As a Christmas treat and to celebrate her birthday, my bff, Ana, and I headed to Cartagena for a few days. We hopped on a plane from Medellín, eager to smell the ocean air. Once we arrived at our hostel, we checked in, dropped our things off, loaded up on sunscreen, and went exploring.
My first impression of Cartagena was, “God damn, it is hot here.” Then, “These streets are filled with people.” And then, “The streets are darn cute tho.” Thoughts like this naturally continued throughout the whole trip.
Ana and I stayed in the Old City of Cartagena. We wandered through the main square with a beautiful church, canons that once protected the city, cobblestoned streets, and many shops and restaurants (not many had vegetarian options, just sayin’). I really cannot stress how cute the less-busy streets are.
After exploring the city, we headed to the beach. When looking up photos of Cartagena online, you can feel your eyes widening from how gorgeous the beaches are. I’m talking white sand, clear-blue water, and no people. The beach nearest to our hostel, a 20-minute walk into the New City, wasn’t like the photos. It was crowded, the water was murky, and there were people constantly trying to sell you things like sunglasses, drinks, food, and massages. But hey, it was a beach, so Ana and I got comfortable.
What beach doesn’t look good at sunset, though?
Out of all the people trying to sell things on the beach, the women offering massages are the most ruthless. It’s almost impossible for them to leave you be. Ana told me to just say, “Gracias,” and they’d leave you alone. Some did, but others continued. Some would even start putting the oil on our feet. It was very bizarre. At one point, I pretended I was asleep only to feel a woman rubbing oil on my toes. This shocked me so much that I almost punted the lady in the face. Also to note, these women will say they’ll give you a test or “la pruebita,” for free. It’s not free. They’ll also say they’re just going to massage your feet. They’ll massage more.
There are day trips to nicer beaches in Cartagena, the ones you see on Google images. If you find yourself in the city, definitely take advantage of this. There are so many companies that offer these trips. Ask around to find the cheapest option for you. At first, the company we chose was asking for 80.000 pesos (about 30 USD), but Ana got them down to 55.000 (about 17 USD) each. I can’t tell you how helpful it was to have a Colombian with me to avoid getting ripped off. I would have spent so much ca$h if Ana wasn’t there. Bless her.
For these day trips, you take a boat with other tourists and a tour guide (ours was called “Chocolate”) to one or two beaches. On our trip, the first destination felt like miles away to a tiny island where you could either go to the aquarium, snorkeling in the ocean, or sit on the boat and be sad. Ana and I decided to snorkel. This cost another 35.000 pesos, but it is worth it. I saw so many colorful and weird-lookin’ fish, and very neat coral reefs. Just being in that crystal clear water was worth it. Even though there were so many others snorkeling in the area, I couldn’t tell.
The next and final stop was Playa Blanca, one of the white sand, blue water beaches I’ve mentioned. Here, we also received a free meal with our tour tickets, which was a necessity because we were starving. There are no vegetarian options unless you settle for the rice and mini salad that comes with the protein (fish, chicken, or beef). Keep this in mind if you don’t eat meat, as you may have to bring a lil’ food for yourself. This beach was also so so so crowded with tourists, but fun nonetheless. And there were no women trying to touch my feet.
I’m going to take a minute to explain how you’re going to get ripped the “F” off when you visit Cartagena. When Ana and I arrived, our cab to the hostel cost about 30.000 pesos. Most hostels say how much a cab costs to get there, so we were aware of how much to pay. We met a Canadian during our stay and he paid 50.000 pesos to his hostel. His friend, an Australian, paid 75.000. Make sure you and the cab driver settle on a price before you start the journey. The cabs don’t have meters in Cartagena, which is how they easily get your $$$. When we went out at night, all the clubs had an annoying cover charge. I think we ended up paying 15.000 each to get in, which was the cheapest option we found. Also, the shots of Aguadiente, a cheap, vodka-like drink, cost 35.000. That is more expensive than two full bottles from the grocery store. Needless to say, we didn’t drink much that night. The bartender also told me that they didn’t have tap water. I had to point to the faucet and plead with him to get a cup. Cartagena is wild.
In conclusion, Cartagena is really, really warm (we kept having to go into the shopping malls to cool off), there are a lot of tourists, and you have to be conscious about the amount of money you’re spending. If you visit, go to the beaches, check out the castle, and go to more beaches. We also tried saving two stray puppies, so you could also give that a go. The streets are cute, you’ll get a tan, and you’ll probably make friends with other tourists. Be careful and you’ll be sure to have a good time.
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