Best Time to Visit Cartagena

December to April

Months to avoid: October to November (peak rain season, heavy flooding in the city streets, humidity is brutal)

Recommended stay: 3-5 days

Plan Cartagena for December to April. Give it 3-5 days. The window to avoid is October to November (peak rain season, heavy flooding in the city streets, humidity is brutal).

What the season gets you

• Walking the old city walls at dusk when the light turns the colonial buildings amber and the sea breeze finally arrives after a day of 34-degree heat
• Getsemani at night: street murals, cheap arepas de huevo, cumbia spilling out of corner bars, neighbourhood life that hasn't been entirely sanded down for tourists
• Boat day to Islas del Rosario, where the Caribbean is genuinely clear and shallow and you can swim over coral for hours