Honeymoon Part 1: Cartagena, Colombia

After our wedding in Tulum, we spent two nights in Miami to start off our honeymoon. Our next, and first “real” stop of the honeymoon was then Cartagena! It was a quick 2 1/2 hour flight from Miami and then we headed to our hotel, the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena, which was a 20 minute drive from the airport. The Sofitel is in El Centro, the historic old town of Cartagena surrounded by a beautiful stone wall. We ended up spending most of our time in El Centro - the streets and shops were colorful and became even more lively at night.

We spent four nights in Cartagena, keep scrolling for our itinerary from our three full days!

Day 1

We grabbed a $7 breakfast as a cafe in El Centro on our way to the marina to catch our boat to Blue Apple Beach, a hotel and beach club on Isla de Tierra Bomba, an island about 30 minutes away from Cartagena. Brian, my (new!) husband, and I love spending time on the water, so Blue Apple’s all inclusive style $60 day passes included transportation so were a great way to experience a boat ride, even if just for 30 minutes, to see Cartagena from the water.

Having been spoiled with the beaches in Tulum for our wedding, the beach itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but on a hot day, it’s hard to go wrong with loungers, a pool, and the ocean. We brought our Kindles and spent the afternoon relaxing, which was much needed after our busy wedding week!

After our boat ride home, we had dinner at Jardín Santa Clara in our hotel. It’s a beautiful setting in a palm-filled courtyard and we enjoyed an amazing dinner and wine for a fraction of the cost back home (one of the great benefits of traveling to Colombia!).

Blue Apple Beach, Cartagena — Blue Apple Beach

Lunch included with our day passes at Blue Apple Beach

Day 2

On our second full day, we had breakfast at our hotel, which was a delicious spread with fresh juices, fruits, and pastries. We then enjoyed the heat and sun lounging by the pool all morning sipping piña coladas.

Since we visited in January, the sun set around 5 pm, so we got ready and went to walk around town in the afternoon so that we’d have time to catch the sunset at the Townhouse hotel’s rooftop bar.

After drinks we went to Carmen, a cute (also courtyard) restaurant for a 7 course tasting with a wine pairing. Live guitar music played as Brian and I stuffed ourselves with the delicious food! Not loving octopus and some other seafoods, I did have to pass off a few of my dishes to Brian, but he wasn’t complaining.

Day 3

On our last full day in Cartagena, we again spent the day enjoying our hotel and walking around El Centro.

Roaming the bustling shops, I found a few favorite stores I recommend you check out: Casa Abba, a little boutique marketplace with gorgeous jewelry; Casa Choqui, for homewares; and Anamaria Velez is one of the many great clothing boutiques. We grabbed brunch at a cute restaurant, Soloio Bistro, that we stumbled on.

After returning to our hotel, we again lounged at the pool all day, soaking up the heat before we headed inland in Colombia to Medelin.