If you’re currently planning a trip to Colombia, there’s a reasonable chance you might be considering flying into Bogotá. It’s Colombia’s capital and main hub for both international and domestic travel.
It’s not a bad destination in its own right either as the center of Colombian culture and public life.
There are lots of other great destinations in Colombia too. Among the best is Cartagena, the country’s colonial Caribbean gem (this site is dedicated to Cartagena after all!). It’s also a great gateway to other places on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, including some of the best beaches, hiking, and natural areas in the country.
I lived in Cartagena for over a decade and traveled from Bogotá to Cartagena and vice versa many times.
Here, I’ll use that experience to discuss the best ways to get from Bogotá to Cartagena, including why I think flights from Bogotá to Cartagena are the best choice for most travelers.
I’ll also cover how to take a Bogotá to Cartagena bus and even some things to keep in mind if you think you might want to drive from Bogotá to Cartagena.
So read on to learn all you need to know how to get from Bogotá to Cartagena!
Bogotá to Cartagena – Contents
- Overview and Quick Tips for How to Get from Bogotá to Cartagena
- How Far is Cartagena from Bogotá?
- Why Most People Should Take Flights from Bogotá to Cartagena
- Tips for Taking a Bogotá to Cartagena Bus
- Can You Drive from Bogotá to Cartagena?
How to Get from Bogotá to Cartagena Quick Tips
I won’t waste much time on this.
For most travelers, taking a Bogotá to Cartagena flight is by far the best option.
There are plenty of options for Bogotá to Cartagena flights, including fairly cheap ones. More importantly, though, flights from Bogotá to Cartagena take a fraction of the time to travel between the two cities over land, whether by a Bogotá to Cartagena bus or by car.
And, I’m not kidding around by saying a fraction either!
A flight from Bogotá to Cartagena will take an hour and a half.
A bus from Bogotá to Cartagena will take close to 24 hours!
That’s a heck of a difference, and a lot of time you could use to actually enjoy one or both cities or some other destination in Colombia.
Every time we have every traveled from Bogotá to Cartagena, we’ve flown.
In my experience, I just don’t see the trade off in time as being worth it. That’s especially the case if you can find a cheap Bogotá to Cartagena flight. You may not even save much by taking a bus.
Speaking of that, I recommend checking on sites like CheapOair and Expedia to find cheap flights. You may find there isn’t much of a difference in cost between taking a bus to Cartagena from Bogotá.
There is one other scenario besides just a shoestring budget that taking a bus from Bogotá to Cartagena might be worth it.
If you have the time to slow travel and make a few stops along the way, traveling over land through central-eastern Colombia will give you access to some lesser visited destinations that aren’t as easy to reach via air.
You can see some suggestions for those stops in the tips on taking buses from Bogotá to Cartagena section below.
If you do want to do a Bogotá to Cartagena bus, you can get some ideas for prices and schedules and book ahead at BusBud and Bookaway.
If you’re just traveling directly to Cartagena from Bogotá, I’d strongly just suggest flying though. I think you’ll just get a lot more out of having practically an entire day to enjoy yourself.
Speaking of that, please do check out my suggestions for what to do in Cartagena as well as things to do in Bogotá.
You can also check out the best Cartagena tours on GetYourGuide and Viator as well as the top tours in Bogotá on GetYourGuide and Viator.
Finally, if you prefer to let someone else take care of most of your planning, do consider planning a trip with my partner travel agency BnB Colombia Tours. Their agents can create the best possible customized trip for you based on your interests. Most of their tours are private, and they only work with reliable, bilingual guides. Fill out this form to start getting some help planning your trip now. They’ll even give you a discount for contacting them through my site!
They also have a variety of day tours you can book independently in Bogotá and Cartagena. Use the code ExploreColombia10 for a discount on any of those.
Also, whether you’re using an agency or planning on your own, and regardless of how you travel to Cartagena from Bogotá, you’ll need a good place to stay.
Do check out my guide to the best areas to stay in Cartagena. Or, if you’re looking for a specific type of hotel or price point, check out my guides to the best boutique hotels, best luxury hotels, best beachfront hotels, or best hostels in Cartagena.
