Two days is not enough for both the Old City and the coast, so this version picks the coast. Day one is arrival and a brief walled-city orientation, nothing more. Day two is the Rosario Islands or Playa Blanca, the actual reason to build a trip around Cartagena’s water rather than its walls. Want the Old City version instead? See the Cartagena, Colombia guide . Need more time for Totumo, La Boquilla or Palenque?

Two days here is Walled City orientation on arrival, then Castillo San Felipe and La Popa monastery on day two. That is the whole plan, and it should be: at this length, skip the day trips entirely rather than rushing one. Want the deeper Getsemani history thread and a market day added on? See the Cartagena 4 day itinerary , or read the full Cartagena guide first. Book these before you go

Three days adds one thing back that the 2 day version has to cut: Volcan del Totumo. The spine is the same, arrival and the walls, then the Rosario Islands, with the mud volcano slotted in as a lighter third day. Shorter plan? See the 2 day itinerary . More time? See the 5 day or 7 day versions. Book these before you go Book a Rosario Islands tour , 159,000 COP adult / 139,000 COP child, plus a 25,000 to 29,000 COP dock tax not always included.

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.

Four days keeps the same spine, arrival, the Rosario Islands, Volcan del Totumo, and adds La Boquilla as a lighter fourth day away from Bocagrande’s crowds. Shorter plan? See the 3 day itinerary . More time? See the 6 day or 7 day versions. Book these before you go Book a Rosario Islands tour , 159,000 COP adult / 139,000 COP child, plus a 25,000 to 29,000 COP dock tax not always included.

Four days keeps the same spine as the 3 day itinerary , Walled City, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani, and adds a market-and-nightlife day rather than rushing straight to a day trip out of town. Ready for San Basilio de Palenque too? Move up to the 5 day itinerary , or read the Cartagena guide first for the full context. Book these before you go Book a Castillo San Felipe tour , 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry plus a tunnel-history guide.

Five days keeps arrival, the Rosario Islands, Volcan del Totumo, and La Boquilla, then adds a fifth day for Bocagrande’s practical convenience and a chiva party bus night. Shorter plan? See the 4 day itinerary . More time? See the 6 day or 7 day versions. Book these before you go Book a Rosario Islands tour , 159,000 COP adult / 139,000 COP child, plus a 25,000 to 29,000 COP dock tax not always included.

Five days keeps the same Walled City, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani, and market spine as the 4 day itinerary and adds the one day trip actually worth taking from a history-first Cartagena trip: San Basilio de Palenque. Want Bocagrande and a second Getsemani night too? Move up to the 6 day itinerary , or read the Cartagena guide first. Book these before you go Book a Castillo San Felipe tour , 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry plus a tunnel-history guide.

Six days keeps the full five-day spine, arrival, the Rosario Islands, Volcan del Totumo, La Boquilla, Bocagrande and a chiva night, then adds San Basilio de Palenque as a sixth day: the deeper, more culturally substantive pick over a second beach day. Shorter plan? See the 5 day itinerary . More time? See the 7 day version . Book these before you go Book a Rosario Islands tour , 159,000 COP adult / 139,000 COP child, plus a 25,000 to 29,000 COP dock tax not always included.

Six days keeps the same Walled City, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani, market, and Palenque spine as the 5 day itinerary and adds a lower-key beach half-day plus a second, more relaxed Getsemani night rather than a second history-heavy day trip. Want a full seven-day version with a slow departure morning? See the 7 day itinerary , or start with the Cartagena guide . Book these before you go Book a Castillo San Felipe tour , 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry plus a tunnel-history guide.

Seven days keeps the full six-day spine, arrival, the Rosario Islands, Volcan del Totumo, La Boquilla, Bocagrande, a chiva night, and San Basilio de Palenque, then adds a genuine flex day before departure. Shorter plan? See the 6 day itinerary . Want the walled-city version instead? See the Cartagena, Colombia 7 day itinerary . Book these before you go Book a Rosario Islands tour , 159,000 COP adult / 139,000 COP child, plus a 25,000 to 29,000 COP dock tax not always included.

Seven days keeps the same Walled City, Castillo San Felipe, Getsemani, market, Palenque, and Bocagrande spine as the 6 day itinerary and adds one slow morning rather than a second day trip; at a week, resisting the urge to fill every hour is the actual upgrade. Prefer something shorter? Start from the Cartagena guide and work down. Book these before you go Book a Castillo San Felipe tour , 38,000 to 50,000 COP entry plus a tunnel-history guide.

Cartagena’s own beach, Bocagrande, is mediocre, gray-brown sand facing a shipping channel, not the Caribbean postcard the hotel brochures imply. The actual marquee sights sit offshore or up the coast: the Rosario Islands, Playa Blanca on Isla Baru, the Totumo mud volcano, and La Boquilla’s beach clubs. Ranked honestly, most of it earns the trip. Some of it, particularly the boat-day overselling, needs a plan rather than blind trust in whoever meets you at the dock.

Cartagena runs on Colombian pesos and Caribbean heat, not the spring-like climate Medellin gets from its mountain altitude. Expect 30 to 32C most days, humidity that makes the walled city feel hotter than the thermometer says, and a rate that trades around 3,236 to 3,263 COP to the dollar, close enough that you should check it again before you fly. The Old City earns one day. The water around it earns the rest of the trip: the Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca if you book ahead of a dock tout, Volcan del Totumo as a novelty rather than a headline, and Bocagrande’s own beach skipped in favor of almost anywhere offshore.

Cartagena runs on Colombian pesos, and the rate moves enough to matter: mid-2026 sits around 3,236 to 3,263 COP per dollar, verify the same-day number before you land rather than trusting a figure from last year’s guide. This is not Medellin’s spring-like altitude city. Cartagena sits at sea level on the Caribbean and runs 30 to 32C with real humidity, year-round, and dry season December to April is the only meaningfully cooler window.