Dear Members of Horizons U,

After having had so much support here, I decided to give support for the forum and write* about Colombia. I live in Colombia and have done so for the last 8 years. I have travelled extensively throughout this beautiful country and know it well.

So here my two cents on the security situation, best travel bike etc. If you have specific questions, please don't hesitate to write although I am not checking it all the time.

The Bikes I would ride

There is nothing as opinionated as a bike. However, in general what I see people do here they take what they ride from home (Europe, North America) and want something similar here.

I have frequent discussions with friends from Europe or the USA who want to go as fast as possible and have a liter+ bike in Europe. I would say do not bring your 1250 bike here, but rather invest in a smaller bike. Around 400-500 CC is ideal for Latin America, bigger if you are having a passenger. Believe me smaller is usually a bit better here in Latin America.

Most Latin American countries are still developing and bringing your 1250 with expensive camera gear and accessories will get you on the radar. Most people would need to work years for a bike like that and for the mayority it is a dream. I would say 400-650 will get the job done in Latin America. Remember that for most roads you won't be going faster than about 40-50 miles per hour and that is the highway...so you will not need a powerful bike. My personal favorites are the 310GS, the KTM 390 ADV, Suzuki Vstrom 650, KLR and dirt bikes in those CC ranges. I don't want to make it a promotion, but these bikes come to mind.

There have been people making it to Ushuaia (south point of Latin America) on a 90CC bike...yes I know...myself I have ridden many parts of Colombia on a Yamaha NMAX 150 Scooter (Not recommended for many reasons).


Touching on Security

In general Colombia is a safe country and I have driven a lot of small (dirt) roads and in general they are safe. The locals don't want to give you trouble and are very proud of their country. However, if you are driving by on a $25000 USD bike it is a different view than if you are driving on a <$10K bike. Most bikes in Colombia cost between $1000-$3500 USD so while you do not have to stick in that range, imagine you driving by on a bike that cost as much as 10-20 normal bikes....I guess you get the idea.

So my recommendations are based on those travelers that are keeping things in a normal range. Meaning, don't overspend on a bike. As the saying goes here...."No Dar Papaya"...which means don't show anything of value.

I would say you can bring things for supporting your nomad life. Like an Phone, laptop and Cameras (in case of Vloggers), but be careful. Recently there have been more bandas (gangs) that are drugging people. Especially in cities like Cartagena and Medellin. It is to say...be careful with going out. Most of the time, they are after what you have on your bank accounts.

The operating mode that they have is they will drug you with scopolamine. They can put that in your drink, but even blow it in your face. Scopolamine will put you in a zombie state where you will lose control. Then they will bring you to various ATMs and they will ask you for your pincodes. It is best to not have too much money in an account and maybe leave your money with a family member with whom you have specific instructions to make the transfer so in case you are drugged they will not do anything or they will make transfers on specific intervals (e.g. $250 USD a week on Tuesday).

In Colombia you can ride on dirt roads. I have done so many times, and they will bring you through the most beautiful valleys, villages and the rural part of Colombia that is largely unexplored by tourists. I have never encountered any issues other than mechanical. The locals will help you and mechanics are pretty much in every small village. Again, smaller and less fancy wins here in terms of the availability of parts.

Please note(!) if you are in the zones that are considered dangerous by foreign governments (e.g. USA, UK, Netherlands) in my opinion you can be on the main roads and will be safe. The province close to Ecuador is considered unsafe by the Dutch government, but in my opinion you can drive on the main road and not encounter any issues. Your last stop for the border should be Pasto to leave enough time to cross the border.

Other than security issues there is a high probabilty of land slides particularly in the Rainy Season (March-May + September- Early October) which can make the road conditions diminish rapidly. In this season it is recommended to drive early morning until 2PM and to take things slowly. This is ofcourse only true for parts with mountains.

Some Secret Routes

I would say they are not necessarily secret, but here some things that I believe many people are skipping (and is a shame).

My first recommendation is the road from Arboletes, Apartado, Dabeiba, Santa Fe de Antioquia to Medellin -- Now this area has some weakened control of the government. Meaning, some parts might be controlled by gangs. Therefore my recommendation is to stay on the main road for the entire trip as it will be safe. They are upgrading that road so there might be some roadworks. Great alternative to Medellin with fewer trucks.

