Walk the streets of the walled city of cartagena. Experience the rich history of what is nicknamed “The Heroic City” through every step, street and public square.
About the activity
Experience
Highlights
- City wall
- Churches
- Slave history & San Pedro Claver
- Spanish Colonial History & the Inquisición
- History of Pirates
- Street art
- War of Independence, The Heroic City & Simon Bolivar
Military Architecture & History
Full description
The old historic center of Cartagena is surrounded by 11 km of the city wall. Inside is one of the world’s most spectacular UNESCO world heritage sites.
Your guide will explain the historical context and stories of important sites as you walk through the old town.
This tour is perfect for anyone who wants to deep dive into the heart of Cartagena’s colonial history, architecture, and Caribbean culture.
Includes
- Bilingual guide
- Bottle of water per person
Not Included
- Transportation (not included)
- Tickets to monuments (not included)
Covid-19 precautions
Safety measures in place
All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned
Traveler requirements
You are required to bring and wear a mask
Prepare for the activity
The details below may change if you update your current selection:
Meeting point
Departure from your hotel *
PS. Hotels outside Cartagena: Las Bóvedas, door #12
Start time of the tour
9:00 a.m. *
Length of the tour
2 hours (approximately)
Return Details
return to the original departure point
Notes
Departure will be from Las Bóvedas, IF you are staying outside the walled city OR Getsemani neighborhood.
The tour will start from your hotel IF located inside the walled city OR Getsemani neighborhood.
Later departures are also available, depending on the time of year and current availability. If you are interested in booking this tour for a later time, simply contact us and we will do everything possible to accommodate you.
The walking tour of the old city can be combined with the Cartagena City tour.
¡If you would like to customize your experience contact us and let us know what you really need!
scubadoug –
I toured with Martin on a previous trip and enjoyed his expertise. I returned with my wife and we lived his familiarity with the city of Cartagena and it’s history. We highly recommend Martin and visiting this wonderful city.
ORDFlier –
“We traveled to Cartagena in December over Christmas. Our objective was to get acclimated with Cartagena, see the highlights, celebrate Christmas as the local tradition, have a culinary experience through a cooking class of regional cuisine and experience the mud bath.
Martin was incredibly responsive to our requests and went above and beyond given the holidays. He met our needs in all these areas.
He picked us up promptly at our hotel and gave us a walking and driving tour of the walled city and the surrounding areas. We’re not real in-depth history buffs, which Martin expertly provided just enough detail we were interested, but not to the point we were bored to death. Thank you Martin!!
Martin arranged for a private cooking class which we were elated! It was at a small restaurant in the Gethsamine area. The owner, the interpreter (we know very little Spanish) and the staff were so helpful. We truly enjoyed our experience.
Martin also took us to the mud volcano for a volcanic mud bath. It was quite the interesting experience. Driving through the countryside we truly experienced the way of life of rural Columbia along the coast.
The only issue we encountered was the limited knowledge of the Christmas Eve mass times and the true traditions of the walked city. We missed midnight mass (also known as Misa de Gallo). It’s not really at midnight and our 10:30PM dinner reservation, which was supposed to be before mass, turned out to be after the masses were over. Oh well, you can’t win them all.
Overall, Martin is the guide you want while in Cartegena. His knowledge of his city is impeccable. He speaks English well and is extremely professional and accommodating to your individual needs! Thank you Martin!!!”
MichaelG –
My buddy and I were lucky enough to schedule a last minute walking tour of the old town with Martin a week ago, and were absolutely thrilled with the 2+ hours we spent with him. He showed us parts of the town we surely wouldn’t have found ourselves, and was incredibly knowledgeable about everything Cartagena (and Colombia) … go with Martin!
SharonP –
“3 of us toured Cartagena with Martin and 2 other couples during a port stop off the Zuiderdam. We only had 6 hours and were concerned about getting everything in during that time but Martin made sure that we had no worries. We were able to customize the tour to include seeing the interior of the Fort as well as other areas typically seen by tourists on short visits. Martin was an excellent guide explaining the history and culture of Cartagena to us. He had an air conditioned van and a separate driver so he was able to focus on our group.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Cartagena because of Martin.”
DarleneE –
Martin is so professional and gives a very thorough tour of this beautiful historical city. We enjoyed it very much.