Cartagena Bar Guide
30+ bars across Cartagena's drinking neighbourhoods, curated by editors who know the city.
Cartagena drinks under candles, behind 17th-century stone walls, on rooftops with the Caribbean stretching north and salsa pouring out of every other doorway. The walled-city bars feel like film sets. Across the bridge in Getsemani, the same drinks come louder, cheaper, and with better music.
Five neighbourhoods cluster the action. Centro Historico (the walled city) is the colonial-cocktail heart. Getsemani next door runs the loudest weekends. Bocagrande on the peninsula is the high-rise hotel district. Manga across the bay is the local-feel quarter. San Diego inside the walls is the quietest cocktail enclave.
Cocktails run COP 30,000 to COP 50,000 ($7 to $12). Cheap. Tip 10 percent. Most bars run to 2am, the rooftops to 3am. Reserve Alquimico — three floors, weekend lines.
Browse by occasion
Cocktail Bars in Cartagena
World-class cocktail rooms
Rooftop Bars in Cartagena
Skyline drinks
Date Night in Cartagena
Romantic spots
After Work in Cartagena
Apéro-hour bars
Live Music in Cartagena
Bands and DJs
Craft Beer in Cartagena
Microbreweries and taprooms
Hidden Gems in Cartagena
Unmarked doors
Sports Bars in Cartagena
Watch parties
Top Picks This Week
Alquimico
Cartagena's most awarded cocktail bar. World's 50 Best Latin America regular. Three floors inside a colonial townhouse — cocktails on the ground, mezcal on the second, rooftop on the third. Reserve.
El Baron
Speakeasy-style cocktail bar inside a colonial palace. Twenty-eight seats. Caribbean-ingredient-forward menu — coconut, lime, smoked aji. Best on a Wednesday or Thursday.
Cafe del Mar
Sunset cocktail terrace built directly into the city walls. Tourist-heavy but the view of the Caribbean over the cannons is the city's signature shot. Order a mojito at 6pm.
Townhouse Rooftop
Boutique hotel rooftop with a long pool, sunset DJs, and Cartagena's most photographed view. Cocktails are good. The crowd skews international.
Demente
Open-air courtyard tapas-and-cocktail bar in a converted colonial house. Spanish-influenced food menu, Colombian-rum-leaning cocktail list. Best for a long Friday-evening dinner.
Bazurto Social Club
Cuban-Caribbean live-music bar with house bands every night. Loud, joyful, and the most Getsemani-feeling room in the city. Reserve a table for the 9pm set.
Neighbourhood Guide
Centro Historico
The walled colonial city. Stone streets, candle-lit cocktail rooms inside palaces, and the most photogenic drinking quarter in the Caribbean. Walking-only after 6pm.
Getsemani
Across the bridge from the walled city. Murals, plaza bars, salsa rooms, and the loudest weekend nights in Cartagena. Skews younger and more local.
Bocagrande
The high-rise peninsula south of the walled city. Hotel cocktail bars, beachside lounges, and the most polished evening crowd.
Manga
The residential island east of Centro. Local-feel cafes, small wine bars, and a quieter pace away from the tourist core.
San Diego
The quieter sub-quarter inside the walls. Plaza terraces, smaller cocktail rooms, and a more romantic candlelit pace.
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 72 cities worldwide.
Editorial on Cartagena
Reach bar-goers in every major city.
Sponsored listings, newsletter placements, and city guide partnerships across 72 cities. Contact us to get your bar in front of the right audience.