Is Colombia safe to travel? A solo female’s take on safety in Colombia

Colombia safety is not an issue for most backpackers - especially not in Cartagena.

Tell your friends and family that you’re visiting Colombia, and you’re sure to get some raised eyebrows (at best). Most people associate the country with Pablo Escobar, FARC, and the drug trade deep in the Amazon jungle. But is that the true story? Or is Colombia safe to travel?

 

Over the past 20 years, Colombia has experienced a remarkable transformation. The country still has its problems — most of the Amazon is still off-limits — but it’s come a long way from the days where narco-terrorism disrupted daily life in major cities.

 

In this post, I’ll give you an honest rundown on safety in Colombia today from the perspective of a solo female traveler. Feel free to send it to your mom to reassure her!

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase through these links, I receive a percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you, which helps me keep this site up and running.

 

Is Colombia safe to travel? The big picture.

 

How dangerous is Colombia? Not very -- you'll meet more cows than guys with guns.
As a whole, is it safe to travel to Colombia? Yes, with a few basic precautions.

 

I’m going to get right to the point — overall, you’ll probably feel safer traveling in Colombia than in most other parts of South America, provided you use some basic common sense. Safety in Colombia is simply not a major concern for most travelers anymore.

 

Colombia’s main draws are its incredible nature, beautiful beaches, and charming historical towns. These are all things you can enjoy without worrying about crime or terrorism. Crime rates in most parts of Colombia are lower than they are in much of the U.S.

 

You might hear some more mixed impressions of big cities like Bogota and Medellin. It’s true, you do need to keep your guard up a bit higher there. But use the same rules you would in any other big city — don’t wander aimlessly alone at night, don’t flash valuables, watch out for pickpockets on crowded city buses — and you’ll be fine.

 

In fact, the biggest issues with safe travel in Colombia are environmental rather than crime-related. Heatstroke, infected mosquito bites, aggressive dogs, and strong currents in the ocean are as likely to land you in the hospital as a mugging.

 

In short, there’s no reason to be overly worried about your ability to travel safely in Colombia.

 

Safety in Medellin, Bogota, Cartagena, and other big cities

 

As a tourist in Colombia, you'll mostly be out and about during the day in places like La Candelaria in Bogota. It's safe before dark.
You’ve probably heard the most warnings about Bogota when you travel to Colombia, but the reality is it’s generally safe.

 

When people think of Colombia as being dangerous, the first thing that comes to mind is muggings in big cities like Medellin and Bogota. As I mentioned above, you do have to be more vigilant in Colombia’s cities than perhaps you would at home. But that doesn’t mean they’re dangerous.

 

The general safety tip for Colombia’s cities is you can go where you please during the day, but take taxis at night in the downtown areas. In particular, the Medellin city center, the Candelaria area of Bogota, and the city of Armenia in the Eje Cafetero are all fine when it’s light out. But after dark the streets empty out.

 

Outside the main downtown areas, Colombian cities tend to be extremely safe. Stay in Poblado, Medellin or the Quinta Camacho neighborhood of Bogota and you can safely bar-hop until the wee hours.

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The other concern some people have about Colombia travel safety in big cities is terrorism. A decade ago, narco-terrorist groups like FARC frequently unleashed car bombs in urban areas. Today, however, the concern has mostly evaporated. Even when the occasional ELN bomb strike hits, the target is more likely to be a police station or politically relevant location than anywhere you’d find yourself as a tourist. Remember, terrorism can happen anywhere in the world, but it’s extremely unlikely to affect you.

 

Finally, Cartagena deserves special mention as being the safest of Colombia’s major cities. In fact, you have little to worry about safety-wise at all here. Tourist police patrol the old city and Getsemani neighborhood at all hours of the day and night.

 

Safety in small towns, at beaches, and on hikes

 

As a tourist in Colombia, you'll probably visit Salento -- which is extremely safe.
Small towns like Salento are some of the safest places in Colombia.

 

You probably didn’t come to Colombia for the big cities. So you might be wondering about safety in places like Guatape, Jardin, and Salento — as well as Tayrona National Park and hikes and treks.

