Midtown Atlanta skyscrapers and the Downtown Connector
Colorful colonial buildings with wooden balconies on Plaza de la Aduana in Cartagena's walled city

Atlanta vs. Colombia (Cartagena)

Southern food and history or a walled Caribbean city?

Culture & food🗓 7 nights👥 2 adults✈ Round trip from Los Angeles📅 Checked October 2026

Flying from

Photos: Atlanta: AtlChampion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cartagena: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · Photo credits

Heads up: every price on this page is a sample estimate, not live pricing or a quote. The ranges come from published typical fares and rates plus our own assumptions (sources are below). Change the departure airport above to recalculate, and use the booking buttons to check today's real prices.

. Fares and totals are estimates, not live prices.

Atlanta

≈ $3,530

$2,516–$4,552

Cartagena comes out about $550 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint.

Flying from Los Angeles (LAX)

Sample estimate, not live pricing

Cartagena

≈ $2,970

$2,168–$3,776

Midtown Atlanta skyscrapers and the Downtown Connector
US trip

Atlanta

USA · ATL

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$2,516–$4,552

Midpoint ≈ $3,530 · ≈ $1,770 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $138–$211 per person$276–$422
Lodging7 nights × $150–$260 per night$1,050–$1,820
Food & drink7 days × $100–$170 per day$700–$1,190
Local transport7 days × $30–$60 per day$210–$420
Activities7 days × $40–$100 per day$280–$700
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$2,516–$4,552
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 4.5 hr nonstop
Best time to go
April–May and September–October; summers are hot and humid.
Entry
No passport needed for US citizens.
Watch for
Car-centric city (rideshares add up); attraction bundles (aquarium, World of Coke) are pricey.
Best for
Southern food, civil-rights history, nonstop

Book flights, tours & more for Atlanta ↓ (affiliate links)

Colorful colonial buildings with wooden balconies on Plaza de la Aduana in Cartagena's walled city
Abroad

Colombia (Cartagena)

Colombia · CTG

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$2,168–$3,776

Midpoint ≈ $2,970 · ≈ $1,490 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $419–$558 per person$838–$1,116
Lodging7 nights × $80–$160 per night$560–$1,120
Food & drink7 days × $45–$90 per day$315–$630
Local transport7 days × $15–$30 per day$105–$210
Activities7 days × $50–$100 per day$350–$700
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$2,168–$3,776
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 8–10 hr with 1 stop
Best time to go
December–April (dry, breezy; peak around Christmas and Easter). Hot and humid year-round.
Entry
Passport required. Colombia requires the online Check-MIG form before arrival.
Watch for
Hotels inside the walled city cost more; island boat trips (Rosario Islands) are the big activity spend; beach vendors can be pushy.
Best for
Colonial streets, island day trips, warm nights

Book flights, tours & more for Cartagena ↓ (affiliate links)

All-in totals by departure city

7 nights for 2 adults, round-trip flights from each city included. The big number is the midpoint of our estimate range; the full range is underneath. Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Flying fromAtlantaCartagenaResult
Los Angeles (LAX)≈ $3,530$2,516–$4,552≈ $2,970$2,168–$3,776Cartagena ~$550 cheaper
Las Vegas (LAS)≈ $3,470$2,450–$4,482≈ $3,140$2,436–$3,848Cartagena ~$300 cheaper
Phoenix (PHX)≈ $3,520$2,528–$4,508≈ $3,390$2,652–$4,132Roughly even (within ~$150)
Denver (DEN)≈ $3,410$2,408–$4,414≈ $3,100$2,316–$3,882Cartagena ~$300 cheaper
Dallas (DFW)≈ $3,300$2,326–$4,278≈ $3,340$2,592–$4,078Roughly even (within ~$50)
Seattle (SEA)≈ $3,670$2,622–$4,708≈ $3,570$2,832–$4,312Roughly even (within ~$100)
Chicago (CHI)≈ $3,360$2,384–$4,342≈ $3,140$2,244–$4,032Roughly even (within ~$250)
New York (NYC)≈ $3,550$2,500–$4,598≈ $2,780$2,032–$3,534Cartagena ~$750 cheaper

Book this trip

Flight searches start from Los Angeles (LAX) for a 7-night trip; change the departure city above to update them. Partner sites show live prices, which may differ from our estimates.

Atlanta

Flights from LAXCompare faresThings to doTiqets

Colombia (Cartagena)

Flights from LAXCompare faresThings to doKlookeSIM dataAiraloAirport transferWelcome Pickups

Atlanta vs Cartagena cost breakdown: where the money goes

Midpoint of each estimate range, 2 adults, 7 nights, flying from Los Angeles (LAX). Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Round-trip flights from Los Angeles

Atlanta ≈ $350
Cartagena ≈ $980

Lodging

Atlanta ≈ $1,440
Cartagena ≈ $840

Food & drink

Atlanta ≈ $950
Cartagena ≈ $470

Local transport

Atlanta ≈ $320
Cartagena ≈ $160

Activities

Atlanta ≈ $490
Cartagena ≈ $530

The verdict: is Cartagena cheaper than Atlanta?

