Is Colombia a 'safe' tourist destination.....Cities and Countryside?

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hooliganborrero

Is NY a safe tourist destination? Come on, you can find risks everywhere if you miss to take precautions. If you don't wanna get robbed, don't be out at nights in solitary places.

Colombia is a nice place, Bogota and the main cities are properly secured, traveling during the day is a good advice and it will let you enjoy of the coffee zone, colonial haciendas and beautiful country sights. Go to Medellin, Pereira, Caldas, Manizales, Cartagena, don't miss Villa de Leiva.

Chad

I'm about to relocate to the Cali area of Colombia with my Colombian wife and have visited various parts of the country since 1998.
The Colombians are generally friendly, polite and go out of their way to help foreigners. They're fed up with the reputation which their country has abroad and seem to be eager to dispell this.
Cartagena and Santa Marta seem to be the most secure areas where Tourist Police are on hand if any problems are encountered.
Since 2002 conscription into the police and armed forces stopped and the training is now along British lines. I have always found the Colombian police firm but polite, fare and not corrupt.
The security situation overall has improved beyond recognition. In 1998 I was advised not to leave the Cali area due to guerilla activity. In 2005 I was able to drive to Cartagena, Medellin, Bogota and Putomayo. Just stay away from the border areas and the Amazonas and you should be fine.
The biggest problem is from crime. Armed crime is common in the cities, but it's a matter of not putting yourself on offer, as in London, Paris, Barcelona or Bradford for that matter! My daughter is currently travelling around Colombia and has encountered no problems whatsoever.
Brazil?....now that's a different story!

Rockin' Mel S

Sounds to me like BAGOFSWAGS knows what he's talking about. I was in the tourist area of Santa Marta and felt very safe but that's pretty much the extent of my Travels to Columbia.

BAGOFSWAGS

I have been there 6 times and can assure you that it is 6 more times than any of the scaremongers who have posted above. There are plenty of safe places in Colombia. There is always the chance for petty crime, but kidnapping (especially of foreign tourists or businessmen) is reserved to unstable guerrilla controlled areas which are very easy to avoid, they are mostly in the southern jungle area and poor villages. The coastal resorts of Cartagena and Santa Marta are fine, Medellin and Bogota are quite safe especially in the central areas, Cali is a little less safe do to the drug cartels. San Andres Island is 100% completely safe - there is no chance of anything happening there.

Some adventure touristy areas are a bit off the beaten track (like Ciudad Perdida, San Agustin and Tierradentro) and are less secure than the major tourist areas and cities, but are not more dangerous than most other places in latin America

Lacey

Yes it is! I lived there and traveled all the time. Nothing ever happened to me or my family. What makes the country seem bad is the publicity that other countries give it. Colombia is a great place to go to, and its beautyful. Don't be afraid of going to Colombia.

onetwothree

Yes, it is!!!

Like in ANY other country in the world, you need to know where you're going.

Those who answered that it's dangerous don't have a clue. I bet they don't even know where Colombia is situated.

It's a beautiful country, the mountains, the plains, the rivers... the coffee plantations... all of it. The cities are very nice and the people extremely friendly.

It's a shame people who don't know what they're talking about give opinions.

My friend and her husband, both from Colombia, were robbed in New York City, were almost killed, and the one policeman that saw it didn't do anything because it wasn't his "jurisdiction".

Nothing even close to that has ever happened to them in Colombia.

As incredible as it may sound, exactly the same thing happened to my ex-neighbor, an AMERICAN lady. I wonder if it was the same policeman or all policemen in NYC are like that.
.

Melkiha

Actually, there is a lot of bad publicity regarding this beautiful country. And no, I'm not Colombian but I think somebody should say something positive. It is all a gamble. Of course, there is violence related to drug trafficking, guerrilla and whatnot. But there are also great towns where tourists and locals have a great time. It does help when you know somebody from the area, somebody to help you avoid the rough places.
Still, Colombia can be a place to visit. I myself had no problems at all while visiting and I've met quite a number of people who had a great time there and no scares.
It is all about common sense and being well-informed. Don't believe everything they say about this ill-famed nation.

Preciosa

IN all the major cities, Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla, and touristy cities like Cartagena, Santa Marta, and San Andres, are all very safe. You can do your own search on how kidnappings have been reduced by 70% in 5 years and violent crime is down like 50%. Caracas, Rio, Baltimore and Washington, DC are more violent than Bogota. Petty crime will always be common though, like getting your wallet stolen.

The countryside on the other hand is not that safe and I would recommend it. All medium size cities and above are very safe and secure with police presence around. Dont listen to the naysayers, especiallly since most of them probably dont even know where Colombia is.

Also, the travel channel in the USA just did an hour long episode on 5 takes Latin America. I dont know when they are reairing it but you can see vblogs on the Travel Channel site about colombia if you wan tto check it out.
http://travel.discovery.com/video/video.html?playerId=203712212&categoryId=736243047&lineupId=909827535&titleId=979467692

If you want to know more, try checking some of these sites:

avinalarf

Probably a tadge safer than Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq.

lbaker2656

No. Check http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385774 for more info.

papyrusbtl

You must be kidding!

Niall S

not whatsoever

have a look on the FCO website

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