 

I have good news for you: You have absolutely nothing to worry about, safety-wise, in most small towns of interest to travelers. These towns and natural destinations are some of the friendliest places you’ll ever travel.

 

In fact, in both Jardin and Salento, I stayed at hostels outside of town. In both cases they were 20-minute walks down unlit dirt roads from the town center. I did those walks alone every single night, and was never once even the least bit nervous for my safety.

 

Most beaches and hiking destinations are equally safe. The Lost City Trek once cut through cocaine plantations, but the drug activity has mostly moved on, and it poses no risk to tourists. Plus, you’re required to have a guide in most national parks in Colombia — so you’ll have good access to local safety information.

 

Trouble spots in the Amazon and beyond

 

If you're wondering, is Colombia dangerous, the truth is some places are. On the Caribbean coast, stick with secure beach destinations like Costeño.
Costeño Beach is a safe alternative to Taganga on the Caribbean Coast.

 

As much as I’d like to tell you that you have truly nothing to worry about in terms of Colombia travel safety, unfortunately there are a few areas that are still not safe to visit.

 

The biggest trouble spot is the large swath of Amazon jungle that runs from the mountains south of Santander Department to the borders with Peru and Brazil. This area is still inhabited by drug traffickers and rebel groups. See the State Department’s travel advisory for province-by-province recommendations. While the State Department is often overly cautious, when it’s issuing Level 4 advisories, that’s something to watch out for.

 

The good news is, you can still see the Amazon Jungle on a trip to Colombia safely. The area around Leticia — which borders Peru and Brazil — is totally secure. You just have to fly there and back.

 

While the Amazon represents the biggest risk to safety in Colombia, a few other trouble spots are worth noting. One newer area to avoid is anywhere on the border with Venezuela. It’s not worth the risk to go further east than Bucaramanga.

 

Additionally, a couple beach areas are known for being dodgier than Colombia as a whole. Most famous is Taganga. Once a popular backpacker destination, the town has taken a serious downward turn in the last ten years or so. Muggings, theft, and corruption are commonplace. There are better places to hang out on the Caribbean coast. Finally, the Pacific coast’s extremely remote and rugged territory makes for a great backpacking adventure — but it means you need to keep your guard up a bit higher.

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Natural threats to your safety in Colombia

 

If you want to ensure safe travel in Colombia, hire a guide for hikes like the Lost City Trek.
The Lost City Trek is totally safe — aside from the blazing heat and bug bites.

 

The biggest safety risk in Colombia is not violent crime or terrorism — it’s the natural world. High altitude, landslides, flash floods, heat exhaustion, deadly mosquito-borne disease and other ecological threats should be your biggest concern.

 

If you’re wondering, is Colombia safe to travel outside of the urban areas, the answer is generally less — with a few precautions. If you’re heading out on an intensive multi-day hike or trek, you should always go with a licensed guide. Some of the mountainous parts of Colombia are very remote and you could be days away from medical help, but a guide can help you prepare for the risks.

 

If you’re planning any high-altitude trekking, familiarize yourself with the symptoms of altitude sickness. Remember to ascend gradually, and if you start to feel bad, descend immediately. Additionally, even though Colombia is tropical, it’s freezing at altitude and you’ll need a four-season sleeping bag for treks in El Cocuy National Park. To stay safe on the tropical Lost City Trek, pack plenty of bug spray and drink way more water than you think you need.

 

If you’re planning to travel to the Amazon, you should get a yellow fever vaccination before visiting Colombia. This vaccine is in short supply globally, so call your nearest travel clinic well in advance to find out if they have it. If not, you can get it on arrival at the Bogota airport — but make sure you leave enough time before landing in Bogota for the vaccine to take effect. Note that Colombia does not mandate the vaccine for entry, but Yellow Fever is an extremely nasty disease with a high fatality rate, so if you are going to an area where it’s endemic, don’t take any risks.

 

More mundanely, flash floods and landslides are a risk during rainy season, especially in the area around Medellin and the Eje Cafetero. And always beware of wild and domestic animals — Colombia has lots of stray dogs, which are alarmingly aggressive.