Cartagena comes out about $550 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint. (from Los Angeles, sample estimate, not live pricing)

Cartagena comes out cheaper from every departure city we cover, by about $400–$700, as cheaper hotels and meals outweigh the pricier one-stop flight. Atlanta wins on a nonstop flight and civil-rights history; Cartagena on colonial streets, Caribbean islands and warm evenings.

Atlanta vs Cartagena: common questions

Answers use flights from Los Angeles unless a city is named; see the table above for every departure city.

Is Cartagena cheaper than Atlanta?

Yes. Flying from Los Angeles, Cartagena comes out about $550 cheaper for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $2,970 vs ≈ $3,530 all-in, flights included). Cartagena is cheaper from 4 of the 8 US departure cities we cover (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver and New York), by $300–$750. It's roughly even from Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle and Chicago. These are midpoints of our sample estimates, not live prices.

Is Cartagena cheaper than Atlanta from Chicago?

It's close. Flying from Chicago, the two land within about $250 of each other for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $3,140 for Cartagena vs ≈ $3,360 for Atlanta, flights included).

How much does a week in Cartagena cost for two?

About $2,168–$3,776 all-in (midpoint ≈ $2,970, ≈ $1,490 per person) for 7 nights for 2 adults with round-trip flights from Los Angeles: flights $838–$1,116, lodging $560–$1,120, food & drink $315–$630, local transport $105–$210, activities $350–$700. The same week in Atlanta runs about $2,516–$4,552.

How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Cartagena?

About 8–10 hr with 1 stop. For comparison, Atlanta: about 4.5 hr nonstop.

When is the best time to visit Atlanta or Cartagena?

Atlanta: April–May and September–October; summers are hot and humid. Cartagena: December–April (dry, breezy; peak around Christmas and Easter). Hot and humid year-round.

Sources, notes & assumptions

Flight ranges come from typical round-trip economy fares that fare-search sites (KAYAK, Google Flights, Priceline, momondo, Expedia, airline fare pages) published for each route from each departure city we cover (currently Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago and New York), viewed October 2026. Lodging uses published hotel averages where we found them (Engine's August 2026 US city averages; Budget Your Trip traveler averages abroad), adjusted to a mid-range room; otherwise it is an editor estimate. Daily food, local transport and activity budgets are editor estimates for a mid-range couple; where a Budget Your Trip average exists we set the range around it, but the range bounds are our own judgment and have not been verified against a single published source. Ski lift tickets use published 2025/26 (or 2026/27) resort prices; euro and yen prices are converted at editor-assumed exchange rates. Taxes, resort fees, baggage fees and tips may not be fully included. Flight ranges marked "airline fare data from our flight search partner" in the sources update automatically from cached round-trip economy fares that travelers recently found through our flight search partner, for departures about 1–4 months out (low = the cheapest fare found, high = roughly the 75th percentile). Routes without enough fresh data keep their previous published-fare range.

Atlanta

Last checked: 2026-10-20

Lodging range sits around Engine's Aug 2026 Atlanta average (~$146/night).

Colombia (Cartagena)

Last checked: 2026-10-20

Lodging range is editor-set above Budget Your Trip's average room (~$64/night for 2) for a walled-city/Getsemaní hotel. Daily ranges are editor-set around Budget Your Trip averages.

Assumptions: economy fares, 1 mid-range room, 7 nights and 7 days of spending, 2 adults. Passports, travel insurance, checked-bag fees and souvenirs aren't included unless noted. Found a better number? Tell us.

More matchups

Wrought-iron balcony on a Royal Street corner in New Orleans' French Quarter
Evening light over Barcelona's city grid and port, with Montserrat on the horizon
vs Culture & food

New Orleans vs. Barcelona

Music, food and late nights: the Big Easy or Catalonia's capital?

US New Orleans ≈ $3,700
Abroad Barcelona ≈ $4,310

Cheaper: New Orleans · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Los Angeles Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cobblestoned Acorn Street lined with brick row houses on Beacon Hill, Boston
The Danube, Elisabeth Bridge and Pest seen from Gellért Hill in Budapest
vs Culture & food

Boston vs. Budapest

History, river views and old-world architecture: New England or Central Europe?

US Boston ≈ $5,020
Abroad Budapest ≈ $4,270

Cheaper: Budapest · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Los Angeles Sample estimate, not live pricing
The west front of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
St. Mary's Basilica and the Adam Mickiewicz monument on Kraków's Main Market Square
vs Culture & food

Washington, D.C. vs. Kraków

Monuments and museums vs. a medieval old town: which history week is the better deal?

US Washington, D.C. ≈ $4,300
Abroad Kraków ≈ $3,250

Cheaper: Kraków · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Los Angeles Sample estimate, not live pricing

See all 32 matchups →