The Haute Bøhemian

Between 1996 and 2019, foreign visitors to Colombia increased by 503%, from 751,000 to 4,531,000. While this signifies a change in public perception of the risk involved in visiting this country, that doesn’t mean that we are in the clear. In fact, increased tourism usually attracts bad actors, so it’s important to understand the risks and to know what to look for when traveling to Colombia. 

Global Guardian’s 2025 Risk Map was recently released. While security firms can have biases, it shows Colombia to be neutral, relative to the region. And even the United States is not in the green:

Second, I would argue that contemporary violent crime in Colombia is more localized outside of tourist areas, and there is some data to back up this assertion: 

Departments such as Cauca, Chocó, and Arauca have experienced significant violence, including attacks on social leaders and territorial disputes among armed groups, while major cities like Bogotá and Medellín have homicide rates around 14 per 100,000, which is below the national average, and other tourist like Cartagena and Santa Marta cities like are generally considered safe for tourists, though standard precautions are advised. The border with Venezuela is considered high risk for obvious reasons, as borders are usually more dangerous anywhere.

I went to Colombia on a whim. I was in Ecuador and decided I wanted to learn Spanish for another month so I got a plane ticket to Cartagena. I definitely didn’t do any research on the safety there, but as soon as I arrived I felt relaxed, and welcome in this country. 

The cat calls were polite and flirtatious rather than aggressive and the people were warm and helpful. I made friends with 5 Colombian guys my first week in Medellin. I started running an Airbnb business with them and moved in with two of them. They were always very protective over me. I still live with them when I go back. 

I don’t think I’ve felt threatened once in Colombia in the 3 years that I lived there but, of course, that’s just my personal experience.

I asked the Medellin Expats Group that I’m part of what they think are the biggest dangers are for foreigners visiting Colombia. Here are some of their responses:

“Come looking for trouble and you’ll find it. If you come to Medellín for fast life and fast women…and then you are surprised that you end up drugged or worse.” – Kurt Walker

“Getting drugged and robbed from tinder dates” – David Vallejo

“A critical aspect is about the differences in the cultural fabric, involving things such as using Tinder in Colombia (including more Latam countries), that is a completely different world to what North American and European citizens are used to. We have this term “malicia indígena/viveza criolla” (indigenous malice) that foreigners (naturally) lack, which comprises a type of smartness or intuition to be aware of potential dangers or just being taken advantage of” – Steven Bedoya

“Fuck around and find out.” – Robert Sanchez

I actually made the mistake of asking this same Facebook group for Pablo tours before I understood how stupid and insensitive that is, and one guy replied with, “how about I shoot you in the head? That’s your Pablo tour.” But that’s the closest I’ve personally ever been to violence in Colombia.

As with any country, safety in Colombia varies by region. For example, you can see in this Numbeo report that Medellin is much safer than Cali. Medellin was of course Pablo’s city, but the Cali cartels did outlast him, so this adds up per my limited knowledge as a total outsider. 

And then there are the more remote regions where 20 years ago you would definitely get kidnapped, but now the left-wing coalitions have vacated or just “laid down their arms,” per the treaty 😉. 

Here are the zones where they still operate according to Hutch Maldini on Medellin Expats: Chocó, Tumaco, Cuaca, el Bajo Cauca, Buenaventura, el Eje Llanos Orientales-Orinoquia y el Catatumbo. 

Police in Colombia say the number of kidnappings has fallen 92% since 2000. Common criminals are now the perpetrators of the majority of kidnappings, as opposed to organized crime, which is the scary kind of crime. By 2016, kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 205. I couldn’t find what 205 represents but Wikipedia goes on to say that one is more likely to encounter a Colombian army checkpoint, than an illegal guerrilla roadblock.

From personal experience, talking to Colombians, you always hear that someone’s uncle was kidnapped, but never anyone’s cousin – a sign that things are better with this generation than the last.