A second one that many people overlook is the road from Medellin to Manizales. You can take the main highway, but a more fun road is Medellin -> Caldas -> Angelopolis -> Amaga -> Fredonia -> Tamesis (best pueblo ever) -> Andes -> Jardin -> Riocusio -> Anserma -> Manizales. This is one of the best roads in my opion...oftentimes overlooked. For those seeking a thril in Amaga you can ride the old rail line (yes with sketchy bridges...). Both Tamesis and Jardin are worth staying for the night.

I thought I will share this. Let me know if useful and I will update it with new info.

Thanks a lot for taking your time to write this.
It is of very great value that you share all these experiences.

Bikes:
All have their favorite. And it is OK. But I agree with you.
If i understand correct, there is some extra taxes on bikes over 200 cc in Colombia. Correct? so the market is dominated by 160-200 cc bikes.
An Honda XRE 300 create quite some attention as a big bike ?While an XL 190L dissapears among all other bikes ?


Security:
If I understand. The main risk is robbbery?
Is it concentrated to cities or ?
I have travellled in many areas with small villages with poor people. In other areas. Mountains and Amazonas. And the poor ones have always been friendly and helpful. Never any problem. But entering cities with problematic areas is another story.
Will it help to try to avoid spcific cities and areas of cities ?

And as you say, some caution is helpful.
Dirty jeans, cash in your pocket, sneakers. No wallet with creditcard, ID card, or other important document. Than all you can loose is some cash. (I lived for quite some time with an ecuadorian family. WIth good economi. When going out to a restaurant for for dinner in the evening, he always had cash in his pocket. nothing else.

This with kidnapping, is it no longer an issue ?
Even with ELN ?
Or beeing robbbed at a road block ?
The threat from guerilla groups is quite different than from robbery in cities.

And I addume that there are areas with drug buisness. Would they feel any threat from a lonely stranger ?

Roads/Routes

I will make use of your suggestions for routes/roads.
They will go into my map and GPS.

Also this with "land slide season" is very usefull. It created quite some problems in Ecuador and Colombia recently.

Accommodation

I am a camping guy. Using camp sites. I like to have my own home, the bike and all by stuff on the same place. No need to search for a hotell with secure parking. Carry all your stuff 4 floors up. And then realise that you have someting on the bike that you not. ANd the bikeis in a cochera, 2 blocks away...
Just turn on the stowe and make a coffee. No need to search for café...

But.. If I understand correct, Colombia is not a country with camping culture and camp sites ? So use tent as main accomondations is not a good idea ?
Even I would always carry a small tent or hammock as "emergency" accomondation.
Could you commment on this ?

Once more
Thanks a lot. 8 years of experiences are so valuable

Useful info. We will be in Colombia at the end of this year (starting in Chile). I don't suppose my 25 year old 1100GS will attract too much attention, especially as it is black and will be filthy by then.


Question: How long do offices close over the new year period? We will need to organise flying the bike over the Darien Gap so will need to speak to freight people and I understand that new year is a very big deal there.


Also, got any recommendations for accommodation in Cartagena? Seems like we'd want to be careful where we stay in that city.

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Bikes:

An Honda XRE 300 create quite some attention as a big bike ?While an XL 190L dissapears among all other bikes ?

Yes correct, I am not sure about the taxes, but would not be surprised. Insurance gets more expensive with the higher CC. Anything under 200 CC is extremely common, but might be a little light for most riders. Given that you need a bit more power to securily pass the traffic. Also, many riders will go onwards towards the south of Latin America where road conditions are more open. That being said, the Honda XRE is an excellent choice for Latin America. It is not too big...


Security:

To elaborate a little bit further. While Kidnappings do happen, they are more express kidnappings (see my previous posts). So it is best to not have money or access to it. Extortion does happen, but not as before.

Foreigners do get in trouble, but it is more related to the dating scene and going to bards and getting drunk than motorbike riders.

That being said there are some areas that are certainly off limits (at least away from the main roads). Those are the norte de santander zone though the road from Bucaramanga to Cucuta is generally safe to ride on. That area is full of Cocaine Business. The other region is east and south of Cali. I would recommend staying on the main road there as many parts are controlled by Narco Trafficking groups.

Sometimes on small roads in these areas they ask you to open or take off your helmet so they see who you are. In general, these groups have no interest in going after a poor gringo...

In general it is best to plan well, but many smaller roads are perfectly safe!

Roads/Routes

Great you find them useful. There are many other roads that are fantastic. Thing is that it might be worth to do a little circle around the coffee region with Medellin in the norht before heading south.

Accommodation

Good you touched based on the camping accommodation. Your comment about going upstairs and moving your bike and forgetting that one item made me laugh.

