El Laguito, the flat-water end of Cartagena's peninsula

Playa de El Laguito and the wall offshore

Playa de El Laguito is a crescent of grey-gold sand at the very tip of the Bocagrande peninsula, crowded with rows of thatched and bright-coloured parasols and backed by a wall of white residential towers. Entry is free and there is no door policy. A low rock breakwater holds the water unusually flat and shallow, calmer than Bocagrande's open stretch, and lifeguards work the sand from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Of all the swimming in Cartagena, this is the easiest on families with small children.

Vendors rent parasol-and-lounger sets along the sand and will set up for any number of people. A set runs $25.000 to $40.000. Agree the price per chair before you sit down, not after the parasol is planted.

Hawkers come through steadily all day. One firm no is usually enough, and the rest of the morning is yours.

The wall itself, the Escollera de Bocagrande, is the one piece of Cartagena's fortification system you can see from El Laguito. Arévalo built it between 1771 and 1778 to seal the Bocagrande channel against warships, and it runs out from the peninsula tip towards Tierrabomba island. At high tide you see nothing; at low water a pale stone ridge shows above the surface. You look at it from the public shoreline, which costs nothing and takes any number of people, because no boat lands on it.

Lessons on the flat water

WindSpot Escuela Náutica (Cra. 1 #1A-23) keeps a rack of windsurf boards and rigged sails standing on the Laguito sand, and the instructors rig kit out in waist-deep water that barely moves. That flat water is why the beach fills with sails and why a first lesson here works. Paddleboards start at $60.000. Windsurf lessons and jet-ski runs start at $220.000.

The wind season runs December to April. Book ahead for those months, including family and group lessons. The last jet ski leaves at 5 p.m. Lockers for valuables and a freshwater shower sit behind the rack.

The lagoon loop

Laguna de El Laguito gives the barrio its name, a small inland saltwater lagoon ringed by a paved walking-and-running path with benches along it. Small boats lie moored against the mangrove edge, and the condo towers stand reflected in the flat water. The path costs nothing and is wide enough for walkers, joggers and cyclists at the same time.

Walk the loop late in the afternoon, when the fishermen come out and children fly kites from the path. The orange sky sits in the water the whole way round. Then cut through to the sea-facing beach for sunset. Nothing else free in El Laguito comes close to it.

Eating on Carrera 1 and the beach deck

El Muelle Laguito Beach Club opens straight onto the Laguito sand from a two-level timber deck, with thatch and festoon lights overhead. Lunch is ceviche and whole fish, and mains run $55.000 to $110.000. Upstairs is a solarium of loungers and umbrellas. Take a west-facing table in the evening, when the sun drops into the Caribbean in front of you. Weekends are first-come and no reservations are taken, so arrive early on a Saturday for the deck.

El Rincón del Laguito is a plain open-fronted room on Carrera 1, a few steps back from the sand, with laminated menus and plastic-topped tables. The kitchen cooks bocachico, sierra, cojinúa and cocktail de camarones, and sends out whole fried pargo with coconut rice, patacones and lime. Mains are $35.000 to $70.000. The room is small and family-run: walk in for two, and call ahead for a party over eight.

Sabores del Mar Laguito (Pierino Gallo arcade, local 1-3) runs 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. It is open when the beach kitchens are shut, so it takes the early breakfasts and the late dinners in the barrio. The dining room is tiled, with a pizza oven working at the back. Fish croquettes, sierra in coconut sauce and fried mojarra come out alongside fish soup and ceviche. Mains are $40.000 to $80.000. There is seafood pizza for a child who has had enough fish.

Bahía y Parrilla sets its tables inside small boats moored on the lagoon, string lights over the hulls and a charcoal grill smoking on the dock behind. Dinner service is 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Hire is per boat, one party at a time, up to seven people, so this is a booking for a small group or an anniversary rather than a walk-in. Packages work out from $150.000 a head, and you have to reserve.

Emeralds at Pierino Gallo

Parque Comercial Pierino Gallo is the barrio's one civic building, a low two-storey arcade from 1974 faced in caramel-coloured marble. Jewellers hold the ground floor, and external stairs climb to an open-air upper plaza. It has been billed for 50 years as the world's biggest retail point for Colombian emeralds. It is also dated and part-empty, with several units up for lease and a small casino sign along one side. Walking in is free, and jewellery starts at $200.000. The stones are the reason to come, not the building.

Greenfire Emeralds (upper plaza, Pierino Gallo) is the oldest and largest of the arcade's emerald houses, more than 50 years in the building. Rough and cut Colombian stones sit in lit glass cases, and loose stones are laid out on green felt with a loupe on the counter so you can look properly. Prices climb from the hundreds of thousands of pesos into the millions. A certificate should come with anything you buy; if one is not offered, do not buy. Call ahead if you want the short stone-grading talk the staff give visiting parties. It is the one shop in El Laguito worth a detour.

Where to stay in El Laguito

Hotel Caribe by Faranda Grand, a member of Radisson Individuals stands at the Bocagrande and Laguito join and is the district's one true heritage landmark. The 1945 colonial block by the Cuban architect Manuel José Carrerá is protected architecture, white-faced with arcaded galleries and vintage bronze fittings, and the 1940s cage lift still runs. Peacocks and macaws wander the lawns under mature palms and almond trees. The hotel holds 363 rooms across three buildings, and rooms run $600.000 to $1.000.000 a night. Non-guests who book a table at the restaurants can walk the garden, which is worth doing even if you sleep elsewhere.

Hilton Cartagena occupies the final point of the peninsula, sea on three sides, with curved outdoor pools (one of them with a water slide) and a palm-shaded private beach. Tennis courts and a children's game room are on site, and the hotel runs to 341 rooms. Las Chivas restaurant and the Society Bar are in the building. Rooms start at $550.000 and often sit well above that. Day passes for the pools and spa are sold to non-guests. The walled city is 10 minutes away by taxi, Castillo San Felipe 15.

Hotel Dann Cartagena (Avenida Las Velas) is the value option inside the barrio, a white mid-rise tower with 85 rooms, private beach access and breakfast included. Rooms start at $420.000. The sand is five minutes' walk. The pool terrace has a shallow children's end and a solarium, and the Los Bucaneros restaurant sits off the lobby.

Hours and booking

Reserve the lagoon boat grill, and book a windsurf lesson before you travel if you are coming between December and April. El Muelle holds no weekend reservations, and the beach and the lagoon path need nothing booked at all. See the Cartagena guide and the Cartagena hotel search.