Photo: Cartagena, Colombia · Sgonzalezb · CC BY-SA 3.0
🇨🇴 Use CautionIs Colombia Safe for First-Time Travelers?
Safety Scores / Colombia
Travel verdict: Colombia has improved greatly but still requires caution. Stick to well-traveled tourist circuits and use trusted transportation. The scores and risks below say why.
Safety Scores
Key Risks
- Violent crime in certain neighborhoods and rural areas
- Drug trafficking and scopolamine drugging scams
- Express kidnappings, especially in taxis
Regional Safety
Bogotá: La Candelaria, Zona Rosa, Chapinero Alta; Medellín: El Poblado, Laureles; Cartagena walled city; Coffee Region (Eje Cafetero); Guatapé, Santa Marta beach zone
Bogotá & Medellín outer barrios; Cali (especially outside tourist zones); San Gil; use only Uber or InDriver, never street taxis
Colombian-Venezuelan border (Norte de Santander dept.), Pacific coast interior (Chocó dept.), Gulf of Urabá, areas controlled by FARC dissidents and ELN
Only use Uber or app-based taxis; avoid street cabs
Yellow fever vaccination recommended; good private hospitals in cities
Use ATMs inside banks or malls; avoid nighttime withdrawals
Emergency: 123; share itineraries with someone you trust
Latest for Colombia
Updates for Colombia will appear here as they are published. Every update cites official sources, so you can plan on it.