One of the questions that our students ask us the most is:

“But is it safe to travel to Colombia?”

The modern history of our country has been marked by stories of violence that have not only marked the entire country, but have also greatly changed our lives and our way of living.

Although soap operas, movies and TV series about drug dealers and criminals always have a large following, the reality here in Colombia is very different from what you see on TV!

Thank God the country, especially in the last 10 years, has changed a lot. The violence that marked each of us in the 80's and 90's almost no longer exists and today we as Colombians and you as our foreign guests can enjoy this beautiful country in complete safety!

However, it is good and essential to know that, as in the whole world, you have to know where the danger is in order to avoid it.

In Colombia we have a saying: “do not give papaya”, that more than a saying is a way of life for all of us!

When we say not to give papaya we mean that it is good to be careful, prudent, not to show your belongings or precious objects so as not to attract attention and attract the attention of any thief.

Below we list a series of tips to take to “not give papaya” in Colombia:

• Always close the zipper on your bag and backpack. Especially in public transport, such as the Transmilenio in Bogotá, try to always carry your bags and backpacks in front and always under control, so that no one is tempted to open them and steal what you have inside. In the confusion of the bus you will hardly notice who is robbing you!
• As much as possible try not to use the phone on the street, or at least pay close attention to who and what is around you. In a city like Bogotá it is easy for a bike thief to pass by quickly and snatch it out of your hands, so always be very careful!
• Always watch your drink. It is easy to get carried away in an evening of dancing and fun, especially on a warm summer or spring afternoon like those in Cartagena and Medellín. It is not common, but you may not always meet good people. Especially if you're a man, it's easy to have "advances" from women who seem very nice and nice, but with an ulterior motive... So watch your drink!
• Try not to carry your wallet in your pants pocket, just like your mobile phone. And when you're sitting at the bar try not to hang your bag on the chair, because it could be a good opportunity for a thief to steal what you have inside!
• Always take a taxi at night. You can use applications to call taxis with Tapsy or Easy Taxi or use Uber, which is very frequent and cheap here in Colombia.

If you follow these simple tips, we are sure that the only risk you will run will be that of wanting to return here to Colombia!

And we are waiting for you with open arms!

This article was originally written in Italian