Cartagena Transportation: Practical Guide to Getting Around Cartagena, Colombia

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Planning a trip to Cartagena, Colombia?

If you’ve already got your plane tickets, hotel reservation, and plans for what to do lined up, you might be wondering about the best ways forms of Cartagena transportation.

If so, you’ve come to the right place!

In this guide to getting around Cartagena, I’ll share with you all your options for transportation in Cartagena, including some practical tips on how to get around Cartagena, all based on my time living there for over a decade.

Cartagena Transportation Options: A Rundown

There are a variety of options for getting around Cartagena, Colombia.

I’ll be covering all of your Cartagena transportation options in greater detail in the sections below. Those options include:

• Taking Advantage of the Walkable Areas
• Regular Taxis and Ride Share Apps
• Private Transportation
• The Hop on Hop Off Tourist Bus
• Renting a Car
• Public Transportation in Cartagena (Collective Taxis, Buses, and Mototaxis)
• Getting to and From Cartagena’s Islands
• Getting to and From Other Cities in Colombia

However, if you just want a quick answer for how to get around Cartagena, the easiest ways are by walking and using taxis.

The main historic areas of the Cartagena Walled City and Getsemaní, where many of the cities top attractions are located, are very walkable.

That’s a big reason why you’ll find them at the top of my recommendations for the best areas to stay in Cartagena.

For the vast majority of short term visitors and tourists, sticking to taxis when you can’t walk is the easiest form of transportation in Cartagena.

However, taxis in Cartagena do have a penchant for trying to overcharge, so using a ride share app like InDrive (my preferred option) or Uber, can be a good alternative, especially if you don’t speak Spanish.

Booking private transportation can also be a good alternative if you want peace of mind that things are prearranged. Not to mention, you’ll also have a nicer vehicle. You can get 20% off with the code ExploreColombia20 if you book private transportation in Cartagena here.

Of course, if you’re trying to save some pesos, there are some good Cartagena public transportation options as well. You just need to have a bit of know how for navigating them.

I’ll cover taking the bus as well as using shared, collective taxis and give you more tips on all forms of transportation in Cartagena, Colombia below.

Getting Around Cartagena: Detailed Guide

Ok, I’ve given you my quick tips on walking and using taxis being the easiest ways to get around Cartagena.

In the sections, that follow, I’ll elaborate on them as well as some other good options, including public transportation in Cartagena.

Walking: Where Can (and Can’t) You Walk

One of the things I loved about living in Cartagena is how walkable it was!

The heart of Cartagena is the Centro Histórico, which comprises the historic districts of the Walled City and Getsemaní. This is where the all the historic charm that may have attracted you to Cartagena in the first place is located.

It’s also where most of the best Cartagena restaurants, most vibrant Cartagena nightlife, and the best Cartagena museums are located.

And, it will take you half an hour or less to walk from one edge of this area to another.

It’s also very safe to walk during the day and at night, as long as you follow common sense precautions like avoiding dimly lit empty streets. See my Cartagena safety tips for more on staying safe in Cartagena, by the way.

You can also walk around the beach front area of Bocagrande safely at all hours.

You can walk from Bocagrande into Centro too, but it’s a bit of a hike. Keep in mind it is very hot in Cartagena! You might want to check out my Cartagena packing list for ideas for outfits that work in the Caribbean heat.

During the day time, you can walk to the waterfront areas of Cabrero and Marbella too from Centro. Even Manga is a doable walk. I’d recommend taking a taxi at night to these areas as a safety precaution though.

Using Regular Taxis to Get Around Cartagena

Whether it’s too far to walk, it’s best not to walk for safety reasons, or you’d prefer not to arrive dripping in sweat to your destination, taxis are the easiest and most convenient form of vehicular transportation in Cartagena.

I see more and more people recommend avoiding them though.

So, let’s have a real talk about the taxis in Cartagena.

Cartagena’s taxis are the most expensive in Colombia. Taxi drivers also have, for the most part, a well earned reputation for overcharging tourists and even locals.

That being said, they are still pretty darn cheap relatively speaking and are easy to flag down at pretty much any hour in most of the tourist areas of the city.

You just should make sure you always, always ask and agree on the price when you get in!

Prices should generally run between $13,000 to $30,000 Colombian Pesos ($4-8 USD) around the main tourist areas, with longer trips or trips to and from the airport costing a bit more.

You can see more tips on taking taxis and see the current legally established fares in my guide to taxi prices in Cartagena.

Ride Share Apps

Ok, I hear a bunch of people shouting “Just use Uber you boomer!”

First, I was born in 1988. Back off, ok.

I don’t mind using Uber in a place like my hometown, where you have to call a taxi and it takes like an hour for it to show up.

I never saw much of a reason to use it in Cartagena where taxis are easy to flag down though.

I also just don’t think Uber is a good actor as a company.

