Expert: Juan Carlos Valencia - 11/18/2009

Question
Juan, I have met a girl who lives in Cali that I would like to visit, but friends and family tell me it is not safe for Americans (especially white) to visit Colombia. Even the US State Department recommends against it. You live there, so I would like your opinion.

Thanks, Tracy

Answer
Hey Tracy !

I´ve answered some questions about travelling to Colombia and Cali before, so browse past answers to get more details.

What I can tell you is that safety concerns in Colombia were high until the early years of this decade due to guerrilla, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartel activity, but things have improved a lot, especially in the big cities.

You must be careful, but at this moment, crime statistics in Bogota and Cali are similar or lower than those in american cities like Washington D.C, Philadelphia or New orleans.

So if you dont leave the cities, are street smart and let your local friends guide you, it´s almost certain that you will not run into any trouble. At the moment, tourism to Colombia is experiencing a boom. You will see foreign backpackers all around and some pensioners from the U.S and Europe have moved to Colombia, buying "cheap" property and investing in small businesses, to live their last years in a warmer environment (climate-wise and human-wise as well).

So if you do go, relax, wear informal clothing, dont bring expensive jewelry and dont take sophisticated electronic equipment to the street. Behave like if you were walking around Santa Monica boulevard in L.A or the East Village in N.Y.

You will be surprised by the quality of life there. And by the poverty of some areas and people, but dont imagine that you are going to the far west !

Cali is going through big changes. It was an industrial & agricultural center between the 1950s and 1980s. Then the drug trafficking cartels emerged and had a terrible and damaging influence. All these "industries" declined in the 1990s and the city went through a period of decay and high levels of crime. Things seem to be turning for the better now with big government public works and new high tech industries like Ethanol production, pharmaceutical plants and food industries.

People there like to party a lot. The city is a strange mixture of conservatism and tolerance. People are very liberal in some aspects but very traditional in others. The city itself has suffered because of bad planning and corrupted local governments, but it´s also full of green and its surroundings are great for short trips.  

Stick to areas like San Fernando, Cristales, Ciudad Jardin, El Peñon, Santa Teresita and Granada. They are very nice, mostly safe and have great restaurants.

I hope that this helps !

Regards

JC