Cartagena cruise port

Cartagena: a walled Spanish city, a giant fortress and sloths at the pier.

Cartagena is the showpiece stop on Panama Canal cruises and the deep Southern Caribbean: a 16th-century walled city of balconies, plazas and bougainvillea that UNESCO protects, with the biggest Spanish fort in the Americas on the hill behind it. Ships dock at the Terminal de Cruceros in Manga, about 2 to 3 miles from the walls, with a free shuttle from the pier to the terminal building and its free wildlife park, then a short cab or tour bus into town. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Cartagena from every line, priced with taxes, fees and port expenses included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.

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DockedManga terminal, 10 to 20 minutes by cab to the walled city
Pesos, USD takenSpanish spoken; dollars fine for taxis and tours
Dec to Aprdry, breezy season, highs upper 80s
All inevery price includes taxes and fees
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Three ways to do Cartagena

The walled city and the fortress with a guide, the old town on your own, or a boat day to the Rosario Islands; the buttons filter the list of sailings below.

Big excursion

Walled city and Castillo San Felipe with a guide

  • Climb the ramps and tunnels of the 1657 Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, then walk the Plaza de Bolivar, the cathedral and the Las Bovedas vaults
  • Most ship tours add the La Popa monastery for the city view and a shopping stop for emeralds; 4 to 5 hours, about $70 to $110 a person
  • Horse-carriage and classic-car versions of the city tour run about $100 to $150

Best for: first-timers, history lovers, anyone nervous about going alone

Town on your own

The old town and Getsemaní by taxi

  • A taxi from the terminal rank to the Clock Tower gate is about $10 to $20 per cab, set at the terminal, 10 to 20 minutes depending on traffic
  • Walk the walls at the Baluarte de Santo Domingo, duck into the Palace of the Inquisition and sip coffee in the Plaza Santo Domingo
  • Getsemaní next door is the street-art and cafe quarter; the Plaza de la Trinidad is the spot for lunch

Best for: repeat visitors, walkers, photographers

Beach day

Rosario Islands boat day

  • Speedboats run 45 to 60 minutes to the coral islands for snorkeling, a beach club and lunch; about $90 to $150 through the ship
  • Bocagrande, the high-rise beach strip, is 15 minutes from the port if you only want sand and a swim
  • Pick the islands only on 9-hour-plus port days and book through the ship for the guaranteed return

Best for: sun seekers, snorkelers, long port days

Live from the cruise lines

Cartagena cruises: SmartCruiser picks first

Every cruise that calls at Cartagena from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.

SmartCruiser picks

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Every cruise that calls at Cartagena

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Prices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.

In port

Things to do in Cartagena

A UNESCO walled city, the largest Spanish fortress in the New World, emeralds, coffee and a free wildlife park at the pier.

The walled city (Ciudad Amurallada)Seven miles of 17th-century walls around a grid of pastel colonial houses, wooden balconies and shaded plazas: Plaza de Bolivar, the cathedral, the Palace of the Inquisition and the Las Bovedas craft vaults. Walk the walls at sunset-side Baluarte de Santo Domingo. About 10 to 20 minutes by cab from the terminal.
Castillo San Felipe de BarajasThe biggest fort Spain built in the Americas, begun in 1657, with ramps, batteries and a maze of tunnels you can walk through. About 15 minutes from the port; entry about $12 to $15 for foreigners, allow 90 minutes, and go early because there is no shade.
GetsemaníThe old working-class barrio outside the walls, now the city’s street-art, cafe and salsa quarter. Plaza de la Trinidad, the Calle de la Sierpe murals and the flag-strung lanes are a 10-minute walk from the Clock Tower gate; free, and best before the midday heat.
Port Oasis Eco ParkA free wildlife park inside the cruise terminal with flamingos, macaws, toucans, peacocks, monkeys and sloths in the trees. Shuttle buses run between the pier and the terminal; give it 30 minutes on the way out or back, and it is the whole day for anyone who stays close to the ship.
Rosario IslandsA coral archipelago 45 to 60 minutes by speedboat with clear water, snorkeling and beach clubs. Full-day trips about $90 to $150 through the ship, plus a small park fee; only on long port days, because boats wait for no one.
La Popa monasteryThe 1607 Augustinian convent on the highest hill in the city, with the best panorama of the walled city, the bay and the fortress. On most city tours; about 20 minutes by cab, with a small entry fee.
Emeralds, coffee and hatsColombia mines most of the world’s emeralds and the walled city is full of reputable dealers (buy with a certificate, not from the street). Juan Valdez coffee, vueltiao hats and Cartagena’s Gabriel García Márquez bookshops are the easy souvenirs.
Bocagrande beachThe high-rise strip 15 minutes from the port with a wide, grey-sand city beach, umbrellas for rent and vendors; fine for a swim and a ceviche lunch, not a Caribbean postcard. La Boquilla, 30 minutes north, is quieter.
Pick your style

Which lines call at Cartagena?

