Cartagena Travel Guide: Where to Sleep, Eat and Drink in Cartagena, Colombia

Most people that I’ve met and have gone to Colombia, take a b-line straight to Cartagena.  It’s easy to see why – just 2 ½ hours from Miami by plane (seriously, that’s it!).  And the flight leaves daily taking you straight into the tropics. And it is HOT – I mean, pack up those sweaters worn in Bogota and break out the shorts.  But one thing is certain – you’ll need to take a break.  Here is the ultimate Cartagena travel guide with our top picks.

Cartagena Travel Guide on Where to Sleep: Our pick, Hotel Bantu

I gotta admit, a big reason Hotel Bantu stood out as our pick was because they have a pet toucan with free reign on the grounds (and by “our pick” I pretty much mean my pick!).  Every time I saw the thing, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it.  How often do you get this close to a toucan that isn’t at a zoo?  Transfixed would be an understatement.  So much so that Kevin literally had to shout my name just to get my attention.  But really, the bird was pretty cute.

Located in Cartagena Walled City, Hotel Bantu is close to all the action and just a 5-minute walk from Simon Bolivar House and Museum and Puerta del Reloj.  There is also a really good chocolate store/museum less than 2 minutes away.

There are only 28 rooms, so book ASAP during the busier months (Peak season is December to mid-January; Holy Week in March or April and mid-June to July). The slowest times are May to mid-June and August to November and brings the lowest rates.  The hotel staff went above and beyond – and made this our favorite hotel so far in Colombia (and there were a lot of great ones!).

Cartagena is unbelievably expensive compared to other Colombian cities.  A top-rate hotel in Bogota was just $150 a night.  Hotel Bantu was about $225 a night during the low season (with some properties like the Hotel Sofitel Legend running $300+.

Eat: 1621 (fancy dinner), La Perla (Peruvian) and Paleteria (freeze pops!)

1621:  Located inside the super chic Sofitel Legend Hotel, 1621 is where the stars come and play (we were told many times!). Colombian favorite Sofia Vergara most recently stayed at the hotel while in town to film a local commercial. 1621 is the ultimate special meal, and was the perfect way to end our vacation in Cartagena. The restaurant is romantic, though the hotel definitely creeped me out.  It was once a convent (and during the hotel’s construction, they actually found nuns buried underneath the bar wearing wedding gowns — to marry the Lord when they died). That will give you nightmares. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the place is allegedly super haunted (shocker… um, see above about nuns in wedding gowns).  Even stranger, the walls in the restaurant glow fluorescent green – not because of a black light.  No, it’s because of a natural mold that keeps growing!  This is the plot for the blob.  All in all, it’s an amazing meal. But spending the night?  I’ll take the toucan at Hotel Bantu!

La Perla: Colombia’s Pearl of the Caribbean, La Perla is located right in the heart of Cartagena and serves up Peruvian food (we loved Colombian food, but nice to mix it up).  It has strong AC (sold!) and served some of the best food we had during the entire trip.  Even best of all, the front of the restaurant is all glass so you can watch the nightlife pass you by on this busy strip.  The place is tiny, making the atmosphere always lively (opposed to some of the other larger restaurants in town that were half-full).

Paleteria: I can’t remember the last time I bought a freeze pop.  But when you have 90+ degree temps, pure humidity and are wandering around the streets late at night, sometimes you just need one.  It seems somewhat less decadent than a slice of chocolate cake.  But I guess it all goes out the window when you already had a slice of chocolate cake earlier that night (and came here after…).

Drink: Coffee, Coconut Lemonade and Mojitos

Abaco Libros y Café:  First off, let me just say that there is no shortage on great places to stop for a drink.  I’ll start first with the non-alcoholic kind – coconut lemonade, which is my latest obsession besides the toucan at Hotel Bantu. I hate coconut.  I really do.  But the combination of coconut juice and lemonade is nothing short of magical.  There are shops all over the city that sell this concoction, but no place has a better atmosphere than Abaco.  Comfy seats, strong AC (a must!) and icy coconut lemonade – it’s the best spot in town to relax.  They also have an excellent iced coffee that you can order to go and shop.  Most books are in Spanish, but they also have some English books.  Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Cartagena’s very own hometown hero Gabriel García Márquez.

Café Del Mar: Less than 10 minutes walking from Abaco. Head over towards the water – on top of the city walls — just before sunset to grab one of the much-coveted seaside tables.  It’s an event with seemingly every visitor in town showing up along with locals selling all kinds of junk (including an automatic hand clapping toy to drive every parent to the point of crazy!… At least it did for Kevin!).  Drinks are pricey, and not that good to be honest.  But you come for the atmosphere.  Stick with beer – the strawberry margarita looked like it would glow in the dark.

Café Havana:  The night is young!  You need to visit Café Havana and grab a spot at the bar.  You’d think you got off accidentally in Cuba walking into this bar.  There is a stage with a full band jamming out salsa and meringue.   After a few mojitos, the party gets started with people squeezing onto the coffee table-sized dance floor (or dancing in their seats). We arrived around 10:30 PM, which was the perfect time to beat the crowds lining up and around the block later on.

Looking for other ideas while traveling through Colombia? Be sure to check out our incredible itinerary covering 10 days in Colombia. If you head to Bogota, be sure to join this very comprehensive biking tour in Bogota covering all the major highlights. Looking for more ideas in Colombia? Check out our full featured coverage here.