Best eSIM for Cartagena in 2026
— Ranked by Real Performance

Cartagena runs primarily on Claro Colombia's LTE network, which delivers solid 4G coverage across the Walled City, Bocagrande, and Getsemaní, though speeds can dip noticeably during peak tourist hours at Plaza de los Coches and along the waterfront — a pattern driven by cell congestion on Claro's 1700/2100 MHz AWS band rather than any fundamental infrastructure gap. For most international travellers — including cruise passengers needing a day-use SIM and longer-stay visitors — the city is reliably connected, with 5G beginning a limited rollout in commercial zones in 2024. The non-obvious insight: Movistar Colombia, not Claro, consistently outperforms on upload speeds in the Old City due to less aggressive tourist-season throttling on their backhaul, though very few consumer eSIM providers give you access to Movistar's network here.

• →Claro Colombia holds approximately 47% of mobile market share in Cartagena and is the dominant roaming partner for most international eSIM MVNOs — meaning your eSIM provider's deal with Claro determines your real-world experience more than any other single factor.
• →4G LTE coverage in central Cartagena (Walled City, Bocagrande, El Laguito) exceeds 95%, but speeds in Getsemaní and the outer barrios like Pie de la Popa average 15–25 Mbps download versus 40–60 Mbps in the tourist core.
• →Cartagena has no metro or subway system — the city is served entirely by surface buses (TransCaribe BRT) and taxis, so underground signal dead zones are not a concern; TransCaribe stations along Avenida Pedro de Heredia maintain full Claro LTE coverage.
• →Independent drive-test data from OpenSignal's Colombia market report shows Claro's median download speed in Cartagena at around 28 Mbps — roughly 30% lower than Bogotá on the same network, reflecting the Caribbean coast's older RAN infrastructure relative to inland urban centres.