Best hostels in Cartagena

Cartagena sorts itself by proximity to the old walls. Inside them, Centro and San Diego stack colonial courtyards and rooftop bars above cobblestone streets. Just outside, Getsemani trades colonial polish for street art and the cheapest dorm beds in the city. The beachfront peninsula of Bocagrande runs south with high-rise towers and a boardwalk that feels more Miami than Caribbean Colombia. Beyond the tourist spine, neighborhoods like Manga, Marbella, and La Boquilla offer quieter stays at lower rates, close to the same landmarks but without the markup. For hostel travelers, Cartagena rewards the shift a few blocks off the main plazas — rates drop to $18 a night in Getsemani, ratings hold at 9.4 in Espinal, and the neighborhoods reveal their local character. Choose by rhythm: early-morning beach, late-night plaza, or the residential quiet in between.

1. 1

   Bocagrande, Cartagena

   Beachfront high-rise peninsula south of the walled city

   Beach-strip base with resort-corridor convenience and sand within walking distance of the old town gate.

   Salt air drifts along Avenida San Martín from the beach strip to the high-rise towers, and Bocagrande feels more resort corridor than Caribbean barrio. Skip the overpriced beachfront chains stacking package tourists by the pool; Oz Hotel Luxury holds a 9.1 at about $67 a night and sits close enough to the sand without the resort surcharge. The peninsula runs south from the walled city, connected by the waterfront road to the Clock Tower gate. Restaurants and pharmacies line San Martín, and the Transcaribe bus connects Bocagrande to the rest of the city along the coast. This is the neighborhood for travelers who want a beach walk before breakfast and air conditioning that works. It is not the colonial charm Centro sells, and it does not try to be.

   1. Budget

      Oz Hotel Luxury

      Room is upgraded with balcony for additional pay at check-in counter. Good experience with late check out at 1pm.

      9.1/10 rating ~$67/night
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2. 2

   La Boquilla, Cartagena

   Fishing village north of Cartagena, past the Ciénaga de la Virgen lagoon

   Fishing-village quiet and Caribbean shore without the tourist markup.

   The fishing-village quiet of La Boquilla hums well before the tourist beaches south of here open their umbrellas. Hotel Serema holds an 8.6 at about $60 a night, set in a village that still runs on catch schedules and fried-fish shacks along the shore. Don't bother with the packaged beach-club day trips sold in the walled city; the same Caribbean water is right here, minus the markup. La Boquilla sits north of Cartagena proper, past the Ciénaga de la Virgen lagoon, and a bus or taxi down the coastal road reaches Centro. The neighborhood wakes early and quiets by sundown. It suits travelers who want sand without spectacle and is as far from the colonial postcard as Cartagena gets.

   1. Budget

      Hotel Serema

      8.6/10 rating ~$60/night
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3. 3

   Marbella, Cartagena

   Waterfront corridor between the walled city and Bocagrande

   Modern apartment stays on the waterfront strip bridging the old city and the beach peninsula.

   Traffic thrums along Marbella's waterfront strip, where the convention-center corridor between Bocagrande and the walled city gives way to residential blocks. Bondo Hometel holds a 9.2 at about $75 a night, offering apartment-style rooms in a modern building that outscores most of the peninsula's branded competition. Skip the convention-hotel chains clustered near the conference center; they charge for the lobby, not the room. Marbella straddles the transition from colonial stone to beachfront concrete, with the Castillo de San Felipe looming uphill nearby and the walled city gates a walk north through the Chambacú roundabout. This is the neighborhood for travelers who want a clean apartment base without the hostel noise of Getsemani or the resort markup of Bocagrande.

   1. Budget

      Bondo Hometel

      Classy apartments in modern building, with clean, spacious rooms. Everything is very comfortable, comfortable, there is everything necessary. Excellent location, kind staff.

      9.2/10 rating ~$75/night
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4. 4

   Centro, Cartagena

   Historic walled city center around Plaza de Bolívar and Torre del Reloj

   Colonial-core walkability with the densest hostel inventory inside the walls.

   Foot traffic echoes off the colonial facades along Calle de la Iglesia well past midnight, and Centro never fully quiets inside the walls. Casa Noa Colonial Rooms holds a 9.2 at about $59 a night, tucked close enough to Plaza de Bolívar to walk to the cathedral but set back from the loudest bar corners. The locals skip the overpriced restaurants ringing the plaza and eat where the side streets narrow. Centro is the walled city's beating core — Torre del Reloj, the Palace of the Inquisition, and the cathedral all sit within the same compact grid. Budget hostel beds cluster thickest here, and the address justifies itself in saved taxi fares. Stay for the colonial density and the walkability; leave if you need silence after dark.

   1. Budget

      Casa Noa Colonial Rooms

      The best, it is close to everything, I would never doubt host again.

      9.2/10 rating ~$59/night
      Check rates
5. 5

   Getsemani, Cartagena

   Street-art quarter just south of the walled city walls

   Cartagena's backpacker heartbeat at the lowest nightly rate in the city.