You also need to have data on your phone and be fiddling with your phone out in the street.

However, I get it and understand why a lot of people recommend Uber.

You can see the price before hand and don’t have to deal with the haggling. Plus, we’re all already addicted to our phones anyway.

So, use Uber if you like it.

By the way, there is a lot of outdated information about Uber being illegal in Colombia. It is legal now, but it was banned in the past. You can read more about its legal history in this post on Uber in Colombia and see more tips for using Uber in Cartagena here.

If you want to try an Uber alternative, I recommend InDrive.

This was the ride share app I actually did use when I couldn’t flag down a taxi. I like that you get to set the price and “offer” it, and a driver accepts it. It will give you a suggested price and you can increase it by small amounts if you don’t get any takers initially.

EasyTaxi (Cabify in the US) also works in Cartagena, and I have heard other people recommend DiDi more recently as well.

Private Drivers in Cartagena

Actually, this question comes up a lot in my Cartagena Travel Tips Facebook group. People are always asking about hiring drivers in there.

Again, I think taxis are easy enough, but there can be some advantages of having a driver or booking some private transfers.

They usually are in much nicer and larger vehicles (typically white SUVs) than the average taxi or Uber. You can also arrange pick up times and have the peace of mind they will be there ready and waiting for you.

For going to places like the Mud Volcano near Cartagena, or La Popa Monastery, it’s also nice that you can just have them wait on you and not worry about the return trip (you can often negotiate this with taxis too, by the way).

Having a prearranged airport transfer can also come in handy if you don’t mind paying a bit more than a taxi. No need to worry about dealing with the taxis or making sure you have Colombian Pesos. The driver will just be there waiting, ready to take you to your hotel.

Check out my guide to the Cartagena airport here, by the way.

You can book private transportation in Cartagena here with my partner travel agency.

Hop On Hop Off Tourist Bus

To be honest, I actually think the Hop On Hop Off Tourist bus is not a bad deal.

If you buy the 2 day ticket, you can use it one day to go to the Castillo San Felipe Fort, consider stopping at the Rafael Nuñez Museum, do the included walking tour, and maybe just cruise and take in the sites.

The second day, you can just use it as a prepaid shuttle between Bocagrande and Centro. I do think it’s a particularly good value if you think you’ll use it for going back and forth between Bocagrande and Centro a few times.

Click here to buy tickets for the Hop on Hop Off bus here.

Is it Worth Renting a Car in Cartagena?

I see people ask about this in my Facebook group and in other spaces online a lot.

I feel pretty strongly that it is not worth renting a car in Cartagena.

First, people drive quite aggressively, people treat markings for things like the lane more like a suggestion than a rule, and motorcycles weave between cars.

If you’re cool with all that and have some experience driving in that environment, you’ll be fine. If you don’t, it’ll probably be a headache and source of stress.

Parking will also be a likely source of stress and headache.

With everything so close and the ease of getting a taxi, I don’t see much of a reason to rent a car for most visitors to Cartagena.

I do think there may be some specific use cases, for example, visiting small towns nearby or wanting to make sure your child is always in a carseat, where having a rental could be useful. For most people though, I think the cons far outweigh the pros.

If you do want to rent a car to get around Cartagena, you can compare rental car prices in Cartagena at DiscoverCars.com and RentalCars.com.

Public Transportation in Cartagena

Technically taxis count as public transportation in Cartagena, but there are cheaper, shared transportation options too that are more like what most of us might think of when we hear Cartagena public transportation.

Options for public transportation in Cartagena include:

• Collective Taxis
• The Transcaribe Metrobus System
• Legacy Buses or Busetas

Let’s talk about each briefly.

Collective Taxis

Collective taxis are basically shared taxis that charge a fixed fee per person and follow a set route.

Depending on where you are getting them, they wait until they are full (4 people per taxi) to leave or pick up people along the way.

If you are going somewhere along the route and are alone or with just one other person and not carrying much, they can be a great option to save a few thousand pesos.

They can be identified on the road by their quick beeps of the horn and the driver holding up their pointer finger or by a line of stopped taxis, usually with someone shouting their route. 

If you are along a route and want to hail a collective taxi, hold up the same pointer finger and wiggle/bend/curl it towards your palm (I’m not really sure what the appropriate description of that action is) as a taxi approaches. If it’s empty, it’s best to verify if it’s a collective taxi.

See some more tips on using them and a summary of the most common routes around the tourist areas in this guide to collective taxis in Cartagena.

Transcaribe Metro Bus System

Transcaribe was modeled on Bogotá’s Transmilenio and functions sort of like an above ground subway.

Along the main stem route, buses have a dedicated lane, and they can get between points far away quicker than regular cars, taxis, and buses, especially when there’s bad traffic.

Thing is, there’s not much of a reason for most tourists to go outside the central, tourist areas and into the residential neighborhoods farther away.

