Cartagena

A month in Cartagena

COP (Colombian peso); USD at roughly COP 3,440 per dollar, the July 2026 rate quoted by Colombia Move

One-bed rent, Getsemaní (unfurnished, local listing)

COP 1,200,000–2,500,000 ($350–730)

Ruta Colombia range, March 2026. Furnished short-let flats pitched at nomads run far higher: Outta the Comfort Zone puts furnished Getsemaní one-beds at $900–1,600 (undated).

Coworking hot desk, month

about COP 370,000 ($88–108)

Coworking Bocagrande 24/6 as listed on the Geronimo aggregator, 2026; the operator's own site quotes only on WhatsApp under an opening offer. Aggregate range for the city is $90–180 a month.

Coworking day pass

COP 27,000–79,000 ($8–23)

$8 at CoWork Cartagena in the Convention Centre (aggregator listing, 2026); $23 full day, $13 half day, $5.20 an hour at Coworking Bocagrande 24/6 (Holafly, April 2026).

Coffee (cappuccino)

COP 7,000–14,000 ($2–4)

Outta the Comfort Zone range; Nomads.com lists a café coffee at $4, September 2026.

Lunch, corrientazo set menu

COP 14,000–24,000 ($4–7)

Outta the Comfort Zone. A sit-down restaurant meal is COP 50,000–90,000 or more (Colombia Move, September 2026).

Prepaid SIM data

COP 10,000 ($2.90) for 5 GB over 7 days; COP 50,000–75,000 ($15–22) a month for 10–15 GB

Tigo 7-day pack per Colombia eSIM guides, 2026; Claro Top monthly packs per Colombia Move, June 2026. Passport required to register any SIM.

Transport, Transcaribe bus

COP 3,900 ($1.13) per ride

Fare set by Decree 017 of 15 January 2026, in force from 23 January 2026; the highest mass-transit fare in Colombia. Cross-city ride-hail COP 12,000–22,000 (Colombia Move, September 2026).

Beer

COP 7,000–35,000 ($2–10)

Nomads.com lists $2 for 0.5 L in a café (September 2026); tourist-zone bars in Getsemaní and the Centro charge $3–10 for beer or a cocktail (Outta the Comfort Zone).

Electricity with air conditioning

COP 150,000–250,000+ ($44–73+) added per month for 6–8 hours a day

Colombia Move, September 2026. Running it 24/7 pushes the bill north of COP 500,000 ($145).

Home fibre broadband

COP 70,000–120,000 ($20–35) a month

Claro Hogar, Movistar or Tigo, 100–300 Mbps in major cities (Colombia Move, June 2026).

A modest month$1,160–1,740

COP 4,000,000–6,000,000 ($1,160–1,740) for September 2026, built from an unfurnished one-bed in Getsemaní or Manga, utilities with air conditioning at night only, home-cooked groceries at COP 1,000,000–1,300,000, a hot desk, a Tigo or Claro monthly pack, Transcaribe and the odd ride-hail, and a few meals and beers out; Colombia Move's frugal tier is $1,000–1,300 and its comfortable tier $1,800–2,400, while Nomads.com's self-reported nomad average is $2,947.

Fixed fibre from Claro Hogar, Movistar or Tigo costs COP 70,000–120,000 ($20–35) a month and delivers 100–300 Mbps in the big cities as of June 2026; ask a landlord which provider is in the building, since Cartagena Up's fastest café readings (Mientras 531 Mbps, La Triada 372 Mbps, June 2026) were on Movistar fibre. Café wifi in the tourist core ranges from 3 Mbps at Café San Alberto to 531 Mbps at Mientras, and international routes are slower than local speed tests suggest: Concreto's 85 Mbps dropped to 25/10 on an overseas call. Nomads.com's crowd-sourced average is still 10 Mbps, an old number that no longer matches measured venues. On arrival buy a Tigo prepaid SIM, 5 GB over 7 days for COP 10,000 ($2.90) or 10 GB over 15 days for COP 20,000 ($5.80), or a Claro Top monthly pack at COP 50,000–75,000 ($15–22) for 10–15 GB (June 2026 prices); every line needs passport registration at a carrier shop, and Claro sells a local eSIM with a Colombian number, while Airalo, Holafly and Saily cover data-only.

