Cartagena, Colombia

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Cartagena de Indias is the number one tourist attraction of Colombia. The old town (a Unesco heritage site) is perfectly preserved between the walls (to protect from pirates). Beautiful colored colonial houses and picture-perfect streets.

Cartagena draws lots of tourists, including from huge cruise ships. Around Cartagena there are some nice beaches (the beach of Cartagena itself is mediocre).

Population: 746000 Elevation: 2 meters. Average temperature: 28 degrees Celcius. | Editing history.

Places to stay:

The cheapest hostels are not in the old town (within the walls), but in Getsemani, a 5 minute walk from the old town. It's a somewhat seedy area, but not too bad. The Bocagrande area is kind of boring, but also is filled with hotels, in price somewhat in between the cheapies of Getsemani and the fancy places in the old town.

North Star hostel (2 comments) Cr 3 No 8 - 96, Bocagrande Tel: 314 582 1624 Tel: 5 655 0241 Website: http://www.northstarbackpackers.com/ Website:
In the Bocagrande area, 16,000 Pesos for a dorm bed and up. Two private rooms sleeping up to four people costing between 16,250 Pesos and 35,000 pesos per person depending on how many are sharing. It's next to the restaurant Chef Julian and in front of the restaurant Arabe Internacional in Bocagrande.

Hostal Casa Viena (2 comments) Getsemani, Calle San Andres No 30 - 53 Tel: 664 62 42 Tel: 660 20 77 Website: http://www.casaviena.com Email: hotel at casaviena dot com Cheapest night: 8 US$/night. Dorm beds available. Private rooms available.
Run by the friendly Austrian owner Hans, Casa Viena has dorm beds (14,000 pesos, US$8) and private rooms (25000 pesos, US$ 10), internet, safety boxes, book exchange, open kitchen and all the usuals of a good travelers hostel. Hans can also help you get on a sailboat trip to Panama.

Hotel Marlin (1 comments) Calle 30 No 10 - 35 Tel: 664 35 07 Cheapest night: 6 US$/night. Private rooms available.
A small backpackers place. Singles are 16000 pesos (US$ 6), doubles 28000 (US$ 13).

Hotel Holiday (3 comments) Calle de la Media Luna No 10 - 47 Tel: 664 09 48 Cheapest night: 6 US$/night. Private rooms available.
A good option when Casa Viena is full. Singles with bathroom are 12000, doubles are 24000 pesos (US$ 10).

D&E Tents and Hammocks (0 comments) Playa Blanca Isla de Baru Cartagena, En la mitad de la Playa usted puede ver nuestro aviso Tel: 57 (311) 592 6246 Email: dande at samerica dot com Email: diegotenorio74 at hotmail dot com Cheapest night: 4 US$/night. Dorm beds available. Private rooms available.
This is a rustic and remote area where there are no hotels, in D&E Tents and Hammocks you will find accommodation in Tents and Hammocks in front of the sea Price include the right to use the bathroom consisting of two private toilets (We provide toilet paper) more fully fourth quarter to take a shower and to dry and change clothes. If you prefer, you can bring your tent or hammock Please do not go without first having eaten lobster, crab, octopus, sharks and the delicious sancocho de pescado. Come and take some time to rest and Relax in one of the Most Beautiful Beaches of South America We are located in PLAYA BLANCA Barú Island (Cartagena - Colombia) We are in a great location just 45 minutes from town by boat or 1 hour by land

Posada Pirata (0 comments) Calle Vicente (Something or other) near the clock tower Cheapest night: 5 US$/night. Dorm beds available. Private rooms available.
Cheap, basic hostel in the city center. The owners seem not to care about attracting clients because the place isnt listed anywhere, but it's a great bargain. There's a communal kitchen, free internet, a washing machine, lots of patios, and a BAD ASS terrace on the roof (fourth or fifth floor). Don't know about directions, just ask around for Posada Pirata or Donde Cristina. The owners are a really disfunctional but friendly family. Dorms are 10,000 and private 15,000 but the prices fluctuate...

Crespo bed and breakfast (0 comments) Avendida 3, No. 65 - 109, Barrio Crespo Tel: (575) 6661415 Tel: (575) 6697394 Cheapest night: 25 US$/night. Private rooms available.
There is a bed and breakfast in Crespo three blocks from the airport. It's about 2.5 blocks from a couple of beaches in the quiet upper-middle class neighborhood of Crespo and its got a more homey atmosphere than many of the larger hotel chains. The lady who owns/runs it is named Doña Ana de Cabanzo. She doesn't advertise and there is no sign at her house. You can sit in the patio watching all the wild birds. You can take a cheap bus or collectivo to Cartagena.

Casa Sofia (0 comments) Calle San Antonio, Getsemani, Old City Tel: 57 6600071 Website: www.casasofiacartagena.com Website: Email: casasofiacartagena at hotmail dot com Cheapest night: 400 US$/night. Private rooms available.
In a beautiful house in the Old City, this very upscale place has a central courtyard with a pool, a kitchen that is practically open air, a deck on top where you can see everything. The master bedroom has this great bathroom with a shower that is open to the sky so you are basically outdoors. If it happens to be raining (which is was one day), your shower is partially rainwater.

Things to do:

The main thing to do in Cartagena is just to stroll around the beautiful streets of the old town. The beaches are ok but not great, there are much better beaches outside of the city.

The gold museum is excellent and free. The Inquisition museum is a tourist trap and should be avoided.

Around Cartagena

You can take a sailboat from Cartagena to Panama, ask in the Casa Vienna.

You can also do good scuba diving here, although it's a little more expensive than in Taganga. Schools include Dolphin Dive School (http://www.dolphindiveschool.com) and Caribe Dive Shop (http://www.caribediveshop.com).

You can take a boat to Playa Blanca , a beautiful beach close to Cartagena. Ask in Casa Viena. In the afternoons, it can be busy with people passing by on tours, but the rest of the day it's quiet. There are a few places where you can sleep in a hammock (make sure it comes with a mosquito net!) for about 7000 pesos (US$ 3).

Lots of places to eat but many in the old town are pricey and lack much ambiance. One I found with reasonable prices and super friendly staff is Rincon de la Mantilla on Calle de la Mantilla No. 3-32. Ask for Carlos the barkeep and Yesenia the manager.

Travelguides:

More expensive hotels in Cartagena: There are plenty of up-scale options in Cartagena, if you want to splurge.

Snorkeling or Diving in Islas Rosarios: Best ecotourism group to arrange snorkeling/diving trips on the islands is the Cultura del Mar. Ask for Antonio or Fernando. They arranged a great overnight trip complete with night snorkeling in the enchanted lagoon (the highlight!) Their website is http://www.culturadelmar.com/

 

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Comments

sloopskipper says on Jun 4, 2008, 05:53: A little Cartagena slideshow: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QT3sjAdiYgw 0 funny, 0 helpful.

D&E (☼Travelguide writer) says on Dec 14, 2008, 03:41: If you want stay in Playa Blanca, visit us D&E Tents and Hammocks Contact us at Diego Tenorio 311 592 6246 Edgar Tenorio 301 679 7164 0 funny, 0 helpful.

el norteño (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2009, 17:42: I have to say the touts in the streets and the beach pretty much ruined my stay there. It's really oppressive. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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