I spent 10 days in Cartagena as a first-time traveler to Colombia. I didn’t know much about Cartagena other than it was highly recommended by people I met while traveling. Also, after my group’s trip to Panama, some women traveled to Colombia afterward and raved about it! 

To save you the trouble of navigating Colombia without prior knowledge, here is a list of tips, things to know, and advice I wish I had known before I went. 

And I included some surprising cultural things that I wouldn’t have expected!

1.  Fill out this Required Immigration Registration BEFORE you get to the airport

To save you the trouble I went through when arriving to check in for my flight at the airport, fill out the Check-mig form ahead of time. 

Check-mig is Colombia’s immigration control form. Once you fill it out, you’ll be sent an email with the confirmation code that the gate agent will need to see before you can check in for your flight. 

The website says that you can fill out the immigration registration form 72 hours in advance of your trip and up to one hour before. To ensure a peaceful and easy check-in process fill it out in advance.

Check-mig: https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro/en/DatosViaje

2. Nothing is free! Expect to pay or tip for random services

If anyone comes up to you in Cartagena for a “service” or street entertainment, know that they will ask for a tip or payment. 

Examples of services or times when someone asked me for tip or payment: 

• If someone carries your luggage at the airport 
• If someone guides you to your Uber 
• If someone serenades you on the street
• If you notice a band playing and engage with them
• Anyone who asks if you want a photo with them (The Palenque women)

Yes, every single one of those things happened to me over the ten days that I was there. And while there is nothing wrong with using those services or enjoying the entertainment, just know that the expectation is that you will be tipping or paying for them. 

Something that surprised me is that they are bold enough to tell you when an amount isn’t enough and they will request for more. That is totally up to your discretion. Remember that you determine what is enough. Be prepared for that. 

And if you don’t tip them, be prepared for them to stick around until you do. Our group went out to dinner and we heard what sounded like a parade outside of the restaurant. We went to see what was happening, the band noticed and came up to dance with us. When we went back into the restaurant, they stayed outside the restaurant until we finally tipped them.

They are very persistent. 

3. Contact your tour guides before your scheduled activities

Booking tours and activities in advance is something I recommend. However, I noticed that most of our tour guides didn’t reach out to us until the day of or the day before our scheduled activity. If you’re a planner and want to know the details of your pick-up time or meeting location, make sure to message them. 

The quickest way to get in touch with a tour guide operator or hotel is through their WhatsApp. I tried emailing one tour provider with no luck of a response but when I messaged on WhatsApp, the reply was nearly immediate. 

Looking for tours to try in Cartagena? Read my other blog to find 15 tours and activities for inspiration. 

4. Unexpected Food Diet (or lack of) in Cartagena

Cartagena’s meat and protein diet is mainly seafood, beef, or pork. The last thing I expected was a lack of chicken food options. Most of the restaurants we went to didn’t even have chicken on the menu however they usually had at least 1-2 vegetarian food options.

Besides the food restriction, the food was absolutely to die for! 

Read More: List of the best restaurants in Cartagena 

5. Nightlife and Dinners Start Late

Dinner in Cartagena starts around 8 or 9 PM. If you book a reservation around 6 PM, you will likely be the only group in the restaurant for a while. It was hilarious the first few times we booked. We looked around and wondered where everyone was. 

Similarly, we took a salsa dance class that ended around 8 PM and wanted to go and try our new skills at a salsa club. After attempting to go to all of the notable salsa clubs, we discovered that people don’t start going out until 11 PM there. One of the bar owners told us that 11 PM is the earliest that people start coming out.

List of 4 popular salsa clubs in Cartagena, Colomba: 

• Café Havana – 60,000 COP cover
• Donde Fidel Salsa Bar – Cash Only
• La Tertulia de Getsemaní – 30,000 COP cover
• Casa Quiebracanto

Interested in taking a salsa class or trying another activity in Cartagena? Check out this blog post for my recommendations.

6. Money: Using Debit/Credit Cards and Conversion Rates

Using Debit/Credit Cards

Before arriving in Cartagena, I read that most businesses don’t accept cards. However, I rarely had to use cash even for the street vendors. They accepted cards almost everywhere we went.  

However, vendors will increase the price by 10% or an estimated 1-3 dollars per transaction when you use a card to cover any fees associated with card payments.

Converting Money 

As of May 16th, 2024 $100,000 COP is about $25 USD. So when converting prices I divided it by 4,000 to get an estimate of what it would cost in USD. 

Buying power is relatively the same in COP as it is in USD

In Cartagena, the average cocktail was about $12 USD. One dinner I got with 2 cocktails and dinner came to about $50 USD. 

7. Vendors can get aggressive

My experience with street vendors varies from very kind and friendly to overbearing. 

Be prepared for people to walk up to you on the street or the beach with goods to purchase. I found the best way to get them to move along is to say “No gracias.” If you ignore them, they tend to keep trying.

At Castillo Grande Beach, the street vendors ran up to our Uber’s door immediately. Our friend’s Uber driver told them “Good luck” when he dropped them off. 

Other vendors will approach you at the beach and pass by and stop to show their goods. I believe the locals just want business and they mean no harm. 

Have cash on hand if you want to buy anything from people on the beaches.

8. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

For many of the services or souvenirs that you can buy, the price is likely negotiable. 

If you’re a foreigner, the vendor will likely jack up the price. Have someone who speaks Spanish or is from the area negotiate for you. On many of our tours, the guide told us to ask them before we bought anything. 

This especially applied when we were at Islá Barú. 

Embarrassingly enough, my group of 5 and I spent $25 for a 3-minute ride on a banana floaty. Even the guys operating it couldn’t believe how much we paid. 

9. Language Barriers for English Speakers

Most of the locals speak Spanish in Cartagena and few of them know English. Using a translation app or learning some Spanish before you arrive will be useful. 

I used Apple’s translate app because you can translate conversations by speaking into the phone and texting which is so helpful. 

I was surprised that most people didn’t speak English but I shouldn’t have been since it’s a Spanish-speaking country. However, most of the restaurants we went to had at least one English-speaking server, and all of our tours had options to book an English guide. 

10. Cross the street like a New Yorker 

Cartagena has cross walks but not every intersection will have them. If you start to move, the cars should slow down. But if a car is beeping at you repeatedly, that means that they want to pass first. So don’t cross or else they run you over – I came close to that.

11. Wifi 

Wifi is readily available at most places. If you’re working remotely, the best wifi in the city is at Selina’s Coworking Space. 

12. The Heat and Humidity are no joke 

Cartagena is hot! My main tip when going on outdoor or walking tours is to have extra sun protection beyond sunscreen. Cover up your shoulders by wearing a wide-brim hat or a scarf. If you forget those, you can find a street vendor selling these items.  

That concludes everything I wish I had known before heading to Cartagena, Colombia! 

Cartagena is a touristy city so expect tourism-related businesses or people trying to sell you something because tourists likely aren’t staying in Cartagena long enough to give any true business. Be generous where you can but know you don’t have to pay for services you didn’t ask for. 

I would travel back to Cartagena again. I went with a group this time but I would go back as a solo traveler to learn Spanish. I really fell in love with the culture, people, and vibes of the city.