Trevelin vs Cartagena
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Trevelin cheaper — −77%
Family budget
✓in Cartagena cheaper — −47%
Ready-made house
✓in Trevelin cheaper — −34%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per month✓Trevelin≈ $257–482ARS 400–750kcheaper by 77%Cartagena≈ $1,070–2,140COP 3.5–7.04MFamily groceries
per monthTrevelin≈ $546ARS 844,304✓Cartagena≈ $290COP 953,232cheaper by 47%Family budget
per monthTrevelin≈ $1,210ARS 1,874,639✓Cartagena≈ $639COP 2,099,220cheaper by 47%Winter
averageTrevelin2 °C2 °CCartagena24–31 °C24–31 °CPrecipitation
per yearTrevelin963 mm963 mmCartagena1,017 mm1,017 mmReady-made house
purchase✓Trevelin$190–260k$190–260kcheaper by 34%Cartagena≈ $228–453kCOP 750–1,487.5M
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Housing
Trevelin
Small units are about ARS 400–420k a month, 2 bedrooms 550–750k. Supply is limited, and good houses go quickly.
SpecialistLong-term rental listings — Zonaprop, Mercado Libre, local agencies · checked 30 Aug 2026
1 ha is roughly USD 26–50k, more interesting than Esquel per area. With gas at the entrance and year-round access, about USD 80k.
SpecialistListings for land and houses for sale — Zonaprop, Mercado Libre, Argenprop · checked 1 Sep 2026
Family houses are more often around USD 190–260k; a new 180 m² house with 3 bedrooms is USD 260k.
SpecialistListings for land and houses for sale — Zonaprop, Mercado Libre, Argenprop · checked 1 Sep 2026
Cartagena
A three-bedroom apartment by listings: median 5.5 million pesos a month (about 1,640 dollars), half within 3.5-7 million. In stratum 6 the median is 6.8 million.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for rent in Cartagena · checked 6 Oct 2026
A resale three-bedroom by listings: median 975 million pesos (about 290 thousand dollars), half within 750 million - 1.49 billion. Mostly Bocagrande and Castillogrande.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in Cartagena · checked 6 Oct 2026
Money and prices
Trevelin
Trevelin is not measured separately, so use Esquel (25 km) as a benchmark: poverty line ARS 1,874,639 a month. Supermarket prices are the same.
SpecialistObservatorio de Economía UNPSJB — cost of the basket in Patagonian cities, July 2026 · checked 9 Sep 2026
The minimum basket in the Esquel measurement is ARS 844,304 a month. In Trevelin the shops are smaller and the choice is narrower; big shopping is done in Esquel.
SpecialistObservatorio de Economía UNPSJB — cost of the basket in Patagonian cities, July 2026 · checked 9 Sep 2026
Cartagena
The DANE minimum food basket for Cartagena is 238,308 pesos per person a month, about 953 thousand (285 dollars) for a family of four. Figures for 2025.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
A family of four in Cartagena counts as poor with income below 2.1 million pesos a month, about 630 dollars (2025). 34.6% of residents are poor, more than in Medellín and Cali.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
Family and kids
Trevelin
There are schools in Aldea Escolar (about 12 km away, with a school bus for some students) and in Sierra Colorada. Places are assigned through the provincial DINO system.
OfficialSchool Nº7724 Aldea Escolar · checked 31 Aug 2026
Cartagena
Nothing yet
Healthcare
Trevelin
There is no serious healthcare of its own: the hospital, clinic and diagnostics are in Esquel, 20–30 minutes along RN 259. Check the winter travel time to the hospital by address.
OfficialMinisterio de Salud — services of Hospital Zonal Esquel · checked 25 Aug 2026
Cartagena
Hospital Serena del Mar of the Santa Fe de Bogotá foundation: in Colombia's top 20 in the Newsweek 2026 ranking and first in Cartagena and the Caribbean region. Over 60 specialties.
