How to get from Tocumen to Cartagena

Plan it for your day Cartagena to Tocumen

Fastest: 4h 32m; by plane, door to door
Cheapest: $80; by plane
Distance: 450 km; as the crow flies
Departures: –; none timetabled

1 way to travel

450 km apart. Times are the timetables for Wed 11 Nov, planned from 08:00; every price says whether it is live, the operator's fare or our estimate. We add nothing to any fare.

bestFlying is the only way we found for this trip. No bus, train or ferry timetable came up.

Flybestfastestcheapest
4h 32m$80–130Estimated
Avoid · Central Colombia
PTY → CTG · non-stop · typical times

Data: Roads © OpenStreetMap contributors, routed by OSRM · Typical flight routes from OpenFlights (ODbL), a 2014 snapshot · Places from GeoNames, CC BY 4.0 · All credits and licences

Before you go

Borders, permits, official travel advice and disaster alerts for the places on this route, as their sources publish them. Entry rules are shown for a passport from Panama; the planner lets you pick yours.

Likely no visa needed for Colombia · Panama passport (assumed)Check rules

Avoid all but essential travel to Central ColombiaUK
Reconsider travel to ColombiaUS
Exercise increased caution in PanamaUS

Travel advice: UK FCDO (Open Government Licence v3.0), US State Department. Visa rules: Passport Index data (MIT, 17 Feb 2026); always check the official entry rules.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to get from Tocumen to Cartagena?

The fastest way is by plane: about 4h 32m door to door, including the ride to the airport and check-in. The straight-line distance is 450 km.

What is the cheapest way from Tocumen to Cartagena?

Flying is the cheapest, from $80. That figure is an estimate from the operator's fare bands, not a live quote.

How long is the flight from Tocumen to Cartagena?

About 1h 15m in the air (PTY → CTG); about 4h 32m door to door once you add the ride to the airport, check-in and the cab at the other end. Typical fares run $80–130; live prices are on Flights70.

In Cartagena

City in coastal northern Colombia

Cartagena, known since the imperial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route to the West Indies provides it with important historical value for world exploration and preservation of heritage from the great commercial maritime routes. As a former Spanish colony, it was a key port for the export of Bolivian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. The city's strategic location between the Magdalena and Sinú rivers also gave it easy access to the interior of New Granada and made it a main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s.

The Cartagena guide

Worth your time

Plaza de los Coches
From Camellon de los Martires you pass through the historical city gate Puerta del Reloj, the gate of the clock, onto the triangular square Plaza de los Coches, the place of the carriages.
Plaza de la Aduana
Next to the former, there is another beautiful triangular square, Plaza de la Aduana, surrounded by impressive arcaded buildings.One of these is Casa del Premio real, the house of the Spanish viceroy.
Convento & Iglesia de San Pedro Claver
Named after Pedro Claver (1580-1654), a Spanish Jesuit who worked for 40 years for the rights and the wellbeing of the slaves in the city.
Museo Naval del Caribe
In a former Jesuit college right behind the convent.

From Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA)

Hotels in CartagenaCompare prices on Hotels70

1 way to travel

Before you go

Questions people ask

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