New Year's Eve in Colombia is a night of fireworks, family dinners and agüeros, small good-luck rituals that range from yellow underwear and twelve grapes at midnight to a sprint around the block with an empty suitcase. Cartagena, Medellín, Cali and Bogotá are the four cities that work best for visitors. Spend New Year's Eve 2026 in Colombia and you will see the same customs repeated in a Cartagena plaza, a Medellín family terrace and a Bogotá apartment, each with its own local flavour. This guide explains the traditions so you can join in, compares the four cities that work best for visitors, and covers the booking and safety details that make the night go smoothly.
Planning more of the trip? Start with our guide to the best places to celebrate New Year 2027 around the world.
If you only have time for one place, pick Cartagena for the Caribbean party and fireworks over the bay, or Medellín for the Christmas lights and a spring-like night outdoors. Cali is the choice for salsa fans who want to arrive for its December fair, and Bogotá suits travellers who prefer a quiet, cool-weather New Year.
Colombia New Year 2027: essential facts
- Date: Thursday, 31 December 2026; 1 January is a public holiday
- Signature ritual: New yellow underwear for prosperity in the year ahead
- At midnight: Twelve grapes, one per chime, with a wish for each
- Año Viejo: Effigies of the old year burned at midnight, mainly in towns and coastal areas
- Medellín lights: Alumbrados along the Medellín River from late November to mid-January
- Feria de Cali: Salsa festival from 25 to 30 December each year
- Entry: Rules depend on your passport; check Migración Colombia before travel
- Currency: Colombian peso (COP); carry small notes for street vendors
Colombian New Year's Eve traditions explained
The four Colombian New Year rituals you are most likely to see are wearing new yellow underwear for prosperity, walking an empty suitcase around the block for travel, eating twelve grapes with twelve wishes at midnight, and burning the Año Viejo effigy. Most happen in the last minutes of the year, and families often do several at once.
Yellow underwear for luck and money
In the days before 31 December, market stalls and shopping centres fill with yellow underwear. Wearing a new pair on New Year's Eve is believed to attract prosperity, and a popular variation is to put it on inside out and turn it the right way after midnight. People disagree about whether yellow brings money, love or both, which is part of the fun. If you plan to join in, buy a pair early in the week, as the choice gets thin by the 30th.
Some people combine colours, with red for love or white for peace. It is a cheerful, private ritual, so nobody will ask, but locals often joke about it at dinner. Street markets such as those around Cartagena's centre sell packs cheaply.
The suitcase walk for travel
Anyone hoping to travel in the new year grabs an empty suitcase at midnight and walks or runs around the block with it. In residential streets you will see whole families doing laps with wheeled cases rattling over the pavement. It is the most visible ritual for visitors, and neighbours will happily cheer you on if you join them.
The rule of thumb is to do the lap right after midnight, once the grapes are eaten and the first hugs are done, and some people insist the suitcase must be packed with a few clothes for it to work. In apartment blocks, residents walk the corridors or the car park. In Cartagena's walled city, visitors staying in hotels sometimes join the locals on the plazas with small carry-on bags, which is good fun, but keep the walk short and stay in lit areas where other people are about. It pairs naturally with the other customs, so many families eat the grapes, grab the case, and then step outside for the fireworks.
Twelve grapes and twelve wishes
Inherited from Spain, the custom is to eat twelve grapes as the clock strikes twelve, making a wish with each one. Shops sell small bags of grapes for the occasion. Seedless grapes help, because you have only a few seconds per chime.
Colombians often add other small rituals to the same minute: holding lentils in a pocket or a hand for abundance, keeping a banknote in a shoe, or sweeping the house out towards the street to clear away the old year. At family dinners, the grapes usually sit in a small bowl at each place, ready for the radio or television countdown. In restaurants with a New Year's menu, staff often bring the grapes with the dessert. If you are out on a plaza, buy a small bag in a supermarket during the day and count out twelve before you leave, as street vendors sell out fast near midnight.
Burning the Año Viejo
The Año Viejo (old year) is a life-sized doll made of old clothes stuffed with paper, sawdust or firecrackers, often dressed to look like a politician or a well-known figure. Families display it outside the house during the last days of December and set it on fire at midnight to burn away the bad things of the year. The custom is more common in smaller towns and coastal areas than in central Bogotá, and cities restrict it for safety, so treat it as something to watch from a distance.
Other agüeros you may notice include putting lentils in a pocket or wallet for abundance, holding money in your hand at midnight, and placing three potatoes under the bed (one peeled, one half-peeled, one whole) and picking one blindly to predict the year's finances.
Best cities for New Year 2027 in Colombia
Cartagena is the best Colombian city for a New Year's Eve party, with fireworks over the bay and plaza celebrations in the walled city. Medellín suits travellers who want the Alumbrados Christmas lights and mild nights, Cali is for salsa fans arriving for the Feria de Cali from 25 to 30 December, and Bogotá offers a cool, quiet night.