SpecialistEl Universal: Hospital Serena del Mar, first in Cartagena in the Newsweek 2026 ranking · checked 6 Oct 2026
Transport
Trevelin
A Jacobsen bus runs to Esquel: on weekdays almost every hour from 06:45, about 45 minutes on the way. To the border at Futaleufú there are services on Mondays and Fridays; the crossing is open 8–18 h.
SpecialistTransporte Jacobsen: schedule Esquel - Trevelin - Aldea and trips to the Chilean border · checked 1 Oct 2026
The nearest airport is Esquel's, about 45 km away according to the Trevelin municipality. There are more flights in summer than in the shoulder season; a ticket costs more than to Bariloche (per an aviation blog).
OfficialTrevelin municipal tourism · checked 1 Oct 2026
Cartagena
In 2025 about 7.2 million passengers passed through Cartagena airport, 1.7 million of them international. The most popular destinations are Lima, New York, Mexico City, Madrid and Miami.
OfficialAerocivil, open data: commercial air traffic by origin-destination, 2020-2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Climate
Trevelin
About 963 mm a year, an annual average of 9.7 °C, winter is wetter than summer, and part of the precipitation is snow. Trevelin is noticeably greener than Esquel.
OfficialTrevelin municipal tourism · checked 24 Aug 2026
The average July temperature is 1.7 °C, from the Esquel Aero station, the one closest to Trevelin. There is no station in the town itself. In winter there is more precipitation than in summer, with snow in places.
OfficialSMN — climate normals 1991–2020 · checked 1 Oct 2026
Cartagena
There is no winter: even in the coolest month, January, it averages 23.6 degrees at night and 30.5 during the day. In June-July, 25.7 at night and 31.6 during the day.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cartagena 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
About 1,020 mm a year. From December to April it is almost dry (1-35 mm a month), rains from May to November, most of all in October: 235 mm and 16 rainy days.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cartagena 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Safety
Trevelin
In Chubut in 2025 the rate was 3.5 per 100k residents (21 cases), below the national average (3.6). The figure is provincial; there are no separate statistics for Trevelin.
OfficialSNIC — Informe del Sistema Nacional de Información Criminal, year 2025, table 5 (intentional homicides by province) · checked 9 Sep 2026
Cartagena
According to Ministry of Defense open data, Cartagena had 360 homicides in 2025 and 381 in 2024. In January-August 2026 there were 191, against 244 in the same period of 2025.
OfficialColombian Ministry of Defense, open data: homicides by municipality (HOMICIDIO) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Internet and phone
Trevelin
Since May 2026, Canal 4 fiber in town at 200/400/600 Mbps. On rural plots, wireless and satellite are more common: do not assume the town's fiber carries over.
SpecialistCanal 4 — fiber launch in Trevelin · checked 25 Aug 2026
Cartagena
Nothing yet
Services
Trevelin
There is a gas network in Trevelin, and connection requests have been accepted again since January 2026. Electricity and water are supplied by the 16 de Octubre cooperative, which has its own office in Trevelin.
SpecialistCamuzzi — gas connections resume in the Cordillera · checked 1 Oct 2026
Cartagena
Water with sewerage for 15 m³ at the Aguas de Cartagena tariff: stratum 4 about 136 thousand pesos a month (41 dollars), stratum 5 about 241 thousand, stratum 6 about 289 thousand.
OfficialAguas de Cartagena: water and sewerage tariffs, second half of 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Surtigas piped gas for homes: 2,539 pesos per m³ plus 3,942 pesos a month per bill. 30 m³ comes to about 80 thousand pesos (24 dollars). Strata 5-6 pay 20% more.
OfficialSurtigas: piped gas tariffs for regulated users, September 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Since September 2026 a kWh from Afinia costs 1,033 pesos, the price for stratum 4. 300 kWh a month is about 310 thousand pesos (93 dollars), a typical amount for a family with air conditioning.
SpecialistEl Universal: Afinia's price per kWh rose from 950 to 1,033 pesos from September 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026