 

Road transportation risks

 

Road transportation is safe in Colombia -- the buses are mostly really nice, with the occasional beat-up chiva.
If you’re worried about road safety in Colombia, don’t be — the driving is pretty sane and (most) buses are nice.

 

Road safety in Colombia is not nearly the risk that it is in many other countries around the world. In fact, you’ll usually travel in a big, modern coach bus or the occasional domestic flight.

 

Drivers typically follow the general rules of the road and maintain speeds in the “acceptably sane” range. You don’t need to worry about drunk drivers of buses or other public transport.

 

That being said, if you choose to take a smaller vehicle — like a private car, bicycle, or motorbike — all bets are off. On the Colombian roads the biggest vehicle always wins. On a single bus trip into Medellin, I saw one accident involving a bicycle and one accident in which two motorbikes collided.

 

When it comes to local transport, the general rule is to call taxis in advance everywhere except the Caribbean coast. You can use a taxi app like Uber or Tappsi. You’ll need to give your driver a key (clave in Spanish) — four numbers — which registers your ride. This prevents your driver from taking you to the nearest ATM and cleaning out your bank account. Never hail a taxi on the street in Bogota, Medellin, or most other Andean cities.

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Local buses and metro systems are very safe, but quite crowded. Keep an eye on your valuables — if you’re wearing a backpack, wear it in front of you — but you don’t need to worry about anything more serious than pickpocketing.

 

“Devil’s Breath” and the risk of spiked drinks

 

Date rape drugs in Colombia are frighteningly common. Always keep an eye on your drink.
Keep an eye on your drink at Bogota bars — the “devil’s breath” drug is a real danger.

 

One unique thing that makes traveling in Colombia dangerous is the proliferation of a date-rape drug known as “Devil’s Breath” or Scopolamine. The U.S. government estimates uses of this drug to be as high as 50,000 per year.

 

This drug is odorless and tasteless. It’s often added to travelers’ drinks. The effects range from losing your willpower (so you hand over your valuables when asked) to total memory loss and even dangerous overdose effects. Typically it’s used in robberies, but there are reports people using it to sexually assault travelers as well.

 

While this might make you rethink safety in Colombia, the good news is, it’s pretty avoidable. Don’t accept drinks from strangers and keep an eye on your drink in public at all times. If you suspect you’ve been drugged, alert a bartender that you need medical attention. Simply being aware that the drug exists can do wonders for helping you avoid it.

 

Is Colombia safe to travel as a solo woman?

 

Safe travel in Colombia as a solo woman is really easy -- you can even hike alone.
Solo travel in Colombia is totally safe — just don’t wander around Bogota alone at night.

 

If you’ve read this far, you’re hopefully starting to relax a bit about your trip to Colombia. It’s far safer than you may have realized! But safety in general is different from safety as a solo woman, so you may still be worried about those unique risks.

 

Well, I’m happy to report that on two trips totaling nearly a month of solo female travel in Colombia, I didn’t experience a single incident that made me feel unsafe. I walked around Bogota at night alone (actually kind of a lot, and it was fine). I caught a ride from a remote beach on the back of a stranger’s motorbike. Once I spent four hours in the Bucaramanga bus station in the middle of the night. And I hiked alone — multiple times, including in some not very touristy areas.

 

Not only did I avoid all manners of street crime, but I never once experienced cat-calling, harassment, or anything besides genuine friendliness from Colombian men. In fact, I have a harder time walking to the grocery store four blocks from my apartment at home than I did in two weeks in Colombia when it comes to unwelcome male attention.

 

In short, if you’re wondering, is Colombia safe to travel — the answer is resoundingly yes. Don’t go venturing off into the Amazon jungle alone. Make sure you have travel insurance in case of a Colombia safety mishap. But you’ll most likely have a safe and hassle-free trip to this beautiful South American gem.

 

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Colombia is beautiful, but is it safe to travel in Colombia? Discover why safety in Colombia should not be a major worry -- you can travel trouble-free in this South America gem. #travel #colombia

 

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Aparna Verma
4 years ago

This is a great blog to read, there are so many places in the world that has myths that the place is not safe for woman to travel solo. But the scenario is different now. Thanks for this informative blog post. Keep up the good work. Cheers!!!

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