How much does it cost to live in Cartagena?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,253 (COP 3,889,911)
Housing, food, transport, mobile, coworking and gym.
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: mylatinlife.com, wise.com
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $570 (COP 1,767,832)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $1,547 (COP 4,802,487)
- Furnished 1-bed rent
- $675 (COP 2,095,199)
Getsemaní
Good to know
Good to Know
- Landlords in the walled Centro Histórico are used to nightly/weekly Airbnb tourists, so approaching them for a genuine monthly rental often gets you a tourist-rate quote — the real monthly rental market is in Bocagrande, Getsemaní, and Manga instead.
- Groceries are noticeably cheaper if you shop at local markets and corner stores rather than Western-style supermarkets like Carulla or Éxito, which stock more imported goods at a premium.
- Prices skew higher than most inland Colombian cities (e.g. Medellín) because of Cartagena's heavy tourism economy — budget more here than the 'Colombia is cheap' reputation might suggest.
- Transcaribe (the city bus system) requires a rechargeable card — you can't pay cash on board — so budget a little extra for the card itself when you first arrive.
- Taxis in Cartagena don't use meters; agree the fare before you get in, and expect a modest premium at night.
- Cartagena's coworking scene is smaller and more limited than Medellín or Bogotá — most listed 'coworking' pricing comes from just a couple of named spaces (Selina, Virtualis) rather than a wide market, so shop around in person before committing to a monthly plan.
- Most Western passport holders don't need to pay for any visa for a standard few-month stay — the paid Digital Nomad Visa is only worth pursuing if you want to stay legally beyond about 180 days a year.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- COP 3,889,911
Includes 6 estimated components
- Lean month
- COP 1,767,832
Includes 3 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- COP 4,802,487
Includes 7 estimated components
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- There is no long-term nomad/expat rental market inside the walled Centro Histórico — that area is almost entirely short-term tourist Airbnb stock. The documented resident/expat clustering is in Bocagrande (established expat high-rise area), Getsemaní (creative/gentrifying neighborhood adjacent to the old city), and Manga (quieter residential island). All housing figures below are grounded in these three areas.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- COP 2,095,199
Estimated
mylatinlife.com states Getsemaní 1BR furnished rentals run $500-$850/month; figure is the midpoint of that stated range.
Published in USD
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- COP 1,707,199
Estimated
mylatinlife.com states Manga 1BR furnished (long-term/monthly) rentals run $400-$700/month; figure is the midpoint of that stated range.
Published in USD
- Premium apartment
- COP 2,483,199
Estimated
mylatinlife.com states Bocagrande 1BR furnished (long-term) rentals run $600-$1,000/month; figure is the midpoint of that stated range.
Published in USD
- Private room in a shared home
- COP 776,000
Estimated
No single source quoting a private-room-in-shared-home price for Cartagena was found. Estimated at roughly 50-60% of the budget 1BR furnished tier (Manga/Getsemaní) based on typical shared-housing discount patterns; not tied to a specific listing.
Published in USD
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- COP 689,088
Survey / cost-of-living site
Wise's Cartagena cost-of-living page states average monthly groceries per person of $222.
Published in USD
Sample prices
Avocado (Each, Local Market)
- Avocado (Each, Local Market)
- COP 1,552
Survey / cost-of-living site
costliving.net states avocados cost $0.50 each at Cartagena local markets.
Published in USD
Rice, 1 Lb
- Rice, 1 Lb
- COP 4,656
Survey / cost-of-living site
costliving.net states rice costs $1.50 per pound at Cartagena local markets.
Published in USD
Chicken, 1 Lb
- Chicken, 1 Lb
- COP 10,864
Estimated
costliving.net states chicken costs $3-$4 per pound; figure is the midpoint of that range.
Published in USD
Fresh Fish, 1 Lb
- Fresh Fish, 1 Lb
- COP 15,520
Estimated
costliving.net states fresh fish costs $4-$6 per pound; figure is the midpoint of that range.
