Is Colombia Safe? (How Dangerous Is Colombia?)

I am writing this first, cause most people will be thinking about how dangerous Colombia is. Probably the media from my favorite TV show, Narcos, and News have made us think like that. But the truth is that I never felt endangered. Even at night when I went out to bars and clubs, I felt fine (Just like I’m in New York). Of course, don’t go to a shady neighborhood or streets. With a little bit of common sense, Colombia is not dangerous. 

Is It Worth Going to Colombia?

Yes, definitely worth going to Colombia. I would personally say focus on the Caribbean Coastal cities rather than Bogota or Medellin. Both are beautiful city, but it is just another big city. For me, the best way to do the Caribbean Coastal is to start from Riohacha (there is a direct flight from Miami) and follow down the coastal cities. It it the best way to experience Colombian culture and the nature that will make you say “wow.” 

Weather in Colombia (When Should You Go)

Weather in Colombia can vary due to its huge size. I will split into three to explain it. 

Medellin Weather

Medellin is a beautiful city and people call it the “city of eternal spring.” It does rain occasionally, but the rain makes it the beautiful city the eternal spring. I learnt it how to say it when I was in a cab and you can watch it below lol. The weather hovers around 20 degrees, and cause of the rain it just feels perfect. So any month of the year can be good to travel. 

 

Bogota Weather

Bogota is a weather like a crazy pyscho. It can be a perfect weather and then turn into a really cold day in just a day. So always bring a sweater to make sure you don’t get cold. When I was there in November, it was kind of cold. All I had was a thin sweater because I only focused on the Caribbean side of Colombia. But I survived. You can see me below video wearing layers of clothe cause it gets cold. 

 

Cartagena Weather (and All the Caribbean Coastal Weather)

Caribbean side of Colombia is probably the best to travel. More than Bogota or Medellin. But it can be dread-full during Lat May to Late September because of the rainy season. The humidity will not make you want to go out. So try to avoid those month. I went in December, and it was just so perfect!

Places to Visit in Colombia

Medellin (+Guatape)

Medellin was a beautiful city with lots of flowers and tree. For some reason in this busy concrete jungle, you feel like you are in a real forest-y jungle. Between Medellin and Bogota, I preferred Medellin because it was more picturesque. Also, you can visit Guatape which is like an hour and half away from Medellin. 

There are few things that Medellin offers but the best would be to visit the Comuna 13 which was once a dangerous neighborhood. But now it has become a place for travelers with graffitis and Hong Kong like escalators. Also, if you are staying in El Pabloda, hanging out in Parque Lleras at night is awesome! That is what I did during the stay in Medellin. 

You can also get out of town and go to Guatape which is only 1.5 – 2 hours away as a day trip or one night stay. You can read more about Guatape here. 

 

Bogota

Bogota is a massive city with 8 million population. So naturally there is a lot of things to do. But not much has attracted me to do except for going to nice restaurants. Also a lot of people told me how disappointing the Gold museum was. But hey, everybody has a different taste. Here is some of the things you might be interested (blog from desk to dirt bag). 

 

This Is How You Do COLOMBIA COASTAL CITIES Like a Champion

Capurgana/Sapzurro

These two little town was my absolute favorite in Colombia. It is still untouched by travelers because of its remoteness. The beach is quite and the town is quaint. I was heading to San Blas Islands and this was the last destination in Colombia. There isn’t much to do but to relax and go scuba diving. If you are curious about these two towns, you can read my detailed blog post about it here.  I think if I go back I will be doing the things that he did. 

Cartagena

Cartagena doesn’t feel like Colombia, but more like somewhat in between Europe and Cuba. The colors of the architecture pops and even though there are many travelers, there is something about that gave me peace in mind. Not only that there is a lot of excellent restaurants and bars in town. I only wished if I could have stayed longer in this beautiful town. If you don’t have the time to visit all the Colombian Coastal or in general, this town would be the first pick to spend your time in Colombia. 

 

Barranquilla

This is only good when there is a parade. It is an industrial town, but once a year in February, they throw the second biggest carnival after Rio. I was lucky enough to go there and it was an absolute crazy. If you are planning around that time, you should definitely try to squeeze in Barranquilla. If you are interested, please read this blog post I wrote. It will help you get through the carnival as Barranquilla is not totally developed for travelers. 

           

Santa Marta

Santa Marta is another small town on the Caribbean coast. It is a relatively quite town, and most people stay here to visit Parque National Tayrona or use it as a starting point to La Guajira. Unfortunately, when I was there, they were closed for renovation. 

Minca

Minca is another one I missed, because I had a schedule to go to La Guirella. But I heard only good things about it while I was traveling to Colombia. And I hope one day I would be able to explore a little bit more in this town. But till then check out this blog post about it. 

Riohacha

Riohacha is a small town with nothing really to see. But I think it is a great start point to go to La Guajira and Cabo De La Vela. You can go to La Guajira from Santa Marta, but it will be a longer drive in one day. So I decided to go from Riohacha so I do not have to stuck in the car all day. You can read more about it here. 

La Guajira Desert

La Guajira is not easy to get to.  You have to go through by Uribia, Cabo De La Vela, but this was my highlight of the trip in Colombia. It is not an easy trip and you have to sleep on a hammock which is not comfortable. But it was definitely worth a try.

You can see the videos of my trip below. If you are more of a soft traveler, this might not be the best. The vlog below is the part 2, but you can find part 1 on my youtube channel.  If you don’t want to go through all the hassle but still see the beautiful desert, you can go to Paracas in Peru  which is similar to La Guajira. 

There are few bloggers who went by themselves without a tour. But I think it is better to go with a group tour. On the way back, we saw a solo travelers’ jeep flipped. Apparently, one of the guy broke his arm. You can read more about La Guajira and the beauty on my blog post here. 

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Where to Stay in Colombia

Medellin

No Doubt the best area to stay is La Poblado. It is where all the restaurants, bars and clubs are at. Also, it is where you will feel safe. I stayed at the Sites hotel and Four Points hotel which were both in the neighborhood. I still had to get the taxi to get back home after few drinks, because it was around 20 minute walk. If I had the budget I would have definitely stayed at the Charles hotel which is literally in the center of La Poblado (And where all the chic and hip fashionistas were going in and out).  

Bogota

Bogota is a huge city and you should choose the area by what type of person you are. Park 93 and Zone G is where I loved hanging around. It is a bit high end with nice restaurants with bars. Zone G had more restaurants with a younger touch and Park 93 seemed a bit more mature. Zone Rosa is where I went to different bars and clubs. There were many shops to shop as well. Chapinero was more like a backpacker’s area with also bars. I personally like Park 93 and Zone G. 

Cartagena

Cartagena is a small town, but I stayed in the Old Town which made everything walkable. 

Santa Marta

Santa Marta is also a small town and you should just look into hotels and hostels in the area. I stayed at Casa Mia which was perfect because it was right next to the main area and I did not have to pass some shady roads. But there are few other nicer hotels in Santa Marta if you don’t have any plans going out at night. 

Riohacha

Riohacha is also a super small town and not much to do. So stay in the area as at night some parts can get a bit scary. I stayed at Bona Vida Hostel and it was really good! There were a lot of hip backpackers in this hostel. 

This is pretty much everything I wished I have known before going to Colombia. I am sure there are more that you want to know. If so, please let us know below comment and I will answer it as soon as possible!

 

Hope you have a great time in Colombia!!