Spending Money in Cartagena

We will have 2 hours in Old City after a tour on our Cruise stop. Would like to eat lunch, have a coffee and buy some coffee to bring home. Would it be better to pay in cash/local currency vs credit card. And, approximately how much would we need for the day. We don't need any transport, just what I stated and maybe a souvenir or two :) Thank you

US Dollars seems to work.

@Kamloops? Really USA $$s in Colombia??

Have you experience using that in Cartagena?

I know that on Caribbean islands this is common and also in parts of Mexico but I thought that the rest of the world wanted their own currency or credit cards.

I figured the about $20 USA would buy a bit less than 60,000 Colombian pesos which would take care of taxi, some museum admissions and maybe a light lunch. I'd use my credit card for any large purchase of emeralds or any other expensive item.

@Kamloops? Really USA $$s in Colombia??

Have you experience using that in Cartagena?

I know that on Caribbean islands this is common and also in parts of Mexico but I thought that the rest of the world wanted their own currency or credit cards.

I figured the about $20 USA would buy a bit less than 60,000 Colombian pesos which would take care of taxi, some museum admissions and maybe a light lunch. I'd use my credit card for any large purchase of emeralds or any other expensive item.

We never eat ashore. Most small vendors love to be paid in US Dollars.

I just queried Dora, our tour operator in Cartegena. She says small US dollars are fine.

We've never had a problem using the US Dollar. :)

Good to know about using USA $$s. I am used to traveling quite a bit on land and I would never consider using USA $$s when in a foreign country for a week at a time!

We are just going to be on land for a few hours as we are doing a cruise. Thank you everyone. Lunch is that reasonable? Any favorites?

We normally convert to local currency but used $US dollars everywhere - from street vendors to jewelry stores.

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