Practical information Colombia

French, Belgian, Swiss and Canadian nationals are exempt from visa requirements for a tourist stay of less than 90 days, which can be extended once upon arrival through Migración Colombia. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry and have a blank page. Upon arrival at El Dorado Airport in Bogotá or Cartagena, you will receive a stamp specifying the authorized duration, usually 90 days. Since 2023, an online form called Check-Mig must be completed free of charge within 72 hours before your flight, both outbound and return. We provide the official link to our travelers before departure to avoid any confusion with paid intermediary websites.

No vaccination is mandatory to enter Colombia from Europe, but the yellow fever vaccine is required to visit the Amazon, certain national parks such as Tayrona or Sierra de la Macarena, and is essential if you are continuing to Brazil or Peru. It must be administered at least ten days before departure. We also recommend being up to date with DTP, hepatitis A and B, and typhoid depending on your itineraries. Malaria is present at low altitude in the Chocó and Amazon regions, with moderate risk. Dengue circulates on the coasts, hence the importance of using insect repellents. Consult an international vaccination center six weeks before departure.

For a comfortable customized tour, expect between 90 and 150 euros per day per person excluding international flights, including stays in charming or boutique hotels, meals, private transport and English-speaking guides. Independent travelers can reduce costs to 50 or 60 euros per day in hostels and by bus. A meal in a local restaurant costs 8 to 15 euros, a coffee 1 to 2 euros, a domestic flight Bogotá-Cartagena between 50 and 120 euros depending on the season. Entrance fees to sites like Ciudad Perdida or Tayrona park vary from 20 to 350 euros. Cartagena and the coast are more expensive than the Andes.

Dry seasons extend from December to March and July to August, these are the most favorable periods for most of the country, notably the Caribbean coast, the coffee region and the Andes. The months of April to June and October to November are wetter but remain feasible, though they may complicate mountain hiking. To observe humpback whales on the Pacific, the window is July to October. The Amazon can be visited year-round, with a high water season from March to June, ideal for canoe navigation. Avoid Holy Week and year-end festivities if you seek tranquility in Cartagena.

Colombia is vast, approximately twice the size of France, and road distances are often extended by the Andean terrain. We prioritize domestic flights between remote regions, with Avianca, Latam, and Wingo serving around twenty cities. Bogotá to Cartagena takes 1.5 hours by plane versus 18 hours by bus. Within a region, we arrange private transfers with English-speaking or Spanish-speaking drivers according to your preferences. Long-distance buses, which are comfortable, remain an economical option between Bogotá, Medellín, and the coffee axis. In the Amazon, travel is by motorized canoe. In cities, use Cabify or InDriver apps rather than hailing a taxi.

The situation has profoundly changed since the 2016 peace agreement, and the country now welcomes over five million foreign visitors annually. Classic tourist regions—the coffee axis, Cartagena, Tayrona, Bogotá, Medellín, San Agustín—are visited without difficulty. As throughout Latin America, we recommend standard precautions: no ostentatious jewelry, vigilance on public transport, taxis via app. Certain rural areas of Cauca, Catatumbo, or the Venezuelan border remain discouraged by the French Foreign Ministry; we do not program them. Our team in Bogotá monitors current events daily and adjusts itineraries if necessary.