Cartagena: Caribbean fireworks and plaza parties
Cartagena is Colombia's most popular New Year's Eve destination for international visitors. At midnight, fireworks rise over the bay, and the display usually lasts around a quarter of an hour, so any spot with a clear view of the water works. Inside the walled old town, Plaza de Santo Domingo and the surrounding streets fill with diners, street musicians and groups toasting with rum or aguardiente.
Hotels and restaurants run ticketed dinners, and venues on the old city walls sell premium feast-and-fireworks packages. Bocagrande, the beach district of high-rise hotels, hosts beach parties, and several operators run evening boat trips around the bay with a midnight toast on the water.
This is peak season, so room rates are at their highest of the year, and restaurants in the walled city book out quickly. Book accommodation four to six months in advance and confirm your dinner reservation before you fly. See our Cartagena guide for neighbourhoods and sights.
Give Cartagena three to five days, enough for a day trip to the Rosario Islands, and base yourself in the walled city, Getsemaní or Bocagrande. It stays hot and humid even at midnight, so light clothing is all you need. Couples and beach-goers who want a party get the most out of it.
Medellín: Christmas lights and family celebrations
Medellín's big draw for the holidays is the Alumbrados Navideños, the city's Christmas lights along the Medellín River, in Parques del Río and on the surrounding hills. The lights usually run from late November to mid-January and are switched on each evening from 18:00 to midnight. Dates for 2026 are announced by the city and the utility EPM in the autumn, so check the official schedule before you go. Book rooms about three months ahead.
New Year's Eve itself is a family affair in Medellín, with meals at home and fireworks set off across the valley at midnight. Because the city sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains, a hillside viewpoint or a rooftop terrace in El Poblado or Laureles gives a sweeping view of the bursts across the whole city. Bars and clubs around Parque Lleras and Provenza get very busy, with cover charges and minimum spends on the night.
Many locals travel to the countryside for the holidays, so some neighbourhoods feel quieter than usual in the last week of the year.
Three or four days in El Poblado or Laureles is plenty. Evenings are mild, though a light jacket helps after dark. Families and remote workers like the pace, and anyone who came for the lights will find them on every evening of the trip.
Cali: salsa week before the countdown
Cali hosts the Feria de Cali every year from 25 to 30 December. The festival opens on Christmas Day with the Salsódromo, a parade of hundreds of salsa dancers along the Autopista Suroriental, and continues with concerts, horse parades and dance events through the week. Grandstand seats for the parade are sold through official operators, and rooms for Feria week should be booked about three months ahead.
By 31 December the fair has finished, but the city is still in party mode. Salsa clubs, called salsotecas, stay packed, and the midnight celebration is loud and musical. If you love dancing, arriving on 24 or 25 December gives you the whole fair plus New Year's Eve in one trip.
Covering the fair takes five to seven days. San Antonio and Granada are the districts to stay in, and Salsódromo grandstand seats are the one thing to book well ahead.
Bogotá: a cool, quiet New Year in the capital
At about 2,640 metres above sea level, Bogotá has chilly nights all year, and many residents leave the city for warmer towns at Christmas. That makes the capital calmer than usual on 31 December. Hotel restaurants in Chapinero and Usaquén run New Year's Eve dinners, and fireworks are visible across the city at midnight. Booking one to two months ahead is usually enough here.
Bogotá suits travellers passing through El Dorado airport, the country's main international hub, or those who prefer a low-key night before heading on to the coast. Some museums and shops close on 1 January, so plan sightseeing for 30 December or 2 January.
Two days is enough. Stay in Chapinero, Zona G or Usaquén, and pack a warm layer for the cold nights.
How to stay safe on New Year's Eve in Colombia
Stay well back from fireworks and Año Viejo burnings, carry only a copy of your passport, one card and some cash, and use registered taxis or ride-hailing apps after midnight. Fireworks injuries spike in December and crowded plazas attract pickpockets, so these few habits cover the main risks of the night.
Fireworks injuries spike in December, and Colombian authorities run campaigns against the use of gunpowder by untrained people. Stay well back from Año Viejo burnings and street firecrackers, and keep children close.
Crowded plazas attract pickpockets. Carry a copy of your passport, one card and some cash, and leave valuables in the hotel safe. After midnight, use registered taxis or ride-hailing apps. Hailing cars on the street is riskier.
A few numbers help with packing. Cartagena is the most international and the most expensive, with highs around 31°C and humid nights. Medellín's Christmas lights (alumbrados) along the river and in many neighbourhoods usually stay on into early January, so the city combines New Year with an evening light trail. Cali hosts the Feria de Cali from 25 to 30 December each year, with the Salsódromo parade on the opening day, so arriving a few days early adds a festival to the trip. Bogotá sits at about 2,600 metres, so evenings are cool, around 8 to 10°C, and many residents leave for the coast.
