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, 24,000 COP.
- Late afternoon at Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the largest Spanish fortress built in the Americas, go after 3pm. Foreign adults pay 38,000 COP (official rate), 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, 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.