Colombia

Is Colombia safe to visit?

For the classic route of Bogotá, Medellín, the coffee region, Cartagena and Santa Marta, mostly yes, with real big-city precautions. For the country as a whole the trend is bad. Colombia's forensic institute, Medicina Legal, counted 14,780 homicides in 2025, the most in a decade and about 28 per 100,000 people. That is higher than in Mexico or Brazil.

We score Colombia 45. The violence is heavily concentrated in rural areas where armed groups fight over coca, gold and smuggling routes. Tourists rarely see that side of it. What they do meet is a well-organised kind of urban crime aimed at people who look like they have money.

Where armed groups operate

The 2016 peace deal disarmed the FARC, but dissident fronts, the ELN guerrilla and the Clan del Golfo cartel moved into the territory it left. The Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary 2026 ranks Colombia 141st of 163, calls it the least peaceful country in South America and says the impact of terrorism is higher than at any point since the index began. In January 2025, ELN attacks in Catatumbo killed at least 103 people and displaced more than 56,000.

The 2026 presidential campaign was among the most violent in decades. According to NPR, a wave of attacks by rebel groups killed 21 people in April 2026, a few weeks before the first round on 31 May. In the runoff on 21 June, Abelardo de la Espriella beat Iván Cepeda by 49.66% to 48.70% in the preliminary count, the closest result in recent Colombian history. The armed groups and the US and UK warnings described below did not change with the vote.

The US State Department rates Colombia Level 3, reconsider travel, and says do not travel to:

• Arauca and Norte de Santander (including Cúcuta)
• Cauca, except the city of Popayán
• Valle del Cauca, except the city of Cali
• anywhere within 10 km of the Venezuelan border

The UK FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's list is longer and adds the Pacific coast of Chocó (with exceptions for the whale-watching towns of Nuquí and Bahía Solano, and Capurganá, if you fly in), Buenaventura, Guaviare, southern Meta, parts of Caquetá and Putumayo, the Urabá and Bajo Cauca regions of Antioquia, and southern Córdoba and Bolívar. Landmines remain a risk off main roads in rural areas.

None of the main tourist cities is on either list. Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City trek near Santa Marta, is fine with an organised tour, and Caño Cristales should be reached by air with a licensed operator.

Crime that targets visitors

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's advice for Colombia is more detailed on tourist-targeted crime than for almost any country in the region, and the patterns repeat:

• Scopolamine. Criminals drug victims through drinks, food, cigarettes or even flyers, then empty their accounts or assault them. It happens in bars, clubs, taxis and on the street.
• Dating-app setups. Teams use apps to find foreigners travelling alone, often with a woman making first contact, then drug and rob them in a flat or hotel room. This is a particular problem in Medellín.
• Express kidnapping. Fake or unlicensed taxi drivers pick up a victim, often near an ATM at night, and force transfers or withdrawals.
• Armed robbery. The FCDO reports British travellers robbed at gunpoint in La Candelaria in Bogotá and in other cities. Robberies on buses also occur.
• Fake police. Men posing as officers ask to "inspect" your cash for counterfeits. Ask to go to the nearest CAI police post instead.

Resisting a robbery is the main way it turns fatal. Hand over the phone.

Roads, quakes and health

WHO estimatedWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 15.4 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. The national road agency's count for 2025 is 8,697 deaths, about 16 per 100,000 and up 5% on 2024, with motorcyclists most of the dead. Mountain roads are slow and landslides close them in the rainy months. Fly between distant cities; use day buses with established companies for shorter trips, and do not drive at night.

The Andes are seismically active and Colombia monitors 25 active volcanoes; Nevado del Ruiz, near the coffee region, killed more than 20,000 people at Armero in 1985. Hurricanes rarely reach the mainland but can hit San Andrés and Providencia.

Below about 2,000 m, dengue, Zika and chikungunya are common and yellow fever and malaria occur in jungle and lowland areas, so check vaccines eight weeks before you go. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says tap water is safe only in Bogotá. Private clinics in the big cities are good; outside them, care and ambulances are thin.

How to stay safe in Colombia

• Book taxis through an app or your hotel. Never hail one on the street; US government staff are not allowed to.
• Use ATMs inside banks or malls during the day.
• Do not invite new acquaintances back to your room, and keep your drink in sight.
• Carry a copy of your passport and one card; leave the rest locked up.
• Check both the US and FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary maps before any trip off the main tourist route.
• Emergency number: 123.

How we scored it

Violent crime (33) and conflict (35) pull the score down most, reflecting the 2025 homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary and armed groups across large rural areas. Road safety (52) and natural hazards (58) are middling, and petty crime (40) is low because robbery, drugging and express kidnapping regularly hit visitors in the cities. Colombia sits just below South Africa in our ranking.