Cartagena, Colombia
- Misho Ma
- Jul 1, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 10, 2018
We fell in love with Cartagena and we fell in love with each other all over again in this city! It is impossible to not feel the love here. The colors, the architecture, the food, the people... perfection. I must admit it was HOT but that didn't stop us from enjoying our time! We had Arepas and Colombianas almost every day and we enjoyed it so much! This city has the best of everything... beach, colors, city, food and history! It is impossible to not feel happy with such vibrant colors and music all around you!
Cartagena, definitely exceeded my expectations. I had often heard about this vibrant city, about its colors and people but I had never imagined I would fall in love with it as much as I did. The feel of Cartagena is relaxed, we didn't need to rush, we didn't need to carry a map, so we let our exploration of this city be completely organic and it sure payed off.
Form smoking cigars on Cartagena's busiest plazas to taking free salsa classes, the experiences were endless.
Cartagena is known for it's colorful buildings and gorgeous balconies so make sure you turn onto every street and you will be sure to find something unique on each. Ever street was filled with vibrant colors and doors that look like they belong on a postcard. I must have take over 100 pictures of just doors!
Budget Travel trip #1: Skip the tours and walk the city
The walled city of Cartagena is fairly small and there is no need for tour packages.We truly enjoyed the simplicity of walking around. We walked out of our hotel each morning without at plan and still saw everything we wanted to see. I absolutely love the architecture and colors of Cartagena and would have been perfectly content to stare at buildings, doors, and balconies all day long.
Things to See in Cartagena
While walking around this beautiful city, we ran into the "important things to see"
it was truly a great feeling to not have any sort of itinerary because it really allowed us to experience the city, no rush, no anxiety, nowhere to be, just mindfully wandering.
Torre del Reloj
It will be hard to miss the Torre del Reloj, which is the main city entrance into the walled city of Cartagena and is known for its iconic clock tower. This area is busy with restaurants and bars with a ton of outdoor seating, especially in the evening hours. Once the sun set, we sat down at one of the bars surrounding this tower and had a few drinks as we people watched and listened to the music coming from the nearby bars.
Castillo San Felipe De Barajas
One of the main things to see while you are in Cartagena is the Castillo San Felipe De Barajas, which is a fort that was built in 1536 by the Spanish for city protection against invaders. To get there, I would recommend taking a taxi and avoiding the tourist Chiva bus tour.
We made a huge mistake by booking a Chiva bus tour because we probably had a few too many drinks to think straight. The bus tours are not expensive but the one we got on stated that the tour started at 1:00pm but they failed to mention that the first hour and a half was spent picking up people all over Cartagena. It was a HUGE waste of time and we probably would have spent much less, taking a cab or simply walking there if it wasn't for the extreme heat on that day. The Chiva buses are better to be taken in the evening as they are turned into party buses with music and drinks are you drive around the city.
Las Bodevas
I absolutely loved Las Bodevas street shops, which were initially designed as vaults to house weapons have been since used as local shops selling coffee, clothing, art, leather products, hats, and much more.
We walked around Las Bodevas and looked at beautiful art and bought coffee to take home. My husband and I like to buy art from each place we visit as a souvenir so this was the first place we looked. I must admit we did not find anything here that we liked that fit our price range but we did pick something up in a small shop during our trip.
Convento De La Popa
We took a chiva bus to see this beautiful convent overlooking the city.
it was a nice and relaxing time and definitely worth it to cool off.
Let's talk about cheap eats!
Budget Travel Tip #2: Eat street arepas
Arepas from Cartagena are delicious. Arepas are a mixture of corn flour, water, and salt that are grilled and then stuffed with cheese and butter. I had at least one arepa per day during lunch time and chased it down with a Colombiana (Colombian soda). With tons to see and chances are that you want to spend as much time outdoors as possible, so save the restaurants for your evening meal and enjoy a quick arepa on the go.
On every corner there was someone selling ice cold lemon and lime juice, freshly squeezed!
For dinner, we ate at Plaza Santo Domingo every night because it is filled with people, live music, and we found a restaurant that sold a pitcher of sangria for a really good price, so why not? The only downside of eating at Plaza Santo Domingo is that is touristy and people will try to come to your table to sell you things. If this happens, be polite but let them know you are not interested.
We did spoil ourselves with one amazing dinner at Café del Mar this is an amazing restaurant which is moderately priced but you are sure to have the best dinner. The restaurant is located perfectly on the walled city overlooking the water and parts of the city. I would highly recommend getting the Ceviche appetizer! If you arrive early enough you can catch the beautiful sunset.
Budget Travel Tip#3: Stay at a Hostel but if you can't find one, make sure your hotel offers a full free breakfast
For our stay in Cartagena we stayed at Hotel Don Pedro De Heredia which was very nicely priced for its location. During the time of year we went (December, Colombia's summer) most hostels with private rooms were booked so we found a centrally located hotel for about $80 per night. The hotel was clean, centrally located, and had an amazing full breakfast on their rooftop restaurant. The breakfast was included int he price of the hotel and it was probably the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. It included a wide variety of meats, eggs, sausages, arepas, cheeses, yogurts, breads, oatmeal and freshly squeezed juices. You asked for it and they had it, the quality was great too. They also made your eggs or omelet to order with whatever you wanted in it.
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