How safe is ColOmbia to ride?

[Punki-MunKi]

How safe is columbia to ride?

Which areas are very safe and which areas should be avoided?

[Grant Johnson]

Hate to be a pedant, but you gotta watch the spelling of place names - search on ColOmbia and you'll get plenty of info.

(NOTE: I have edited the subject to correct the spelling.)

Safety is relative - it's not as safe as London, but not as dangerous as Iraq...

Follow the rules, and you should be fine - but be very aware of the rules, pay attention to what's going on, and check the Communities for the latest info on where and when is good.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com


[Note: This message has been edited by Grant Johnson]

[Chris Smith]

As Grant said in his other reply to you (re the Darien) there´s loads of stuff here. Scroll down the topics and you´ll see some recent stuff. I won´t repeat myself here but in other posting (from a few of weeks back)I updated some stuff on both Colombia and the Darien. Have a look, I´m not the only one. In short, the Darien was great as far as Yaviza - I wouldn´t go any further. Colombia was fantastic and we had no problems.

Have a good trip which ever way you go.

Chris

[JTA]

Thank you very much, Grant. I´m affraid we´ll have to repeat a zillion times that ColOmbia and ColUmbia are two completly different places. Haven´t people learned that at early school?

Regarding the question, I´m pretty sure that Colombia is now a much safer place than 2 or 3 years ago, but is not trouble-free yet. As some people have said, try to stay on the main roads, don´t drive at night and don´t adopt the typical "I´m smarter, richer, faster (and obviously less educated) than you" attitude some travelers I´ve seen have.

If your intentions are to see the main cities, there´s absolutely no problem, but if you plan something more adventurous, try to contact me or somebody in the community: We are helpful by nature.

[bigJoe]

how safe is colombia? that age-old question.

we traveled colombia last year for a month. liked it so much we went back for another two weeks. here's my take on it.

we had a great time and met some of the most amazing people there. the dangers are very real and you have to be aware of yourself but having said that we took no more precautions in colombia than anywhere else in s. america. we traveled at night but only a couple times around dusk. we stuck to the panamerican for the most part and didnt wander off into the darien. personally i think the colombians are competing with the brazilians for nicest people in s. america award. you will meet some great folks there. keep your wits about you and you'll be fine.

[MotoDiver]

Found Columbia to be as safe and friendly as any other country south of US border. I travelled south from Bogota to Ecuador border, and later, north from Bogota to Cucuta and Venezuela., then Rio Hacha to Cartagena. Very scenic--friendly folks, and no problems.--Porter

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on the road(almost)
and lovin' it!!
KLR650-A13 'BURRO'

[sigoodacre]

In Bogota,and we can only agree that the people are friendly and the most helpful we have met so far.3 times in the first day here we were approached by an English speaking local who asked if they could help with anything.Perhaps we looked a bit lost holding a street map in front of us.
Only shock was the 12 degrees C drop.
Of course we are not going to walk round with camera showing and mobile phone on each ear whilst drawing cash from ATM at midnight.But i wouldn´t do that in most places.

[Iain]

This is a heart warming report from the last E-zine. In many ways it sounds like one of the best places to Visit.

"I write to tell you that my latest sojourn is coming to an end as Cecilia and I head to the house of a new biker friend that has offered to store my bike here in Bogotá. This is the completion of a 14,000 KM journey, the 15th odyssey I have made on this bike and I am proud to tell you that it is still in stellar condition.

After crossing this wonderful country for the 12th time, four times on motorbike, I would highly agree with just about every other traveller and writer and say that Colombia has to be one of the most misunderstood countries in the world, that it is so much more that just drugs, terrorism and violence. It is one of the most diverse Countries in the world, the only country in South America where the Cordillera actually split into three, offering the most spectacular scenery and roads. And with two rainy seasons it has the greenest topography of any country that I have ever seen. The people are some of the most hospitable in the world and if you had the chance to read about the largest sociological study ever made about which countries have the happiest people, you would have read that Colombia took first place! A far cry from the common perception that the average person has of this country.

Like every other person that gets bombarded with all the bad press about Colombia, I too was weary and made a commitment to stick to certain rules: travel early in the day, stick to the main roads, and constantly ask questions about the particular area we were crossing at the time. The difference for me was that I learned much from all my other experiences in Colombia and knew that while certain risks exist, they can be avoided with a little common sense. I guess if I had listened to every travel advisory that the USA ever issued I would have a fraction of the experiences that I enjoy today.

The President of Colombia seems to have made a firm commitment to send the guerillas back to the jungle and this was made clear by the highest military presence I’ve yet seen anywhere in Latin America. From the Border of Ecuador to Cali, along the Pan American Highway, foot soldiers were placed at close intervals, all with sophisticated weaponry and a very serious composure. I even noticed snipers hanging from trees. For a person not familiar with this kind of environment, it appears intimidating, or at the very least surreal. But for us, it was the extra bit of confidence we needed to have a secure ride.

In short, I would say that this ride was everything I was hoping to find when I returned to this wonderful Continent: hospitable happy people, great scenery, spectacular bike adventures and the pleasure to meet so many other biker friends after years of email contact. After a five week stay in the house of Latin America’s Biker Ambassador Ricardo Rocco, it was more than inspirational to know that so many of us could come together and bond with different ideas and share freely all in the name of biker travel camaraderie. All the best my friend, Daniel".

[Tim Campion]

I just rode Bogota to Cali to Ecuador. No problems, wonderful people and country. A minor "hassle" is all the police checkpoints. But it's reassuring they're there!

Trip report at: http://timtraveler.com