Where to work

• Coworking Bocagrande 24/6 · Bocagrande (Centro Ejecutivo Bocagrande, Cra. 3 #8-129)day $23 (about COP 79,000) full day; $13 half day; $5.20 an hour (Holafly, April 2026) · month about COP 370,000 ($88–108) per aggregator listing, 2026; operator quotes only via WhatsApp under an opening offerOpen 24 hours six days a week, terrace with sea views, unlimited coffee, meeting rooms. The only space in the city with a published round-the-clock schedule.
• CoWork Cartagena (Centro de Convenciones) · Getsemaní (Calle 24 #8a-344, third floor of the Convention Centre)day $8 (about COP 27,500) per aggregator listing, 2026; hourly, daily and monthly plans on request · month Not published; quoted by an advisor through the website or WhatsApp (September 2026)Sixty desks used mainly by local professionals, private offices with phone lines, Mon–Fri 8am–8pm and Saturday mornings. Monthly plan includes unlimited coffee and beer on Thursday and Friday afternoons.
• Concreto Work and Coffee · Bocagrande (Bocagrande Plaza)day Not published (September 2026); pay-as-you-sit café-cowork hybrid · month Not published (September 2026)Shipping-container design, plenty of sockets, air conditioning, open 8am–6pm daily. Cartagena Up measured 85 Mbps down and 88 up in June 2026, dropping to 25/10 on international routes, which matters for overseas video calls.
• Virtualis Centro de Negocios · Mangaday Not published (September 2026) · month $595 per aggregator listing, 2026, which reads as a serviced-office rate rather than a hot deskCorporate business centre with an in-house training academy; the only dedicated option in Manga, the neighbourhood where the cheaper unfurnished flats are.

Cafés that tolerate laptops

• Café Central Traveler's Coffee · GetsemaníAir conditioning, sockets at almost every table, work-friendly tables under a world-map wall. Cartagena Up measured 344 Mbps down and 322 up in July 2026, the best socket-to-speed combination in the city.
• Mientras · Centro HistóricoSmall, colourful, walls of local art, open from 9am until night. Measured 531 Mbps down and 386 up in June 2026, the fastest connection on Cartagena Up's list, but only a few outlets, so charge first.
• Libertario Coffee Roasters · GetsemaníRoastery with an outstanding coffee menu and air conditioning. Sockets exist but not at every table and the music gets loud; measured 47 Mbps each way in July 2026.
• La Triada Punto y Sazón · Manga (near Parque and Puente Román)One of the few places open at 7am, on a Movistar fibre line measured at 372 Mbps down and 141 up in June 2026. Air conditioning, a few sockets along the inside wall.
• Café 472 · MangaQuiet in the mornings, two sofas, air conditioning, opens mid-morning. Measured 149 Mbps down and 31 up in June 2026.
• Fit Choices · BocagrandeHealth-food café most people walk past; plenty of sockets upstairs, an extension cord downstairs, 193 Mbps down measured in July 2026.
• Biblioteca Casa España (CFCE) · Centro Histórico (Plaza Santo Domingo)Free to use as a workspace and almost nobody knows it; 41 Mbps down and 46 up measured July 2026. No air conditioning, so mornings only. Avoid Café San Alberto on the same square: 3 Mbps down in June 2026.

Where nomads live

• GetsemaníCOP 1,200,000–2,500,000 ($350–730) unfurnished one-bed, March 2026; furnished nomad lets $900–1,600Where the nomads, creatives and younger expats actually are, next to the walled city, with the best café wifi and the Convention Centre cowork on foot. Noisy at night.
• MangaCOP 900,000–2,000,000 ($260–580) one-bed, March 2026; two-to-three-bed flats COP 3,000,000–4,500,000, September 2026Residential island a bridge from Getsemaní, safe and quiet, with 7am cafés on fibre. The budget choice for anyone staying more than a couple of months.
• Pie de la PopaCOP 1,600,000–3,845,000 ($465–1,120), September 2026Colombia Move's frugal-tier neighbourhood, inland below the convent hill, ordinary Colombian living and no tourist pricing.
• BocagrandeCOP 2,200,000–4,500,000 ($640–1,310) one-bed, March 2026; all-size average COP 6,411,916, up to 11,500,000, September 2026High-rise strip with the city's usable beach, the 24/6 cowork and most of the gyms and supermarkets. Feels like Miami, priced accordingly.
• Centro Histórico (Ciudad Amurallada)COP 3,500,000–8,000,000 ($1,020–2,330), March 2026Short stays and generous budgets only; the fastest measured café wifi is here, but a month's rent buys three in Manga.