Rules for overlanding in Colombia

An International Driving Permit is required, on the 1949 Geneva convention model.

Third-party liability cover is compulsory. Full comprehensive cover is strongly recommended on top of it.

A Carnet de Passage is required for vehicles imported temporarily.

Frequent rain and the landslides that follow often leave road surfaces and the links between big cities in a precarious state. Check road conditions and the weather with the national road agency INVIAS and the hydrology institute IDEAM before you set out.

Do not drive at night outside the safer areas of the large cities.

The ministry advises against intercity overland transport and suggests using domestic commercial flights to cross the country. Air links with the local carriers are described as good.

Do not flag down taxis in the street, especially at night; book through authorised companies or the well-known apps, widely used in every major city. Fake drivers with cloned taxi plates have forced passengers to withdraw cash at ATMs until the account was empty, a scam known as paseo millonario. There are also fraudsters dressed as police officers who, under the pretext of checking banknotes, make tourists hand over their foreign currency.

Ecuadorian border officers may still apply the January 2024 rule requiring foreigners entering overland from Colombia or Peru to show an apostilled criminal-record certificate in Spanish covering the last five years. Since 24 May 2024 they can instead run a check against the national SIMIEC database. The ministry asks for maximum caution on those land crossings and calls flying much safer.

Trafficking is severely punished, and carrying, offering or buying all bring heavy prison terms. The 2016 prisoner-transfer agreement has not been ratified, so sentences, even for small quantities, are served only in Colombian prisons, which are overcrowded and violent. Never take charge of luggage that is not yours and never leave yours unattended: tourists have been arrested for carrying cocaine they agreed to transport.

Change money only at banks or authorised bureaux: elsewhere you risk fake or withdrawn notes and being treated as an accomplice in passing counterfeit currency. Use ATMs only inside banks and shopping centres, ideally with company, and take out small amounts. Sums above USD 10,000 must be declared to customs on arrival, or the excess is seized and only returned once its lawful origin is proven and a fine of 30% is paid.

Colombian officers refuse entry to travellers whose passport is damaged, including stains, tears or any alteration however slight. A return or onward ticket is also required, and carrying it on paper avoids being turned away at boarding or on arrival.

In a 2021 press release, DIAN (Colombian customs) states that tourists can process the temporary import of their means of transport electronically, through the DIAN portal, to obtain the right to travel freely in the country for 6 months, extendable by 3 more months. Among the items it says are important to have at hand are the identification of the person responsible for the vehicle, the vehicle's ownership document and the authorisation of entry from Colombian migration. (DIAN (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales) — Comunicado de Prensa No. 094: Importación temporal de vehículos de turistas es ahora 100% virtual (19/07/2021))

The Colombian Ministry of Transport states, in a 2024 legal opinion, that by law the SOAT (compulsory road-accident insurance) is required for every motor vehicle driven in the country, including foreign vehicles travelling through it on a temporary basis. The same opinion cites Circular 007 of 2023 of the Financial Superintendence, which sets a minimum policy term of 15 days or whole months for vehicles driving in border areas. (Ministerio de Transporte de Colombia — Concepto sobre vehículos extranjeros, SOAT y revisión técnico-mecánica (radicado MT 20241340746071, 27-06-2024))

Aerocivil's FAQ on drones states that a drone used in the open category (recreation, hobby or sport) must be registered if the aircraft weighs 200 grams or more, and that no flight permit from Aerocivil is required for the open category. For recreational flights it states that the aircraft must be registered in Aerocivil's database and that the registration may be requested by the authorities at any time. (Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia (Aerocivil) — Preguntas frecuentes: Drones y Movilidad Urbana Aérea)

In its recommendations for visiting national parks, Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia advises visitors to avoid campfires and camping in unauthorised sites. (Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia — Ecoturismo (recomendaciones para visitar los parques))

Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia states in its visitor recommendations that a guide service is mandatory (visitors are asked to check in which parks it applies), that an accident and rescue insurance policy is needed to enter a protected area (also to be checked park by park), and that drones may not be used in the protected area. (Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia — Ecoturismo (recomendaciones para visitar los parques))

A news item on the website of Colombia's Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC), last updated 5 August 2022, states that the Ministry granted the satellite internet operator Starlink a spectrum-use permit for satellite radiocommunications. (MinTIC Colombia — Gobierno nacional otorga permiso de uso de espectro para servicios de radiocomunicaciones a la compañía de Internet satelital Starlink)