Is Cartagena expensive to visit? While the exchange rate in Colombia can work in your favor, we had previously decided to go “all out” on our lodging when we visited Cartagena. This was our biggest, most modern, best beach access, most amenities stop during our full-time travel trip in Latin America. Below are our total Cartagena costs with a summary of our takeaways from each section. We hope this gives you a better idea of Cartagena prices and what to budget for a Cartagena, Colombia vacation.

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Lodging Expenses In Cartagena

Total: $3,491

• Airbnb in El Laguito for 28 nights. Average of $125/night

Round-Trip Transportation

Total: $342

• $  28 – Uber from Medellin Airbnb to Airport
• $304 – Flight from Medellin to Cartagena for all 4 of us
• $  10 – Uber from Cartagena Airport to Airbnb

Day-to-Day Cartagena Costs

Total: $2,071 ($74 a day)

• Groceries, supplies, taxis, and dining out
• We splurged on restaurants in Cartagena as the quality was really high and prices were reasonable. This is more than we would normally do if we were traveling full-time, but probably about average for a vacation.

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Touristy Excursions In Cartagena

Total: $643

• $104 – Walled City of Cartagena walking tour
• $ 18 – Self-guided tour of the San Felipe de Barajas Castle
• $207 – Pirate ship sunset cruise
• $314 – Rosario Islands day trip
• $0 – Walking on the wall at sunset
• $0 – Playing at the public beach in Boca Grande

Total Cartagena Costs

So, is Cartagena expensive? Well that’s relative. We spent $6,547 for one month in Cartagena. This was a little more expensive than we would have liked, but in our opinion it was well worth it.

For a week long trip with a family of 4, this equates to $1636. That’s pretty cheap for a family vacation.

Read more details below to hear our thoughts on how and why we ended up spending this much on a month long trip to Cartagena.

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Takeaways…

Lodging Expenses in Cartagena

Our Airbnb in Cartagena was perfect!  Our 6th floor apartment looked out directly over the ocean, and even captured the historic walled city in the distance. It also boasted a pool that allowed us to go jump in the ocean when desired, but relax away from the many beach vendors.

The unit itself had great a/c, an updated interior, welcoming living space, comfortable beds, 3 bathrooms, great wi-fi, and even a smart tv that was hooked up to cable, and Netflix for the kids. The only item we didn’t love was that the showers only got to be lukewarm at best. Not a huge problem considering we were in a very warm climate. 

This apartment started our Cartagena costs off a bit higher than normal, but it would do it again in a heartbeat. When in a hot climate, having access to a pool, the beach and/or good air conditioning will make your vacation so much more enjoyable.

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Transportation Fees

Transportation expenses to and from Cartagena were relatively low for us. We paid up for a flight from Medellin after our last two bus debacles, but we used their local carrier (Viva Air), and paid less than $100/person for the one-way ticket. It was well worth the convenience! 

Since we traveled from Medellin our plane ticket prices were much lower than many can expect. On average it is about $300-400 dollars for one round-trip airline ticket from the United States. This isn’t too bad for an international flight!

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Day-to-Day Cartagena Costs

Our day-to-day living costs remained elevated this month. The restaurants in Cartagena, similarly to Medellin, are incredible, and the prices are extremely approachable. We just couldn’t visit the walled city without partaking in the culinary offerings. 

Prices and quality of grocery items were better in Cartagena than in Medellin, so we cooked a little more often than we did when we were there. Since the water in Cartagena is not potable, we did have to spend extra on bottled water. You can expect to pay about $1.50 for a large jug of water.

If you are curious about other grocery prices, we shopped at the Carulla when we were visiting Cartagena. Remember the prices are in Colombian Pesos which is currently (Feb. 2025) about 4100 pesos to 1 USD.

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Touristy Excursions

We were spoiled with the ocean out our back door, and the walled city was just a $2.50 taxi ride away. While there are other islands (Rosario Islands, Tierra Bomba and Baru), towns (Palenque, Barranquilla, and Minca), and National Parks (Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona) that we could have explored, we were very content staying in Cartagena itself. The only exception we made was to go on a day trip to the Rosario Islands.

I am quite positive we will return to Cartagena in the future, so those other locations mentioned are already on the itinerary.

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Summary Cartagena Costs

All in all we spent just over $6,500 during our month in Cartagena. Not cheap when traveling full-time, but we truly felt 100% spoiled throughout this entire month. It was very much worth it! 

Surprisingly we spent more in Panama in our next month traveling. Want to know if Panama is expensive? Take a look at this blog post: Is Panama Expensive? The Ultimate Family Cost Guide to Panama