Do you know any local agencies in Colombia?

Hello, We’re a retired couple planning a trip to Colombia in January 2026. We’ve been reading the current travel advisories for the country, and they’re quite alarming. Do you have any recommendations for trustworthy local tour agencies we could contact to help organize visits to safe areas? Thanks so much.

Hi, I don’t know where you got that info? All I can tell you is that we visited a good part of Colombia on our own in a rental car about a dozen years ago, when the FARC were still very active, and we never had any problems—in fact, quite the opposite! Colombians were always very welcoming and helpful. If you stick to the tourist areas, you won’t have any issues aside from the usual travel hassles—so no jewelry, watch out for pickpockets, etc...

Do you have any recommendations for reliable tour agencies we could contact to organize visits in safe areas? Thanks a lot.

Hi, The only one we’ve used was for the Ciudad Perdida trek in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (a 4- or 5-day trek). The agency is mandatory, so... There are five agencies in Santa Marta, all displaying the same price, but the only one run by Indigenous people (the Wiwa) is Wiwa Tours. I highly recommend it because only the Wiwa and Kogi know the history of the places, and you can also stay in their villages. A must-do if you love mountain hiking and ancient Andean civilizations. https://wiwatour.com/fr/

Thanks for your helpful tips! 😊

Hi there, we’re referring to the Canadian and French government websites, which both agree. There seems to be a rise in assaults, kidnappings, and extortion in Colombia right now…

A Frenchman was recently killed in Bogota for phone theft.

Hi

A Frenchman was recently killed in Bogota for phone theft.

Not long ago, you wrote this: (https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=10790855#10790855)

Stop stressing so much about safety in Colombia. You feel safer there than in France. I was there for two months at the end of last year, including the Venezuelan border, the Pacific coast, the Caribbean, and the center—no problems at all. Just like anywhere, you need to be careful, but honestly, YES, Colombia is safe to travel, even without planning.

For my part, I’ve never felt unsafe, but that doesn’t mean much. As long as you haven’t been attacked or witnessed an attack, you generally feel perfectly safe. https://www.tourmag.com/La-Colombie-pays-de-la-beaute--seduit-toujours-plus-de-voyageurs-francais_a129155.html

Yes, I wrote this and I stand by it. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t warn people at least a little—after all, incidents involving tourists *do* happen.

Hi there,

Almost everywhere in Latin America, people tell you to be careful with your phone on the street and not to resist if someone tries to steal it. And if you watch the news in some countries, you see that phone thefts happen almost daily—sometimes it ends badly because there are so many guns in circulation. So this incident isn’t surprising at all.

Hi there, I’d recommend checking out the blog Mon voyage en Colombie. It’s a Franco-Colombian couple traveling through Colombia in search of authentic local guides. We visited the Ipiales area (Las Lajas Sanctuary, Tulcan in Ecuador) and the village of Silvia with Indigenous guides. It was AMAZING! !

Thanks! We checked out their website—it’s a goldmine of info for sure!

Hi, What’s your exact itinerary? I just got back from a month-long trip in Colombia without using any agency. The kindness of the people is incredible. We never felt unsafe in terms of security. The blog *Un voyage en Colombie* is indeed a goldmine of information.