Cartagena 3 Day Itinerary (Old City First)
Three days keeps the same Walled City and Castillo San Felipe spine as the 2 day itinerary and adds a full Getsemani day, murals, plaza nightlife, and the neighborhood’s Afro-Colombian history. Want a market day and a chiva bus night too? Move up to the 4 day itinerary , or start with the Cartagena guide for the full picture.
Book these before you go
- Book a Castillo San Felipe tour , 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry plus a guide for the tunnels.
- Book a Walled City walking tour covering the colonial and slave-trade history properly.
- Check rates on Booking.com for Getsemani, walking distance to everything at a lower rate than the Walled City.
Day 1: Arrival and the Walled City
Rafael Nunez International Airport (CTG) is a 15 to 20 minute drive from the historic center; a fixed-rate taxi kiosk outside arrivals prints the fare, roughly 20,000 to 30,000 COP into the Walled City, Getsemani, or Bocagrande. Settle in, then walk the Old City’s plazas while the heat is tolerable: Plaza Bolivar, Plaza Santo Domingo, and Las Bovedas’ artisan market, free to browse. In the evening, walk into Getsemani for dinner, then back to the walls near Baluarte Santo Domingo for sunset, free and better than a rooftop bar’s markup for the same view.
Day 2: Castillo San Felipe and La Popa
Visit Castillo San Felipe de Barajas in the late afternoon, not midday; the fort has almost no shade and midday heat here is genuinely punishing. Entry runs 38,000 to 50,000 COP for foreign visitors, plus 15,000 COP for an audio guide explaining the tunnel network engineered so footsteps carry to guards above. Use the morning for La Popa monastery (entry 4,500 to 11,000 COP, sources disagree by more than double) and the Palace of the Inquisition on Plaza Bolivar, roughly 24,000 COP, for the torture-instrument exhibits between the two.
Day 3: Getsemani, properly
Spend the day in Getsemani rather than passing through for dinner. The murals started on Calle Sierpe and the neighborhood’s Urban Culture Festival has developed the scene since 2013; walk it in daylight when it is quiet, then return after dark when Plaza de la Trinidad fills with street vendors and live champeta. This is also the honest place to sit with Cartagena’s slave-trade history rather than skip past it: Getsemani was historically home to the city’s Afro-Cartagenero working class and free Black population, and the palenquera fruit-sellers posing for photos here (agree roughly 8,000 COP before the camera comes out, this is their livelihood) trace directly to the Cimarron maroon communities of self-liberated enslaved people. The Museo del Oro Zenu, free, is a quick pre-Columbian detour if you want a break from the heavier history.
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost (COP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival + Walled City orientation | CTG to center, 15 to 20 min | 80,000 to 150,000 |
| 2 | Castillo San Felipe (afternoon) + La Popa + Inquisition | Short taxi to each | 150,000 to 230,000 |
| 3 | Getsemani, murals and history, day and night | Walkable from the walls | 60,000 to 120,000 |
Is Castillo San Felipe worth the heat and the price?
Yes, timed right. Going after 3pm turns a punishing midday climb into a manageable two hours, and the 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry is fair for tunnels engineered so footsteps carry, ramparts built to survive sieges, and genuine history rather than a viewpoint dressed up as a fort.
Is Getsemani safer than it looks after dark?
Yes, within the same reasonable caution the whole Walled City area asks for. Tourist police patrol the area, Plaza de la Trinidad stays crowded and lively rather than empty, and the real risks are the “free” bracelet scam and drink spiking, not violent street crime. Watch your drink, agree taxi fares before getting in, and it is a genuinely good night out.
Keep small COP bills on hand for the palenquera photo fee on day three; a large note gets you an awkward standoff over change on a crowded plaza.