BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm heading to Bogota this weekend and will be meeting up with a local contact through a friend. However, I am still nervous about travel there, especially as a single American female. I've been on the road solo almost a year now, but I've heard the most horror stories out of South America, and even the local contacts advised against travel overland there. Anyone there now or recently and have any words of encouragement?

I have been there a couple of times, met several solo female backpackers there and can assure you that Bogota is fine.

Nothing to be scared of. Wish I could go back again, went last year. Just relax and enjoy

It's a big city so take the same precautions you would take in any other big city. Colombia is much safer than its reputation implies. I traveled throughout the country for three months with no problems other than a few buses that left late.

So I take it none of you got robbed while on a bus by a machine-gun toting drug cartel? That's the latest story I heard, but the guy seemed more upset at the fact he had to give his insurance company the receipt they gave him when they robbed him. And at least they were kind enough to not take his passport and visa card. I can't wait to get there!

The military has such a stronghold on all of the major highways (with the possible exception of the road south of Popayan leading to Ecuador) that a highway robbery seems very unlikely nowadays. Most people who get robbed in Colombia do so because they use drugs and/or go out drinking late at night and bring their camera or something valuable with them. You could also simply get unlucky, but that can happen anywhere, and is just as likely in Bogotá as in any other similar-sized city.

That being said, I'd advise against going into the jungle as that's where the machine-gun toting drug cartels are actually located, other than the Leticia area which is safe.

He did mention that he was off in an area briefly that he probably shouldn't have been.

So is traveling overland to Ecuador feasible then? I'm heading there after Colombia and eventually making my way to Peru to meet someone. I'd like to do everything overland. I've been told to fly from Quito to Lima tho because of difficult transport.

Traveling to Ecuador overland is fine, I'm just suggesting that you do it during the day once you get south of Popayan. The crazy rumors I've heard is that the military on that stretch goes home at night and the bad guys all come out to play. Actually, since the situation changes rapidly, you should probably ask a hostel owner or someone once you get to Popayan how safe the road is south of there, but it's probably fine.

Traveling from Quito to Lima overland isn't too bad, just be extremely careful at the border crossing by Tumbes, Peru. It's probably the most dangerous crossing in South America. If you want to cover all of that territory in one trip, there is a direct bus that leaves from Quito, which is safer because they shepard you across the border as opposed to dropping you off in the middle of the madness that is Huaquillas and throwing you to the wolves. You leave at night, hit the border the next morning, then ride through northern Peru that day and arrive in Lima early the next morning (I think). Of course there's a lot of stuff to see between those points too.