October is the wettest month, and it still isn't a write-off
October is the rainiest month of Cartagena's year. Published climate records disagree on the exact number, which tells you something in itself: Weatherspark puts the monthly average at about 6.1 inches, while Climates to Travel and others put it nearer 9.1 inches. US News counts around 16 days with some precipitation. Temperatures barely move all year and sit around 28C.
What those numbers hide is the shape of the rain. It arrives hard, often in the afternoon, and it usually leaves. A day in October here is more likely to be sun, a violent half hour, and then wet streets steaming in the sun again than it is to be grey from breakfast to bedtime.
What October changes for us, 25 minutes offshore
The sea, mostly. Our crossing from the Muelle de la Bodeguita takes about 25 minutes, and the water is usually smooth, much calmer than the run out to the Rosario Islands. In windy weather it can get choppy. It isn't white-knuckle, but getting on and off the boat takes a bit of agility on a rough day.
Two practical consequences in October:
- Take an early boat. Ours leave at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and come back at 11am, 4pm and 5:30pm. Mornings are more often calm.
- Expect the village dock sometimes. If the tide is very high or the sea is unusually rough, we dock in Bocachica village, around a mile away, and you ride the last stretch pillion on a motorbike taxi.
Our beach faces the open ocean on the southern shore of Tierrabomba. The sea changes with her mood. In October she has more moods.
Should you come in October at all?
Yes, with one condition: don't book a trip whose whole point is a single perfect beach day. Come for four or five nights instead of two, and the weather stops mattering. Guests who come for a week in October rarely mention the rain when they leave.
It's also the quietest end of our year, and quiet is the thing people are usually paying for. We're calm during the week anyway, and livelier at weekends when there's music and locals come out.
What we do here when it's coming down
The honest answer is that most people sit under cover and keep eating. Beyond that, the things that work in the wet:
A cooking class. Learn to perfect ceviche with a bit of extra flair. It's for two, wine included, and rain has no opinion about it.
A dive. Our house reef sits at six metres, about an eight-minute swim out, and we're a PADI Dive Resort. You're getting wet regardless, which is a reasonable philosophy for October. Surface conditions still call the shots, so ask us on the day.
Make your own glass or candle. One of our artisans, trained by Green Apple, teaches you to cut and finish a wine or gin bottle into something you take home. Indoors, slow, and unexpectedly satisfying.
A private dance class. Salsa, champeta, which is the local Afro-Colombian style, or zumba. Two left feet welcome.
And the restaurant is open for dinner, to everyone, not just guests. Our executive chef is Pedro Mosqueda, who took over a kitchen built by Chef Silvestre Saiz Cortazar. A long lunch that becomes a long afternoon is a completely legitimate use of a rainy day.
Packing for a Cartagena October
- A light rain layer, not an umbrella. Wind ends umbrellas here.
- Shoes you don't mind soaking. The old town's streets flood fast and drain fast.
- A dry bag for the boat if you're bringing a camera or a laptop.
- Your own towel for the beach club. That's our official policy, whatever else you may have read.
Worth knowing before you arrive: there's no phone signal on the island. There's wifi in the rooms, and WhatsApp is how you reach us. Rooms have electric blackout blinds and air conditioning, which matters more than you'd think when the humidity is at its highest.
The month at a glance
| October in Cartagena | |
|---|---|
| Rainfall | Roughly 155mm to 230mm, depending on the source |
| Rainy days | Around 16 |
| Temperature | About 28C, steady all year |
| Sea | Choppier than average, calmest in the morning |
| Our boats | 10am, 11:30am, 5pm out; 11am, 4pm, 5:30pm back |
| Crowds | The quiet end of the year |
One thing we'd tell a friend
Book the trip, take the 10am boat, and don't plan the day past lunch. October rewards people who leave the afternoon undecided. If it pours, you'll be somewhere with a roof, a glass of something and no reason to be anywhere else. If it doesn't, you got the whole beach at the cheapest, quietest time of the year.