5 Days in Cartagena: The Walled City Base
Five days covers the full Walled City circuit, San Basilio de Palenque, and a lighter beach-and-nightlife day at Bocagrande with a chiva party bus night thrown in. Want less or more? Drop to the 4-day version or step up to the 6 or 7-day plan, all built on this same spine.
Book these before you go
- Walled City or Getsemani hotel: check current listings on Booking.com
- Castillo San Felipe history tour: search dates on Viator
- San Basilio de Palenque day trip: browse fixed-departure tours on GetYourGuide
- Chiva party bus tickets: check seat availability on Viator
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Rough daily cost (COP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, Walled City orientation, Getsemani sunset | CTG airport to center, 15-20 min | 150,000-300,000 |
| Day 2 | Castillo San Felipe, La Popa, Palace of the Inquisition | Everything walkable or a short taxi | 150,000-300,000 |
| Day 3 | Getsemani street art, MAMC, Plaza de la Trinidad night | On foot from the Walled City | 120,000-250,000 |
| Day 4 | San Basilio de Palenque day trip | 1-1.5 hours each way by tour van | 150,000-250,000 |
| Day 5 | Bocagrande half-day, chiva party bus night | Short taxi to Bocagrande | 150,000-300,000 |
Day 1: Arrival and the Walled City
- Land at Rafael Nunez International Airport (CTG), fixed-rate taxi kiosk to the Walled City or Getsemani, roughly 20,000-30,000 COP, 15-20 minutes.
- Walk San Pedro and San Diego in the morning or late afternoon: Plaza Bolivar, the Cathedral of Cartagena, Calle Santo Domingo’s colonial mansions. Skip the midday hours.
- Stop at Las Bovedas, a free artisan market in the old munitions vaults.
- Evening in Getsemani for dinner, then sunset on the walls near Baluarte Santo Domingo.
Day 2: Castillo San Felipe and the city’s history
- Morning at La Popa monastery for cooler hilltop views; entrance 4,500-11,000 COP reported, verify.
- Midday at the Palacio de la Inquisicion, roughly 24,000 COP (some sources cite 19,000-22,000 COP).
- Late afternoon at Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish fortress built in the Americas, go after 3pm. Gate prices reported 38,000-50,000 COP, verify, audio guide roughly 15,000 COP more. Part of the 1984 UNESCO listing .
Day 3: Getsemani, deeper
- Walk the murals radiating from Calle Sierpe (developed since the 2013 Cartagena Urban Culture Festival) and the quieter San Diego lanes.
- Visit the Museo de Arte Moderno de Cartagena (MAMC).
- Treat the neighborhood’s gentrification honestly, a Four Seasons opened here 2 April 2026.
- Night at Plaza de la Trinidad for live champeta and the city’s most authentic street energy.
Day 4: San Basilio de Palenque
- Fixed-departure day tour to San Basilio de Palenque, founded by Cimarron in the 17th century, the only surviving palenque in Colombia, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2008.
- Roughly 1-1.5 hours from Cartagena; go with an organized tour and a local guide rather than freelancing it.
- Learn about Palenquero, the Spanish-lexicon Bantu-grammar creole, and the community the Cartagena palenqueras trace their heritage to.
- Back in Cartagena by evening for dinner.
Day 5: Bocagrande and a chiva night
- Morning or midday at Bocagrande, Cartagena’s beachfront high-rise strip; the beach itself isn’t the region’s best, but it’s a workable half-day with big hotel-brand amenities nearby (InterContinental, Hilton, Hyatt Regency).
- Afternoon back in the Walled City for any museum or plaza you missed, or a slower cafe stop.
- Evening: a chiva party bus, the open-sided, brightly painted traditional bus touring the city’s zones with live music and drinks, roughly 50,000 COP per shared seat or around 650,000 COP for a private full bus. Genuinely a fun group night rather than a serious sightseeing stop, and a lighter close to a history-heavy few days.
Five days lets the trip breathe a little after four straight history-and-heat days. See the 6-day itinerary for a quieter add-on day if you have it.