Colombia, and to a larger extent South America, has a reputation for being a dangerous place. Political instability mixed with international drug trafficking created a perfect storm in the region. But, is Bogotá safe to visit for travelers?
Bogotá is safe to visit. There are some precautions that you should take in this city of nearly 10 million people, like any city of that size, but the city and its touristic areas are safe. There are some areas to avoid and safety tips that I’ll go into more detail about.
It’s not perfect and crime happens in this city but most of it is avoidable. Follow these safety tips and enjoy your time travelling through the Colombian capital.
Wondering what to do in Bogotá? Here are 13 things you need to do in Bogotá.
What Made Bogotá and Colombia Dangerous?
There are two leading factors that made Colombia an unstable country in recent years: drug trafficking and internal conflict.
Colombia is in an essential geographic location to get drugs from South America to the North American and European markets. Competition for control of the drug trade was an incredibly dark and bloody time in the country’s history. You’ve probably heard of Pablo Escobar who was at the head of the Colombian drug trade in the 1980s and early 90s until his death in December 1993.
The larger problem in Colombia was its internal conflict. Government forces had been fighting rebel groups, most notably FARC, for over 50 years. A peace deal was signed in 2016 and FARC began transitioning from an armed force to a political party, trying to push their agenda forward politically rather than militarily.
In the half century of fighting, there were reportedly 220,000 deaths in the Colombian conflict. Some dissidents of FARC remain active, but the military branch of the group has been dismantled, and the country is enjoying peaceful times.
Although the major threats to safety in Colombia have been largely quashed, there is still reason to be cautious and some things to be aware of when travelling the country and the capital city.
Here are 5 tips to stay safe in Bogotá, Colombia.
1. Stick to the Fundamentals
The first tip is something you should be doing in any unfamiliar city. There are some universal guidelines that I try to stick to when travelling and if you´ve been on the road for a little while, these are common sense.
- Don’t walk alone late at night, get a ride
- Don’t withdraw from an ATM in the middle of the night
- Be sure you aren’t being watched after the ATM (seek out security if you feel followed)
- To be cautious, stick with Uber or call a cab rather than hailing one in the street
- You don’t know what topics are off-limits, so play it safe in conversation
- Private transport is safer than public transport
- Ask an employee at your hotel if the area you are in is safe
- Keep a constant eye on your belongings
- Don’t walk in the street staring at your phone, someone could grab it
- Don’t flash money or valuables around, stay unnoticed
- If you see children around, it’s likely safe
These go for any place you visit. Some cities are totally safe and you can disregard each one of these. When you’re unsure though, it’s better to be safe than sorry. In Bogotá, I’d stick with these fundamental safety tips.
2. The North of the City is Safe
Generally speaking, the northern parts of Bogotá are safe while the southern half is a bit dodgy. This isn’t a hard and fast rule but rather a generalization. You could still go to the Southern parts and be fine, and you could still get robbed in the North.
Most residents will tell you though that the North part of the city is okay to walk around whereas in the South you should be extra vigilant. I’ve drawn an approximate line on the city map to show roughly where I’m talking about.
Basically, anything North of Plaza de Bolívar is considered safe. Still, be careful – especially at night.
3. Best to Avoid Talking About Pablo Escobar
I don’t mean getting into deep conversation about him, I mean even mentioning his name. It’s best to avoid. Pablo was such an influential person in Colombia that everyone’s life was affected by him in some way. Some were affected in a good way but for a majority of people they or their families will have had a horribly negative experience due to Escobar.
On a walking tour of Medellín, the tour guide would refer to him as ‘PE’ just so passers-by wouldn’t confuse and get upset with what we were talking about. Everyone has an opinion about Pablo in Colombia and bringing up his name might bite you off more than you can chew.
It’s best not to get into conversation about him in the street.
4. Robberies Happen
It’s an unfortunate fact of living in Bogotá and in Colombia. I still see it as a safe place, but I think 50% of the travellers I met in Colombia had some sort of getting-robbed-in-Colombia story. It can happen at gunpoint too, not to scare you but it’s a reality. In all the stories I heard though, everyone had broken one of the fundamentals in Tip #1.
It happened to me too. And I broke one of my own fundamentals. I let my belongings out of my sight. I was so used to travelling in the safety of Ecuador that I let my guard down in my first 2 weeks in Colombia.
I was taking a bus from Bogotá to Neiva. Instead of taking all of my belongings on board the bus with me, I put my larger bag in the storage compartments under the bus. At some point during the trip, the bus stopped to let some people off and a group of guys came and grabbed a few bags from that storage compartment and made off with them.
I didn’t realize what happened until I reached the terminal in Neiva and there wasn’t much I could do. I should’ve brought that bag on board with me. My bag, along with 3-4 others were stolen. Judging by the devastated faces of the others, I think their losses were worse than mine.
I had no clothes, no toothbrush or toiletries, and lost some important documents and gifts, but everything vitally important was with me on the bus, thank God. I needed a wardrobe update anyway, and now I’m travelling a lot lighter. It was shit at the moment but come the next day I was over it and started buying a whole new set of clothes. Shoes in my size are hard to find in Colombia though, they don’t make them in US size 12 too frequently around here.
All this is to say that you should stay vigilant in Bogotá. It’s a huge city and there are opportunistic people out there. Smaller towns in Colombia are lovely and super safe, but Bogotá isn’t full of saints.
5. When in Doubt, Run!
It’s unlikely that someone who wants to rob you is looking to harm you. If you find yourself in the situation where someone has cornered you and is demanding your wallet or valuables, your best bet is likely to flee.
Unless you’re okay handing over your valuables, if there’s a chance to escape, take it. If you think you can hand your stuff over to the robbers and then have the police handle the rest, you’re unfortunately mistaken. The police are unlikely to do anything to help you after the fact.
So, if you’re confident on your feet, put them to good work when you find yourself in an unfortunate situation. In some cases there’ll be no escape route and you won’t have much of an option but to hand over your things.
Remember though, you’re only likely to find yourself in a situation like this if you aren’t following the steps in Tip #1.
Should You Still Visit Bogotá?
Yes, you should still visit Bogotá. Walking around on your own in the Northern part of the city during the day is completely fine. Bad things can happen at night though so stay vigilant. There´s so much to see and do in Bogotá that it would be a shame to skip it on the off chance you run into some trouble.
Speaking with people that have lived in the city their whole lives, they say that you should be careful but not so worried as they’ve gone incident-free for 30+ years.
Follow these 5 tips for staying safe in Bogotá and enjoy exploring the Colombian capital.
If you have any questions or want to get more travel ideas, you can find me on Instagram.
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