Colombia

Colombia is a country with a high ethnical diversity and it originally was a country of the indigenes. It was colonized at the beginning of the 16th century. But also the landscapes are diversified as Colombia has mountains, beautiful beaches, and rainforests in the Amazon. Locals are relaxed and always friendly, and helpful.  Around 70% of the Colombians are roman-Catholics, while 20% have a protestant belief.  

You don’t need any special vaccinations to enter Colombia. But especially vaccination against yellow fever is highly recommended. Vaccination against hepatitis A is recommended. If you stay longer a vaccination against hepatitis B, typhus and rabies may be to consider. There is also the Zika-Virus and Dengue fever, but there aren’t vaccinations against them. Malaria occurs in many parts of the country, so be sure to have medication against it. Health care is good in the bigger cities but doesn’t meet western standards in the rural areas.

You don’t need a visum for Colombia if you don’t stay longer than 90 days. It’s possible to extend the visum once for another 90 days. That applies to citizens of the EU, citizens from the US, Canada, or Australia, and other Western and Asian states. Be sure to fill out the „Check-Mig“ form online before your departure. Besides, you should have a valid onward ticket.

Luckily, the security situation improved in the last few years, but Colombia still isn’t the safest country. The crime rates in Colombia are high, especially in the metropolitan areas of Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, and Santa Marta. Pickpockets especially occur in busy places and within public transportation. There is also a chance of being robbed, so behave reasonably, take an Uber at night, don’t drive by yourself at night, don’t do drugs, and avoid the bad areas. Don’t wear expensive clothes or jewelry, and don’t show your newest iPhone in public.

Colombia is a good country to get a fair value for your money. In our opinion, the tourist sector is still pretty young. That is because the general safety situation just improved over the last 15-20 years and people weren’t able to travel safely to Colombia before. Restaurants and hotels in the better areas of the bigger cities (which we recommend staying in) have higher prices. But they are still more than affordable. If you wanna know what we spent in Colombia, click here.