A Few Thoughts on Safety and Security in Colombia

It’s one of the most oft-asked and oft-Googled topics for people interested in Colombia travel: just how safe is Colombia?

I’m not going to weigh in too heavily on the debate as there’s good resources to be found that approach the subject with sensitivity and depth. What I want to discuss today is only my perceptions and my experiences.

First things first, before I came I was assured that at the airport I’d be swiftly bundled into a black bin bag and taken to a cash point to extract all my money, just before my parents were contacted and told to pay a ransom fee to release me. As I sit here in my apartment in Bogotá I can categorically and emphatically confirm that this did not happen. That kind of crime just doesn’t seem to be around in the Bogotá I know. I’ve not seen nor heard of any instances of anything that dramatic in all my time here.

Which, of course, isn’t to say that this kind of crime doesn’t exist here in Colombia. There are still no-go areas in the country. I haven’t heard of any recent cases but from what locals (the experts in these matters) tell me, there are certain places that are just best to avoid. What I have found is that these places aren’t generally where I want to visit anyway, and the routes that most people follow here (for example from Bogotá to Cartagena) are completely safe.

Equally, crime exists in Colombia’s big cities, generally in the form of pickpocketing and theft. It’s easy to read too much into this though, and the fact that questions of security rage for travelers to Colombia creates its own kind of propaganda. In my experience (I live in Bogotá), risks have been no greater than I found when I lived in Buenos Aires, or when I’ve traveled to other big cities. I found the same when I was in Cartagena and Medellín, which are both popular with tourists and feel very safe.

Another point to take into account is that the main crime hotspots aren’t the same as the main tourist hotspots, so posts on forums such as this, while useful to an extent, can scare tourists that aren’t aware that Ciudad Bolívar isn’t actually somewhere you’re likely to visit.

As always, the name of the game is caution and not taking too many risks. I have an iPod and I happily use it here, but I don’t wave it around. I try to stick to well-lit, well-policed roads at night and generally after 10pm I’ll take taxis. I listen to locals and their advice and I avoid certain areas. These are the same rules I applied when I lived in London.

Safety in Colombia is an important issue, because safety when traveling is an important issue, but there’s so much magic in this country that it’s a shame when the topic seems to obscure everything that’s on offer here.

Paul