Bogota or Cartagena?

This is Cartagena's ground entirely. Its own city beaches at Bocagrande are only good for a quick dip, but the Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca on Baru have pale sand and clear, warm water within an hour by boat, and a night on an island is easy to arrange.

Bogota has nothing comparable. Its high plateau keeps the air cool, swimming means hotel pools and water parks after a long drive down the mountains, and the Caribbean is a flight away. Travellers combining the two should leave all the beach time for Cartagena.

The two eat well in quite different ways. Bogota's cooking is highland and warming: ajiaco soup, tamales, hot chocolate with cheese, and bakery breads. Its more ambitious tables are spread across Chapinero, Zona G and Usaquén, and Paloquemao market and the specialty coffee add to it.

Cartagena eats like a Caribbean port, with fried fish, coconut rice, ceviche from carts and coconut sweets at the Portal de los Dulces. Its street food is better than Bogota's snack corners, though the walled city has its share of tourist menus.

Both reward a cultural visit equally, but in different ways. Bogota is for museums: the Museo del Oro's pre-Columbian gold, the Botero collection, the National Museum and La Candelaria's churches around the Plaza de Bolívar, though much of the city beyond is plain modern brick.

Cartagena works the other way round. The UNESCO-listed walled city and the Castillo San Felipe are the attraction in themselves, best enjoyed by walking the ramparts and streets, while its museums are modest and two or three days covers them.

Both cities go out late and with energy, so the difference is scale and setting. Bogota's nightlife is spread across districts: polished clubs in Zona T and Zona Rosa, a large alternative and LGBTQ scene in Chapinero, skilled salsa dancing and an underground electronic scene, with taxis needed between them.

Cartagena's circuit is compact and outdoors. Crowds gather in the Plaza de la Trinidad in Getsemaní, the old town has rooftop bars, champeta plays at local parties, and party boats and chivas with a band on board are a characteristic part of a night here. It is also more tourist-heavy, with touts to brush off.

Bogota has much more for those who like the outdoors. The Eastern Hills rise straight from the city, and the frailejón-covered páramo at Chingaza and Sumapaz is a landscape few countries have. Add Chicaque's cloud forest, climbing at Suesca and serious road cycling.

Cartagena's nature is mostly in the water: reefs in the Corales del Rosario park, mangrove canoe trips at La Boquilla and kitesurfing in the dry months. Inland the land is flat and farmed, and the Totumo mud volcano is the main outing.

Bogota has the better range of day trips. The salt cathedral at Zipaquirá, the quieter mine at Nemocón and the El Dorado lake at Guatavita all make full days out, and the Sabana towns suit an easy lunch. Its weak point is the traffic leaving the city.

From Cartagena the choice is thinner. San Basilio de Palenque gives a meaningful half day and the islands have fishing villages, but Mompox and Santa Marta are too far for a return trip in a day.

Neither city is easy with small children, but the reasons differ. Bogota has proper attractions for them, including the Maloka science museum, amusement parks, Parque Jaime Duque and the car-free Ciclovía, though the long distances and the altitude are tiring.

Cartagena has little built for children beyond the National Aviary, and the island beaches with calm water are the real draw. The steady heat makes a hotel pool and a slow pace essential.

Cartagena is clearly easier. The walled city, San Diego and Getsemaní are a few minutes' walk apart, Bocagrande is a short taxi ride away and you can walk to the Castillo San Felipe. The heat at midday is the main thing slowing you down.

Bogota stretches a long way along the mountains, and getting from La Candelaria to the northern districts takes half an hour or more in heavy traffic. TransMilenio is crowded and confusing to visitors, so most rely on taxis and ride-hailing.

Both offer about the same, and both sell emeralds, so buy carefully in either. Bogota adds the Sunday flea market in Usaquén, Colombian designers in Zona G and Chapinero, good leather goods and large northern malls.

Cartagena is more about craft and resort style: Wayuu bags and woven hats in the vaults of Las Bóvedas, and linen and swimwear in walled-city boutiques, with plenty of souvenir hawkers around them.

Bogota is the cheaper city by a clear margin. Comfortable northern hotels, office-worker set lunches, taxis across town and the major museums all cost little. Only the smarter restaurants of Zona G and Zona T approach international prices.

Cartagena is Colombia's most expensive city. Boutique mansions inside the walls charge close to European rates, especially at Christmas, New Year and Easter. Getsemaní hostels, street food and island trips keep it affordable, but you need to agree prices with hawkers and boatmen in advance.

The stage is where Bogota pulls clearly ahead. The gilded Teatro Colón puts on opera and ballet, the Teatro Mayor brings in international orchestras, and the Ibero-American Theatre Festival and the free Rock al Parque add big seasonal events. Year round there is salsa, jazz in Chapinero and independent theatre.

Cartagena's formal programme amounts to the Teatro Adolfo Mejía and a January classical festival. Most of its music happens in the street, with cumbia dancers in the plazas and salsa and champeta in Getsemaní.

Cartagena is the better place to unwind, though mainly outside the city itself. Colonial-house hotels have plunge pools and quiet courtyards, massages are cheap, and a few nights in a hammock on the islands slow the pace properly.

Bogota offers little rest within the city, beyond hotel spas and quiet Usaquén streets. The thermal springs at Choachí and Tabio are about an hour away, which makes a soak a full outing.