Cartagena Food Adventure: 10 Dishes, Street Food & Sit-Down stops

Our tour begins in Getsemaní, Cartagena's most soulful and flavorful barrio. Once a working-class neighborhood, today its colorful streets are alive with the aromas of street food, fresh fruit carts, and sizzling fritos. We'll start at Plaza de la Trinidad, the lively gathering spot where Cartageneros come together each evening to eat, drink, and share stories, before wandering past murals and flag-draped alleys, sampling local bites from the vendors who've fed this community for generations.

Inside Cartagena's UNESCO-listed colonial old town, we'll trace 500 years of culinary history through its plazas and cobblestone streets. The Walled City is where Spanish, African, and Indigenous flavors first collided to create the Caribbean Colombian cuisine you'll taste today. Between bites, we'll share the stories behind iconic dishes, the markets that shaped them, and the cultural traditions still alive in every kitchen, fruit stand, and corner café.

No food tour of Cartagena is complete without a stop at Portal de los Dulces, a century-old sweets arcade beside Plaza de los Coches. Here, palenqueras and local vendors offer dozens of handmade Colombian candies in glass jars, coconut cocadas, tamarind balls, bocadillo, and fig preserves among them. You'll taste your way through a colorful lineup of treats while we share how each one reflects Cartagena's Afro-Caribbean and Spanish roots.