The short answer: yes, with ordinary city caution
Cartagena is safe for tourists who behave the way they would in any other big coastal city. Adam McConnaughhay, who lived in Cartagena for over a decade and writes the Cartagena Explorer site, says it flatly: violent crime targeting tourists is practically unheard of, and there is a heavy police presence in nearly all the main tourist areas. A 2026 guide from Colombia Luxury Services puts the walled city at the top for police presence and says visitors who stay in the tourist zones and use vetted transport are fine.
What's left is petty crime, and that's worth taking seriously, because it's the thing that actually happens.
What actually goes wrong
Pockets and prices. Every guide written by someone who lives here lands on the same short list: pickpockets in crowds, taxis at night, and vendors who quote you a number after you've already got the thing in your hand. Tom Plan My Trip's Cartagena safety piece boils it down to avoiding drug dealers and sex workers, watching your pockets, taking cabs late at night, and always asking the price first.
We'd add one from our own front door: the man selling you a boat ride on the street is not selling you our boat ride. Ours goes from the Muelle de la Bodeguita and we book it for you, which is rather the point of booking it.
Agree the price before you say yes
This is the single rule that prevents most bad afternoons. Before the massage on the beach, before the bracelet, before the bag of fruit, before the taxi pulls away, ask what it costs and hear the number out loud. Most taxis in the city don't run meters, so the fare is whatever you agreed at the kerb, and "we'll sort it out later" always sorts out in their favour rather than yours.
Where to be careful after dark
Inside the walls is the most heavily policed part of the city and the easiest place to walk at night. McConnaughhay's after-dark advice is to avoid the Matuna area between Getsemaní and the walled city, and the darker streets around the edges of Getsemaní. Getsemaní's main squares stay busy late. The streets three blocks off them do not. Walk the lit way round, or take a cab for the price of a beer.
What changes when you come out to us
We're in Bocachica, on the island of Tierra Bomba, about 25 minutes by boat from the city. The risks out here aren't city risks. They're logistics, and they're worth knowing before you get on the water.
No bridge, no cars. You can't drive here. It's a boat, or a five minute helicopter if you're feeling grand. Our boat leaves the Muelle de la Bodeguita at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and leaves us at 4pm and 5:30pm. Miss the 5:30 and you're staying the night, which is not the worst outcome but is an expensive surprise if you hadn't planned on it.
The crossing itself. The water on our side is usually smooth, and calmer than the well known Rosario Islands run. In windy weather it gets choppy without ever getting white knuckle. The bit that catches people out is getting on and off the boat, which takes a little agility. If the tide is very high or the sea is rough, we use the dock in the village instead, about a mile away, and you ride pillion on a motorbike taxi from there to our gate.
Your phone won't work. There's no cell signal on the island. Our wifi is excellent most days, good enough for video calls, and every so often it drops. Tell whoever worries about you that you'll be on wifi only, and message us on WhatsApp rather than ringing, because ringing won't reach us. We answer reservations messages between 9am and 9pm.
Bocachica village. You can walk into the village, and we think you should. It has no running water and no paved roads and, in our own words, it will blow your mind. Don't turn up expecting chic restaurants and bars, because that isn't what it is. If it's your first time, take our Bocachica village tour: five minutes pillion on a motorbike taxi, then on foot around the San Fernando fortress and a beer with people who live there, which beats wandering through photographing other people's houses.
Getting to our gate. From the dock it's a 200 metre sandy track. We're sorry to say we're not wheelchair accessible. The place wasn't built with accessibility in mind, and we'd rather tell you now than at the jetty.
The one rule we actually enforce
Sex tourism and prostitution are not permitted here, full stop. It's in our house rules and it isn't a soft rule. The only people making money at Blue Apple are Blue Apple.
How we'd plan it
Stay inside the walls or in Getsemaní for the city nights, walk everywhere in daylight, cab it after dark, and agree every price first. Then come out for a day or a few nights, where the worst thing that can happen to you is sunburn and a missed boat. See you on the boat.