Best Place to Exchange Money in Cartagena

Where to change money in Cartagena

Colombian exchange houses need Superfinanciera authorisation, and DIAN, the tax agency, warned in March 2026 that informal street dealers can hand over forged notes. According to the tourist board, dollars can be changed at exchange houses but are not taken in shops, and hotels tend to pay less. Do not count on a bank counter: several banks sell dollars only to account holders.

• Licensed exchange houses in the Centro Histórico, Getsemaní and Bocagrande - We could not confirm any one office in two sources. Choose a business with a shop front or a counter in a mall, check its buying rate against a second house, and count your pesos while still at the counter.

Changing money at the airport

Rafael Núñez Airport (CTG) lists three exchange counters: two in international arrivals, one of them open 07:00 to midnight, and one in the outside area of national arrivals, open 24 hours. Airport rates are generally poorer, the tourist board says, so change a small sum or use one of the five bank cash machines, four of them in the main hall.

Use the two authorised taxi ranks by the domestic and international exits; the airport posts its 2026 rates online. Fares go by zone: El Universal explained in November 2024 that you collect a ticket showing the price at the tariff booth and give it to the driver, who may not alter it.

ATMs and cards in Cartagena

Colombian bank machines add a charge to each foreign-card withdrawal; check it on screen before going ahead, and ask your UK bank what it adds. The FCDO suggests withdrawing in business hours in a bank, a supermarket or a shopping centre. It calls express kidnappings, in which victims are forced to empty accounts at cash machines, common in Colombia, so after dark take a booked taxi.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted most widely, American Express and Diners Club less so; if a card terminal gives a choice of pesos or pounds, take pesos. Prices must be in pesos too: in January 2024 the consumer regulator, the SIC, said no product or service may be charged in dollars or another foreign currency. The same month El Tiempo reported a carriage ride in the historic centre billed on a card reader at COP 18 million, so agree the price first and keep the card machine in sight. Report overcharging to the police on 123.

Paying for transport in Cartagena

Taxi fares are fixed by city decree, with a table of prices from the Centro Histórico to each district. For 2026 the minimum fare is COP 12,250, up 13.42 per cent on 2025, and a surcharge of COP 1,100 applies from 7 pm to 5 am (Decree 0051 of 2026, reported by El Universal on 27 February 2026). Ask the fare before you get in and carry small notes.

TransCaribe, the city's bus system, has charged COP 3,900 a trip since 23 January 2026 (Decree 017). You pay with a TransCaribe card, which can be topped up at SuperGiros outlets.

Boats to Barú and the Rosario Islands leave from Muelle La Bodeguita, where passengers heading for the national park pay an entry tax (amount not reported, September 2026).

Good to know

• A tip of up to 10 per cent may appear as a suggestion on a restaurant bill. It is optional: you should be asked whether to include it, and you may leave it off or pay a different sum.
• Visitors to the Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo park, which includes Playa Blanca on Barú, must hold an accident and assistance policy from an approved insurer or they may not land (El Tiempo, June 2026); ask whether your boat ticket covers it.
• Check-Mig pre-registration is optional (FCDO) and free (Migración Colombia); it opens 72 hours before travel and closes one hour before.
• The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to southern Bolívar department, far inland from Cartagena; check its regional map before any trip away from the coast.