I.
This included the roundtrip transportation on a speed boat, a welcoming non-alcoholic drink, lunch meal options to choose from and a beach bed for us to lay on. It was all paid for in advance at our hotel.
However, any alcoholic drinks or massage services on the day off were a separate charge. Gratuity was never added so you had to calculate this too.
We definitely enjoyed ourselves, the service, food, and cocktails were all over the top.
Another great spot I recommend is Tayrona National Park. It is about a 4hour drive up north. The park is known for its beautiful beaches and scenery. I personally have never been but it looks gorgeous.
Also, look into Santa Marta beaches which are located in Tayrona Park too.
Great hospitality
The people of Colombia were super friendly and helpful to us during our stay. They made sure to accommodate us in the best way possible.
If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary please let the hotels know. Many times they will decorate or give you something on behalf of the hotel.
Both hotels made us feel special but the best one that stood out the most was Hotel Catalina.
They provided us with a sweet handwritten note, spelled “Love” using real rose pedals on our bed, included chocolate covered strawberries with coconut flakes (tasted so good) & a small bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon wine 🙂
Booking hotels
Hotel Dann Cartagena was the first hotel we stood in. It was away from the center of Cartagena and more towards the end of Bocagrande.
I felt in love with my superior room with an ocean view. The balcony faced the beach and provided us with a stunning night view of Cartagena.
The hotel was clean and had great customer service. No complains. Breakfast was also included.
Hotel Santa Catalina was our second hotel. I booked this hotel because it was located inside of the Walled City of Cartagena. It sat right in the middle of the Clock Tower, near Ayala center which is a very popular destination.
One thing I noticed was the pleasant scent the hotel had. It was clean, airy and refreshing. Plus their front desk/ concierge were extremely helpful to us every time.
We had restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping stores, and more all at walking distance. I highly recommend this hotel if you plan to go out a lot.
Night life was huge over there. It also had one of Cartagena’s top rated restaurants “Inkanto” in their lobby. The restaurant provide us with breakfast every morning.
Hotel Catalina had a total different atmosphere.
One of the reason I wanted to stay there was because I wanted to get a better glimpse of the city of Cartagena. So we chose a deluxe room with a balcony facing the streets of Cartagena (I emailed them to make sure).
I gotta say we enjoyed seeing and hearing the people outside of our balcony. It felt like in the movies.
The city even closes that particular street off with barricades since the police headquarters is nearby. I noticed Police officers all around Cartagena day and night.
It would be 3am and the streets of Cartagena were always packed! We definitely felt very safe.
Transportation
Schedule a pick up airport service directly with your hotel. This means that their trusted taxi company will safely bring you to them. Sometimes the hotel will require an additional fee for this service.
Overall, transportation in Cartagena was easy for the most part. What I loved the most was the ability to call an UBER from our cell phone. We paid it all through the app too. It was safe and easily accessible.
Delicious cuisine
OMG the food in Cartagena was always delicious! All I wanted to do was eat and eat over there lol. Their cooking skill is out of this world.
Cooked to its best temperature. They make it with love and a lot of rich flavor.
For example, my husband is not big on seafood and he loved their fish dish. Any alcoholic drinks we order were always made perfectly every time.
Fun nightlife
There is a lot of fun places to go at night. I recommend, the Chiva party bus which includes entrance to a local nightclub.
We booked our reservations with the hotel. However, you can check this one that I’ve found on the internet Party Bus Tour.
The party bus ride is full of excitement and gives a nice tour around the city of Cartagena. They blast music and even allow you to bring in your own drinks.
The bus driver will make multiple stops along the way. This includes a stop to a nearby liquor store for its passengers to purchase and bring on board.
Afterwards, it will stop at a local nightclub for passengers to enter. You can opt out of this and ask to be driven back to the pickup location.
There are also outdoor rooftop bars to visit where you can dance and eat.
If you’re into tourism attractions speak to your hotel and they will provide you with a list of activities to do nearby. Such as: Full-day Vocanic of Totumo, Visit the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, Tour Getsemani neighborhood, Horse carriage ride, click here for more.
There are also a variety of salsa dancing locations in Cartagena. And if you don’t know how to dance salsa they include dancing lessons Click here.
In additions, don’t forget to stop by one of their bakeries and drink colombian coffee with pandebono.
Pandebono is a Colombian cheese bread that is very popular and taste delicious. Yum!
Currency exchange rate
Colombia uses Pesos as their currency.
So for every 1 USD (U.S dollar) at the moment of our travels we had an exchange rate of about 4,150.00 COP (Colombian Pesos). This rate changes everyday so it’s good to check it constantly.
This meant that for every USD we were getting 4x more in Colombian Pesos.
For example, if something cost 20,000 COP in reality it was costing $5.00. We were then able to spend more in Cartagena because the exchange rate was pretty high.
Hope this explanation helps. You can also use the Bank of Colombia website to check the current national rate.
Please keep in mind that exchange rates can vary from place to place. My advice is to stay away from the airport. Do not exchange there because they give the lowest rate possible.
The best exchange rate we got was inside the walls of Cartagena. This is mainly due to tourism.
Many whom own these currency exchange stores/windows are in competition with one another. This allows tourists to search for the best currency exchange rate much easier.
One of the best decisions we made was getting a traveling credit card to use abroad.
I have linked my refer-a friend link in case you want to check it out. We paid mostly everything with it and ranked up on points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card has zero foreign transaction fees!
Upon payment we always clicked “COL Pesos” which allowed the bank to use the current exchange rate for us. Many store vendors in Cartagena take credit cards.
Emeralds & gold
Colombia is known for its pure emeralds and 18k gold.
These gemstone are known to be one of the finest in the world. I recommend buying while in Cartagena as the price is lower when purchased in Colombian pesos.
There are plenty of jewelry stores all over Cartagena selling gold and emeralds. Make sure to buy from a legit one. Once purchased they also provide you with a certification/record of the emerald.
The gold in Colombia is 18 carat so the quality is better.
Overall, Cartagena was amazing and the hospitality of the people was always sweet and welcoming. I advise everyone to visit Cartagena, Colombia because you will fall in love.
Talk soon! Watch my Youtube Video down below 🙂