Last week we talked a little about solo travel in Colombia, but the article was aimed generally at everyone. This week I want to talk specifically about travelling solo as a female. Personally, I’ve travelled extensively on my own, including my lengthy stint in the UK. Obviously I made friends everywhere I went, but the journey itself started out with just me.
I think travelling alone as a woman presents unique challenges, and unique safety concerns. I receive a lot of questions from women all around the world asking me if Colombia is a safe destination for female travellers.
I say yes.
It’s not possible to guarantee anyone’s safety anywhere, but as we’ve repeatedly said on Colombia Travel Blog, Colombia is as safe as many more popular destinations, it’s just the reputation that lingers on. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t keep your wits about you, because you should. If your grasp on Spanish isn’t great and if you stand out noticeably as a foreigner you might be worried, but if you exercise caution you should be fine.
I would recommend as precautions if you’re travelling solo in Colombia:
- Take taxis at night rather than walking, and try to call them rather than hail from the street
- At night, try to go out with a group. You’re much more likely to be a target wherever you are if you’re a woman walking around alone, especially drunk
- Don’t accept drinks from anyone you don’t know and trust
- Don’t wave valuables around
I remember reading a post from a worried female a while ago and she complained of the cat calling from construction workers. It’s true Latin culture is far more relaxed about these things (although it happens absolutely everywhere in the world), and you should try be relaxed too. Just ignore it and walk on, it’s just part of the fun of being a construction worker.
As always, be smart, be safe and don’t take chances. Above all, enjoy Colombia!
If you’re looking to travel alone in Colombia but want a guiding hand to help you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with See Colombia Travel, who offer fully-customizable tours for the lone traveller. Check out their page here.
Marcela
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Lynn on
I loved Colombia; I spent most of my time in Medellin, due to logistics, but if/when I go back, I’m definitely going to spend time on the coast, in Cartagena, in Bogota, etc. It is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to and the people are really nice and welcoming. I didn’t find the food to be that great, but you can easily buy wonderful fruit anywhere to sate your hunger, and the coffee is really good there too. Viva Colombia!
Paul on
Haha, yeh the food can have mixed reviews, it really depends where you eat, I know a lot of great places!
Medellín is great, so no real shame about you staying there, but definitely WHEN you come back, explore more, there’s so much here to see though, it’s almost impossible to narrow it down…
Kris on
I’ve just spent time travelling solo in Colombia after a long time travelling in Colombia with my boyfriend. I had absolutely no problems, in fact I met many more people solo. Like everywhere, find out about places before you go in case there are any local warnings or things you should be aware of. Colombia is awesome – jump in!