Is Cartagena Safe?

Cartagena de Indias sits on Colombia's Caribbean coast and is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas. The Spanish founded it in 1533 and it grew into a key port for shipping gold and silver back to Europe, which is exactly why it was raided again and again by pirates and ringed with the massive stone walls that still wrap the old town today. Inside those walls you get block after block of colourful houses with wooden balconies dripping in bougainvillea, shaded plazas, and churches that have stood for centuries. The city is also bound up with writer Gabriel García Márquez, who set part of his work here. The mood is hot, loud and unmistakably Caribbean, full of vallenato and champeta music, street food, and the palenquera women in bright dresses selling fruit. It is one of Colombia's safest and most visited spots, though the humidity is serious, so plan your walking for early morning or the cooler evening.