Traveling to Cartagena with Your Christmas Bonus: Dates, Flights and When to Book

Updated: September 6, 2026 · CABÚ Viajes, local operator in Cartagena de Indias (RNT 215668) · Rated 5.0/5 on Google with 16 reviews — see the Google Maps listing.

The Mexican year-end bonus (aguinaldo) is paid before December 20. It's not tradition: it's required by Article 87 of the Federal Labor Law, with a minimum of 15 days' salary. And on this year's calendar, that falls right before two consecutive long weekends.

This page is written by a local operator in Cartagena de Indias, not a reseller agency. It's what you need to know to decide whether the trip fits, with the real dates and no made-up numbers.

The December 2026 and January 2027 calendar

This year the calendar works in your favor. Check the dates yourself:

• Monday, November 16, 2026 — Revolution Day. A long weekend from Saturday to Monday.
• Before Friday, December 18 — in practice, almost everyone already has their bonus in the bank by then (the legal deadline is the 20th, which falls on a Sunday).
• Friday, December 25 — Christmas on a Friday: a long weekend from the 25th to the 27th.
• Monday, December 28 to Thursday, December 31 — the classic bridge week. Four vacation days get you ten straight days off.
• Friday, January 1, 2027 — New Year's also on a Friday: a second long weekend, from the 1st to the 3rd.

Put another way: you get paid your bonus around the 18th, and you have two Friday holidays with a bridge week in between. It's the best December calendar in years, and that's exactly why flights and houses sell out earlier than usual.

The flight is the bottleneck, not the budget

Here's what almost nobody tells you, and what actually decides your trip: there are two direct flights from Mexico City to Cartagena, and neither is guaranteed to run daily: Aeroméxico from the main airport (MEX), three times a week when we checked in August 2026, and, since June 2026, Viva Aerobus from Felipe Ángeles airport (AIFA), with about three flights a week. It's 4 hours 10 minutes, 2,715 kilometers, on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 or MAX 9, departing in the morning between 8:00 and 9:30am.

Three weekly frequencies during high season mean three very concrete things:

• The flight days dictate the itinerary, not the other way around. Your trip doesn't last as many days as you'd like: it lasts as long as the next departure allows.
• It sells out before anything else. Before the houses, before the yachts, before the tables.
• If the direct flight sells out, you're left with connections via Bogotá or Panama, which work fine but eat up half a day each way. Counting that, a four-night trip turns into a three-night one.

That's why December bookings get locked in by September or October. By November you're already choosing from what's left.

What's happening in Cartagena those weeks

December and the first week of January are real high season in Cartagena, not brochure-high. The city fills up with Colombians on vacation, not just foreigners, and that changes prices and availability for everything: houses in the Historic Center, boats to Isla Grande and Cholón, tables at the clubs downtown.

The season's biggest event already has a confirmed date: Buena Vida Beach Festival, January 8–10, 2027, in Punta Canoa, about 30 minutes from downtown. It's the beach electronic music festival that draws half of Colombia.

The events from producer Páramo Presenta in Tierra Bomba — previous years' editions have fallen between January 2 and 4 — have no announced date for 2027 as of now. I'm telling you that straight instead of making up a figure: if your trip depends on that festival, message me and I'll let you know as soon as it's confirmed.

Where the money actually goes

I'm not going to put a made-up price table on a webpage: December prices move week by week, and any figure you read today will be wrong by November. What I can give you is the structure, which doesn't change, so you know what to look at when comparing budgets:

1. Flight. It's the expense that rises the most as December approaches, and the only one I can't negotiate for you. Buy it first.
2. Lodging. For a group, a house in the Historic Center works out cheaper per person than hotel rooms, and it also gives you the place where the night starts. It's the second thing to sell out.
3. Boat. The island day is the big expense of the trip after the two above. This is where most people overpay or, worse, book badly.
4. Everything else — transfers, tables, dinners, a photographer — adds up to less than people think, but it's what decides whether the trip runs smoothly or in fits and starts.

The typical split puts flight, house and boat above 70% of the total. If a budget you're sent doesn't break those three out separately, ask for them to be split.

A word of warning about the boats

The U.S. State Department's travel advisory includes a specific mention of Cartagena: it recommends caution with small tourist boats between Cartagena and the nearby islands. It's one of the very few specific mentions of this city in the whole document, and it's there because overloaded boats with no insurance and no radio are a real and recurring problem, especially in high season.

That's not a reason to skip the islands — they're the best part of the trip. It's a reason to know whose boat it is, that it's insured and that the captain is licensed. Always ask, of me too.

Frequently asked questions

When is the aguinaldo paid in Mexico?

Before December 20, by legal requirement. It's set by Article 87 of the Federal Labor Law, with a minimum of 15 days' salary. In 2026 the 20th falls on a Sunday, so in practice almost everyone receives it on Friday the 18th or earlier.

How many days of aguinaldo does the law require?

The legal minimum is 15 days' salary. There are reform proposals to raise it to 30 days, but as of now they haven't been passed: the current minimum remains 15.

Is there a direct flight from Mexico City to Cartagena?

Yes, two: Aeroméxico from Mexico City's main airport (MEX), three times a week when checked in August 2026, and, since June 2026, Viva Aerobus from Felipe Ángeles airport (AIFA). The flight takes 4 hours 10 minutes, covers 2,715 kilometers and is operated with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 or MAX 9, with morning departures between 8:00 and 9:30am. With only three frequencies, it sells out before lodging does in December.

When should I book a trip to Cartagena for December?

In September or October. The bottleneck is the direct flight, which only has three weekly frequencies. By November you're normally already choosing from what's left, and by December the direct flight is usually sold out.

What long weekends are there in Mexico in December 2026?

Christmas falls on Friday, December 25 and New Year's on Friday, January 1, 2027, so there are two consecutive Friday-to-Sunday long weekends. Between them sits the week from Monday the 28th to Thursday the 31st, so with four vacation days you get ten straight days off.

What festivals are there in Cartagena in January 2027?

Buena Vida Beach Festival is confirmed for January 8–10, 2027 in Punta Canoa, about 30 minutes from downtown. The Páramo Presenta events in Tierra Bomba, which in previous years have fallen between January 2 and 4, don't have an announced date for 2027 yet.

Is December high season in Cartagena?

Yes, and a strong one. International travelers are joined by Colombians on vacation, so prices go up and availability drops for houses in the Historic Center, boats to the islands and tables at the clubs.

How much does a trip to Cartagena around aguinaldo season cost?

It depends on the group, the dates and the type of plan, and any figure published on a website will be outdated within weeks. What doesn't change is the structure: flight, house and boat usually add up to more than 70% of the total. For a real quote, four details are needed: how many people, what dates, how many nights and what type of plan.