Cartagena in January

When to go

The Cartagena Festival de Música and the Hay Festival Cartagena both list their next editions in January, so check each organizer's page for dates and programs and plan your lodging and transport around them. The WMO climate table, supplied by Colombia's national meteorological institute, shows the month's temperatures and precipitation. Colombian law lists New Year's Day and a second early-January holiday, and moves the second to a Monday when it falls on another day, so check opening hours and transport around those days.

Trip facts

• The WMO's World Weather Information Service lists, for Cartagena, Colombia, a mean daily maximum temperature of 30.5 °C (86.9 °F) and a mean daily minimum temperature of 23.6 °C (74.5 °F) in January, from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environment Studies and based on monthly averages for 1971–2000. (worldweather.wmo.int, checked 2026-10-15)
• The WMO's World Weather Information Service lists, for Cartagena, Colombia, a mean total precipitation of 4 mm in January, from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environment Studies and based on monthly averages for 1971–2000. (worldweather.wmo.int, checked 2026-10-15)
• Colombia's Ley 51 de 1983, as published in the Función Pública's Gestor Normativo, lists January 1 and January 6 among the holidays with paid rest for all workers, and says the paid rest of January 6, when it does not fall on a Monday, moves to the following Monday. (www.funcionpublica.gov.co, checked 2026-10-15)
• The website of the Cartagena Festival de Música says the festival will run from January 9 to 17, 2027, with nine days of concerts, master classes and cultural activities in the walled city. (cartagenamusicfestival.com, checked 2026-10-15)
• The Hay Festival's Cartagena page says the next Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias will be held from January 28 to 31, 2027. (www.hayfestival.com, checked 2026-10-15)
• Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists 'Estados Unidos de America' among the foreigners exempt from a visa for short-stay visits, and defines a short stay as staying in the country for up to 90 days, extendable up to 180 days per calendar year. (www.cancilleria.gov.co, checked 2026-10-15)
• The U.S. Embassy in Colombia's website shows the State Department's Travel Advisory Level 3: Reconsider travel to Colombia due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and natural disasters, and says some areas have an increased risk. (co.usembassy.gov, checked 2026-10-15)
• The website of the airport's operator, OINAC, says Rafael Núñez International Airport is inside the urban area of Cartagena, in the Crespo neighborhood, 10 minutes from the Historic Center and the Convention Center and 15 minutes from the hotel zone. (aeropuertocartagena.com.co, checked 2026-10-15)
• The airport operator OINAC's accommodation page lists colonial and boutique hotels in the Historic Center and chain hotels in areas such as Bocagrande, El Laguito and Manga, and describes Getsemaní as one of Cartagena's most emblematic neighborhoods, with lodging from boutique hotels to hostels and posadas. (aeropuertocartagena.com.co, checked 2026-10-15)
• TransCaribe S.A.'s website says the company is linked to the Cartagena District and is in charge of building, implementing and operating the mass transit system of the Tourist and Cultural District of Cartagena de Indias, and its menu lists feeder, trunk, pre-trunk and complementary routes. (transcaribe.gov.co, checked 2026-10-15)