Why You Should Travel To Cartagena...And Hurry!
Travel Editor
With Jetblue’s 2014 launch of direct flights to Colombia and last year’s Delta announcement of non-stop routes to Medellin and Cartagena, the country has been experiencing a tourism boom unlike any other. Virtually overnight, Colombia has gone from a place that evoked hesitation in even the most seasoned travelers to a hot spot for overworked Americans seeking a respite from their daily lives.
At the helm of Colombia’s tourism sits Cartagena, the country’s seaside colonial city flanked by balmy Caribbean weather and coveted beachfront views. Once home to famed Colombian author, Gabriel García Márquez, Cartagena is often hailed as a romantic city with old world charm.
With the rise of tourism, Cartagena may soon be sacrificed on the altar of hotel brands, restaurant chains, and other comforts catered to foreign visitors. According to Colombia Reports, Cartagena is the second most visited city in Colombia (the first being Bogota) with almost 12% of incoming tourists — majority of them Americans — booking stays at the beachfront destination.
Cartagena’s residential community, Bocagrande, is starting to resemble Miami with its glass skyscrapers obstructing views of the ocean and widely recognized chain stores pushing out small business owners. It’s a story that’s been told countless times: a destination becomes trendy, eager tourists come rushing in, and any unique element of the place is stripped away in the name of investors.
The best example of Cartagena’s influx of tourism is seen on the beaches of Playa Blanca, just a short boat ride away on the neighboring island of Isla Baru. It’s hard to imagine a time when Playa Blanca’s sugary white sand and turquoise blue waters were untouched. Today, the beach is a veritable circus of banana boat rides, drunken tourists, careless litter, and barefoot locals hoping to earn a Colombian peso in exchange for the sale of a coconut.
Cartagena is now teetering on the brink of the off-the-beaten-path appeal it once promised and the westernized metropolis it is quickly becoming. Whether it’s a hole-in-the-wall restaurant or under-the-radar destination, tourism has a knack for permanently changing a place once it’s shoved in the spotlight. There will never be a better time to visit Cartagena then at this very moment as it may soon cease to be the Cartagena it once was.
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.
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