Colombia, the South American country with a frightening reputation for warring drug barons and kidnappings, is a new destination for travelers. But how safe is it? We’ve spent almost two weeks with traveling across the country. We visited Bogota, Cartagena, Pereira and coffee region. We traveled by planes, taxi and we’ve never used travel agency. And we felt safe. But you have to follow the rules.

• Colombia is not as bad as it once was. The number of kidnappings is down hugely.
• The southwestern and northeastern parts of the country with border of Ecuador and Venezuela are dangerous, and many foreign governments recommend not travel there because of the risk of kidnap or drug war.
• In February 2010 the French government declared parts of Colombia to be safe: adding Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Bogota, Tunja, Bucaramanga, as well as the Zona Cafetero departments of Quindio, Risaralda and Caldas to Cartagena and San Andres as destinations approved for travel.
• But going off the beaten path might not be the best idea, and when you’re in the big cities ask locals and in hotels, which areas to avoid.
• Don’t use illegal taxis. You can use taxis from hotels, we used also UBER without any problems.
• Buses may be a problem because of rural roads, where a car is an easy target.
• Don’t drive on rural roads at night at all.
• Lock the doors of the car, and keep at least a half a tank of fuel.
• Don’t travel alone.
• You can rent the car, but in Colombia, there is a lot of police patrols and signs are not clear, especially on rural roads.
• Watch out for drink spiking at bars and clubs.
• Don’t use expensive things and jewellery.
• Wear proper clothing.

Do you have any questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us for more informations or itinerary of your travel.