Free Tour Cartagena

What Free Tour Cartagena does

Free Tour Cartagena is a privately held, founder-operated tour operator founded in 2014 and based in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The company operates a portfolio of nine guided experiences targeting international tourists visiting Cartagena, organized into two product families: free walking tours operated on a 'pay what you feel' gratuity model (covering the Old City, Old City/Getsemaní combined, and Getsemaní Mural Art & Graffiti) and paid specialized tours including a City Tour, Bazurto Market Food Tour, San Basilio de Palenque full-day tour, Between Walls and Drums Walking Tour, Black History Private Walking Tour, and a Cartagena Street Food Tour. The San Basilio de Palenque tour is designed and operated directly by the company without intermediaries, leveraging partnerships with local community guides for authentic etno-cultural immersion. Free walking tours serve as the customer acquisition funnel while paid tours monetize group bookings with tiered per-person pricing ($26–$100 USD) and group-size-based discounts.

The company employs approximately 8 local expert guides (per available headcount data) and operates under a direct-to-consumer go-to-market model. Distribution is multi-channel: self-serve booking via Google Forms on the website, WhatsApp communication, in-person sales at the Plaza Santa Teresa meeting point (identified by yellow umbrellas), and earned discovery through TripAdvisor. The underlying technology is a lightweight booking platform supplemented by Bold.co payment processing; no proprietary software, app, API, or AI/ML systems are present. Bilingual (English/Spanish) guides handle simultaneous tours, and minimum 24-hour advance reservations are required for paid experiences. The company claims to have served 100,000+ tourists since 2014 and has held the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 10 consecutive years.

Free Tour Cartagena is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding, parent company, or external investment, and is operated by founder Edgar Verbel (with Elias Verbel identified as website designer). Revenue is generated entirely through the freemium tip-based free tours and one-time paid tour transactions, with no subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue streams. The customer base consists of long-tail individual international tourists with no enterprise or B2B contracts identified. Geographic scope is single-country (Colombia), with the full operational footprint concentrated in Cartagena.

Name

Free Tour Cartagena

Legal name

Free Tour Cartagena

Website

https://freetourcartagena.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Free Tour Cartagena is a privately held, founder-operated tour operator in Cartagena, Colombia, founded in 2014. It runs a portfolio of free tip-based walking tours and paid specialized cultural, historical, and food tours targeting international tourists, with no external funding and ~8 local guides.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Walking Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Group Escorted Tour Operators (THAKADAB)

Keywords

• Walking tour services
• Cultural tourism
• Guided sightseeing tours
• Food tour experiences
• Historical city tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Cartagena

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free Walking Tours: Pay-what-you-feel model where participants provide voluntary tips based on satisfaction. Core offering since 2014 that drives customer acquisition and volume.
2. Paid Specialized Tours: Fixed-price paid experiences including City Tour, Bazurto Market Food Tour, San Basilio de Palenque Tour, Between Walls and Drums Walking Tour, and Street Food Tour. Group pricing with tiered discounts based on party size.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Free Tour Cartagena is a tour operator founded in 2014 in Cartagena, Colombia, that runs guided walking tours and specialized cultural tours for tourists visiting the city. Its core offering includes free walking tours of the Old City and Getsemaní neighborhood (tip-based), plus paid themed tours covering mural art and graffiti, the Bazurto Market food scene, San Basilio de Palenque heritage, Afro-Colombian history, and a broader city tour. The company employs eight local guides and has served over 100,000 tourists since inception.

