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I've seen a lot of conflicting statements of safety in Colombia. While most travel websites seem to suggest the violence has gone down, and safety up, I also see that the US state travel website has reposted or updated it's travel warning about Colombia:

Violent crime is a threat throughout Colombia. Kidnapping remains a threat, although U.S. citizens are not specifically targeted. Violent political groups and other criminal organizations occasionally kidnap and hold civilians, including foreigners, for ransom.

updated June 2017: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/colombia-travel-warning.html

Can someone provide any clarity on this?

imagineerThis
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    The US State Department always errs on the side of caution, the old "better to be safe than sorry". One has to take their advice as overly cautious, but still something to be taken into consideration. –  Sep 05 '17 at 01:33

1 Answers1

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I'd venture to say that Colombia has never been as safe as it is now, and has gotten structurally safer, across the board, over the last decade.

That said, Colombia, generally speaking, is less safe than, say, Edinburgh or Amsterdam. But, generally speaking, safer than, say, Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

Cali tends to be less safe than, say, Bogota. But, tourists tend to be targeted a bit more, everywhere. Some rural areas are significantly less safe, while others are very safe.

So, if your question would need to be answered by a simple response, I'd say "quite".

MastaBaba
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