With limited data on crime more granular than city-level, I’m going to hit you with a bunch of anecdotal facts below:

Is Medellin safe?

Homicide Rate: 23/100,000 inhabitants

Medellin is big. And has some really low-income barrios. But in the areas where tourists hang out, like El Poblado and Laureles, it feels very safe. This is where I lived for 3 years and I’ve never felt unsafe.  

I think, because Medellín is a hot spot for gringos coming for the girls and the blow, there’s actually more of a risk for men than women here. But more on that later. 

✅ In Medellín, expect a lot of honey pots, and expect them to have a high chance of having nefarious intentions. 

Is Cartagena safe?

Homicide Rate: 31/100,000 inhabitants

Cartagena is somewhere that I always felt very safe until after the pandemic. When I came back after Colombia reopened there was a visible, heavy burden on that city compared to before. I still go there and love it, but I definitely exercise more caution than I used to. 

When I got married in Cartagena I was fully expecting at least 1 person to get robbed but the worst thing that happened there was that my husband got mad at the drug dealers with the candy briefcase who was harassing our friends and he hit the briefcase out of his hand and yelled at him (really fucking stupid, obviously) and they came to our hotel later with their posse and demanded money. So while it was scary, if we were exercising reasonable caution it wouldn’t have happened. 

Unfortunately there have been some Cartagena kidnappings, as recent as December 2024. 

✅ In Cartagena except aggressive ‘salesmen’ and more pickpocketing than in Medellín. Assume that Cartagena safety is an issue.

Is Santa Marta safe?

Homicide Rate: 39/100,000 inhabitants

I go to Santa Marta often, to pass through to Cartagena or Tayrona. There’s not much there unless you’re a beach bum. And unfortunatley there was a major incident there that made headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

38-year-old Italian molecular biologist Alessandro Coatt, who was traveling and volunteering went missing from Santa Marta on April 2025. His dismembered body was discovered in containers across three locations in the city.  

Authorities believe that Coatti may have been mistakenly identified as an Italian mafia drug trafficker by local gangs.

✅ In Santa Marta, you can always expect a bit of discomfort due to massive wealth inequalities, but with this recent tragedy, I would be a little more on edge than before.

Is Bogota safe?

Homicide Rate: 14/100,000 inhabitants

To me, Bogota feels rough around the edges and the people feel colder than both Medellin and Cartagena, but I haven’t spent a lot of time there, and my friends who live there don’t report it as being any more dangerous than Medellín or Cartagena.

✅ In Bogota, expect to feel how you would expect to feel in Colombia.

Is Calí safe? 

Homicide Rate: 51.5/100,000 inhabitants

The murder rate in Calí is twice as high as the other major cities, due to the relocation of the narco trade, among other factors. People really love Calí, so don’t let this be a deterrent, especially if you dance salsa, but know that you do need to exercise more caution than you would in Medellín.

✅ I don’t know what to expect in Calí because I’ve never been there but the numbers point to using caution. 

Is Parque Tayrona safe?

Although the department of Magdalena has highish crime rates, there isn’t actually any data for Parque Tayrona, but I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any violent crime there since the FARC vacated the area, if even then. 

It’s a very peaceful region, maybe the safest city in Colombia. It’s run by the natives and I’ve never felt so safe anywhere in my life. This is important because when people ask me where to go when they visit Colombia this is a must for me. 

✅ In Parque Tayrona, except to feel safer than you feel in your hometown in the US. 

Is San Andres & Providencia safe?

Homicide rate: 59.0 per 100,000 inhabitants

Another Magdalena area, these islands felt pretty safe when I was there (although not nearly as safe as Parque Tayrona), but the data shows that it actually has a very high homicide rate, on par with Calí. Apparently this is a recent development, with security concerns increasing post-pandemic.

✅ In San Andres & Providencia, expect to feel safe but wary of petty crime. 

