Cafeography
Colombia

Cafés in Cartagena coffee inside the walls

Tinto poured from thermoses on the plazas, espresso on Calle del Arzobispado and roasters in Getsemaní.

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48Cafés listed
0Open by 6am
2Open past 10pm
1Specialty & roasters

Cartagena de Indias was founded on 1 June 1533 by Pedro de Heredia, and its port, fortresses and old monuments were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.1 The defensive walls around the historic center took until 1796 to finish.1 The weather sets the pace of the day: the annual mean is 28.0 °C, humidity hovers around 80%, and the rains run from May to November, heaviest in October.1 February is close to dry, at 0.3 mm on average.1

Street coffee is the oldest café in town. In 2020, 65 vendors belonged to the historic center's association of coffee sellers, and about 50 of them protested at the Alcaldía after police confiscated some of their thermoses.2 Tinteros (street coffee sellers) work the streets and plazas of the walled city, and they generally buy their coffee ready-made from a cafetería at a trade price rather than brewing it themselves.3

The sit-down cafés are newer. La Brioche, a French-Caribbean bakery café, has been open since 2009.4 Libertario Coffee Roasters, which roasts every day and has branches in Costa Rica and Mexico, runs a shop in Getsemaní, and Época, on Calle del Arzobispado, sells its own blends by the bag.5 Café del Mural, on Calle San Juan, has its own coffee farm in the mountains of Minca.6

Inside the walls and out

Cartagena by area

Most cafés are in the historic center: the walled city, with the old Centro and San Diego, and Getsemaní, which was enclosed by walls of its own from 1631.1

Getsemaní

The old arrabal outside the Centro: the Plaza de la Trinidad, murals on Calle San Juan and two roasters' cafés.

13 cafés

Ciudad Amurallada

The walled Centro and San Diego: tinto on the plazas, espresso on Calle del Arzobispado and late hours on Plaza de San Pedro Claver.

26 cafés
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Cafés con wifi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi cafés from La Brioche's 07:00 opening to El Barón's late hours on the Plaza de San Pedro Claver.

10 cafés

New in Cartagena

Recently opened and recently added

Getsemaní 13 cafés

More about cafés in Getsemaní

Ciudad Amurallada 26 cafés

More about cafés in Ciudad Amurallada

Café de la mañana

Morning Coffee

  • Calle Estanco del Aguardiente #5-80
  • Mon 08:00–16:00 · Wed–Sun 08:00–16:00
  • +57 300 2839817
  • Wi-Fi
  • Card payment
  • Vegetarian options
  • Toilets
  • Bakery café
  • Brunch
MapIs this you?Report

Folklore

  • Calle de la Amargura #29
  • Mon–Thu 07:30–20:00 · Fri 07:30–19:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–17:00
MapIs this you?Report

Bocagrande & Castillogrande 4 cafés

Manga 1 cafés

El Cabrero & Marbella 1 cafés

Pie de la Popa, El Espinal & Torices 2 cafés

Zaragocilla & the south-east 1 cafés

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Coffee chains in Cartagena

Branches by area

Before you sit down

How to order coffee in Cartagena

Un tinto is a small black coffee. From a tintero it comes out of a thermos, and it goes quickly: one vendor walking from the Plaza de San Diego to the Plaza de los Carruajes emptied a full thermos in under an hour.3 Settle the price before the cup is poured. Corpoturismo, the city's tourism corporation, asks visitors to check prices before buying anything and to avoid places where none are shown.7

Café menus use espresso-bar names. In 2026 La Brioche listed an espresso or americano at COP 11,000 and a latte or cappuccino at COP 15,000.4 Numbeo's October 2026 average for a cappuccino in Cartagena is COP 14,000.8 Exoticca's 2026 cost guide put a coffee at COP 3,000–6,000 where locals drink and COP 8,000–15,000 in the tourist zone, and found that walking two or three blocks away from it can cut prices by more than half.9

On this coast, coffee comes with fried food. The arepa de huevo, a corn arepa with a raw egg sealed inside and fried until it sets, is a typical frito (fried snack) of the Caribbean region.10 At the 42nd Festival del Frito Cartagenero, held at Las Botas Viejas from 24 January to 2 February 2026, the official price was COP 5,000 for an arepa de huevo and COP 3,000 for a carimañola (cassava fritter) or a buñuelo de frijol (bean fritter).11

