Cartagena food: what to eat, when, and whether to book a tour

Each drawing opens its entry below. Spanish names first: they are what the boards and the vendors use.

Fritos are the fried snacks of the coast, sold from small stalls, the puestos de fritos. Cartagena’s newspaper, El Universal, points to Plaza de San Diego, Plaza Fernández de Madrid, Plaza de los Estudiantes and Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemaní as places to buy them in the old town.

The city’s Festival del Frito was set for 24 January to 2 February 2026; rain moved its last days to 3 and 4 February. It is held at the start of the year.

Colombia’s tourism board sums up the city’s cooking as fried foods, rice dishes, soups and stews. At lunch they meet on one plate: a whole fried fish with coconut rice and patacones.

Seafood comes three ways: cured raw in lime, mixed to order in a cup, and stewed with coconut milk. Read what the CDC says about raw seafood before the first two.

Fish is sold whole on ice at the Mercado de Bazurto, the city’s wholesale market east of the old town. The city wants to move the wholesale trade out of Bazurto. In February 2026 a study named the Mamonal to Gambote bypass as the most promising of three zones for a new supply center; no site was decided then. The Bazurto site would stay a smaller market with a focus on food, tourism and culture (El Universal). One listed cooking class starts there.

The Portal de los Dulces is the arcade at the entrance by the Clock Tower, on Plaza de los Coches. Its 29 sweet sellers had their stalls renewed by the city and the chamber of commerce in January 2025, with card readers for digital payment. The sweets are on show at the stalls, so you can choose by sight.

Rum and coffee are sold to visitors as tastings: a rum and chocolate tasting and a specialty coffee tasting are in the next section.

A food tour buys a guide who names each dish, about ten tastings in one walk, and a route through the walled city. It does not buy access: every frito, sweet and juice on this page is sold openly in the plazas and under the Portal’s arcade.

• Take the street-food tour early in your stay if you want the names and tastes at once, then go back on your own for the ones you want again.
• Take a cooking class to make one coastal meal rather than taste many. Only the Lunático class states vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets are accommodated.
• Skip both on a one-day visit: a fritos breakfast, a fish lunch and the Portal de los Dulces cover most of the plate.

What they cost. The lowest price listed for each kind on GetYourGuide and Viator, read 12 November 2026, one figure where a single listing was found and the lowest and the highest start where there were several, per person: a street food walking tour, 3 listings, 52 to 56 USD; a cooking class in a restaurant kitchen, 3 listings, 40 to 59 USD; the Bazurto market tour with a cooking class, 1 listing, 140 USD; a rum and chocolate tasting, 2 listings, 45 to 107 USD; the specialty coffee tasting, 1 listing, 32 USD. The partner sets these prices and they change, and the food and drinks beyond the tastings are extra where the table says so.

Which tours to book before you fly: Cartagena tours. Fitting a food walk into a short stay: the itinerary planner.

Tap water. The UK government’s travel advice for Colombia (updated 30 October 2026) says tap water is safe to drink only in Bogotá, and advises bottled water and no ice. It names no exception for Cartagena.

Food and drink. The US CDC’s food and drink advice for travelers (last reviewed 6 January 2026), linked from its Colombia page, says:

• avoid street food; if you eat it, choose it cooked and steaming hot, without raw vegetables;
• avoid raw meat and seafood, including dishes cured in citrus juice such as ceviche;
• eat fruit you peel yourself, and stay away from fruit sold already cut;
• where tap water might be contaminated, brush your teeth with bottled or disinfected water and skip ice;
• drinks from factory-sealed bottles or cans are safer than tap water, and hot coffee or tea served steaming hot should be fine.

The CDC’s Colombia page also recommends the hepatitis A vaccine for unvaccinated travelers one year old or older (page last reviewed 10 November 2026). The rest of the health and safety advice: is Cartagena safe.

Two Colombian laws cover what you pay at a restaurant or bar:

• Prices include tax. Under Ley 1480 de 2011, the price on the menu or board must be in Colombian pesos with all taxes and extra costs included, and you pay only the displayed price.
• The tip is voluntary. Under Ley 1935 de 2018, a venue may suggest a tip of at most 10% of the bill, the staff must ask whether you want it added, and you may refuse it or change the amount. You get the itemized bill before you pay.

So when the bill shows a line for the propina or servicio, you are being asked, not charged. Pesos, cards and what things cost: Cartagena prices.

Most of this food is eaten outdoors, at a stall or a plaza bench. The old town’s streets are sheltered, so the guide counts the felt temperature in still air and takes 35 °C in the shade as the line for sitting outside in comfort; the line is the guide’s own, not a health authority’s.

Breakfast outside is easy from December to March, when the streets stay under the line until mid-morning. From May to September they cross it soon after 7:00, so eat early or indoors. Dinner outside: from November to April the streets are back under the line at about sunset; in July and October one to two hours after it; in May, June, August and September not before 21:00. On those evenings sit near the water, where the breeze helps (sunset spots).

After dinner: Cartagena nightlife and Getsemaní. Every hour of every month: the weather page.