I've been to Cartagena, and I have mixed feelings about our trip. When we ventured out of the walled part, we got harassed and scammed by some men who threatened violence. We ducked into a hotel and the police were called, but the police didn't give a shit.

It was really hot - we were showering 3x a day. The walled parts of the city are beautiful, and the food was incredible. I really didn't care for the arepas, but the ceviche was heavenly.. If you stay at the walled city of Cartagena and never venture out, you would be safe. Of course, then that means you wouldn't make it to a beach, which you might want to do. The nearby beaches suck, and the boat trip we took to go to one of the supposedly nicer beaches (Rosario Islands) also sucked. All the coral is dead.

The locals we met recommended Barranquilla for beaches (where Shakira is from), or maybe the beaches in between Cartagena and Barranquilla, I can't remember.

I would go to Cartagena if you know what you are getting into, and you are running out of places to visit.

I did not find Bogota that interesting - it's a Latin New York.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spent a total of 10 days in Cartagena and at the beach with two small kids this summer. We had a great time.

Where did you stay?

And what beach? Looking to follow your lead.

OP here - also interested in this. I read that many of the Cartagena beaches are not quite as picturesque as you'd like and many that are privately owned and inaccessible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we like a mixture of adventure and relaxation. Not super into museums, more interested in seeing local culture through restaurants and artisans. My husband is a brewer, so we always try to find local beer spots and cool bars. We love animals, so any day trips to see natural habitats would be great, but we're not interested in roughing it up a mountain or sleeping in a tent. Obviously we're interested in the history of Medellin and Escobar, but I understand it's a bit taboo and not always welcome for tourists to just come and gawk. We love the beach and anywhere with beautiful views and scenery. We like spas/massages.

I haven't priced out a lot of the details, so I'm not sure about budget, but we typically spend about $7-10k on a 2 week vacation. We try and save where we can, but are also willing to splurge when it comes to certain accommodations and convenience. Any specific recommendations would be much appreciated!

I have only been to Medellin but I can attest that you can do a lot of what you mention above and don't have to encounter Escobar stuff at all if you don't want to. We went to two cool breweries right in the city. The mountain towns are connected to the city by a cool tram system, and at the very top is a beautiful nature reserve and hiking. We did a day trip to Santa Fe which was beautiful and more laid back and scenic. Guatape is also popular but my husband is afraid of heights so we skipped it.

Do you speak Spanish? I will say that it can be tough to navigate if neither you has any Spanish skills. The vast majority of places we went, including restaurants, had no one who spoke English.

OP here - thanks for the info! I do actually speak decent Spanish (majored in Spanish in college), so I should be able to navigate okay. I have read some cool things about Guatape.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spent a total of 10 days in Cartagena and at the beach with two small kids this summer. We had a great time.

Where did you stay?

And what beach? Looking to follow your lead.

Anonymous wrote:We spent a total of 10 days in Cartagena and at the beach with two small kids this summer. We had a great time.

Where did you stay?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena is a tourist trap. Don’t waste your time. Focus on the other two cities instead.

My sister travels to Latin America for work often. She is not the touristy trap kind of person and she absolutely loved Cartagena. One of her best friends got married down there (local).

Sorry, but your sister is probably more of a touristy trap kind of person than either of you wants to admit. And of course some Colombians get married there, just like some Americans get married at Disneyworld.

OP-- I have friends from Cartagena and there are many parts of it that aren't purely tourist trap. It is a beautiful place. My friends from Medellin are also very dismissive of it but it is a real city with real people and culture, and of course beautiful beaches.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we like a mixture of adventure and relaxation. Not super into museums, more interested in seeing local culture through restaurants and artisans. My husband is a brewer, so we always try to find local beer spots and cool bars. We love animals, so any day trips to see natural habitats would be great, but we're not interested in roughing it up a mountain or sleeping in a tent. Obviously we're interested in the history of Medellin and Escobar, but I understand it's a bit taboo and not always welcome for tourists to just come and gawk. We love the beach and anywhere with beautiful views and scenery. We like spas/massages.

I haven't priced out a lot of the details, so I'm not sure about budget, but we typically spend about $7-10k on a 2 week vacation. We try and save where we can, but are also willing to splurge when it comes to certain accommodations and convenience. Any specific recommendations would be much appreciated!

I have only been to Medellin but I can attest that you can do a lot of what you mention above and don't have to encounter Escobar stuff at all if you don't want to. We went to two cool breweries right in the city. The mountain towns are connected to the city by a cool tram system, and at the very top is a beautiful nature reserve and hiking. We did a day trip to Santa Fe which was beautiful and more laid back and scenic. Guatape is also popular but my husband is afraid of heights so we skipped it.

Do you speak Spanish? I will say that it can be tough to navigate if neither you has any Spanish skills. The vast majority of places we went, including restaurants, had no one who spoke English.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena is a tourist trap. Don’t waste your time. Focus on the other two cities instead.

My sister travels to Latin America for work often. She is not the touristy trap kind of person and she absolutely loved Cartagena. One of her best friends got married down there (local).

Sorry, but your sister is probably more of a touristy trap kind of person than either of you wants to admit. And of course some Colombians get married there, just like some Americans get married at Disneyworld.

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena is a tourist trap. Don’t waste your time. Focus on the other two cities instead.

My sister travels to Latin America for work often. She is not the touristy trap kind of person and she absolutely loved Cartagena. One of her best friends got married down there (local).

Went to Bogota earlier this year and really enjoyed it. It is a big city so there are lots of opportunities for dining, etc. We didn't do anything beer related but I seem to recall some craft brewing tours being mentioned. We liked doing somewhat different kinds of tours like a free (you pay by tipping) graffitti walking tour. The Gold Museum is cool and pretty small so good for a quick museum trip. Lots of really nice restaurants. We also did a hike to waterfalls out in the countryside that was really interesting (even with a private guide was affordable to get there). Highly recommend.

OP here - we like a mixture of adventure and relaxation. Not super into museums, more interested in seeing local culture through restaurants and artisans. My husband is a brewer, so we always try to find local beer spots and cool bars. We love animals, so any day trips to see natural habitats would be great, but we're not interested in roughing it up a mountain or sleeping in a tent. Obviously we're interested in the history of Medellin and Escobar, but I understand it's a bit taboo and not always welcome for tourists to just come and gawk. We love the beach and anywhere with beautiful views and scenery. We like spas/massages.

I haven't priced out a lot of the details, so I'm not sure about budget, but we typically spend about $7-10k on a 2 week vacation. We try and save where we can, but are also willing to splurge when it comes to certain accommodations and convenience. Any specific recommendations would be much appreciated!

Cartagena is a tourist trap. Don’t waste your time. Focus on the other two cities instead.

We spent a total of 10 days in Cartagena and at the beach with two small kids this summer. We had a great time.

You’ll love it. Personally I don’t like to jump cities so I would do Medellin and the Cartagena.

Budget and interests? I will make specific suggestions if I understand what you like.

Thinking of doing a trip to Colombia in the spring (we are 30 year old DINKs). Probably 10-14 days, leaning toward Bogota > Medellin > Cartagena with maybe some small day trips along the way. Have you been? What do you recommend?