Travelling to Cartagena? We will help you get there.
FLYING TO CARTAGENA
Coming from abroad? Our recommendation is to choose one of the international flights from US, Europe or Latin America direct to Cartagena. From the USA you can find direct flights from New York, Miami or Fort Lauderdale, or you can choose to travel via Panama or Bogotá. Jet Blue, AA, Spirit, Avianca or VivaAir are the ones offering direct flights; Copa Air via Panama and Delta, AA, Spirit Latam or Avianca via Bogotá or other cities.
Travelling from Europe? KLM flies 4 times a week from Amsterdam to Cartagena, with a short stopover in Bogotá. Doing immigration in Cartagena is quite fast. Alternatively, you can travel via Bogota with Lufthansa from Frankfurt, with Air France from Paris and from London, Madrid or Barcelona with Avianca or Air Europa. Immigration in Bogotá at peak hours (17:00 – 21:00) takes up to 2 hours! plan accordingly your stopover. Flying via Panama is a good option as well.
The airlines with local presence in Colombia are Latam, Avianca and Viva air – all of them very safe. They travel in multiple itineraries everyday so you have a wide range of possibilities to choose from. You can find tickets to Cartagena from most of Colombia’s main cities.
ARRIVING BY SEA?
In 2007 cruise ships started arriving in Cartagena, since then more than 500,000 passengers visit the city every season. Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, National Geographic, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Tui Cruises, Star Clippers, Aida CruisesSilversea Cruises, P&O Cruises and Marella Cruises are some of the lines currently visiting Cartagena. You can check the schedules here.
PREFER TO DRIVE?
Finally, if you are already in Colombia and choose to arrive by road, you can do so from Barranquilla (2 hours drive), Santa Marta (4 hours drive) and from Bogotá, the Capital of Colombia (14 hours drive). For a comfortable ride our recommendation is to hire a public transportation car (white cars) if coming from Barranquilla or Santa Marta with an estimate cost of USD 80 and 140 respectively for up to 4 passengers. Alternatively you can purchase a seat on a van (some offer door to door service), Marsol has several frequencies per day; or you can take a bus if on a budget – tickets available on redbus.co.
Safe travel!