Published in USD
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- COP 13,968
Estimated
costliving.net states restaurants in residential areas charge $4-$8 per meal; figure is the midpoint of that range. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 18624 COP reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Published in USD
- High-end meal
- COP 124,160
Estimated
No specific source located for Cartagena fine-dining pricing; figure is an internal estimate based on typical upscale restaurant menu pricing (starter, main, and a drink for one) in the historic center/Bocagrande.
Published in USD
- Mid-range meal
- COP 37,248
Estimated
costliving.net states tourist-area restaurants charge $12-$20 per meal; figure is the midpoint of that range. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 49664 COP reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Published in USD
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- COP 60,000
Estimated
No single-day pass price was confirmed for a specific Cartagena space in current listings; estimated from typical Colombian coworking day-pass pricing (COP 50,000–70,000 range) at spaces like Selina Cartagena CoWork.
- Monthly hot desk
- COP 459,392
Estimated
Coworkbooking.com lists Virtualis (Manga) hot desk from 137 EUR/month; converted to USD at time of research since only local currency (COP) or USD are permitted figures, so recorded as an estimate rather than a direct-source figure.
Published in USD
Transport
- About monthly passes
- Transcaribe (the city's BRT system) uses a rechargeable stored-value card topped up per ride rather than an unlimited monthly pass; no monthly pass product exists.
- Single ride
- COP 3,900
Survey / cost-of-living site
Cartagena Explorer (local expat guide, updated March 2026) states a standard Cartagena bus fare of COP 3,900.
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- COP 35,000
Estimated
No single confirmed operator price page was retrieved for Cartagena specifically; estimated from typical Claro/Movistar/Tigo prepaid data plan pricing in Colombia (roughly COP 30,000–40,000 for ~10GB).
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Cartagena has two distinct high seasons—December–March (dry season, Northern Hemisphere winter) and July (veranillo/summer break)—with documented 30–50% nightly rate swings between peak and low-season months.
Low season
- Budget
- COP 147,000
2-star hotels; sources consistently report 20-50% drops from high season; Priceline reports $70–$120 USD in off-peak (April–June, Sept–Nov); KAYAK reports July at $246 COP/night (~$59 USD, likely typo in original data); using conservative low-season average of ~$35 USD for budget segment
- Luxury
- COP 651,000
5-star hotels; applying ~50% reduction from high-season $310 baseline; low-season luxury estimate ~$155 USD; still strong demand from domestic travelers even in low season
- Premium
- COP 336,000
4-star hotels; extrapolating 50% reduction from high-season $160 USD baseline per documented 30-50% seasonal swing; ~$80 USD for low season
- Standard
- COP 252,000
3-star hotels; Priceline reports $70–$120 USD in off-peak; September reported at $188/night on KAYAK; taking mid-range low-season estimate of ~$60 USD; May-June, Sept-Oct
High season
- Budget
- COP 260,000
2-star hotels; based on KAYAK reporting 2-star budget hotels from $55-80 USD (roughly 230,000-336,000 COP) during December-March high season, with January peak; Old Town/Getsemaní area
- Luxury
- COP 1,302,000
5-star hotels; Budget Your Trip reports top luxury hotels average $169 with high-season prices around $315 USD; Priceline reports expecting ~$229/night for 5-star; KAYAK and momondo report 5-star average $309/night overall; using high-season peak of ~$310 USD for Sofitel Legend Santa Clara, Hyatt Regency, etc.
- Premium
- COP 672,000
4-star hotels; momondo reports 4-star at $74 average, Priceline reports $156/night for 4-star; KAYAK found 4-star listings $24-up; Budget Your Trip reports $118 average for 4-star; taking upper high-season range of ~$160 USD
- Standard
- COP 504,000
3-star hotels; Budget Your Trip reports average of $87 with high-season peak around $162 USD; Priceline and KAYAK report mid-range nightly rates at $120–$200 USD (480,000–800,000 COP) in high season; Getsemaní/Centro Histórico
Low-season months
- May
- June
- September
- October
High-season months
- December
- January
- February
- March
- July
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Cartagena
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.