Nonstop Flights to Cartagena from the US: Every Route

In short: six US cities fly nonstop to Cartagena — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York JFK and Atlanta year round, plus Houston and Washington Dulles seasonally, roughly December through July. From Miami it is about three hours. Everywhere else connects, usually through Miami, Bogotá or Panama City. The seasonal detail matters more than it looks: the two United routes run exactly across the window when most bachelorette and bachelor trips get planned and taken.

Every nonstop route, as of August 2026

From	Airline	Runs
Miami (MIA)	American Airlines, Avianca	Year round
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)	JetBlue	Year round
New York (JFK)	Avianca, JetBlue	Year round
Atlanta (ATL)	Delta	Year round
Houston (IAH)	United	Seasonal, roughly December–July
Washington Dulles (IAD)	United	Seasonal, roughly December–July

For context on the airport itself: Rafael Núñez International (CTG) is served by 19 airlines from 26 airports worldwide, with roughly 2,200 arriving flights a month. It is a real international airport, not a regional strip — but it is small enough that you are outside with your bag quickly.

Schedules change. Confirm the route on the airline's own site before you build a plan around it, particularly the two seasonal ones.

The seasonal routes, and why they decide your dates

United's Houston and Dulles services run roughly December through July. Read that against how these trips actually get planned: engagements peak in December, planning starts about five months before the wedding, and nearly half of bachelorette parties happen in summer.

So if your group is coming out of Texas or the DC area, there is a nonstop for a March or May trip and there may not be one for September. That is a real constraint on your dates, and it is invisible until someone tries to book in month two and discovers the group is now looking at connections.

Practical rule: check the nonstop exists for your exact travel month before you lock the dates, not after.

If your city isn't on the list

There is no nonstop from the West Coast, the Midwest outside Houston, or most of the country. Three routings do the work:

• Through Miami or Fort Lauderdale. The simplest option and usually the shortest total time, because the final leg is only about three hours.
• Through Bogotá. Avianca's hub, with frequent onward flights to Cartagena. Domestic connection, so allow time for the transfer.
• Through Panama City. Copa's hub, useful from a lot of US cities.

One warning that costs groups a whole day: book realistic connection times. On a three-night trip, a missed connection doesn't cost you two hours, it costs a third of the trip. If the group is arriving on separate itineraries, the tight one is the one that breaks.

Arriving: what actually happens

The airport sits inside the city, roughly a fifteen-minute drive from the Walled City in normal traffic. That is unusual and it is genuinely useful — you are at the house and changed before the afternoon is over, rather than losing three hours on a transfer road.

Arrange the transfer as one booking for the group rather than everyone finding their own car at arrivals. It is cheaper, it avoids the taxi price negotiation with luggage in hand, and it means the group starts together.

If most of the group lands mid-afternoon, that first night works for dinner and drinks but not for a full night out — remember that clubs here close at 3am by law, so the night starts earlier than you are used to.

Book the house before the flights

This is the sequencing mistake I see most often, and it is expensive in both directions.

Flights feel like the big commitment, so groups book them first and then look for a house. But in Cartagena the flights are the flexible part — there are multiple carriers on the main routes — while large houses in the Walled City and good boats are a small, finite inventory. Book flights first and you end up choosing between a house you don't want and paying to change eight tickets.

The order that works: dates and head count, then the house and the boat, then flights, then everything else.

Entry requirements

US citizens do not need a tourist visa for short stays in Colombia. Everyone in the group needs a valid passport — check this in the first week of planning, because an expired passport discovered in month two is the single most common reason an international bachelorette party changes destination.

Check-Mig, the online entry form Colombia used to require, is no longer requested by Migración Colombia. A great many travel websites still say it is mandatory. Requirements change, so confirm with your airline before you fly rather than trusting any page, including this one.

When to fly

December to April is the dry season and the busiest, most expensive window. Booking further ahead matters more in this stretch, and the two United seasonal routes are open across it.

Late April to early June is the quietest good window: similar weather, more availability in houses and boats, and it overlaps with the spring end of wedding season.

Summer works — Cartagena is warm year round — and it is when nearly half of bachelorette parties happen. Expect rain in short bursts rather than all-day weather.

One seasonal note that belongs here rather than in the weather section: in December and January the trade winds pick up on this coast, the sea gets rough, and the maritime authority closes the port when conditions turn. If your boat day falls in that window, ask in advance what happens if the port closes on your date.

Keep reading

• Just got engaged? The month-by-month plan
• Cartagena vs Nashville, Scottsdale, Miami and Cabo
• Is Cartagena safe for a bachelorette party?
• Choosing a boat in Cartagena
• Cómo llegar desde México (en español)

Sources

• FlightConnections, route data for Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG), consulted 24 August 2026 — six US nonstop origins, 19 airlines, 26 airports, approximately 2,200 arriving flights per month.

Frequently asked questions