GuideCartagenaPublished on October 18, 2026

Cartagena honeymoon: the city wins at the World Travel Awards for the eighth time, plus the winning hotels

Cartagena won South America's Leading Honeymoon Destination at the 2026 World Travel Awards for the eighth time. Here are the hotels that won and how to plan the trip.

If you are planning a Cartagena honeymoon, the city just picked up another award. It won South America's Leading Honeymoon Destination at the 2026 World Travel Awards, for the eighth time, according to the Colombian outlets El Universal, El Heraldo and La República. Several local hotels won in their categories too.

Eight wins and a world nomination

Cartagena has taken this category in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026, according to the press coverage of the announcement.

It is also nominated for the global category, World's Leading Honeymoon Destination, alongside the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Bora Bora, Paris, Maui, Saint Lucia and Jamaica, El Universal and El Heraldo reported. That result has not been announced yet.

The winning hotels

Sofitel Legend Santa Clara took three South American titles: leading hotel, leading heritage hotel and leading suite, the last one for its Botero Presidential Suite, according to El Universal and the magazine Semana.

Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena was named South America's leading new hotel, the same outlets reported. It opened on April 2, 2026, in Getsemaní, the neighborhood just outside the walls. According to the hotel's announcement, it has 131 accommodations, 27 of them colonial-style rooms and suites in historic buildings.

Sofitel Barú Cartagena Beach Resort won Colombia's leading resort, according to El Universal and Prensa Mercosur. El Universal also reports that Hotel Cartagena Plaza, run by EM Hotels, won Colombia's leading hotel suite for The Suite.

How to plan it

Start by choosing where to stay. San Diego and the rest of the Centro Histórico let you get around on foot among the walls, plazas and colonial houses. Getsemaní is next door and also easy to walk. Bocagrande has hotels facing the sea, and Barú sits outside the city, if you want more beach than streets.

To mix city and sea, you can split your days between the old town and a trip out to the islands. Our news section has a guide to reaching the Rosario Islands from the La Bodeguita pier.

None of the sources lists rates or honeymoon packages, and the awards go to the hotels, not to any specific package. Ask each hotel directly what a package includes, whether the price is quoted in Colombian pesos or US dollars, and whether it changes by season.

Published on October 18, 2026