Season guide · Cartagena · Colombia
Cartagena in the early wet season
May–June: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Sgonzalezb, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Humid with afternoon storms, fewer visitors and lower prices. Expect highs up to 32°C (90°F) and lows around 26°C (79°F), with about 17 rainy days across May–June.
Key facts
- Months
- May–June
- Temperatures
- 26°C (79°F) to 32°C (90°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 17
- Sea
- 28°C (82°F) to 28°C (82°F)
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in the early wet season
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 32°C (90°F) | 26°C (79°F) | 8 | 12.6 h | 2/5 |
| June | 32°C (90°F) | 26°C (79°F) | 9 | 12.7 h | 3/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 32°C (90°F) against a yearly 32°C (90°F), and 17 of the year's roughly 84 rainy days fall in these 2 months. Crowds rate 3/5 and hotel prices 3/5 on average.
Good choices for the early wet season
Religious site · El Centro
Church and Cloister of San Pedro Claver
Combine it with the modern art museum on the same square, Plaza de San Pedro Claver.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Gallery · El Centro
Museo de Arte Moderno de Cartagena
Housed in a former customs warehouse on Plaza de San Pedro Claver, the museum shows 20th-century Colombian art, including Cartagena-born painter Alejandro Obregón and Enrique Grau.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
Museum · El Centro
Palace of the Inquisition
Visit during the midday heat; afterwards rest in the shade of Plaza de Bolívar opposite.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · El Centro
Museo del Oro Zenú
The Banco de la República's small gold museum on Plaza de Bolívar shows gold and ceramic work of the Zenú people, who lived in the plains south of Cartagena and engineered vast drainage canals.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Day trips in the early wet season
- Playa Blanca, Barú (About 1 hour by road or 45 minutes by boat) — Barú's Playa Blanca has white sand and turquoise water and is the most popular beach near Cartagena.
- Totumo mud volcano (About 1 hour by road) — El Totumo is a small mud cone about 15 metres high; visitors climb a ladder and float in its warm, thick mud, then are washed off by local women in the lagoon nearby.
What to pack
- Light, breathable clothes, a sun hat and high-factor sunscreen
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is the early wet season a good time to visit Cartagena?
It is a trade-off: Humid with afternoon storms, fewer visitors and lower prices. The best months overall are February–April.
+What is the weather like in Cartagena in the early wet season?
Highs of up to 32°C (90°F) and lows around 26°C (79°F), with about 17 rainy days over the season.