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Colombia Basics

Is Colombia Safe? What the US, Canada and UK Travel Advisories Say (2026)

Last verified Oct 23, 2026 3 min read Living in Colombia

On this page
  1. What does the US advisory say?
  2. What do Canada and the UK say?
  3. What number do I call in an emergency?
  4. What do the advisories say about each city?
  5. What we couldn't confirm
  6. Sources (all read Oct 23, 2026)

General information. Not legal advice, and not a substitute for official alerts.

Short answer (checked Oct 23, 2026): The US State Department rates Colombia Level 3, "Reconsider travel" (issued March 31, 2026). Its Level 4, "Do not travel" areas are the departments of Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), Valle del Cauca (excluding Cali) and Norte de Santander, and anywhere within 10 km of the Venezuela border. In an emergency in Colombia, call 123. Source: travel.state.gov, Colombia Travel Advisory.

What does the US advisory say?

LevelWhere
Level 3, "Reconsider travel"All of Colombia except the Level 4 areas below. Reasons: crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and natural disasters. Issued March 31, 2026.1
Level 4, "Do not travel"The departments of Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), Valle del Cauca (excluding Cali) and Norte de Santander, and anywhere within 10 km of the Venezuela border.1

The March 31, 2026 update kept the level, added the natural-disaster risk indicator and updated the summary.

The US points on this page are from the State Department's Colombia page.

Its country-wide warnings cover street crime, dating apps, taxis, ATMs and kidnapping, medical tourism and drugs. For what it says on each, see Medellín safety and Is Santa Marta safe?.

What do Canada and the UK say?

Canada: "Exercise a high degree of caution" due to high levels of crime. It has its own "avoid all travel" and "avoid non-essential travel" lists. (Last updated Oct 14, 2026, travel.gc.ca)

UK: no country-wide level. It lists areas it advises against, and says travelling against FCDO advice can invalidate travel insurance. (Updated Oct 15, 2026, GOV.UK)

What number do I call in an emergency?

Call 123 for police and medical emergencies anywhere in Colombia.

  • Domestic violence line (Colombian authorities, Spanish): 155
  • US Embassy Bogotá: +57-601-275-2000 (press 0 after hours), and the after-hours line +57-601-275-4021. travel.state.gov lists these under "Emergency phone numbers" and "Victims of crime" (checked Oct 23, 2026).

Source: travel.state.gov.

What do the advisories say about each city?

  • Is Medellín safe?: Antioquia isn't on the US Level 4 list. Canada and the UK list some areas we haven't summarized; check their pages.
  • Is Bogotá safe?: Bogotá isn't on the US Level 4 list.
  • Is Cartagena safe?: Bolívar isn't on the US Level 4 list. Canada and the UK list some areas we haven't summarized; check their pages.
  • Is Santa Marta safe?: Magdalena isn't on the US, Canada or UK highest-risk lists.

What we couldn't confirm

  • Whether the State Department's August 11, 2025 "travel guidance" sections have been updated since. The page shows that date for those sections and March 31, 2026 for the advisory itself.
  • Other governments' advisories (Australia, Germany and others) weren't checked.

Sources (all read Oct 23, 2026)

Sources

  1. travel.state.govtravel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/colombia.html
  2. travel.gc.catravel.gc.ca/destinations/colombia
  3. GOV.UKwww.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/colombia/warnings-and-insurance