Drink with caution. Based on the national picture for Colombia and local conditions.
Can you…
Can you drink the tap water in Cartagena?
Last reviewed September 2026 · Colombia
Short answer: be a little careful with the tap water in Cartagena. At 62/100 it sits in the caution band — generally fine for showering, washing up and cooking, but for drinking most visitors to Cartagena filter it or buy sealed bottled water, and go easy on ice at smaller places.
Tap water for visitors to Cartagena
For a visitor to Cartagena, the routine is simple: drink sealed bottled water or water you've filtered or boiled, use the same for brushing your teeth if you'd rather be safe, and be choosy about ice — fine in reputable hotels and restaurants, riskier from street stalls. Cooking is lower-risk, since a rolling boil kills most bugs, so hot, freshly cooked food is a good bet.
A rolling boil for one minute makes the water in Cartagena microbiologically safe, and a travel filter certified for bacteria and viruses is a reusable alternative to buying bottle after bottle. The usual issue from untreated water is travellers' diarrhoea, so a little care with what you drink and the ice you add goes a long way. See CDC food & water precautions.
More depth in our guides on boiling water and drinking tap water while traveling.
How Cartagena compares to the rest of Colombia
There’s no separate official water-quality feed for Cartagena, so its rating tracks the national picture for Colombia, which scores 62/100. Conditions in a specific neighbourhood, hotel, or older building can still differ from the city as a whole.
Cartagena tap water: quick answers
Can you drink tap water in Cartagena?+
Not without care. At 62/100, tap water in Cartagena is best filtered, boiled, or swapped for sealed bottled water before you drink it.
Is ice safe, and can you brush your teeth with tap water in Cartagena?+
In Cartagena, brushing your teeth with tap water is usually okay if you don't swallow, but be wary of ice from street vendors — stick to reputable venues or ice made from bottled water.
Do you need bottled water in Cartagena?+
For drinking, yes — bottled or filtered water is the safe choice in Cartagena. It's widely sold; just check the seal is intact before you buy.
Where this rating comes from
There’s no single official dataset for city-level tap water, so the Cartagena rating is drawn from Colombia’s national water-safety assessment alongside CDC traveler guidance. For the official monitoring behind it, see tap water in Colombia or the methodology.