Is Cartagena, Colombia Safe? Safety Tips and Scams to Know

The UK position

The UK FCDO states: "Pickpocketing, mugging and armed robbery are a problem, especially in major cities, including Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and the Caribbean coast." The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to a list of specific regions. Cartagena does not appear anywhere on that list. The one Bolívar-department entry on it is "the southern part of Bolívar Department," which is inland. Cartagena, the coastal city, is not on the FCDO's advise-against list. That distinction matters: the department Cartagena sits in has a flagged zone, but it is not the city.

On drink-assisted robbery, the FCDO warns: "The British Embassy has received reports of criminals in Colombia using drugs to subdue their victims. This includes the use of scopolamine, which temporarily incapacitates victims." On dating apps, the FCDO states: "Criminals use dating applications and websites to identify and lure foreign nationals who are travelling alone and looking to meet local people." On taxis, the FCDO says: "There have been reports of express kidnappings, assaults and robberies in unlicensed taxis. Use licensed telephone or internet-based taxi services whenever possible or book through your hotel."

The US position

The US State Department puts Colombia at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, a status reaffirmed around 31 March 2026, citing crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and natural disasters. Level 3 is a country-wide rating. The departments on the Level 4 Do Not Travel list are Arauca, Cauca (except Popayán), Valle del Cauca (except Cali), Norte de Santander, and the area within 10 km of the Venezuela border. Cartagena and the Bolívar department are not on that Level 4 list.

For a US visitor the practical reading is this: the government says think carefully about the trip at country level, but it does not single out Cartagena as one of the places where it says do not go. All of the advice below is about managing the specific street-level risks the FCDO and press reporting describe.

What the advisories describe

The FCDO framing for the Caribbean coast is pickpocketing, mugging and armed robbery as problems in major cities. For Cartagena specifically, the risks travelers report are snatched phones, bag theft in crowded plazas, and the scams covered on this page. None of the official material in our research describes tourists being targeted by organized violence inside the historic center.

The FCDO also warns about express kidnappings in unlicensed taxis, which is why the taxi section below matters.

A caveat on crime statistics

No official Cartagena-specific crime-statistics source was located in this research pass. A press figure of 379 homicides in Cartagena in 2024 against 368 in 2023, and a reported 157% rise in extortion complaints between 2019 and 2022, circulate in media coverage, but neither figure is sourced to an official statistics body such as the Policía Nacional or DANE in our sources. We print that caveat rather than the numbers as fact.

If you want hard local data, look for the official bodies directly rather than secondary reporting.

What this means for your trip

Treat Cartagena like any big city with a gap between tourist and local incomes. Keep phones off restaurant tables, carry the cash you need rather than everything you have, and use the tourist police infrastructure the city actually provides. The walled city walk on this page covers the streets where most of this happens.

The documented pattern

The UK FCDO states: "The British Embassy has received reports of criminals in Colombia using drugs to subdue their victims. This includes the use of scopolamine, which temporarily incapacitates victims." Scopolamine is known locally as burundanga. Victims describe losing the ability to resist while remaining superficially functional, then being walked to ATMs or handing over belongings.

There is a documented case cluster from 2023: at least 35 tourists were robbed that year, including a dating-app-facilitated ring nicknamed "Las Tóxicas," with three arrests in a police operation called "Seguridad 360." This is a 2023 figure, not necessarily the current count. No newer official figure was found in this research.

How the approach works

The common setups involve a stranger offering a drink, gum, a cigarette, a pamphlet or help with your belongings, or a document or powder handed to you on the street. Sometimes a friendly local suggests a specific bar and the drink there is pre-prepared. It can happen to anyone, alone or in a group, and men are targeted as often as women.

The fix

Never accept a drink you did not see poured or a bottle you did not see opened. Watch your glass the whole time, including in a busy bar. Decline drinks, cigarettes, gum or pamphlets from strangers, and politely decline anyone who wants to hand you something to hold or read.

If a stranger buys you a drink, refuse it. If you feel suddenly disoriented, tell staff or your hotel immediately and get to a safe, staffed place.

The official warning

The UK FCDO states: "Criminals use dating applications and websites to identify and lure foreign nationals who are travelling alone and looking to meet local people." The 2023 case cluster tied to scopolamine included a dating-app-facilitated ring, so the two patterns overlap: the app identifies an isolated traveler, the meeting place is controlled by the other party, and the drug or an armed group does the rest.

The fix

Meet in a public place that you chose, not one your match proposed. Tell someone at your hotel or a friend your plans, who you are meeting and where. Do not go to a private residence, apartment or hotel room on a first meeting, however long the conversation has run.

Keep your own drinks rule from the section above. If the person pushes hard to move the meeting somewhere private or orders drinks for you, treat that as your exit signal.

The pitch

The script varies but the structure is the same: a friendly approach, a claim of special access or a family connection to a mine, urgency about the price, and a refusal of any official receipt. Aggressive street selling of jewelry and stones around the plazas and the cruise docks fits the same family. These categories, along with fake police and aggressive beach vendors, are commonly reported in press coverage, but no single official advisory page itemizes them.

We are stating that sourcing gap plainly rather than inventing an official source.

The fix

Buy gemstones only from a licensed jeweler, insist on a receipt, and ask for certification of the stone. Never buy from a street offer, however convincing the story or the discount. If you did not walk into a shop intending to buy jewelry, the answer to the pitch is no.

The two readings, side by side

This table compares the two conflicting readings of the official taxi fare card: the Decreto 0051 figures reported by El Universal against the cartagena.gov.co snippet, which may reflect an earlier year.

What to actually do

Do not expect a meter, ever. Do not negotiate a price for a standard in-city ride, because the fare is fixed by the card, not agreed verbally. The reliable move is to ask your driver, or your hotel front desk before you get in, to confirm the current minimum fare and the night surcharge on the printed control card.

Use licensed telephone or internet-based taxi services where you can, as the FCDO advises, because the documented crimes in taxis involve unlicensed vehicles. Airport taxi zone fares and the Transcaribe alternative are covered on our getting around page. Figures current in Q3 2026.

The pattern

A vendor opens a bag of fruit on your table, a massage seller starts working on your shoulders, or a fresh plate of fish arrives, and only then does the number appear. Because the item is already opened, touched, cooked or started, refusing feels impossible and the quoted price can be far above any local norm. It is worth noting that no Cartagena-specific official vendor-harassment advisory exists, so this guidance is practical rather than regulatory.

The fix

Agree the exact price for the exact item before anything is opened, touched, cooked or started. If a vendor approaches with goods, say the price question first. If a massage seller stops by, settle the full price and duration before a single touch.

If no price is agreed, the answer is no, and you can simply stand up and move. Full planning for that beach, including how to get there, is on our Playa Blanca page.

The access reality

The hilltop is not walkable from the historic center. It is reached only by taxi or an organized tour. The approach road has a reputation for robberies.

This is a gotcha passed on by tour operators rather than an official government finding, so treat it as local operational knowledge. Tour operators recommend a taxi that waits for you at the top, or a guided tour, and never an independent walk or an unofficial moto-taxi. The official site lists the convent as open daily 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., though third-party sources give 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., so confirm timing when you book.

Full details are on our Convento de la Popa page.

Who to call and where to go

The number 123 is the national emergency line. It is free, staffed 24/7 and covers police, medical and fire response. The Tourist Police (Policía de Turismo) have a visible presence in the walled city.

Centers for Tourist Attention operate at the La Bodeguita dock and in Bocagrande. If you need to file a complaint, the national police accept them online at adenunciar.policia.gov.co.