We have been traveling through South America for 5.5 months and Bogota was our last city before returning to Buenos Aires to catch our flight back to Sydney. We have been all over the continent, visiting 7 countries and countless cities. We have stayed in all sorts of random neighborhoods with AirBnB, we have traversed through bus stations at all hours of the day, and wandered through all sorts of crazy local streets. Perhaps we got complacent. Maybe we let our guards down.
Colombia was the last new country that we visited in South America, and one which was high on Simon’s bucket list. To be honest, Colombia was never really on my radar before. As I planned out the trip I learned a lot about this beautiful country with a turbulent past. Is Colombia safe for travel? Well, yes and no. Even though there were tons of places which really sounded interesting, in the end we decided to only visit Cartagena (and nearby Baru Island), Medellin, and Bogota. I figured sticking to the main tourist trail would be the best way to avoid any remnants of Colombia’s recent conflicts.
I took some precautions during the planning stage of the trip. I opted to fly between cities instead of taking the bus, as a safety measure. I booked hostels in the main tourist districts instead of random AirBnB’s. And for the most part, this worked well.
We wandered through the old town of Cartagena without any worries. We even went out for food and to enjoy the life on the streets in Getsemani Cartagena without any issue. We felt safe in Cartagena.
In Medellin, once the world’s most dangerous city, we moved around without any problems. We walked through downtown, took a cable car up the hillside, and even did a tour to a neighborhood which is literally built on top of a reclaimed trash dump. Everyone was friendly and we never felt in danger. We felt safe in Medellin.
But then came Bogota. I didn’t expect Bogota to be the way it was, and perhaps I had let my guard down after having such seamless travel experiences in Cartagena and Medellin. I guess I thought that being the capital that Bogota would be the same, or even better, than Medellin. We were wrong.
Is Bogota Safe For Travel?
We were staying in the main tourist district of La Candelaria. In all fairness, I had read that the area can be a bit dodgy after dark, but then most of South America is a bit dodgy after dark. And I thought our risk would be minimal since the kids start getting ready for bed around 7 PM.
Our first shock came before we even arrived at our hostel. We had taken the airport shuttle from the airport to the city and then were planning to take a taxi the rest of the way. It felt like we had gotten dropped off in the middle of a war zone. Everywhere there was trash piled up on the streets, people were passed out in the middle of the sidewalk (this was mid day as well), and others were wandering around with prosthetic limbs which had clearly been self made out of found objects. We quickly hailed a cab and started driving the few blocks to our hotel.
As we passed into the tourist district of La Candelaria, things did improve, but only slightly. We made it to our hostel, checked in, and found a cafe on the corner for lunch. There we met a guy from New Zealand, who told us all about how he moved from New Zealand to Bogota six years ago and started this cafe. He didn’t regret it for one moment he said. It was the best decision of his life he said. And then he told us about how he got stabbed. Apparently someone asked him to buy them a beer, and he declined. That decision ended up with him being stabbed in the back multiple times, passing out in the street, and bleeding out. Luckily a stranger called an ambulance and he was saved.
And all this happened just around the corner from our hostel.
The whole story put us on edge. But this was the tourist district. Every street had at least one hostel. I suppose that gave us some false sense of security.
The Mugging
It happened at 8 PM. I was putting the kids to bed and Simon went out to get something from a nearby shop. It was dark out, but it was no where near the middle of the night. He was on one of the main tourist streets, about 10 meters from our hostel door. The street was busy, there were about six other people close by. Suddenly, a youth came up to him and pulled out a knife. He demanded everything. Simon didn’t resist, and that was probably lucky, as he noticed only later that there was another youth right behind him, also with a knife. All this happened with a bunch of people only a meter away (although Simon now suspects they were all together and in on it).
They took his phone, his wallet, and his wedding ring, Luckily, those were the only valuable things he had on him. Luckily he was not hurt. Once they got all of his valuables, they left. Simon was upset at first, and then he was angry. But at least he was not injured.
What to do if you are the Victim of Crime in Bogota
If you are robbed or the victim of another sort of crime in Colombia (and are not injured), it is very important that you promptly make a police report. We went to the police station the very next day to file a police report. If you are making a claim with your travel insurance company, then this document will be crucial to your claim. However, even if you are NOT making an insurance claim, I highly recommend that you make a report anyway. It is extremely unlikely that your goods will be recovered, but the data around the what, when and where will help the police better place their officers for maximum safety.
Simon had to wait a while before he could see the one English speaking officer to make his report. Once he got in though, the process was very straightforward. He answered the questions and got his police report. However, this conversation with the officer was pretty interesting.
According to this police officer, his entire job is to spend all day, every day, making reports for tourists that are robbed in Bogota. He told us that muggings and robberies happen every single day.
Is Bogota Safe?
Is Bogota safe for travel? Well, I must say, it is one of the more dangerous places that we have traveled to, and yes, we were the unfortunate victims of a crime. However, there are precautions that you can take to limit your risk.
How to Stay Safe in Colombia
- Do not carry large amounts of cash
- Do not wear flashy clothes or jewellery
- Consider wearing clothes with hidden pockets. Simon was wearing pants with loads of pockets, and they didn’t check them all. This ended up saving some of his belongings.
- Do not go out after dark if it is at all possible
- If you must go out in the evening, try to go out in a group
- Talk to the locals. The people who run your accommodation will be able to tell you where is safe
- If it is evening, or if you are going outside the main tourist area (even in the day) consider taking a taxi
- But most importantly, if someone wants to rob you, just cooperate! It is better to lose some possessions, than to lose your life.
Is La Candelaria in Bogota Safe?
La Candelaria is the oldest neighborhood in Bogota. It’s where everything began. It’s where you will find all the museums and historic sites. All the great restaurants and cafes and street art. But it is also one of the least safe areas for tourists. La Candelaria is a great place to stay if you want to be in the center of the historic part of town. And you can be safe in Bogota while staying here. Just follow my tips above and some (heightened) common sense and you should be OK.
After the mugging, we made sure to buy all our groceries before dark. We cooked our own dinners so that we didn’t need to go out of the hostel after dark. And this worked well for us. Walking around La Candelaria in the daytime is relatively safe, and once we started taking these additional precautions, we had no further issues.
so is Bogota safe for travel? Well… it can be.
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