Family Holiday at Christmas and New Years: Julio and his team were amazing. In Cartagena he set up our transport, a city tour. All his guides were very good. The most amazing thing is how he jumped in and helped us when one of our group got a passport stolen. He was right there to help us at all turns. If you plan to go to Colombia I give Julio and his team my highest recommendation.
Cartagena City Tour
Private half-day tour
See the fundamentals of Cartagena
Experience the contrast between colonial & modern
The famous port of Cartagena de Indias awaits you
Cartagena is indeed part of the Caribbean, but it goes much deeper than that. On this private half-day tour, you will visit the main sites of this tropical city, including the neighborhoods of Bocagrande (“big mouth”), Castillo Grande (“big castle”), and much more. Dive right in, and meet Cartagena from a local’s perspective.
What you'll see
Bocagrande & Castillo Grande neighborhoods
Pastelillo Fort
The Castle of San Felipe
La Popa Hill
Las Bóvedas (“the vaults”) artisanal markets
India Catalina
Click the tabs to find out more
Tour details
Tour details
Price:
All prices are per person and in USD
1 person $178
2 people $97
3 people $88
4 people $70
5 people $59
6 people $52
7 people $48
8 people $44
9 people $41
10 people $38
Departure times:
9AM, 2PM
Meeting point:
Hotel pick-up & drop-off anywhere in Cartagena
Availability:
Year-round, every day (unless otherwise indicated)
Duration:
4 hours
Group size:
1 – 25
Included:
• Private transportation and driver
• Bilingual guide
• Entrance to the Castle of San Felipe
• Entrance to La Popa Hill
• Water
• Medical insurance
Not included:
Personal expenses & tips
What to bring:
Comfortable walking shoes, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses
Note: we recommend bringing a raincoat or poncho if rain is in the forecast (though this is quite unlikely).
Overview of your tour
The Castle of San Felipe is one of the most important aspects of this introductory tour. As you’ll learn, this establishment is less of a castle and more of a fort. In colonial times, Cartagena was a major port in South America and therefore suffered many pirate attacks. The Castle of San Felipe served as the main protector of the port. Right nearby is the famous sculpture known as Zapatos Viejos (“old shoes”), a physical homage to one of the city’s most revered poets, Luis Carlos López, and his ode to Cartagena.
From its peak, La Popa Hill supplies breathtaking, expansive views of this beautiful, oceanside town. And sitting at the very top is a monastery that we will enter and learn about. Toward the end of the tour, we will continue to Las Bóvedas (“the vaults”) and its fabulous artisanal market. With a fascinating name like Las Bóvedas, there must be a story behind it… but we’ll leave it to your guide to tell you!
Though this is the classic route that we recommend, please do not hesitate to let us know upon booking what interests you! We are more than happy to alter the itinerary to incorporate other sights that you would like to see or places you would like to visit.
Good to know
This tour is private and safe so that you feel comfortable roaming around the city.
Our private vehicle has air conditioning to combat the Cartagena heat.
The proposed route is more of a recommendation -- just let us know what sort of things you want to see, and we can take you there!
Our guides are local and have been precisely trained to know their way around the city quite well.
Medical insurance is included in the price of all of our tours, so we have you covered in the unlikely event of an accident.
Frequently asked questions
All of our tours are private. That is, if you book a certain day and time slot, you (and your group) will be the only one(s) on the tour, provided that you are all included in the same booking.
We are proud to say that we have an incredible team with a wide array of languages. In total, we can offer tours in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Italian. We also have a Russian interpreter that can come along and translate for us. Please indicate your language preference upon booking (languages other than English and Spanish come at an additional cost).
Our guides know Cartagena like the backs of their hands! If you are interested in seeing certain things — like art, religious artifacts, or people watching, for example — just speak up. We can put together something special just for you.
Have more questions? Visit our FAQ page!
See what previous tour-goers have said
Amazing tour and amazing tour guide (Julio)! My first tour in Colombia and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The sites were amazing and the food was incredible. Thanks to our guide Julio for going above and beyond to making sure we had a great time.
I would like to give special thanks to Kelly for planning my itinerary for Cartagena and Bogota – she also arranged my airport transfers in both cities, my full day tour in Cartagena was amazing! We fell in love with the walled city, such beautiful buildings and great restaurants. Kelly gave us some really good restaurant recommendations and we also enjoyed the trip to fort San Felipe.
