3 Days in Cartagena Itinerary

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Are you planning to spend three days in Cartagena, Colombia?

3 days in Cartagena is just enough to see the city’s main highlights, including exploring the charming historic areas and possibly squeezing in some beach time.

In this suggested 3 day Cartagena itinerary, I’m going to give you my suggestions for what to do in Cartagena in 3 days based on my decade living in the city.

I’m also going to share why I think you should consider adding at least one more day to your trip too, though!

Why 3 Days in Cartagena is Just Enough to Scratch the Surface

It can be hard to know exactly what 3 days in Cartagena means.

Does it mean 72 hours in Cartagena?

Does it mean 3 days and 2 nights in Cartagena?

If so, do you arrive late the first day and leave early the last?

Or do you get nearly 3 complete days?

Or somewhere in between?

Or does it really mean 3 complete days not counting your arrival and departure day, so more like 5 days, 4 nights?

My suggestions below for a 3 day Cartagena itinerary is based on the idea that you’ll have 3 days and 2 nights, with roughly one full day and two half days.

Why You Should Consider Spending More than Three Days in Cartagena

I’d like to say 3 days in Cartagena is just about the bare minimum I’d suggest. It’s just enough time to see the highlights in the city.

I see lots of advice online about only spending a day or two in Cartagena.

Usually this is based on Cartagena being too touristy, or there being too many vendors, or it being more expensive than other places in Colombia.

That’s all true.

So, you might be wondering why I’d suggest more.

Well, if you take a look at this website’s name or my background (I lived in Cartagena for over a decade), I might not be the most objective source.

However, I feel really, really strongly that most travelers will leave after spending 3 days in Cartagena and wish they had more time.

For most people, I think 4-7 days in Cartagena works best, depending on what all you’d like to do. You can read my post on how many days in Cartagena is best for an deeper dive into what you might consider when deciding what’s best for you.

Even for people who want to try to get the most as possible into a multi-destination trip through Colombia or the people who prefer to avoid touristy places for more off the beaten paths, I strongly encourage you to make sure you have 2 complete days in Cartagena.

That might mean staying an extra night and getting 4 days in Cartagena or it might mean sticking to a 3 day Cartagena itinerary and making sure you arrive very early or depart very late.

By getting 2 full days, you can spend one day exploring the city itself, including the historic sites, and another day out in the Rosario Islands, which I consider all but a must do.

Click here to learn more about the Rosario Islands if you need some convincing.

If you can’t make that work, you could cram the city’s highlights into your arrival and departure days and do the islands in the middle. Or, if going elsewhere, you could get your beach fix in another place (although I’d still encourage getting to the islands if you can!).

If you can’t swing more than 3 days in Cartagena though, read on for my tips on how to plan a 3 day Cartagena itinerary.

3 Day Cartagena Itinerary

So, as noted above, this itinerary is based on the idea of staying 2 nights, 3 days in Cartagena.

I’ve assumed you have about a half day on both your arrival and departure day.

However, I’ve kept those days pretty light on activities, and I have also included some suggestions if you have more or less time based on your flight times. I’ve also included an alternative approach if you did want to squeeze the islands into your 3 days in Cartagena.

Day 1: Arrive and Get Your Bearings

If you read my guide to where to stay in Cartagena, you’ll see I recommend the historic city center as the best area.

That goes doubly for a short trip.

If you stay there, you can walk around more easily and get more out of your limited time in town.

If you have taken that advice (or even if you haven’t), I’d recommend just strolling the charming streets of Cartagena’s Walled City after you’ve checked into your hotel.

Try to get a feel for how to get to and from the Clocktower for exploring more tomorrow. You can also mosey over to neighboring Getsemaní, known for its street art and more traditional and local feel.

If you’ve arrived early enough and need to grab some lunch, Buena Vida Marisquería and La Cevichería are both terrific options and some of our favorite spots to eat.

Or you might just want to stop in to the Café San Alberto to refuel with some of Colombia’s most awarded coffee.

If you arrive by early afternoon, doing a sunset cruise is the perfect way to relax after a day spent in airports.

This catamaran sunset cruise is our personal favorite. We’ve also done this open bar sunset cruise and enjoyed it too, and this pirate boat sunset cruise also looks like a lot fun.

I would only book something like that after accounting for at least 3 hours to arrive, get through immigration, and get to your hotel. Times can vary widely depending on the number of flights arriving and the number of immigration officers working.

See my guide to the Cartagena airport here, for more on what to expect upon arrival, by the way.

If you can’t swing the sunset cruise tonight, you could take in the sunset over the bay at the rooftop bar at Hotel Movich, the best rooftop view in the city. Casa Pura is also a good sunset spot and has terrific food too if you want to combine sunset drinks and dinner.

If not, after sunset, you could head to Buena Vida, La Cevichería, or Candé for a nice sit down dinner.