   At about $18 a night, Masaya Cartagena anchors Getsemani as the cheapest rated hostel bed in the city, holding an 8.7 with free yoga sessions and curtained dorm bunks. The neighborhood buzzes around Plaza de la Trinidad, where street art covers every wall and the evening crowd spills onto the cobblestones with beer and arepas. Skip the souvenir shops lining the bridge to Centro; the real Getsemani starts a block deeper, past the murals. The walled city gate at Torre del Reloj is a short walk north, and the Transcaribe station at Chambacú connects the neighborhood to the rest of the city. Getsemani is the backpacker quarter Cartagena is known for — loud after dark, cheap all day, and unapologetically social. It suits travelers who want common-room culture and late nights on the plaza, not a quiet retreat.

   1. Budget

      Masaya Cartagena

      Great location. I liked the privacy for each dorm bed. The free yoga and various activities were great too. Unfortunately the shower didn’t drain super well, so I was standing on the water in the show

      8.7/10 rating ~$18/night
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6. 6

   Manga, Cartagena

   Residential island connected to the mainland by Puente Román bridge

   Residential island calm a bridge crossing from the walled city.

   Across the Puente Román bridge, Manga's residential streets settle into a rhythm the walled city never finds. Hotel Casa Castel holds an 8.2 at about $65 a night, a straightforward base in a barrio that caters more to locals than to tourists. Avoid the urge to stay inside the walls at twice the price for half the space; Manga trades colonial atmosphere for room size and quiet. Getsemani and the walled city are a bridge crossing away, and taxis from here into Centro run cheap. The neighborhood suits travelers who sleep early and explore by day, not the ones chasing rooftop bars past midnight.

   1. Budget

      Hotel Casa Castel

      8.2/10 rating ~$65/night
      Check rates
7. 7

   Cartagena

   Coastal outskirts beyond the central tourist peninsula

   Beach-club coast away from the colonial tourist spine, priced for solo travelers.

   The coastal strip beyond Cartagena's tourist core catches the light differently, quieter and less curated than Bocagrande's high-rise beach. Amalife Beach Club & Hotel holds an 8.3 at about $63 a night, offering a beach-club rhythm that solo travelers rate for its positive atmosphere and honest value. Don't bother with the branded resorts closer to the peninsula; this fringe delivers the same Caribbean water with fewer poolside crowds. The area sits outside the walled city's orbit, and reaching Centro means a taxi or bus rather than a walk. That distance is the trade-off and the appeal — rates drop, noise drops, and the beach is right there. Stay here for the shore and the price, not the proximity to the plazas, and do not mind the ride into the old town for a day trip.

   1. Budget

      Amalife Beach Club & Hotel

      This hotel has a great cost benefit, especially if you are traveling alone. It's worth a super, local with a super positive vibe

      8.3/10 rating ~$63/night
      Check rates
8. 8

   Espinal, Cartagena

   Residential neighborhood outside the walled city's tourist core

   The city's highest-rated hostel bed in a local residential grid.

   At about $36 a night, Hostel Caribe Cartagena scores a 9.4 — the highest-rated hostel bed in the city — from a residential neighborhood that most tourists never see. Espinal sits outside the walled city's radius, in the local grid of corner shops, bus stops, and family-run eateries that serve bandeja for a fraction of Centro prices. The locals go here because it is their neighborhood, not because a guidebook told them to. Reaching the walled city means a Transcaribe bus or a short taxi, and the return trip at night is cheaper and quieter than navigating Getsemani's plaza crowds. Espinal suits budget travelers who prioritize a quality bed and a local rhythm over proximity to the colonial sights. The hostel earns the rating; the address keeps the price honest.

   1. Budget

      Hostel Caribe Cartagena

      9.4/10 rating ~$36/night
      Check rates
9. 9

   San Diego, Cartagena

   Quiet northern quarter inside the walled city

   Walled-city address with the volume turned down after dark.

   The northern quarter of the walled city wakes up slowly around San Diego's quieter plazas, where the bar noise of Centro fades into residential calm behind the same colonial walls. Cartagena Royal Hotel Boutique holds an 8.3 at about $72 a night, with service and location that guests rate in the same breath. Skip the loud hostel blocks closer to Plaza de Bolívar if you want to sleep before midnight; San Diego offers the same walled-city address without the noise tax. The neighborhood sits between the Baluarte de Santo Domingo and the university quarter, and the walk to Centro's main plazas is a few blocks south. Restaurants here tilt local over tourist, and the streets carry foot traffic without the crush. San Diego suits travelers who want to sleep inside the walls but do not need the nightlife at the door.

   1. Budget

      Cartagena Royal Hotel Boutique

      Excelente servicio tanto como la ubicación, la comida, la habitación y todos muy amables

      8.3/10 rating ~$72/night
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10. 10

    San Pedro, Cartagena

    Local barrio outside the walled city's tourist orbit

    Deep-budget bed in a working barrio for travelers who spend on the city, not the room.

    At about $27 a night, Casa Torices Real 12 holds an 8.6 from a San Pedro address that sits outside the tourist radius entirely. The neighborhood runs on its own schedule — morning bread vendors, corner tiendas, residential blocks where nobody is selling a walking tour. The locals prefer this side of the city for the quiet and the prices, and the streets carry the rhythm of a working barrio, not a destination. San Pedro connects to the walled city by bus along the main roads, and the ride into Getsemani or Centro is short enough for a day trip but far enough that rates stay grounded. This is Cartagena without the postcard filter — a bed in a real neighborhood, priced for travelers who spend their money on the city, not the room.

    1. Budget

       Casa Torices Real 12

       8.6/10 rating ~$27/night
       Check rates