Where to stay for New Year's Eve in Colombia
In Cartagena, the walled city is the place to be. Staying inside it, in the Centro or San Diego neighbourhoods, puts you steps from the plaza parties and rooftop bars. Getsemaní, just outside the walls, is livelier and cheaper, with hostels and boutique hotels. Bocagrande has the beachfront high-rise hotels but is a taxi ride from the old city.
In Medellín, El Poblado is the main base for visitors, with hotels, restaurants and Parque Lleras nightlife in one area. Laureles is calmer and close to the Christmas lights along the river. Remember that Medellín's New Year is a family affair, so many restaurants close early. In Cali, stay in Granada or San Antonio, near the salsa venues. In Bogotá, Chapinero and Zona G suit visitors who want restaurants and bars nearby.
Minimum stays of three to five nights are common in Cartagena over New Year, and prices for the walled city can be several times the normal rate, so booking early or using Getsemaní as the base keeps costs in check. Check whether rooms have air-conditioning in Cartagena and Cali, as nights stay warm, and ask in Bogotá whether the room is heated, since many hotels have no heating. Free cancellation is worth paying a little more for.
Getting home after midnight in Colombia
Do not plan around the metro. In Medellín, the metro system closes early on 31 December across all lines, including the cable cars. Bogotá's TransMilenio also runs reduced hours on holidays. After midnight, use registered taxis or ride-hail apps, never cars offered on the street. In Cartagena, staying inside or beside the walled city means you can walk home. Expect higher fares and long waits right after midnight everywhere.
In Cartagena, taxis do not use meters; fares follow a city-set table with a minimum fare and surcharges at night and on holidays, so agree the price before getting in or ask your hotel what the normal fare is. Uber, DiDi, Cabify and InDrive are all widely used in Colombian cities, and many travellers prefer them for the in-app record of the driver and route. Booking from inside a restaurant or hotel lobby is safer than standing on the kerb with a phone in hand. In Bogotá and Medellín, nights are cool, so waiting indoors is more comfortable too. Plan for crowds leaving the Medellín nightlife area of Parque Lleras at the same time, and walk a few blocks away before booking.
What New Year's Eve in Colombia costs
Typical spending, as of October 2026
| Item | What to expect | How to keep it down |
|---|---|---|
| Street and plaza celebrations | Free in Cartagena and other cities | Stay in groups and keep valuables at the hotel |
| Hotel nights | Cartagena is the most expensive city for New Year, with minimum stays | Book by October or stay in Getsemaní |
| New Year dinner or party | Restaurants and rooftops sell fixed packages for the night | Compare inclusions and end times |
| Feria de Cali | Ticketed events and free street parades | Buy official tickets for the Salsódromo |
| Taxis | Higher fares after midnight; metro closes early | Book through apps or the hotel |
Outside Cartagena, Colombia is good value: a set lunch (menú del día) costs a few dollars in Medellín and Bogotá, and city transport is cheap. The peso is the only currency in shops, and ATMs are common; use those inside banks or malls. Tipping of around ten percent is usually added to restaurant bills as a suggested service charge, which you can accept or decline. Prices at beach clubs on the islands near Cartagena rise sharply in holiday weeks. Domestic flights between Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Cartagena are short and often cheap if booked early, but fares for 30 December and 1 January jump as families travel.
Tips for celebrating New Year's Eve in Colombia
- Buy ritual items early. Yellow underwear, grapes and lentils sell fast in the last days of December. Pick them up from a supermarket or market by the 29th.
- Book a set dinner. Restaurants in Cartagena and Medellín run fixed New Year's Eve menus with deposits. Reserve before you travel and ask whether the price includes drinks.
- Pack for two climates. Cartagena is hot at midnight, while Bogotá is cold. If you combine cities, bring both light clothes and a warm jacket.
- Fly in before the 30th. Domestic flights between the coast and the interior are in high demand over the holidays. Compare options on our flight search early.
- Learn a few phrases. "Feliz año nuevo" (happy new year) and "próspero año" (prosperous year) are what you will hear at midnight. Hugs with strangers are normal.
- Save 1 January for rest. The first day of the year is a public holiday, many businesses close, and beaches near Cartagena fill with families.
For other Latin American celebrations, compare this guide with New Year's Eve in Mexico and New Year's Eve in Brazil.
Cartagena and Medellín hotels fill fast for the last week of December. Compare central stays now. Search hotels
The customs you will see in Colombia are compared with those of other countries in our guide to New Year traditions around the world.
Planning a trip to Colombia? Read our Colombia travel guide or search flights.
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