I also have a guide to the best areas to stay in Bogotá and picks for the best luxury hotels and best hotels near the Bogotá airport that might be worth checking out if you’re traveling from Bogotá to Cartagena.
I’l close these quick tips by saying I don’t recommend driving since the Bogotá to Cartagena distance is so far, including sections on winding mountain roads.
However, if you want to try it, you can check prices for rental cars at RentalCars.com.
If you want some more details and tips on each of these ways for how to get from Bogotá to Cartagena, read on to learn more about them and the pros and cons of each of these ways to get to Cartagena from Bogotá.
How Far is Cartagena from Bogotá?
The Bogotá to Cartagena distance via road is a tad under 1,000 km, or 620 miles.
Now, if you look at the map above, you’ll see it doesn’t seem like Bogotá is all that far away, and that’s probably true, at least as the condor flies.
However, due to the mountainous roots of the Andes you’ll have to descend coming from Bogotá to Cartagena, travel times take much longer than the Bogotá to Cartagena distance might make you think at first glance.
According to Google Maps, driving from Bogotá to Cartagena will take about 19 hours. My experience is Google Maps often underestimates driving time due to traffic and road conditions in much of Colombia.
Buses from Bogotá to Cartagena take 20-24 hours depending on stops, traffic, and road conditions. I’ve heard of them taking even longer too.
Meanwhile, flights from Bogotá to Cartagena only take around 90 minutes.
Why Most People Should Take Flights from Bogotá to Cartagena
That massive difference in travel time is why I strongly recommend taking to Bogotá to Cartagena flight, at least for most travelers.
The trade off of giving up basically a whole day makes it more than worth spending a handful of pesos more to just book a flight from Bogotá to Cartagena, at least in my opinion.
To be honest, I’ve never been even remotely tempted to take a bus, and Susana and I have always traveled on flights from Bogotá to Cartagena.
It’s just so much easier, more convenient, and quicker.
It’s also usually pretty easy to find cheap Bogotá to Cartagena flights. For example, while doing this write up, I did a quick search.
I found one way flights from Bogotá to Cartagena for $62 USD.
A bus you can book online runs $33 USD.
So, we only are talking about a $30 to maybe $50, at worst, difference.
While I do recommend checking out sites like Expedia and CheapOair to compare prices, I also recommend checking on individual airlines’ websites.
Avianca and LATAM frequently run flash sales with great deals on flights from Bogotá to Cartagena (I found that $62 flight on Avianca).
These sales do often have peak seasons and holidays blacked out, but you can often find a deal if you check in periodically.
Many times these deals are also best for one way flights, so they work really well if you’re flying from Bogotá to Cartagena and then heading home from there.
Budget carrier Wingo is also worth checking out as they have flights from Bogotá to Cartagena and can be a really good deal, especially if you don’t need to check bags.
If you are going to take a Bogotá to Cartagena flight, be sure to check out my guide to the Cartagena airport, and you also might want to take a look over at the Bogotá airport Wikipedia page.
Finally, you can also book a private transfer to or from the airport in Bogotá and in Cartagena with my partner travel agency (don’t forget the ExploreColombia10 discount code!).
Tips for Taking a Bogotá to Cartagena Bus
As I mentioned in the introduction, I advise against taking a Bogotá to Cartagena bus, especially if you’re simply traveling between Bogotá and Cartagena.
The difference in price just isn’t worth the long time it takes to take a Bogotá to Cartagena bus compared to a flight.
Now, if you have some extra time to slow travel, taking a bus from Bogotá to Cartagena and making some stops along the way can be a great way to see a bit more of the country, especially the lesser traveled and very pretty Boyacá and Santander regions.
Traditionally, San Gil has been a popular stop for backpackers taking buses from Bogotá to Cartagena.
There are some good hostels here and a mini-backpacker party scene. It’s also a hub for lots of neat adventure sports like paragliding and white water rafting.
You can also visit the stunning Chicamocha Canyon nearby.
I recommend at least one other stop first though.
Villa de Leyva is only a few hours outside Bogotá and is a gorgeous little colonial town. Its central plaza is one of the largest in Latin America. There are some neat prehistoric fossils you can see here plus a few neat outdoor sites nearby too.
You can read more about Villa de Leyva here.
