Cartagena

Is Cartagena safe to visit?

The part of Cartagena most visitors see is reasonably safe. The walled city, Getsemaní and the hotel strip of Bocagrande are full of people and police, and most trips go wrong in small ways: an inflated bill on the beach, a phone lifted in a crowd. The city as a whole is another matter. Medicina Legal recorded about 410 homicides in 2025, a rate of 40.5 per 100,000, the second highest of Colombia's five largest cities after Cali and nearly three times Bogotá's 15.1.

We score Cartagena 45, below Medellín (50) and Bogotá (51), mostly because of that homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary. Colombia's conflict score caps any Colombian city at 70, but Cartagena's weighted average is far below the cap. The US State Department rates Colombia Level 3, reconsider travel; Cartagena is not on its do-not-travel list.

Where the violence is

Medicina Legal publishes Cartagena's homicides for the city as a whole, not by neighbourhood. In the 2025 Cartagena Cómo Vamos survey, residents named street muggings (58%), gangs (25%) and fights (14%) as the main security problems where they live, and 53% said they felt unsafe in the city, up from 40% a year earlier. Tourist areas are not immune. In February 2026 a foreign tourist was beaten and dragged along the road by two robbers on the new access road to Cerro de La Popa, a popular viewpoint; they escaped on a motorbike with her bag. It happened at midday in front of witnesses, so visit La Popa by taxi or with a tour rather than walking up.

The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary says street crime in Colombia can quickly turn violent and that victims should not resist. Hand over a phone or wallet rather than fight for it.

Scams and overcharging

Cartagena's most common tourist problem is the bill. Beach vendors and boat and jet-ski operators are known for quoting one price and charging another. In April 2025 police fined two beach masseuses at Playa 5 in Bocagrande after Puerto Rican visitors were charged about US$1,000 for a massage offered as a free trial.

How to avoid it:

• Agree every price in pesos before you sit down, eat or get on anything.
• Say no to anything "free" on the beach.
• Pay by card where you can and check the bill.
• Report problems to the police on 123 or through the police's Titán Chat app.

Thefts from people are less frequent than in Bogotá or Medellín: police recorded 641.9 per 100,000 in Cartagena in 2025, against 993.4 in Medellín and 1,553.1 in Bogotá. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary still lists the Caribbean coast among the places where pickpocketing, mugging and armed robbery are a problem.

Drugging, dating apps and sexual exploitation

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that criminals in Colombia use scopolamine, a drug that leaves victims confused and compliant, to rob and sexually assault them, and that they find foreigners through dating apps.

Cartagena also has a sex tourism problem that police are trying to break up. In July 2025 police arrested 14 people accused of belonging to a network that sexually exploited women and minors and promoted sex tourism with foreigners, whom it sought out on the beaches and in the old city; the arrests came in raids in Crespo, Marbella and Getsemaní. In 2024 the city closed 19 venues and arrested more than 16 people in two days of operations against sex tourism. Paying for sex with a minor is a serious crime, and the FCDO says the law against the sexual abuse of children is strictly enforced, especially when tourists are involved. Report suspected child exploitation on 141.

Roads, heat and water

Medicina Legal's preliminary count was 148 road deaths in Cartagena in 2024, roughly 15 per 100,000 and about twice Bogotá's rate. US government staff in Colombia are not allowed to hail taxis on the street; use a registered taxi booked by your hotel or an app.

The heat and humidity are constant, so drink plenty of bottled water; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says tap water is safe only in Bogotá. Colombia has declared a strong El Niño until at least March 2027, which the FCDO says may bring heavy rain, flooding and higher temperatures.

How we scored it

Violent crime (28) is Cartagena's weakest factor and drives the low score, because the citywide homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary is over 40 per 100,000. Traffic (40), night safety (45) and theft and scams (48) are also weak. Health and environment (62) and natural hazards (62) are middling. A visitor who stays in the centre, books cars through apps and watches the bill probably faces less risk than the citywide numbers suggest, though no official data show by how much.