Most trips to Colombia link Bogotá, high in the Andes, with Medellín, the coffee country around Salento and the Caribbean coast, from the walled city of Cartagena to Santa Marta and Tayrona National Park. The mountains make road journeys slow, so many travellers fly between regions. Colombia is not part of the EU's Roam Like at Home area, and European tariffs generally charge for every day of roaming there.
Key facts for Colombia
- EU roaming: not covered by Roam Like at Home
- Local networks: Movistar (depending on the plan)
- Emergency numbers: 123; fire 119
- Embassies: in Bogotá
Bogotá and Medellín
Both cities have strong coverage. Bogotá lies at about 2,600 metres, so take your first day slowly. In Medellín, the metro and its cable cars connect the valley floor with the hillside neighbourhoods, including the murals of Comuna 13. In both, order taxis through an app or by phone instead of hailing one in the street, as official travel advice recommends.
Your phone in the street
Phone snatching is the crime visitors most often meet in Colombian cities. Locals sum up the defence as "no dar papaya": do not hand anyone an easy chance. Check maps inside a shop or café rather than on the pavement, keep the phone away from open car and taxi windows, and do not walk around with it in your hand after dark. Before the trip, set a screen lock and make sure you know how to locate and erase the phone remotely.
Dating apps and drinks
The US embassy has warned that criminals use dating apps to lure foreigners, some of whom have been drugged and robbed. Meet new people in busy public places, keep your drink in sight, and share your plans and location with a friend.
The coffee region and the Caribbean coast
The signal is reliable in Salento, Cartagena and Santa Marta, but it weakens on the trails of the Cocora valley and inside Tayrona National Park, and there is little or none for most of the multi-day trek to the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida). Download maps first and tell your guide or hostel where you are heading.
Areas with travel warnings
The UK and several other governments advise against all but essential travel to some border and rural areas, including Arauca and Norte de Santander on the Venezuelan border and parts of the Pacific coast. Check the Colombia travel-safety page before you leave the main tourist routes.
The IMEI rule for Colombian SIMs
If you buy a Colombian SIM, the phone's IMEI also has to be registered with the operator, or local networks can block it. Visitors who stay on roaming, which is how a travel eSIM connects, do not need to register anything.
Paying
Cards work in hotels, shopping centres and most restaurants in the cities, while taxis, markets and small shops often want cash in pesos. Use cash machines inside banks or shopping centres rather than ones on the street.
Getting connected
A travel eSIM goes on your phone before you leave and starts working with its first connection in Colombia, with no IMEI paperwork. Your usual number keeps receiving texts and bank codes. If you continue to Ecuador or elsewhere in the region, a Latin America or Americas plan covers several countries.
Colombian prepaid SIMs from Claro, Movistar or Tigo are sold in phone shops and shopping centres, and you need your passport to buy one.
Consular protection: who to call in Colombia
- 123 connects you with the police, fire and medical services; you can also dial 119 for the fire service, and 165 reaches the police unit that handles kidnapping and extortion.
- Embassies are in Bogotá, and a few countries also have a consulate in Cartagena. The Telcomia app shows yours, with address and phone.
- If you are an EU citizen and your country has no embassy or consulate in Colombia, the embassy of any other EU country must help you on the same terms as its own nationals (Article 23 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU).
- The app has emergency phrases in Spanish, ready to show on screen.
Questions travellers ask about Colombia
Does my EU plan work in Colombia?
Not under Roam Like at Home; ask your operator what a day of roaming costs.
Do I have to register my phone in Colombia?
Only if you use a Colombian SIM. On roaming, including with a travel eSIM, you do not.
Which networks does a Telcomia eSIM use in Colombia?
Movistar, with 4G and 5G where available.
What is the emergency number?
123, for the police, fire and medical services.
The short version
Install the eSIM before you fly, order taxis through an app, keep your phone out of sight in the street, read the travel-safety page before leaving the main routes, and save 123.
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