Colombia does not have a camping tradition. I would not recommend this as it will make you an easy target. The other thing is that in this case you are not paying for your security. Remember that the $30 USD your hotel costs will include parking and a security guy.

I have stayed in lovely cheap hotels with $6 USD being the cheapest (and one of the best) along the ways. So my recommendation is to ask for parking inside the hotel (your bike might be parked in the lobby) and a room close to the lobby to avoid the hassle .

While I heard people stayed camping. I have no experience with it and honestly I have never seen someone camp outside of glamping areas. I think that security in that sense is not up to the standard we are used to.

In February of 2019 I spent 3 weeks in Colombia and it was amazing.

The people were very friendly and helpful. Hotels were plentiful, cheap and safe. As a solo middle aged female I never once felt in any kind of danger. But also, as a middle aged female I don't really do anything like going to bars or buying drugs either.

The first week I had a Kawasaki Versys 300 and had a blast riding from Medellin to:

Santa Fe de Antioquia, down to Salamina and Bosque de Palma De Cera La Samaria.

Then on to Manizales via Neira. From there up to Nevado del Ruiz on a nice paved road (until the last few km's). Then down to Murillo via a "road" not for the faint of heart. Large bikes not recommended. Stayed in Libano. It took 2.5 hours to cover 50KMs but it was stunning. Be aware of the thin air at those altitudes.

Then a long day on the main highways to Rio Negro where I stayed overnight. Dropped the bike off at the Medellin airport the next morning and flew back to Bogota to meet up with my spouse.

We then had a rental car out of Bogota and drove to Villa de Leyva, Raquira and on to San Gil / Barichara. Then to Giron / Bucaramanga for our flight to Santa Marta the next day. Another rental car was waiting for us and we spent a few days in the mountains and on to Cartagena by car.

At no time did either one of us feel unsafe, even my spouse who is not as accustomed to travelling in the same way that I am.

...Michelle

Dear Michelle,

Great to hear that you had a great experience. As a solo female rider it is great to hear you felt safe in this beautiful country. Versys 300 suddenly should have been on my list.

I think that buying drugs, getting hookers and going to the wrong clubs is where you will get in trouble for the most part. Cartagena is the most dangerous, so is Medellin, but in both places you can have a perfectly safe stay.

@reggie3cl - To answer your question. New Years is a difficult time as this is the holiday season.

I would recommend following the option above in the forum and taking a boat. It is an adventure and will get you through the darien with your bike for +/- $900 USD. Cheaper than flying and you don't have to take the bike apart.

Some good information in this thread.

Proceed cautiously if planning to take a boat to Panama; maybe start by spending an hour or two reading recent reports, then deciding whether this is your kind of thing.

There should be no need to "take the bike apart" when shipping by air. Not really sure what that's about. Any specific description?

My experience (rather long ago) in Cartagena was that the historic district hostels were crowded, loud, and sometimes airless. The nighttime street scene would have been a lot more fun were I several decades younger and/or a US Secret Service officer looking to destroy my career (ref: news reports).

A couple of us ended up renting a condo in the newer part of town--high rises, well-lit streets, and an absolute absence of character or historic import. That worked out much better for us old folks, and I believe it was cheaper as well.

Hope that's helpful.

From what I understood it is better to empty the bike when shipping. So removing the panniers, taking everything out etc. This is not needed when traveling by boat to / from Panama. Lastly, traveling by boat is more adventurous in my opinion.

Again, I did not want to make it too opinionated...shipping by air is also a great option.

I know a great adventure can be had by putting the bike on a boat, but we will fly it this time. Have budgeted about $1000 for the bike, which is ridiculous, but it is what it is.


Maybe taking the bike apart is to reduce the volume and therefore the calculated weight. Anyway, I just don't want to find that the whole country shuts down for three weeks while I'm trying to sort out my crossing into Panama.


Will up the budget in Cartagena to get somewhere nice and with secure parking.

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My wife and I did the first section of that route ( (Through Fredonia to Puente Iglesias) in June 2019, and can second the recommendation for that part. From Puente Iglesias, we stayed on main Hwy 25 until El Rodeo, then went into the hills east through Filadelfia, El Descanzo, Pueblo Hondo, Manizales, and that was amazing. The route was suggested to us by a Colombian we met on the road, a professor in Manizales. He invited us to visit Manizales and stay with him - only reason we went there. And it is a beautiful city, so glad we did.



Loved Colombia - spent almost two months riding there. Want to go back! FWIW - we were on big BMW's and though we (especially my wife) were often the center of attention, it never felt uncomfortable.