We will meet at the indicated time at Plaza Cervantes — Camellón de Los Mártires. Just look for the orange umbrella and your local guide will take it from there.

From that first meeting point, we step straight into the colorful, cobblestone streets of Cartagena's Walled City — one of the most beautifully preserved colonial cities in the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For the next 2.5 hours, its historic streets and vibrant facades become the backdrop for an unforgettable culinary journey through the flavors of Colombia's Caribbean coast. The perfect background for this Food Tour in Cartagena.

We begin this Street Food Tour of Cartagena on Avenida Santander with a cup of cold, zesty Colombian-style ceviche — brighter and sweeter than the Peruvian version, served with crackers and bursting with coastal character. From there, we head deeper into the Walled City for a patacón with queso costeño, a twice-fried green plantain topped with the sharp, sun-dried coastal cheese that has defined Caribbean Colombian cooking for centuries.

Next, we stop at the iconic Portal de los Dulces, where the same families have been selling traditional sweets for generations — cocadas and alegrías, handmade Afro-Caribbean confections whose name literally translates to happiness. From there, a street baker hands you freshly baked pandebono paired with a glass of jugo de corozo, a tart, floral juice pressed from the corozo palm fruit — one of the great unrepeatable pairings of Colombian street food.

The heat of the oil takes over at the next stop, where we try Colombian fried classics — an arepa de huevo or another coastal frito — followed by a crispy Colombian empanada, its crackling corn shell encasing a warm, savory filling that has fed generations of Cartageneros on the go. Discover it on this Food Tour of Cartagena.

Midway through the tour, we pause at El Depósito for a single-origin Colombian pour-over coffee — clean, complex, and a world away from what most people think of when they hear “Colombian coffee.” Shortly after, a fruit cart vendor introduces you to the exotic tropical fruits of the Caribbean coast — maracuyá, mamoncillo, níspero, guanábana — whatever the season has delivered that day.

We conclude this Guided Street Food Tour in Cartagena with the most comforting dish of the tour: a steaming cup of sancocho — Colombia's iconic slow-cooked broth made from chicken, beef, or fish, loaded with yuca, plantain, and corn. The dish Colombians eat when they are tired, when they are celebrating, and when they need feeding in the truest sense of the word. The perfect ending to a journey through the soul of Cartagena.

After 2.5 hours of walking and tasting, you won't just have eaten well. You'll understand Cartagena — one bite at a time.