While sitting in one of Cartagena’s many coffee shops, I looked back on all of the activities my group and I did during our stay in Cartagena, Colombia. 

We spent 8 nights and 9 days in Cartagena experiencing some of the must-do things here like spending a day on the boat to visit Cholon, trying the rums and chocolates, and learning to dance salsa. But, there were still some tours that we didn’t get to try!

I’ve heard that most people spend about 2 days or just a weekend in Cartagena. But if you want to experience everything this beach city offers, you should stay for at least a week. Cartagena is much more touristy than I expected so they offer plenty of tours and activities to try during your stay.

One tip for outdoor walking tours is to wear extra sun protection beyond sunscreen because Cartagena’s sun is hot. Cover up your shoulders by wearing a wide-brim hat or a scarf. If you forget those items, you can easily find a street vendor selling them.  

For more tips on Cartagena, check out this blog post: Things to Know Before Your Trip to Cartagena.

Here are my honest reviews of the 9 tours we tried in Cartagena and 5 more that we couldn’t fit into our itinerary. 

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1. Street Food Tour

Cartagena is full of street food vendors! However, trying street food can be risky because you aren’t sure if the food will make you sick.

I recommend going on this Street Food Tour because they go to trusted vendors. 

On the tour, you’ll try about 15 different foods and drinks. Some highlights were pan de bonos, corozo fruit juice, and shrimp cocktail. Our guide told us about the ingredients in the foods and the history and culture of Cartagena. 

Don’t eat for at least 2 hours before the tour starts because you will be full! 

Tip: This is an outdoor walking tour so, wear comfy shoes and have sun protection. 

2. Gourmet Cooking Class 

Colombian foods are too delicious to leave without knowing how to make them yourself.

In this Gourmet Cooking Class with a View experience, you can choose between learning how to make Ceviche, Topside Beef, Red Snapper, and many more menu options.

They also have the option to bring you to Bazurto Market, where you accompany the chef to buy the ingredients and go back to the studio to cook together. 

My group and I didn’t expect our class to be on such an expert chef level which made this experience even better. Chef Andres took us from chopping fruits and vegetables to expertly plating ceviches.

We did the Ceviche experience which included learning how to make four Colombian-style ceviches, a welcome drink, and two glasses of beer, wine, or lemonade. 

After our class, they sent us the recipes to make ourselves.

The view is of Castillo de San Felipe so if you don’t have time to see it on your trip, you will be able to see it from this tour.

3. Pub Crawl 

We did a Pub Crawl through Selina. If you’re in a group, I recommend researching the best bars in Cartagena and bar hopping on your own. It would have been the same if not a better experience. However, do the bar crawl to meet people if you’re traveling solo. 

The Selina guides running the pub crawl were very inviting! They danced with everyone and made sure people were dancing and talking with everyone. 

Overall, the pub crawl through Selina was just an okay experience. I think we stayed a bit too long at each bar. Maybe an hour at each one? My group left the pub crawl at the first bar but I decided to stay and finish it. 

4. Rum and Chocolate Tasting 

Fun fact: Colombia is one of the world’s leading rum and cocoa producers. So it’s no surprise that their rums and chocolates are loved worldwide. And what is a better way to experience them than at a combined rum and chocolate tasting? 

This tasting by Rummelier and Renato had us sipping 6 rums and 3 local liquors, and tasting 12 different chocolates. Our guide Lina was knowledgeable the space was judgment-free if we couldn’t finish. 

I don’t recommend drinking before this activity because if you finish all of the drinks, there is a chance that you will be drunk at the end. Some of the rums and liquors had over 30% or more alcohol content in them so they were strong. 

This experience is at Lunácito Studios so If you do the cooking class mentioned earlier, it’s at the same location with views of Castillo de San Felipe.

5. Salsa Class 

We did a salsa class with Unforgettable Getaways at the Crazy Salsa Dance Studio in Cartagena.

Normally, I would find a free dance class to do but taking a paid class was so worth it! 

The instructor showed us the salsa steps, gave us technical tips, and paid attention to our steps to ensure we were doing them properly. 

After every new combination of steps learned, we would do it to the music to feel how the steps work with the rhythm. I appreciated that the instructor gradually sped up our dancing tempo because salsa is a fast-paced dance and can be hard to break into as a beginner. She broke it down well! 

Tip: If you want to try your salsa steps at a bar, don’t go out until 11 PM. 

Our class ended at 8 PM and we immediately tried to go out salsa dancing. However, all of the bars were nearly empty at that time. One of the bar owners told us that people start coming out around 11 PM at minimum.

6. Swim with Bioluminescent Plankton 

On this Baru Sunset Beach with Bioluminescent Plankton tour, we went to Isla Barú for a sunset beach dinner and swam with the plankton. The tour started with a 1.5-hour drive from Cartagena. Then, we went to Mambo Beach Club on Barú Beach. 

