My 10 Favorite things to do in Cartagena

Nothing leaves you really good memories from a trip than when you discovered fun plans and amazing people to share them with. Cartagena de Indias has activities for every type of tastes and interests, but all of them make your trip one of the best adventures you have ever experienced. If you want to go around the Corralito de Piedra and do not know where to go or what to do, just check my list of favorite things to do in the city and love them as much as I do.

1. Drink a beer in the walls of Cartagena while you watch the sunset

Go up the impressive and historic walls of Cartagena de Indias, tour them and discover the magic in each one of the baluartes and 11 kilometers of this amazing construction. The perfect time for this plan is when the sun hides behind the sea and leaves a couple of colors in the sky. Refresh with a cold beer while you enjoy this natural beauty. Cartagena has incomparable sunsets, this plan is definitely worth it.

2. Eat an Arepa e’ huevo in one of the plazas

The gastronomy of the Caribbean is exquisite, the combination of the cornmeal filled with egg and ground beef is going to leave you delighted. This is one of the favorite fried foods, it is because of that that is normal to find it in any corner or plaza of the Old City and taste it the best Caribbean style with ají and a little bit of suero.

3. Eat shrimp cocktail

The taste of the Caribbean can be felt in this delicious dish, grind up onion, garlic water, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, a touch of spicy, and seafood of your choice, are going to captivate your palate. I am sure that there is no cocktail in the world as good as the one from the Caribbean. It is really easy to find them, around the Torre del Reloj there are kiosks that sell this well-known cocktail.

4. Take pictures in the colorful houses

One of the attractions of this beautiful city is its streets full of colorful houses, balconies, and streetlamps. Here are my favorite streets where there are more color and culture: Calle de la Sierpe, Calle Tumbamuertos, and Calle del Quero. Come and walk through them and you’ll see you can take many cool pictures in these spaces.

5. Take a boat and visit one of the islands

When you plan a trip to Cartagena and look for things to do in the city, without a doubt this is one of the first ones to appear. This sea of warm crystalline waters, the adventure of traveling for 45 minutes in a boat and feel the wind all over your body, the white sand and having fried fish, coconut rice and patacones for lunch is one of the favorite plans of the travelers that prefer sun, beach, and sand.

6. Eat traditional sweets at Portal de Los Dulces

Portal de Los Dulces is the best place to enjoy a traditional sweet. There are more than 10 kiosks one next to the other for you to enjoy an Alegria, cocada, tamarindo balls or any of the sweets offered by the locals. My recommendation: muñequitas de leche and cocada de coco.

7. Go see the show at Plaza Simon Bolivar

Plaza Simon Bolivar is a symbol of the city. I like it because it has a lot of trees to protect you from the sun, it is always full of people, there are people selling fruits, lemonade, and after 4 pm there is a show of dancers. They move their hips to the rhythm of the drums, and they show traditional dances of the region, inviting foreign visitors to also enjoy this music.

8. Walk around Getsemani

Walking through the streets and plazas of Getsemani is one of the most enjoyable experiences in the city. To start with, I have to say that I love the everyday life of their locals. Its corners are full of people, the neighbors talking in the door of their houses, and the music can be heard from the plazas. Kindness, warmth, and joy, are part of this neighborhood at day or at night.

9. Eat a fruit salad from the “Palenqueras”

The palenqueras of Cartagena are those brown women dressed in colorful dresses, that you will see walking around the walls of Cartagena. They have in their heads bowls with tropical fruits. I do not know which plan is better if eating the fruit salad or take a picture with them. But you definitely need to do both.

10. Practice an extreme nautical sport

Did you know that Cartagena offers you the chance to practice extreme nautical sports? This is without a doubt one of the best options for those who love adrenaline and rather enjoy the summer in Cartagena doing extreme nautical sports. Recommendations: flyboard, kitesurf, windsurf.

If you get to make these 10 plans, I am sure that you will leave Cartagena the same way I did: You have to love this little piece of the Caribbean, where you breath magic, you eat delicious dishes and you have lots of fun. This is a beautiful, quiet and paradisaical city.