Travel safety
Is Colombia safe to visit?
The usual route of Bogotá, Medellín, the Coffee Region, Cartagena and Santa Marta is outside the warning zones. The biggest risk for visitors is being drugged and robbed, often after meeting someone through a dating app.
- Safe
- Avoid
- Essential only
- Never travel
Colombia has changed hugely since the 1990s, and its cities now draw huge numbers of backpackers and couples. Armed groups are still active in some rural areas, though, and that is where the FCDO's warnings sit: along both land borders, on parts of the Pacific coast, and in remote areas of the south and east.
Colombia region by region
- Bogotá, Medellín & CaliSafe
No regional warning, but the FCDO lists pickpocketing, mugging and armed robbery as a problem in all three. Jamundí, just south of Cali, is essential travel only.
- Cartagena, Santa Marta & TayronaSafe
No regional warning. Petty theft on beaches and in the old town is the main issue.
- Coffee Region (Salento, Manizales)Safe
No warning. Popular with hikers in the Cocora Valley.
- Caño Cristales (Meta)Essential only
The surrounding Ariari region is essential travel only. The FCDO's exception is flying into La Macarena and visiting with a reputable tour company.
- Chocó Pacific coastEssential only
Essential only, apart from Quibdó, Nuquí, Bahía Solano and Capurganá, which are reached by air.
- Venezuelan border (Cúcuta, Arauca)Essential only
Essential travel only. Do not use the Colombia–Venezuela land crossings.
- Ecuador border & PutumayoEssential only
Essential travel only within 5km of the border, except the Rumichaca crossing and Ipiales, and in several Putumayo municipalities.
The scam that catches people out
The FCDO is unusually specific here. Criminals use dating apps to target people travelling alone, often working in teams. Victims are drugged, sometimes with scopolamine slipped into a drink, a cigarette or even a flyer, and then robbed or assaulted. Some wake up hours later with their bank accounts emptied.
The rule is simple: meet new people in busy public places, never invite them back, and never accept a drink you did not see poured.
Taxis and cash
Express kidnappings often start with a taxi hailed on the street at night. Use apps or pre-booked cars, and take cash out in daytime from ATMs inside banks or shopping centres.
Before you go
- Use app taxis, especially at night and from airports.
- Do not invite new acquaintances to your room.
- Keep your phone out of sight on the street. Phone snatching is common.
- Emergency number: 123.
Official advice: FCDO travel advice for Colombia
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