A Travel Through Books Guide to Cartagena, Colombia

Welcome to Cartagena, Colombia! Cartagena is a city full of magical realism where vibrant colors, enchanting music, and delicious flavors come alive. We’ll explore the city’s enchanting colonial architecture, savor the flavors that inspired Gabriel García Márquez literary genius, and delve into the rich cultural history of the Colombian Caribbean. From the bustling streets of Cartagena to the serene beauty of the Rosario Islands, you’re in for the perfect short book-inspired adventure. Want to join an already planned trip. Meet us December 4-8, 2025 in on our BOOKED Trips Cartagena, Colombia experience!

WHAT TO READ:

“Love in the Time of Cholera,” a sweeping epic by Gabriel García Márquez that chronicles the enduring love affair between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza. Their story unfolds over decades in a fictional Caribbean port city, heavily inspired by Cartagena, Colombia.

The novel begins with a young Florentino Ariza’s passionate but unrequited love for the beautiful and spirited Fermina Daza. Their youthful romance is abruptly cut short when Fermina chooses to marry the esteemed Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Devastated, Florentino dedicates his life to pursuing other women, never truly forgetting his first love. As the years pass, the city evolves, and the characters age, their lives intertwine with the rhythms of daily life, social change, and the ever-present threat of cholera.

In an interview with actor and filmmaker Salvatore Basile, García Márquez said, “I would say that I completed my education as a writer in Cartagena.” García Márquez lived in Cartagena for a year as a young man and kept a winter house in the city as an older man. He sets much of Love in The Time of Cholera in Cartagena.
García Márquez once said that all of his books have “loose threads” of connection to the walled city of Cartagena. This is where he worked as a journalist in the late 1940s, and where his ashes are laid to rest in the cloisters of the University of Cartagena.

WHERE TO STAY:

• Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena – this 5-star hotel is for the luxury lovers. Built in a converted seventeenth-century convent this hotel is an architectural and historical haven. The hotel has multiple restaurants, a swimming pool, a top notch spa that includes a Turkish bath, and daily trips to its sister hotel’s private island (some 45 minutes away) offering coral reef scuba courses and other seaside diversions. Bonus the hotel’s onsite bar El Coro was a frequent hang out spot for García Márquez.
• Hotel Casa La Factoria – A 4-star hotel in a restored 16th-century landmark located two blocks from Santo Domingo Square. Your close to the Church of Santo Domingo, the Zenu Gold Museum, Clock Tower, and Gabriel García Márquez’s house. The hotel contains just 28 rooms, which means its lobby bar, its rooftop terrace, and its indoor pool are blissfully uncrowded.
• Casa San Agustin – Spread across three mansions connected by a 17th-century aqueduct in a central location in the walled city, this hotel is a great choice. The onsite restaurant Alma is one of the best in the city. The hotel also has an amazing spa with a hammam experience available.
• If you want to stay outside of the city for a beach vacation, stay at the Black-owned Blue Apple Beach House. Take advantage of the free beach cabanas, beach loungers, and beach umbrellas and enjoy on-site activities including horseback riding, snorkeling, beach yoga, and boat tours.

WHAT TO DO:

• Explore the amazing food scene Cartagena has to offer through a food tour*
• Take a boat ride and spend a day with a book and a cocktail in the Rosario Islands or Baru Beach*
• Visit Palenque, the first free African town in the Americas*
• Do a rum and chocolate experience at Lunático 
• Visit Abaco Libros y Cafe to grab a book and a cup of Colombian coffee.
• Do a coffee tasting experience with an engineer turned coffee maker at Cafe del Mural. They offer a daily coffee roasting and tasting experience.
• Discover Getsemani: a neighborhood filled with incredible street art, great bars, and good local eats just outside the walled city.
• Taking a mud bath inside the Totumo Volcano.
• Visit Tayrona National Park.

*included in our December 4-8, 2025 BOOKED Trips Colombia experience.

Looking for more recommendations on things to do? Get tips from our favorite local partners Impulse Travel.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK:

• Alma Restaurante – one of the best Restaurants in Cartagena serving Colombian indigenous coastal cuisine.
• Restaurante Candé –  beautiful design, delicious food, and great entertainment. Perfect for a night out with friends or a date.
• Celele – named one of the best restaurants in Latin America, Celele is led by two chefs that explore the best of Colombian Caribbean cuisine, discovering new flavors and ingredients and documenting recipes that were in danger of being lost.
• If you’re looking to splurge, visit Restaurante Carmen Cartagena. It’s an intimate and exclusive dining experience offering contemporary cuisine inspired by Colombia’s biodiversity and rich culinary culture with a special focus on the flavors and ingredients of the Colombian Caribbean.
• Época Cafe – This is perfect early morning breakfast and coffee.
• El Baron Cafe & Cocktail Bar for great craft cocktails.
• El Arsenal: The Rum Box. With a collection of every single rum made in Colombia, and premium knowledge on pairings—particularly chocolate pairings—you’re in for a good time.
• Visit Alquimico for a DJ set to accompany your drink.

Want help designing your dream trip? We plan private experiences! We have existing group itineraries in Nairobi and Diani Kenya, Cape Town, South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Accra, Ghana, Cartagena, Colombia, Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, Mexico, and Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica that can be customized. Fill out our private trip interest form or email jalisa@bookedtrips.com for more information.