Top 5 Must-Do Things in Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena is an amazing city, with nonstop nightlife, beautiful scenery, and an amazing culture. There are lots of things to do and lots of places to explore in the city. People always talk about walking around and seeing the walls, and hitting up the local stores. That gets kind of old, so let's talk about some more exciting stuff in Cartagena. Let's talk about some of the things you MUST DO when visiting this city.

1. Island Hopping on a Tour

Let's start off strong! One of the best things to do in Cartagena, Colombia, is to take a tour from a local tour company to some nearby islands. The first thing to note about this is that, for the most part, the prices of these tours are negotiable.

You will find many people will come up to you offering these boat tours. It is very important to make sure that what these people are saying is legitimate, and they actually have evidence of their company being a legitimate business. Remember, stranger danger applies abroad and not only at home.

Oftentimes, these companies are locally owned by boat owners in the city. This means that they are able to charge whatever they want to whoever they want. Remember that tourists are often upcharged for many things simply for being a tourist and not knowing any better. This means that if someone comes up to you with a tour that interests you, you should absolutely negotiate and try to find a better price.

Once you find a tour that you like and you've negotiated a price, all that's left is to pack your stuff and get ready! Many tours (especially full-day tours) are all-inclusive, so they cover your food and pickup expenses. For my tour, I was picked up at my hotel and taken to the pickup location, where the tour began. My tour took me to various beaches and islands off the coast of Colombia, including the Rosario Islands.

One thing I learned that day was to say "no". Cartagena is a huge tourist destination, and there are many people who ask for money or try to sell you some product or service. Telling people "no" is a big part of tourism here. Island hopping involves the same thing, just on various islands now. Make sure you say no, or something like this will happen to your hair:

2. Take a Sunset Tour on a Pirate Ship

La Fantastica Cartagena is a tour boat company who owns and operates a pirate ship. You can climb about, sail, and drink unlimited pirate juice with rum.

I've already written a blog post about them, so to learn more about these amazing sunset tours, click here to read it!

3. Get Wild on a Rooftop Bar

There are many places to party in Cartagena: plenty of late-night restaurants and bars to hit up. What better than to check out one of the rooftop bars and vibe?

At Eivissa Cartagena, you get both a nightclub and rooftop bar experience. With reggaeton playing on the inside and an EDM style rooftop club/bar, you can meet a lot of other tourists and travelers here. Plus, you'll be right next to the famous clock tower monument, so that's pretty cool too.

While I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the drinks at this bar, the chicken wings were pretty good and plentiful. If you think you can eat a whole serving of chicken wings from here, make sure you're really hungry!

4. Get Inspired by Colombian and Italian Cuisine

If you're staying anywhere near the touristy part of the city, make sure you get the opportunity to stop by Colombitalia for dinner. This restaurant offers Colombian arepas and other traditional Colombian food, as well as Italian dishes. I wrote a post about this spot as well, so make sure you check that out, and try the piña coladas!

And remember, let them know I sent you!

5. Cover Yourself in Pigeons. Yes, You Read that Right

Plaza de Bolivar is a small park with some benches, some tourists, and some locals sitting and watching the tourists take photos. In addition to this, though, there are A LOT of pigeons. Some of the locals are there feeding the pigeons. If you give them a small tip, they'll give you some of the pigeons' favorite foods for you to hand feed them. These pigeons are very used to humans surrounding them and feeding them, so make sure you're not afraid to be absolutely surrounded by the birds.

Please keep in mind that, although peaceful and non-violent, these are still wild animals. Be careful when you're around them, and be respectful. Also, because they are wild animals, nobody's clipping their talons. You might end up with a few (or a lot of) light scratches on your arms.

There are plenty of other posts out there on some of the more general things that tourists do when visiting Cartagena. These were some of the lesser-mentioned activities that I personally did and highly enjoyed. Have fun on your stay in this amazing city, and be safe!

Thanks for reading!