Product overview

Free Tour Cartagena operates a portfolio of walking tours and specialized cultural experiences in Cartagena, Colombia. The core offering includes free walking tours operating on a 'pay what you feel' gratuity model, supplemented by paid specialized experiences including city tours with transportation, food tours (street food and market-focused), and cultural heritage tours (Palenque, Black History, Between Walls and Drums). The company has operated since 2014 and holds TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 10 consecutive years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Old City Free Walking Tour A guided walking tour of Cartagena's historic Old City, offered on a tip-based (free) model to tourists visiting Cartagena and led by local guides.
• Old City / Getsemaní Free Walking Tour A combined free walking tour covering Cartagena's Old City and the Getsemaní neighborhood, offered on a tip-based model to tourists.
• Free Walking Tour Getsemaní Mural Art & Graffiti A tip-based guided walking tour focused on the mural art and graffiti of Cartagena's Getsemaní neighborhood, aimed at tourists interested in street art and local culture.
• City Tour A broader paid tour of Cartagena, led by local guides, covering the city's main sights beyond the standard walking-tour routes.
• Bazurto Market Food Tour A paid guided food tour of Cartagena's Bazurto Market, led by local guides including Edgar Verbel, aimed at tourists interested in local culinary culture.
• San Basilio de Palenque Tour A paid guided tour to San Basilio de Palenque, a heritage town near Cartagena, led by local guides including Edgar Verbel, aimed at tourists interested in Afro-Colombian history and culture.
• Between Walls and Drums Walking Tour A themed walking tour focused on the historic walls and musical/drum heritage of Cartagena, aimed at tourists interested in the city's history and cultural traditions.
• Black History Private Walking Tour A private paid walking tour focused on Black history in Cartagena, offered to tourists interested in the city's Afro-Colombian heritage and history.
• Cartagena Street Food Tour A paid guided street food tour of Cartagena, aimed at tourists who want to sample local street food with context from a local guide.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ tourists served since founding
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GuruWalk: GuruWalk is a global marketplace/aggregator specifically for free walking tours, operating in many cities including across Latin America. Directly comparable to Free Tour Cartagena as a free walking tour operator and competes for the same tourist customer base.
• Sandemans New Europe: Sandemans New Europe pioneered the free walking tour concept globally and operates in dozens of cities. Direct comparable in business model (tip-based walking tours), customer base (international tourists), and asset-light operating structure.
• Strawberry Tours: Strawberry Tours operates free walking tours across multiple European and Latin American cities with a similar freemium model. Comparable in product offering (free walking tours + paid experiences) and target market (international tourists).
• Free Tour Bogotá: Free Tour Bogotá mirrors Free Tour Cartagena's tip-based walking tour model in Colombia's capital. Same freemium/paid tour structure, same target customer, and represents either a future expansion opportunity or a parallel competitor.
• Free Tour Medellín: Free Tour Medellín operates the same free walking tour and paid specialized tour model in Colombia's second-largest city. Closely comparable business model, customer segment, and tour format, but geographically differentiated within Colombia.
• Walks: Walks (formerly Walks of Italy) is a premium small-group tour operator offering paid guided experiences in major destinations. Comparable in curated, expert-guide-led tour format and international tourist customer base, though positioned more premium.

Broad incumbents

• GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a major global OTA for tours, attractions, and experiences. While it does not directly offer free walking tours, it competes for the same tourist booking wallet and lists many of the same types of paid experiences Free Tour Cartagena offers.
• Civitatis: Civitatis is a major Spanish-language tour and activity booking platform with strong presence in Latin American destinations including Colombia. It is a direct distribution channel competitor for the same Spanish-speaking tourist segment.
• Viator (Tripadvisor): Viator is a leading global tours and activities marketplace owned by Tripadvisor. It competes for distribution of the same types of tours Free Tour Cartagena offers and represents both a distribution channel risk and indirect competitor.

Emerging players

• Withlocals: Withlocals is a marketplace for tours and experiences hosted by locals, with growing presence in Latin America. Comparable in offering authentic, locally-led experiences to international tourists, though operates as a marketplace rather than direct operator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FTCartagena
• Facebookfacebook.com/freetourcartagena
• Instagraminstagram.com/free_tour_cartagena
• TikToktiktok.com/@free.tour.cartage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/free-tour-cartagena

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Free Tour Cartagena