Cartagena independence day and the festival year: what each event does to your dates

Festivals, holidays, cruise ships, the island park’s high seasons and hotel rooms filled, on one circle. Pick a month or type your dates: the wheel turns that month under the pointer and lists what falls inside. For the weather month by month, see the best time to visit.

The date comes from 11 November 1811. That day an armed crowd from Getsemaní, the barrio outside the main gate, pressed the governing junta until it signed the act declaring Cartagena independent of Spain. Radio Nacional and a historian in El Universal both name Pedro Romero among its leaders. The Getsemaní page tells the barrio’s story.

The busts on the Camellón de los Mártires show nine patriots executed in 1816, and the 2026 program, published on 17 September 2026, lists for 11 November a floral offering (Ofrenda Floral) at the Camellón de los Mártires and Plaza de la Trinidad. For the centenary, in 1911, the city opened Parque del Centenario and the Teatro Heredia, today the Teatro Adolfo Mejía.

The holiday belongs to the whole country, and under the 1983 holiday law it moves to the next Monday. The shared walking tour of the Historic Center and Getsemaní covers the places of 1811 in both quarters; take the earliest start.

The city’s culture institute, the IPCC, organizes the Fiestas de Independencia for the Alcaldía. The 2026 program runs from early October to mid-November 2026, from neighborhood concerts to the big days around 11 November.

1. Sunday 1 November 2026

   Ángeles Somos, with a parade in the historic center.

2. Monday 9 November 2026

   City keys for the candidates of the Concurso Nacional de Belleza, the national beauty pageant.

3. Tuesday 10 November 2026

   Desfile en Honor a los Héroes, historic center.

4. Wednesday 11 November 2026

   The city council's formal session on the Act of Independence, at the convention center, and the floral offering.

5. Thursday 12 November 2026

   The Gran Bando, the independence parade, on Avenida Santander, 10:00 to 12:00; in September 2026 the organizer expected about 10,000 performers.

6. Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026

   Festival Náutico de la Independencia and Bololó del Arsenal, two concert nights headed by Juan Luis Guerra on the first; also Salsa a la Plaza at Plaza de la Aduana (Saturday 14 November 2026).

7. Sunday 15 November 2026

   The Cabildo de Getsemaní, and the election and crowning of the festival queen (Reinado Popular) at the convention center.

8. Monday 16 November 2026

   The holiday, and the last crowning: the queen of the city’s rural districts (Reinado Intercorregimental).

What the fiestas do to your dates

Hotels were 67.9% full in November 2025, against 63.6% in October. The schedule has 15 ship days in November, with ships in port on 6 of the 8 days from 9 to 16 November 2026. November is wet, with rain on about 9 days, and at 11:00, mid-parade, the shade feels like 37 °C (99 °F). Canada’s advice for Colombia (2 November 2026): Be aware of your surroundings in public places, particularly during civic holidays, public celebrations and major political events such as elections. See the safety page.

Plan for it if you want the parade and the Cabildo: the week of 11 November through the holiday Monday. A room in Getsemaní, such as OSH Hotel Cartagena, puts you in the barrio of the Cabildo; the where-to-stay guide compares the areas. Plan around it with late September or early October: the same calm sea, and mostly neighborhood concerts.

The XXI Cartagena Festival de Música, classical music, runs 9 to 17 January 2027. The Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias, books and ideas, follows on 28 to 31 January 2027.

Both land in the busiest stretch. Hotels were 73.9% full in January 2026, the highest of the latest twelve months, and the island park is in high season until 31 January. Ships are in port on 6 of the 9 days of the music festival and 3 of the 4 days of Hay. The weather helps: rain on fewer than 1 day, and streets cool enough to walk until about 9:45.

Plan for it if a concert or a talk is the reason for the trip: a room inside the walls, such as Casa Lorenza Hotel in San Diego, keeps the evenings on foot; walk the walled city early on ship days. Plan around it in February or March, with the same dry weather: hotels were 69.9% and 66.4% full in 2026.

Holy Week (Semana Santa) moves with Easter. Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March 2027, so the week starts on Palm Sunday, 21 March, and the holidays are Holy Thursday and Good Friday, 25 and 26 March 2027. Monday 22 March is a holiday too: two long weekends in a row. The island park counts the week as high season, and ships are in port on 4 of the 8 days.

A monthly hotel figure cannot show one busy week. In 2026 the holidays fell on 2 and 3 April 2026, and April was still emptier than March: 59.7% of rooms filled against 66.4%. Island boats that week: the Rosario boat day.

FICCI, the Cartagena international film festival, holds its 66th edition on 6 to 11 April 2027. It is the only event on the wheel with ships in port on every day: 6 of the 6 days, with 3 ships on 7 April. April turns the season, with rain on about 2 days.

Plan for it if the films are why you came; plan around it with the week after, when the sea is typically moderate.

The holidays are Tuesday 8 December and Friday 25 December 2026, then New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027. In 2025 the city switched its Christmas lights on at Plaza de la Aduana (IPCC).

From Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day ships are in port on 7 of the 9 days, with 3 ships on 27 December. Hotels were 67.0% full in December 2025, and fuller in January, and the island park is in high season. December is dry again, with rain on about 3 days; the sun sets at about 17:43.

Plan for it if you want the lights and the city on holiday. Plan around it knowing that hotels stay busy into January, with 73.9% of rooms filled in January 2026: the emptiest months were May and June, at 55.4% and 55.2% in 2026.

Colombia moves many holidays to the following Monday (Ley 51 of 1983, the Ley Emiliani), which makes a long weekend, a puente. In 2027 there are 11: 11 January, 22 March, 10 May, 31 May, 7 June, 5 July, 12 July, 16 August, 18 October, 1 November, 15 November. Holy Thursday and Good Friday make a four-day weekend.

Holiday hours, by operator:

• The Museo Histórico opens Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 16:00; the San Pedro Claver museum Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 16:00.
• The Museo del Oro Zenú is closed on Mondays, including public holidays.
• Castillo San Felipe keeps one timetable, Monday to Sunday, 7:00 to 18:00. Entry is free on the last Sunday of each month except January and December for Colombians (cédula de ciudadanía) and resident foreigners (cédula de extranjería) only; foreign tourists pay.
• Blue Apple Beach on Tierra Bomba states: children welcome during the week; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are only for the over-12s.
• Transcaribe’s Bocagrande route runs 6:00 to 20:00 on Sundays and holidays.

Cruise calls follow the port’s schedule, not the Colombian holidays, so a long weekend in the cruise season can bring both. Ship days are on the cruise port page, the hours on the things-to-do guide.