Cartagena
This museum is like a miniature version of Bogotá's world-class gold museum, the Museo del Oro. Though small, it offers a fascinating collection of the…
Must-see attractions in Caribbean Coast
Cartagena
For adventurous souls only, Cartagena's labyrinthine central market, 4km outside the old city walls, is both dirty and enthralling – an all-out assault on…
Cartagena
The monument at the main entrance to the Old Town from the mainland is a tribute to the Carib people, the group that inhabited this land before the…
Cartagena
This is the largest and oldest square in the Old Town and was used as a parade ground. In colonial times all the important governmental and administrative…
Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad
Cartagena
This church dates from 1600 and definitely looks like it, with peeling painted walls and a rather gloriously ramshackle air. While the church itself is…
Cartagena
This charming mansion, just outside the walls of Las Bóvedas, was the home of the former president, lawyer and poet Rafael Núñez. He wrote the words of…
La Guajira Peninsula
This remote-feeling and craggily beautiful crescent-shaped dark-sand beach is bound by 5m-high cliffs where iguanas roam. The beach gets its name from a…
Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo
Cartagena
Erected between 1666 and 1732, this gorgeous church received a full renovation in 2015. Its ceiling is covered with Mudejar paneling, while its pink-and…
Caribbean Coast
A former Jesuit convent that's now the town hall, this fine building dates from 1600 and has a notable statue of a freed slave with broken chains outside…
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Coming from Cañaveral, it's a pleasant walk 2.5km west along a trail to Arrecifes, where there are budget lodgings and eating facilities. Bear in mind…
Cartagena
Opened in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World, the Naval Museum occupies a great colonial building, which was once a…
Minca
This fun natural pool and small waterfall is a popular sight for locals and tourists alike, though it can get very full on weekends and during high season…
Caribbean Coast
This solemn stone on the riverbank records the comings and goings of Simón Bolívar during the wars of independence from Spanish rule. Most important was…
La Guajira Peninsula
Wayuu and tourists alike head to El Faro, a small lighthouse at the edge of a rocky promontory, for stiff winds and tangerine sunsets. The view is…
Caribbean Coast
This tiny place has the dubious honor of being the world's most densely populated island. Santa Cruz del Islote houses around 1000 people, mostly…
Barranquilla
The confusingly named Museo Romántico is actually a museum of the city's history, featuring quirky exhibits relating to Barranquilla's past, its famous…
Caribbean Coast
Despite its name, this is more of a rustic zoo than a water world (though there is a foggy-windowed aquarium here). You'll also find monkeys, pink…
Barranquilla
Barranquilla's best art museum fills its space with rotating exhibitions from its larger permanent collection, which includes nationally renowned painters…
Barranquilla
On the 1st floor of the building of the Universidad del Atlántico, this museum displays a small collection of pre-Columbian pottery from different regions…
Barranquilla
This modern cathedral was completed in 1982. Don't be put off by its squat, heavy, somewhat bunkerlike exterior – go inside. The beautiful interior…
Caribbean Coast
Mompós' cemetery is a striking spot; whitewashed graves and slots for remains are stacked high atop each other, sometimes six together, forming a wall of…
Caribbean Coast
Mompós' main museum is a decent collection of religious paintings, gold and silver crosses and other religious objects, all displayed in several rooms of…
Tolú
This stretch of sand is a good choice if you want to spend the day on the beach. It's rather remotely located, so you'll need to hire a moto-taxi from…
Isla de San Martín de Pajarales
Islas del Rosario
This tiny island is mainly visited because it's home to an aquarium and oceanarium where you can see captive dolphins, sharks and other sea creatures.
Tolú
If you're looking for a good slice of local beach, then Playa Blanca is your best bet. It is accessed via moto-taxi from Coveñas (COP$6000).
Riohacha
Built in 1937, this impressive wooden pier is lovely for a stroll late in the day.
Cartagena
The bóvedas are 23 dungeons built between 1792 and 1796 and hidden within the 15m-thick city walls. They were the last major construction project carried…
Fuerte de San Sebastián del Pastelillo
Cartagena
This fort, on the western end of Manga Island, was constructed in the middle of the 16th century as one of the town's first defense posts. It's quite…
Santa Marta
Dating from 1597, the squat Iglesia de San Francisco is little more than its colonial facade these days due to recurring earthquakes and fires over the…
Muelle Turístico de la Bodeguita
Cartagena
Often incorrectly referred to as Pegasos (given the close proximity of that site), this is the old port of Cartagena, on the Bahía de las Ánimas. Not much…
Muelle Turístico de los Pegasos
Cartagena
Muelle de los Pegasos is Cartagena's lovely old port on the Bahía de las Ánimas. It's invariably full of fishing, cargo and tourist boats.
Barranquilla
This mock-Gothic church halfway along Paseo Bolívar is worth entering for its main altarpiece and pulpit.
Riohacha
This large public square in the center of town has benches and some much needed shade.
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
Riohacha
The main church of Riohacha, completed in 1852, sits on its main square.