If you enjoy hiking, the Paramó de Ocetá near the tiny but charming town of Monguí is well worth the stop to do the hike and see the fascinating looking frailejones plants.
There are a few other neat little towns around Boyacá worth checking out as well if you have the time to truly slow travel.
The next stop I’d suggest, and I’d actually suggest it over San Gil, is Barichara.
This is often called the prettiest town in Colombia. It also has easy access to Chicamocha and paragliding. Plus, San Gil isn’t far away if you wanted to do a day trip there too.
We loved Barichara when we visited. You can read about why we found it so charming in this write up of our experience in Barichara. Don’t forget to try the locals’ favorite snack of roasted ants!
Bucaramanga makes for another ok stop for digital nomads or those looking for some down time in a city to catch up on laundry or something like that.
There aren’t a ton of touristy things to do, but it’s a nice, smaller city.
From Bucaramanga, you could actually consider flying to Cartagena.
Or you have two choices to continue on a Bogotá to Cartagena bus route.
You can go more directly and consider a stop (or not) in the neat colonial era river port of Mompox.
Or you can head to the small city of Valledupar and use it to access the desert peninsula of La Guajira, possibly even trekking across the desert to the most northern point in South America at Punta Gallinas.
You can also route from Valledupar to Santa Marta, possibly stopping at hip beach town Palomino, pretty mountain town Minca, and/or the unspoiled beaches of Tayrona National Park before finally routing down to Cartagena from Santa Marta.
Of course, you certainly don’t have to do all of that, but being able to make at least one stop along the way is the best reason to take a Bogotá to Cartagena bus.
Also, for what it’s worth, if you’re just interested in doing the stops on the northern Caribbean coast like Tayrona, Minca, and Palomino, it’s easiest just to fly to Cartagena and head up the coast to Santa Marta from there. See this guide on how to get from Cartagena to Santa Marta.
If you do decide to take a bus to Cartagena from Bogotá, be it direct, with one, or with seven stops, you can get an idea of prices and schedules and even book online at BusBud and Bookaway.
Keep in mind, you’ll want to get buses to Cartagena from Bogotá at the main Salitre Terminal in Bogotá, and you will get more options at the terminal itself than what you’ll find online.
Tips for Driving from Bogotá to Cartagena
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend driving from Bogotá to Cartagena.
It’s a super long drive, and it’s easy enough to do buses even if you want to make stops along the way.
The main reason, I’d advise against it though is that Colombians tend to drive very aggressively, including trucks and buses. You’ll also be on some winding mountain roads, which makes that sound even more daunting, at least to me.
So, if you’re not used to that kind of driving, I’d strongly advise against it. If you are good with that, then you could check prices for rental cars at RentalCars.com and consider doing the drive.
Personally, I’d still just plan on the bus if you want to make some stops or just fly if not.
Ready to plan your trip from Bogotá to Cartagena?
Now you know all about how to get from Bogotá to Cartagena.
I really strongly suggest flying for anyone who is going directly to Cartagena from Bogotá or anyone who is only interested in seeing other destinations on the coast.
However, if you are up to make some stops in Boyacá or Santander provinces along the way, busing can still be a good option.
I hope this guide was useful and helped you make the best decision for you and your trip.
More importantly, I hope you have a safe trip and enjoy Bogotá, Cartagena, and anywhere else you go in Colombia!
Be sure to check out all the content on the site on Cartagena as well as elsewhere in the Other Destinations section.
Cheers and Happy Exploring!
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You might also want to learn about Bogotá’s pretty Monserrate Chapel for your time there. You might also consider a trip to the pretty Guatavita Lake. In addition to the destinations mentioned above north of Cartagena, you might also want to do some of my picks for the best Cartagena day trips. Finally, the gorgeous Rosario Islands are a must see, whether you go on one of the best Rosario Islands day tours or stay at one of the Rosario Islands hotels.
Planning a trip to Cartagena?
Be sure to check out the rest of the site to help you plan!
In particular, you might want to check out my complete guide to planning a trip to Cartagena, my guide to the best areas to stay, my list of over 75 things to do, my picks for the best Cartagena tours, the best day trips from Cartagena, my suggested packing list, my guide to the Rosario Islands, and my guide to all the beaches of Cartagena.
