Traveling to Cartagena, Colombia? You’ll love it!

This was my first time going to Colombia. I was told how affordable tickets are going to Cartagena, Colombia by a travel buddy (@avatheexplorer). ? She’s always on the go! ? At the time I didn’t know much about Colombia (let alone Cartegena). I was on the fence about going (up until the day before going). . . LOL. I’m very indecisive at times – most times! Of course, Ava told me she thought I should go because she thought I would really enjoy the experience. I’m so glad I took her advice . . . It was ABSOLUTELY amazing!! ?

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How to get to Cartegena, Colombia?

I flew out of the Fort Lauderdale International Airport on a direct flight on JetBlue.? The round-trip fare was initially $170 however I waited until the day before to buy my ticket so I paid $225. . . . That’s still a pretty good deal! There are many different flight options into Cartegena nowadays so if you’re flexible with your dates, you can grab a flight deal for $200-$240.

Where to stay?

The hotels in Cartagena are VERY affordable. Since Ava and I were traveling together so we decided to go dutch on the hotel room. I’m all for saving a few coins whenever possible. ??? From the time I touched down in Cartegena until the time I boarded the flight to head back to South Florida, we were on the go!

What to do in Cartagena, Colombia?

There’s so much to do in Cartagena, Colombia. Ava was in contact with Alex Rocha weeks before we arrived. I guess you can say Alex is kinda like an ambassador of Cartegena. LOL. All three of us are members of the Nomadness Travel Tribe so it worked out perfectly! He arranges different tours so depending on what the tour is and how many people will determine how much he charges. Alex hosted a party bus tour our 1st night there. It was so much fun! We ended up meeting up with a few other tribe members (of who we had not met before) on the party bus and kinda hangout with them throughout the trip. That’s one of the things that I love about traveling . . . It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling solo or with the family, you meet so many new people while traveling!

Where to Eat?

Cartagena offers many good places to eat. I ate so much seafood (which is my favorite) for little to nothing. I highly recommend Cafe Del Mar and Restaurante Pepe Anca. If you’re looking for a refreshing treat stop by Cremeria Italiana or Lick Ice Cream, Juice & Yogurt Bar.

A little town called Palanque

Alex took us to a little village called Palanque to soak up the Afro-Colombian history our 2nd day there – a 45-minute drive outside Cartagena. Palanque is first ‘free town’ in the Americas. Going to Palanque was actually one of the highlights of my trip! The natives were extremely friendly and welcomed all of us into their homes.

When we got back later that day, we all went to dinner. I met some amazing individuals and really enjoyed dinner and everyone’s company.

The last day we were there we decided to walk around, go to the beach and just hangout. One of the ladies of our group was staying at the Hilton. Ava and I linked up with her and played around in the pool for a bit. We walked around some and caught taxis during the time spent there. The taxis (among mostly everything else) were really affordable.

Adios amigo!

The work professionals all spoke English however the natives and taxis drivers spoke very little or no English. Ava is a little fluent in Spanish so we were good! The only time I ran into what could have possibly been an issue (which wasn’t until I was at the airport heading back to the States).

When going through the security checkpoint at CTG, I was stopped and questioned a little by an airport security agent. It was funny because he didn’t know ANY English and I don’t know Spanish (except for a little that I learned in high school). Well, I guess I knew enough cause I was able to make out what questions we asked me. He asked me where I stayed and how long was I there for. The girl that was with me was impressed that I was able to make out what the agent was saying. I would definitely recommend travel to Cartegena, Colombia! I definitely want to go back soon.

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