Every line that sails the Panama Canal calls at Cartagena, and the long Southern Caribbean itineraries add it as the southernmost stop.

Princess CruisesThe biggest canal program: 10 night partial transits from Fort Lauderdale and 15 to 16 night full transits to Los Angeles and San Francisco, all with a Cartagena daySmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Holland America Line10 to 11 night Panama Canal Sunfarer cruises from Fort Lauderdale plus 17 to 21 night full transits to San Diego and VancouverSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Celebrity CruisesPanama Canal sailings from Fort Lauderdale and full transits to and from the West Coast on Celebrity Equinox and fleetmatesSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Royal CaribbeanRhapsody, Serenade and Jewel of the Seas on Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean itineraries, with Cartagena as a home port on some Latin America sailingsSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Norwegian Cruise Line10 to 11 night Panama Canal cruises from Miami and full transits between Miami and Los AngelesSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit CarnivalPanama Canal sailings from Miami, Galveston and New Orleans and fall repositionings from Seattle through the canalSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Oceania CruisesLonger canal and Caribbean voyages on Oceania Riviera and fleetmates, with overnight or late-evening Cartagena calls on some itinerariesSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit VikingPanama Canal and Central America ocean voyages between Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles with a Cartagena callLive prices
Timing

When to go

Cartagena is hot and humid all year with highs in the upper 80s and sits outside the hurricane belt; December to April is the dry, breezy, busiest season and September to November the rainiest.

December to AprilHighs about 86 to 88 with steady trade winds and almost no rain; the main Panama Canal season and the fullest piers, so book excursions early.
May to AugustHotter and stickier, with short afternoon storms in May and June and a drier spell in July; fewer ships and good fares on the canal and Southern Caribbean sailings.
September to NovemberThe wettest months, October especially, with heavy afternoon downpours that flood streets for an hour and then clear; Cartagena is far enough south that hurricanes do not hit, so itineraries hold.
Good to know

Cartagena questions we answer every day

Where do ships dock in Cartagena and how far is the walled city?

Ships dock at the Terminal de Cruceros in the Manga district, a commercial port with two cruise berths, where free shuttle buses run the quarter mile from the pier to the terminal building, the taxi rank and the wildlife park. The walled city is about 2 to 3 miles away through the port and a busy road with no sidewalks, so do not walk it; a taxi takes 10 to 20 minutes. No ships tender here.

How do I get around and what do taxis cost?

Licensed yellow taxis line up outside the terminal with fares posted per cab, not per person: figure about $10 to $20 per taxi to the Clock Tower gate for up to four people, and about $30 to $40 an hour for a driver who waits. Pay in dollars or pesos and carry small bills. Uber and other apps work in town but are not allowed to pick up inside the port. Inside the walls everything is on foot; it is a 15-minute walk end to end.

What currency, language and time zone?

The Colombian peso is the money, roughly 4,000 to the dollar, but US dollars are taken by taxis, tour sellers and most shops in the old town, with change in pesos; cards work in restaurants and the emerald stores. Spanish is the language and English is common in the tourist trade. Cartagena is on Colombia time, the same as US Eastern Standard all year, so it matches Florida in winter and is an hour behind in summer. US phones roam on most plans.

Is Cartagena safe?

The walled city, Getsemaní and Bocagrande are heavily policed tourist zones that cruise lines have used for decades, and with normal city sense you will be fine. The U.S. State Department rates Colombia at Level 3 for parts of the country, but Cartagena’s tourist areas are not the concern. Practical rules: use the terminal taxis, keep phones and jewelry low-key, say a firm no gracias to the vendors, stay inside the walls and Getsemaní, and skip the beach vendors’ massages and the street emerald sellers. If you worry about timing, take a ship tour.

What is the best excursion, and should I book it through the ship?

The fortress-plus-walled-city tour, about 4 to 5 hours, is the one everyone should do once; add La Popa if the tour includes it. Repeat visitors can skip the bus, cab to the Clock Tower and wander. For the Rosario Islands, book through the ship: the boats leave early, the park fee and lunch are included, and the ship waits for its own tour. Independent walking tours in the old town are fine on any port day of 8 hours or more.

Do I need a passport?

If your cruise starts and ends in the same US port, US citizens can sail with a government photo ID plus an original birth certificate under the closed-loop rule, but we strongly recommend a passport for Cartagena: Colombia requires one to enter by air, so it is your only way home if you miss the ship, and every full Panama Canal transit (Florida to the West Coast, or Seattle to Florida) is one-way and requires a passport book for everyone.

Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?

Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions and gratuities are extra.

Talk to a Cartagena cruise specialist

We know which Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean sailings give you the longest Cartagena day and which carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit, so call to check availability and book. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.

1-800-444-1560