So, while useful to locals, this system isn’t quite as useful to the average tourist.

Plus, you have to buy a card and load it with credit.

However, there are some “feeder” routes off the main one that can be of use to tourists, primarily for getting between Bocagrande and Centro and between Crespo, Marbella, or Cabrero and Centro.

You can read more about the system, how to use it, and see a summary of the routes in this guide to taking the bus in Cartagena.

Legacy Cartagena Buses

If you click that link above, you can also see some information on the legacy buses, or busetas.

Most of them have been phased out since the implementation of Transcaribe, but there are a few routes still operating.

Due to safety concerns and the lack of route maps, I generally discourage using them.

If you speak Spanish well and are adventurous enough to ask about where the bus is going, you can use them if you like.

Look for the names of the neighborhoods along the route in colorful fonts on the windshield and a green sign on a side window with the fare.

Mototaxis

I’m going to add a little note here about mototaxis, or motorcycle taxis.

I used to take these all the time when I was younger and much more fearless, or maybe reckless is the right word. They are cheap and they can be a quick way to get between places.

But they are also dangerous. So, I’d discourage using them.

Also, due to more recent restrictions in many of the tourist areas on motorcycles with a passenger, they are also not very useful to the average tourist anymore either.

How to Get to and From Cartagena’s Islands

I’ve got in depth guides to all of these places I’ll link to that cover them in more detail (click here to see a comparison of all of Cartagena’s islands), but I want to touch briefly on getting to and from the islands nearby since it’s a frequent question I see.

The best islands near Cartagena are the Rosario Islands. They are only reachable by boat.

Hotels and beach clubs generally operate their own boats or contract a shared boat. If you’re going on a day pass or overnight stay, be sure to verify how their boats work and if there is any additional cost.

See my picks for the best Rosario Islands hotels here, by the way.

There are also shared boat tours that stop in different places and stop for snorkeling. See some ideas for Rosario Islands tours here.

My favorite way to do the islands is with a private boat rental. See some tips for Cartagena boat rentals here or get a quote from my partner for a Cartagena boat rental here.

Barú Island is reachable by land via a bridge.

The most famous beach there, Playa Blanca, is often overcrowded and has a reputation for vendors that overcharge. I generally recommend avoiding it nowadays. It is near the very well done Colombian National Aviary and can pair well with it though.

If you do want to go to either or both, you’re best off booking a tour or day pass that includes transportation or hiring a driver for the day.

The farther end of Barú has nice, much less crowded beaches. It is also reachable by land, but can often be reached quicker by boat due to bad road conditions. You’re best off booking an overnight stay or day pass at a place that includes transportation here.

The island of Tierra Bomba, just across the bay from the city, can only be reached by boat.

You can book a day pass or overnight stay somewhere that includes transportation or you can take informal water taxi style shared boats behind the hospital in Bocagrande.

Read more about your options there in this guide to Tierra Bomba Island.

Finally, there are also the San Bernardo Islands, which include Tintipan, Mucura, Islote de Santa Cruz, and Isla Palma as well as the famous hostel Casa en el Agua, farther south.

I think they are too far away to really be considered close to Cartagena, but I sometimes see them recommended or see people ask about them.

They can be accessed by boat, or combination of overland transportation and boat from Rincón del Mar or Tolú. I’ve seen a few day trips advertised, but I’d really only recommend doing an overnight stay in the islands or Rincón or Tolú to visit them.

Traveling To and From Cartagena

I want to conclude briefly with some tips on intercity travel to and from Cartagena.

First, if coming from the interior such as Medellín, Bogotá, or the coffee region, I recommend flying. Buses are long (like 18+ hours) and usually not much cheaper than flying.

You can check flight costs on Kayak and Expedia.

If heading up or coming down the coast to or from Santa Marta or destinations nearby like Minca, Tayrona, or Palomino, I recommend using the charter bus services of Berlinas or Marsol, both of which have offices in Marbella, just a short taxi ride from the Walled City and much, much closer than the main bus terminal.

Read more on traveling between Cartagena and Santa Marta here.

If heading farther north than Santa Marta, heading south, or heading into the interior by bus, you will need to get a bus at the main terminal (Terminal de Transporte). Taking a taxi there is the easiest, but you can check out the link in the bus section above about using the bus if you’d like to bus there.

There is a second bus terminal known as Terminal del Norte that has very little service, so don’t go there.

You can check out prices for buses (including Marsol) on BusBud.

Ready to Get Around Cartagena Yourself?

Now you have a complete guide to all your options for transportation in Cartagena, Colombia!

I hope you found this guide useful and that it helped you understand all your options for getting around Cartagena.

I’d love to know how you got around and any other tips you’d share for other travelers in the comments below! Be sure to check out all the other content on the site to help you plan all aspects of your trip too

Cheers and Happy Exploring!