Tips are voluntary. A café with table service may suggest a propina voluntaria (voluntary tip) of up to 10% of the bill, but staff have to ask whether you want it added, and if nobody asked, you can change the amount even after the invoice is printed.12 Prices must be shown on a physical menu or list; where a place uses menu cards, at least one has to be readable from the street.12

What coffee costs in Cartagena

DrinkTypical price
Carimañola
Cassava fritter, festival stall		COP 3,000
Festival del Frito, January 2026
Arepa de huevo
Fried corn arepa with egg		COP 5,000
Festival del Frito, January 2026
Café
Coffee where locals drink		COP 3,000–6,000
Outside the tourist zone, 2026
Espresso / americano
Espresso or black coffee		COP 11,000
La Brioche, Centro, 2026
Capuchino
Cappuccino at a café		COP 12,000–16,000
Cartagena cafés, October 2026

Prices as of 2026. The fritos are the official list for the January 2026 Festival del Frito Cartagenero, as published by El Universal.11 The local and tourist-zone coffee ranges come from Exoticca's 2026 cost guide,9 the espresso price from La Brioche's menu,4 and the cappuccino range from 97 Numbeo price reports in the year to 24 October 2026.8

Sources

  1. Cartagena, Colombia, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. "Que nos dejen vender los tintos": trabajadores informales en el Centro, El Universal (October 19, 2020), accessed October 2026
  3. El día que vendí café "tinto" por las calles de Cartagena de Indias, Sinmapa (updated August 24, 2020), accessed October 2026
  4. La Brioche: French-Caribbean café, locations and menu, La Brioche, accessed October 2026
  5. 5 coffee shops en Cartagena que debes conocer si en verdad amas tomar café, Food & Pleasure (March 14, 2024), accessed October 2026
  6. Best Coffee Spots in Cartagena, Two Travel (2026), accessed October 2026
  7. El plan de la Alcaldía para frenar las estafas a turistas en Cartagena, El Universal (September 1, 2022), accessed October 2026
  8. Cost of Living in Cartagena, Numbeo (updated October 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  9. Cuánto cuesta viajar a Cartagena: precios reales en 2026, Exoticca (2026), accessed October 2026
  10. Arepa de huevo, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  11. Festival del Frito Cartagenero: estos son los precios oficiales, El Universal (January 23, 2026), accessed October 2026
  12. Las propinas son voluntarias en restaurantes, El Heraldo (September 15, 2022), accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Cafés in Cartagena: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in Cartagena?

In 2026 La Brioche charged COP 11,000 for an espresso or americano and COP 15,000 for a latte or cappuccino, and Numbeo's October 2026 average for a cappuccino in Cartagena was COP 14,000. A 2026 cost guide put a coffee at COP 3,000–6,000 in places locals use and COP 8,000–15,000 in the tourist zone.

Which neighborhood of Cartagena has the most cafés?

Ciudad Amurallada and Getsemaní have the most cafés, followed by Bocagrande & Castillogrande. The walled city has more of them, with a cluster around the Plaza de San Pedro Claver; in Getsemaní they spread over Calle del Guerrero, Calle Tripita y Media, Calle de San Antonio and Calle San Juan.

What is a tintero in Cartagena?

A tintero is a street coffee seller who pours tinto, small black coffee, from a thermos around the plazas of the walled city. In 2020 the historic center's association of coffee sellers had 65 members. Vendors usually buy the coffee ready-made from a cafetería. The city's tourism corporation advises agreeing on prices before you buy.

What do people eat with coffee in Cartagena?

Fried snacks. The arepa de huevo, a corn arepa with an egg fried inside it, is a typical fried snack of the Caribbean coast. At the Festival del Frito Cartagenero in January 2026, an arepa de huevo cost COP 5,000, and a carimañola (cassava fritter) or a bean buñuelo cost COP 3,000.

Do you have to tip at cafés in Cartagena?

No. Tips in Colombia are voluntary. A café with table service may suggest up to 10% of the bill, but staff must ask whether you want it included, and you can refuse it or change the amount. Prices must be shown on a physical menu or price list, not only through an app or website.

When is the rainy season in Cartagena?

Cartagena's rains run from May to November and peak in October, which averages 236.5 mm. February is the driest month, with 0.3 mm on average. The annual mean temperature is 28.0 °C and humidity stays around 80%.

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