Is Colombia Safe for Tourists?

So here’s a huge qualifier, of course. In the absence of genocide or civil war, I would say any country is going to be safer for a local than for a tourist.  

As a tourist, you look lost. Because you usually are. You don’t know how things work, you aren’t aware of common scams, and most of the time people travel from wealthier countries to poorer countries, meaning that any bad-acting locals would know you have a lot of cash on you.

As my Colombian friend Marco used to always say when he was nagging me, “Courtneice, you can’t tell who is a bad neighbor.” It’s true, your character judgment is off when you don’t know what’s normal culture and what is signaling malintent. 

Juan H from Medellin Expats Facebook group echos my sentiment: “Foreigners become an (easy) target here because the perception is that if you are a tourist “you have money” (at least more than locals) and if you are not aware of your surroundings, waking (mainly at night) looking lost or unaware, that’s when things happen.” 

“Foreigners don’t understand the culture and the difference in social classes,” he says. “Since most people are very friendly here, foreigners tend to let their guard down after a couple of days and start behaving like they would in their own countries and they give them papaya. Also, the dangers exacerbate in tinder for guys that are coming here to “have fun.”

For those who don’t know what “give them papaya means,” it’s a very Colombian saying that means flaunting things that people will want to steal. I think it would metaphorically translate to “low-hanging fruit” (Colombians use food for literally every metaphor).  

In Colombia, you won’t see as many wealthy people flaunting their money as you would here in the US. Whereas Americans typically leverage a large portion of their wealth on cars they can’t afford, Colombians all drive shitty Renaults. This is partly because they don’t have the American credit culture, but it’s also a residual habit from the 90s when that would get you kidnapped.  

Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule.

Colombia Travel Advisory: Travel Warnings from the Authorities

The US Department of State definitely has a different take from me on how safe it is to travel to Colombia, giving it a 3 out of 4 (4 being “do not travel,”), and citing crime and terrorism.

They do point out that these incidents are localized: 

• Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), and Norte de Santander departments due to crime and terrorism.

• The Colombia-Venezuela border region due to crime, kidnapping, and risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela from Colombia.  

The border is an obvious outlier that will skew the data of any country. If you aren’t aware, borders are often dangerous due to the unique challenges that come with transporting people and goods, as well as political tensions between countries. For Colombia, in particular, neighboring Venezuela became a failed state in 2008 so there are a lot of desperate people, which is sad and creates oportunities for crime.

I’ve had people send me these State Department warnings many times and, although Colombia is no Costa Rica, I really don’t feel like these advisories are warranted for the average tourist who isn’t trying to overland to Venezuela or indulge in sex tourism (which is more dangerous than you think). 

Horror Stories & Safety Precautions

This is the part where we talk about the terrible things that have happened, urban legends, and things that stick out in our minds and make us feel like Colombia is a dangerous country to visit.  

Escopolamina: The Devil’s Breath

Escopolamina is a drug made from botanicals in Colombia (derived from plants of the nightshade family, such as henbane, jimsonweed, and belladonna), and is used to hypnotize people and make them do whatever the perpetrator wants them to do. 

This one sounds like such an urban legend, but my Colombian friends who I trust have told me stories about it being used on their friends and family. My friend’s grandpa cleared out his entire apartment and his bank account. 

It has a variety of medicinal uses, particularly as an anti-nausea agent and to treat motion sickness, for post-srugury sedation, and to treat muscle spasms, but it can also cause a state of submission and significant memory loss, which is used for less savory purposes. 

Escopolamina is most commonly used in bars and clubs and can be slipped into a drink, absorbed through the skin, or blown into the face of an unsuspecting victim. My Colombian friends always warned me that if someone is too talking close to you or acting weird to suspect that they may have escopolamina. 

The Pretty Woman Trick

On my first day of Spanish class in Medellin, the director of Nueva Lengua lectured the men in my class “if a pretty woman who is out of your league comes up to you, it’s probably too good to be true.” Telling that he has to include that in his orientation. 