If you aren’t too worn out from traveling, head over to the Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemaní, where you can people watch and have a cheap beer from the corner store. You can also sample some of the best street food in Cartagena here if you didn’t want a nicer sit down dinner.

The narrow, graffiti filled streets of Calle Ancho and the Callejón Angosto nearby also have tables with cheap cocktails, and you can also head to the famous Café Havana or newer hotspot Seven 7 Times if you wanted a proper night out.

You can see my Cartagena nightlife guide here for more places to go out tonight or tomorrow or both.

Day 2: Take in the History and Charm Properly

Depending on your arrival time yesterday, you should have gotten at least a taste of Cartagena’s charm.

The second day of this 3 day Cartagena itinerary is all about fully immersing yourself in that charm and learning more about the history behind it.

If you prefer to have a guided experience, I’d suggest booking a Cartagena city tour that includes the Castillo San Felipe, the La Popa Monastery, and a walking tour of the Walled City.

You can book a shared tour here or book a private tour and get 20% off with code ExploreColombia 20 here.

If you prefer going at your own pace, I’d recommend doing the Castillo San Felipe Fort first. This fort is the largest built in South America and offers some neat views of the city and photo ops. Read my guide to this Cartagena fort here.

I’d encourage you to do the fort first thing in the morning to beat the heat.

If you take that advice, you should be able to make the 10 o’clock shared walking tour of the Walled City and Getsemaní. If not, there is an afternoon tour too.

A street food tour is a great alternative if you’re not that into history.

And if you are into history, I recommend stopping by the Museo Naval, the best done history museum in Cartagena later this afternoon. See my post on the best museums in Cartagena for more museums you might want to squeeze into today.

The San Pedro Claver Church is also worth the entry fee for its collection of art and the impressive sanctuary.

At some point, you’ll need to stop for lunch.

If you haven’t done La Cevichería, Buena Vida, or Candé yet, I’d encourage you to do one of them for lunch or dinner today. La Mulata and Espiritú Santo are also great spots for very reasonably priced lunches.

If you didn’t get to do the sunset cruise yesterday, I’d suggest planning it for this evening or you could opt to catch the sunset somewhere else.

I really enjoyed this rum and chocolate tasting on our last visit (read my review here), and it’s a fun way to start an evening out on the town

Bazurto Social Club, La Movida, and La Jugada are all great spots to go dancing in addition to Day 1’s recommendations above.

For a more low key night, head to Al Quimico, Townhouse’s Rooftop, or the tables in the plaza outside Donde Fidel.

Island Day Trip Alternative

As I said in the intro, I really encourage people planning for 2 full days in Cartagena so they can do the islands in addition to the attractions in town.

That usually requires a 4 day itinerary, but if you have a particularly early arrival time or particularly late departure time, or preferably both, you might be able to spread most of what I’ve planned for Day 2 across your first and last day.

If that’s the case, then plan to do a day trip to the Rosario Islands today. They are so, so much prettier than the beaches in Cartagena proper.

If you’ve got the budget for it or a group, I recommend doing a private boat rental. Otherwise, I suggest a day pass at a hotel or beach club or a shared boat tour.

Get a quote for a boat rental from our partner here.

If a private rental isn’t in the cards, you can do a shared boat tour or a day pass at a beach club or hotel. My favorite options for this are the catamaran tour and the multi-island tours.

Click here to see more options for Rosario Islands day trips.

Day 3: Say Goodbye to Cartagena

If you’re like me, I like to have a pretty relaxed last day.

I’d suggest going to breakfast or brunch at La Bioche or Epoca. Then, depending on your departure time, you could hit any of the museums or sites you wanted to return to.

You can pick up souvenirs at the Las Bovedas shops along the wall. There is also nice street art across the mean entrance of the Cartagena cathedral, and a decent souvenir shop diagonal from the back corner of the cathedral.

Two of my personal favorite gifts to take to people are cocadas, coconut patties, from the Portal de los Dulces and coffee, which I’d recommend getting from supermarket or a proper cafe like San Alberto or Libertario Coffee Roasters, not from tourist shops which sometimes sell overpriced, low quality coffee dressed up in quaint looking burlap sacks.

Speaking of coffee, if you’ve got an afternoon departure time, you could opt to do the fun coffee tasting at Café del Mural today.

Or you could just hang out by the hotel pool or sip mimosas at brunch until it’s time to go.

There are not good food options at the Cartagena airport, especially after you pass the international terminal’s security check.

So, I definitely suggest eating breakfast and/or lunch before going to the airport!

Do you think 3 days in Cartagena was enough?

There’s my best shot at giving you a good 3 day Cartagena itinerary. I really can’t encourage you to strongly consider adding a 4th day and doing the islands enough.

However, if you can only swing 3 days in Cartagena, I hope you found this itinerary helpful. More importantly, I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Please do check out all the other content on the site to help you plan.

Cheers and Happy Exploring!