Cartagena weather by month & the best time to visit
🇨🇴 Colombia · coastal city break · tropical — wet & dry seasons climate
The best time to visit Cartagena is January — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 94/100), with February and March close behind. Cartagena averages about 2,547 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 29°C / 84°F and roughly 2 mm of rain in January.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,547
- Sunniest month
- January
- Peak score
- 94/100
- Rain / year
- 1,369 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 11 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 31°C / 88°F
- Population
- 915k
- Elevation
- Sea level
When is the best time to visit Cartagena?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Cartagena is January, then February and March. The dullest month is May (66/100, 178 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Cartagena?
Cartagena gets a lot of sun: around 2,547 hours a year. January (94/100) is noticeably better than May (66). It ranks #6 of 49 destinations in Colombia for annual sunshine, above the national median of 1,819 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around October, carries about 44% of the annual 1,369 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 94 | 29° / 84°F | 25° / 77°F | 2 mm | 10 | 29° / 84°F |
| February | 93 | 30° / 86°F | 25° / 77°F | 3 mm | 11 | 29° / 84°F |
| March | 92 | 30° / 86°F | 26° / 79°F | 10 mm | 11 | 29° / 84°F |
| April | 83 | 30° / 86°F | 26° / 79°F | 60 mm | 11 | 30° / 86°F |
| May | 66 | 30° / 86°F | 27° / 81°F | 178 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| June | 69 | 30° / 86°F | 27° / 81°F | 135 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| July | 66 | 30° / 86°F | 27° / 81°F | 160 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| August | 66 | 30° / 86°F | 27° / 81°F | 160 mm | 10 | 30° / 86°F |
| September | 66 | 29° / 84°F | 27° / 81°F | 182 mm | 10 | 31° / 88°F |
| October | 66 | 29° / 84°F | 27° / 81°F | 242 mm | 9 | 30° / 86°F |
| November | 66 | 29° / 84°F | 27° / 81°F | 181 mm | 9 | 30° / 86°F |
| December | 84 | 29° / 84°F | 26° / 79°F | 56 mm | 9 | 30° / 86°F |
Sea temperature in Cartagena by month
The sea off Cartagena is warmest in September at around 31°C / 88°F, and coolest in January at 29°C / 84°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly all year round. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Cartagena on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Barranquilla Colombia · 94 km · best in Jan · 2,640 h sun/yr
- Santa Marta Colombia · 159 km · best in Jan · 2,935 h sun/yr
- Montería Colombia · 183 km · best in Dec · 2,253 h sun/yr
- Valledupar Colombia · 248 km · best in Jan · 2,523 h sun/yr
- Riohacha Colombia · 307 km · best in Jan · 2,757 h sun/yr
- Cúcuta Colombia · 432 km · best in Nov · 1,616 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Santiago de Tolú Colombia · 104 km · 2,380 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Corozal Colombia · 126 km · 2,380 h sun/yr · best in Dec
Head-to-head
How Cartagena compares month by month: Cartagena vs Barranquilla · Cartagena vs Panama City · Cartagena vs Santa Marta · Cartagena vs Montería · all comparisons
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