Cartagena: Local Market & Cooking Class with Chef

You're in Cartagena—now cook like someone who lives here

You shop the local market with a guide, learn to cook three traditional dishes in a beachfront cabin with a Colombian chef, and eat lunch right there. Hotel pickup from your neighborhood in Cartagena is included, so you show up and cook.

Step-by-step itinerary

• Buy ingredients at local market
• Visit fisher's town
• Cook in Caribbean beach cabin

The Experience

The market in Cartagena opens early, and that's where this cooking class starts. You'll walk through the stalls with a local guide, picking out plantains, fish, coconut and whatever else the vendors have that morning—no script, just the real rhythm of how people shop here. The guide talks you through what's seasonal, what works together, why a particular piece of fish matters. It's the kind of knowledge that doesn't fit in a recipe.

After the market, you head to a fisher's town on the edge of the city, where a traditional Caribbean cabin sits right in front of the water. That's where the actual cooking happens. A local chef walks you through making plantain cups with guacamole, coconut rice, fried plantain, and whatever fish you picked out that morning—prepared simply, the way it's eaten here. You're not watching; you're doing it, with your hands in the food and the chef correcting your grip or your timing. The whole thing takes a few hours, and you eat what you made, sitting where you cooked it, with a drink included.

Hotel pickup is included from Bocagrande, Laguito, Castillo Grande or Centro, so you don't have to figure out transport or negotiate a taxi fare. The guide handles the timing and gets you back to your hotel afterward.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup from Bocagrande, Laguito, Castillo Grande or Centro, a guided walk through the local market, a hands-on cooking class in a traditional Caribbean cabin with a local chef, lunch featuring plantain cups with guacamole, coconut rice, fried plantain and fish, one drink, and return transport to your hotel.

Operated by cartagena caribbean tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to learn how Cartagena actually cooks—not from a cookbook, but from someone who lives here—and you'd rather not spend the morning finding the market or figuring out where to take a class. The small group and fixed schedule mean you show up and the rest is arranged.

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Top questions

How long is the cooking class?

The full experience—market, cooking and lunch—takes around four to five hours.

What if I have dietary restrictions?

Tell the tour operator when you book. The chef can adapt the menu, though the core dishes are fish-based.

Do I need cooking experience?

No. The chef teaches each step and works with beginners.

What's included in the price?

Market tour, cooking class, lunch, one drink, and hotel pickup from your neighborhood.

Which hotels are covered by pickup?

Bocagrande, Laguito, Castillo Grande, and Centro. Confirm your exact location when booking.

Can I do this if I'm vegetarian?

The menu centers on fish and seafood. Contact the operator before booking to discuss alternatives.