Mambo Beach Club was a pleasant surprise. The beach chairs were nice. However, the drinks were pretty pricey. For a Margarita, I paid COP 40,000. Included in our tour was a COP 30,000 food voucher so we just had to pay the balance if what we ordered was more expensive. Also, bring towels because they aren’t provided at the beach club. 

Before booking this tour, look at the moon phase cycle because you want as little moonlight as possible to see the plankton glow. 

Tip: Use night mode on your phone to get a photo of the glow around your body. 

7. Legendary Cholon Island Party 

This experience was one of my favorite days spent in Cartagena.

On this tour with Hi Cartagena, we had a beautiful and luxurious boat just for our group. The activity included an open bar, food, and snacks. We also had access to the boat’s Bluetooth speakers.

Before getting to Cholon, we stopped to swim at one of the Rosario Islands. We didn’t have time to include a tour of Rosario Islands in our itinerary so this was a happy surprise. 

Cholon had a much chiller vibe than I expected for an island party. It was a bunch of boats docked together at a beachfront where people could eat, drink, and listen to music in the water. But, the experience is what you make of it.

We got a table in the water which cost COP 283,000 or COP 70,000 per person. We also ordered a hookah for $60 USD per hour and included 2 refills. 

Our lunch was fish or chicken with rice and patacones or a vegetarian option. Our guide gave us our drinks from the boat but you could also order drinks from the beach bar.

We stopped at another lagoon to swim before we headed back to Cartagena.

8. Namaste Beach Club 

Namaste Beach Club is the perfect holistic and wellness retreat to end your trip.

We got the holistic day pass that included a yoga class, a half-hour massage, meditation, a fire ceremony, and a consumption bonus. 

The yoga class lasted an hour and was in Spanish and English. I’m an active yoga class taker and this class was much needed after multiple days of walking around Cartagena. 

For lunch, I ordered Arroz de Mariscos. My friends got a vegetarian spring roll (it tasted so yummy!), steak quesadillas, and a vegetarian hamburger. 

Our meditation was split into 3 parts and took 30 minutes. The first meditated with our bodies inviting our breath into our movement. The second we taped our bodies and gave ourselves a massage through our face and jaw, encouraging blood flow. In the last part, we rested in Shavasana.

After our meditation, we tried a sound bath. I didn’t know what to expect since this was my first sound bath. The sounds were all-encompassing and the practitioner placed the bowl on my heart and stomach. When it was done, I could still feel the vibrations through my body. 

The massage was very relaxing. One of our friends booked the sound therapy experience and she said it was very transformative and released a lot of pent-up energy from her system. 

A couple got engaged at the beach club so our fire ceremony was focused on love. We gave them a message about love and threw 3 leaves into the fire. Then we danced and chanted around the fire. The ceremony was mainly in Spanish with some English translations. Even though I couldn’t understand what they were saying, it was so beautiful and I cried the whole time. 

Tip: Bring bug spray to this experience.

9. Shopping at La Bazudo 

This shopping experience is so unique! The Bazudo is an old dungeon, turned shopping center. You can still see where all of the passages, gates, and windows were. It’s very unique. This is a free activity. And when you’re done you can walk up along the fortress wall. 

That concludes the activities that we experienced in Cartagena. As promised, here are 5 more activities to consider adding to your itinerary. I wish we had time to experience them on our trip to Cartagena, Colombia!

10. Totumo Volcano 

Take a medicinal mud bath in a volcano on this Totumo Volcano Experience!  

12. Brunch and Paint on a secret rooftop 

I wanted to do this Brunch and Paint activity because you get to make a DIY keepsake to bring back home while drinking sparkling wine and eating tapas.

13. Bazurto Public Market and the Real Life in Cartagena 

Taking this walking tour of the Bazurto Public Market is a great way to experience life as a local. 

One note is that this is a very raw experience. When we spoke with another tour guide about this experience he said to go with no expectations and avoid wearing flashy jewelry or clothing. 

14. Arepas and Dancing – Danceable Cooking Class

The main reason why we couldn’t do this Foodies Original activity is because of our time constraints. It is only available on Tuesdays from 12 – 2 PM. And it is charged per group at $200 so if that worked for one person it didn’t make sense to book the experience solo. 

However, this activity is highly reviewed by the New York Times. You will learn how to make arepa e’huevo and dance to champeta. 

15. San Basilio de Palenque

Taking a private tour of San Basilio de Palenque is a must-do experience. Palenque is the first-free town in the Americas founded by escaped African slaves in 1713. 

On the experience, you work with a native to prepare a traditional lunch, learn about traditional medicine and boxing, enjoy a drum show, and sample sweets.  

Overall, Cartagena, Colombia was so great. I can’t believe some people only spend about 2-3 days here because there is so much to do. The heat and humidity may be a lot but many restaurants and businesses have AC or fans running to help. 

Cartagena, Colombia has so much to offer and I hope you get the experience as much of it as possible. I recommend you spend a week exploring the city, islands, and beaches.

Tell me in the comments what you’re excited to do in Cartagena or what you did on your trip there!