Flights to Cartagena
The walled city is still stunning; it is also bachelor parties, cruise days and four-dollar coffees. Colombia's secret got out here first.
Things to do
Castillo San Felipe de BarajasFortress
Cartagena Cathedral, ColombiaChurch
Palace of the Inquisition (Cartagena, Colombia)Building
Convento de la PopaChurch
Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, CartagenaChurch
Church of Santo Domingo, CartagenaChurchThe secret got out. It's still beautiful and easy to reach — and we'll point you somewhere quieter too.
Open on the live mapTrack your flight thereGetting to Cartagena
14 airports have scheduled nonstop service to CTG (Rafael Nuñez International Airport).
All 14 nonstop origins
| From | Airport | Airlines | Flight time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama CityPanama | PTY | Copa Airlines | ~1h 10m |
| Rio NegroColombia | MDE | Air Transat, Avianca, Copa Airlines Colombia, JetSMART | ~1h 12m |
| BogotaColombia | BOG | AeroRepública, Avianca, JetSMART, KLM, LATAM Chile | ~1h 25m |
| San JoseCosta Rica | SJO | Avianca | ~1h 48m |
| Santo DomingoDominican Republic | SDQ | Arajet | ~1h 59m |
| MiamiUnited States | MIA | American Airlines | ~2h 52m |
| Fort LauderdaleUnited States | FLL | JetBlue Airways | ~2h 54m |
| LimaPeru | LIM | JetSMART, Jetsmart Perú, LATAM Chile, LATAM Peru | ~3h 48m |
| Mexico CityMexico | MEX | Aeroméxico | ~4h 4m |
| AtlantaUnited States | ATL | Delta Air Lines | ~4h 5m |
| New YorkUnited States | JFK | JetBlue Airways | ~4h 54m |
| TorontoCanada | YYZ | Air Transat | ~5h 21m |
| MontrealCanada | YUL | Air Transat | ~5h 35m |
| MadridSpain | MAD | Welcome Air | ~10h 30m |
Routings from major airports
| From | Stops | Via | Door to door |
|---|---|---|---|
Dallas-Fort WorthDFW
| 1 stop | MIA | ~5h 46m |
New YorkJFK
| nonstop | — | ~4h 54m |
Los AngelesLAX
| 1 stop | MEX | ~7h 51m |
MiamiMIA
| nonstop | — | ~2h 52m |
ChicagoORD
| 1 stop | MIA | ~5h 55m |
LondonLHR
| 1 stop | MIA | ~12h 34m |
TorontoYYZ
| nonstop | — | ~5h 21m |
Cartagena is the Caribbean with 500 years of walls around it — and from the US East Coast it's closer than most of the actual Caribbean, with nonstops from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and New York.
How the secret got out
Colombia's safety turnaround (late 2000s), then Netflix and the cruise circuit, then nonstops from a dozen US cities. The old town's residents have largely sold up.
Go here instead
Getting to Cartagena in practice
Rafael Núñez (CTG) has nonstops from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York (JFK), and Panama City's Copa hub, which connects it to most of the hemisphere in one stop. The airport is 15 minutes from the walled city — agree the taxi fare before getting in, or use the app cabs everyone locally uses anyway.
When to go
December through April is the dry, breezy season — and the busy one, peaking around New Year and the Hay Festival in late January. September through November is the rainy stretch, though rain here means an hour of drama, not a lost day. It is hot and humid every single month; plan the walls for golden hour, not noon.
Where to stay
The Walled City (Centro and San Diego) is the postcard — boutique hotels in colonial houses, and prices to match. Getsemaní, just outside the walls, went from backpacker barrio to the city's best food-and-murals neighborhood and still costs less. Bocagrande is the high-rise beach strip: more Miami than Macondo, useful for beach-first trips.
Worth knowing
The city beaches are muddy-Caribbean; the water you came for is a 45-minute boat to the Rosario Islands — book a beach-club day pass rather than the crowded party boats. Street vendors in the old town are persistent; a firm 'no, gracias' works. Cards are widely taken, but small bills matter for fruit, taxis, and the palenqueras' photos (which are a paid transaction, fairly).
Guide updated 2026-08-24 · written by OnlyNonstop, not generated
Background
Cartagena, known since the imperial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route to the West Indies provides it with important historical value for world exploration and preservation of heritage from the great commercial maritime routes. As a former Spanish colony, it was a key port for the export of Bolivian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. The city's strategic location between the Magdalena and Sinú rivers also gave it easy access to the interior of New Granada and made it a main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s.
Questions
- Is there a nonstop flight to Cartagena?
- Yes — 14 airports fly nonstop to CTG (Rafael Nuñez International Airport), including Atlanta, Bogota, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Lima.
- Which airport do you fly into for Cartagena?
- CTG — Rafael Nuñez International Airport.
- When is the best time to visit Cartagena?
- Dec–Mar
- What does Cartagena cost per day?
- Roughly $60–170 per person per day on the ground, before flights.
- Is Cartagena still worth visiting?
- Yes — it's beautiful and easy to reach. It is no longer quiet: Colombia's safety turnaround (late 2000s), then Netflix and the cruise circuit, then nonstops from a dozen US cities. The old town's residents have largely sold up.
- Which US cities fly nonstop to Cartagena?
- Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and New York (JFK) year-round, with Copa's Panama City hub connecting the rest of the Americas in one stop.
- When is the best time to visit Cartagena?
- December through April for dry, breezy weather. It's hot year-round; September–November is the rainiest stretch.