While that applies in any country, one of the main ways I’ve heard of men getting robbed in Colombia is that they hit it off with a beautiful woman, who then drugs them, while the men behind the scenes come in and execute the robbery. 

The stories I’ve heard have mostly been of men fortunate enough to only lose material items, but you can imagine that something like this could turn out much worse. Again, Colombia is not the first country to use beautiful women for nefarious causes, but it is a common threat here, so make sure you do some sort of due diligence before going home with that mamacita that you just met in the fonda. 

Taxi Scams and Robberies

Of course there are many cases where tourists have reported being robbed by taxi drivers who work in collusion with criminals. In these cases, the driver might pick up the tourist and then drive them to a secluded area where accomplices are waiting to rob them. Uber is a ‘grey market’ in Colombia (it’s not legal or illegal) so I use it whenever I can. 

Express Kidnappings

Express kidnappings involve abducting a victim for a short period, usually to withdraw money from ATMs or extort a quick ransom. While this crime has decreased in frequency, it still occurs, although more commonly late at night at places like bars and restaurants. 

Armed Robberies

Armed robberies, particularly in urban areas, are a concern. While many of these incidents involve petty theft, some have escalated into more violent confrontations.

Targeted Scams

Tourists are often targeted in scams that range from overcharging for services to elaborate cons involving fake police officers or street vendors.

In Cartagena, for example, several tourists reported being approached by individuals posing as police officers who asked to see their passports and then demanded bribes to avoid supposed legal trouble. In another case, tourists were charged exorbitant prices for simple services like food and transportation, especially in areas near tourist attractions.

I’ve had gringo friends get searched while they’re out, by police who know that the likelihood of them having cocaine on them is high, and demanding cash.  

Pickpocketing

Of course this is a big money-maker in Colombia, and happens in crowded areas like public transportation. The value of many things that foreigners carry around wth them regularly is worth years of minimum wage salary in Colombia. 

For example, the iPhone, which I’ve seen pickpocketed from friends that I was with on the train twice (one was actually a Colombian), costs about $1,000 USD in the states. But in Colombia they can cost twice as much depending on factors like import taxes, exchange rates, and promotions. The minimum wage in Colombia is $270 USD / month. So an iPhone that costs $2,000 USD costs 7 months of minimum wage salary. 

The average wedding ring in the US (which my cousin left in his hotel room in Minca at my wedding and shockingly got it back) costs $5,500 USD, or 20 months of minimum wage salary. 

So those numbers put into perspective how enticing pickpocketing can be when you live in a poor country and foreigners come flash that papaya. 

So how do we stay safe in Colombia?

• Use Uber over taxis
• Watch your pockets in public transportation (especially when the doors open on the train)
• Keep that papaya hidden away in your pocket
• Try not to get sloppy in public and if you’re going there for a bachelor party or wedding where you know people will be intoxicated, consider hiring security so you can enjoy yourselves for the night. 
• Here’s what my dad’s law firm’s cyber security guy told me who was doing before he went to South America, as a direct result of him hearing about my husband’s identity getting stolen: “I’m planning on some South America travel. My steps will be to credit lock and form a geo-fence around my data to the US. Recovery addresses will be a break glass account that is only in memory. No digital record of where the recovery account resides.” That’s a little extra, but if you or your SO are in cybersecurity, those are your steps. 

Pro tip: If you’re planning a trip to Colombia and want to make sure you have nothing to worry about – hire private security. My Colombian friend ran into this guy at my wedding and we kept in touch. His name is Rodrigo Maria, and he’s a certified “Diamond Security LTDA” security agent. His Instagram is @executive_protection_ctg. He told me: 

“We are the real deal …

We are trying to change the way people come to Colombia 🇨🇴 and really lay back and enjoy what they are doing cause we take care of the rest.”

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