Before you book flights
What your passport needs to enter Colombia.
Set your nationality once and it follows you across the site — prices convert to your currency, and the entry rules below change to match your passport. San Andrés has its own rules on top, which catch a lot of people out.
Not listed? That does not mean you cannot come — it means we have not verified your rules and will not guess. Ask us and we will check with the consulate.
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United States
No tourist visa required
You may normally enter as a tourist for up to 90 days per entry, to a maximum of 180 days in a calendar year. Immigration stamps the length they decide — if you plan a long stay, say so at the desk rather than assuming.
Applies to everyone
Passport validity
Carry a passport valid for the duration of your stay. Many airlines apply their own stricter rule of six months validity — check with your carrier, not just with immigration rules.
Proof of onward travel
Colombian immigration and your airline may both ask to see a ticket out of the country. Airlines refuse boarding over this more often than immigration refuses entry. Have a confirmed onward or return booking.
Check-Mig — free, and worth doing anyway
Migración Colombia publishes Check-Mig as a free online service of "uso no obligatorio" — by its own designation, not mandatory. In practice airlines including Avianca, LATAM and Copa check for it at the gate and can refuse boarding without it. So: complete it in the window before each flight, and never pay a third party for something the government provides free.
Yellow fever — get advice, do not rely on this page
Sources genuinely conflict on whether a certificate is required to enter Colombia, and we will not guess on something this consequential. What is not in dispute: the CDC has an active yellow fever notice for Colombia and recommends vaccination for travellers visiting most of the country outside the highest-altitude cities, and some onward destinations require a certificate from anyone arriving from Colombia. The vaccine takes 10 days to become valid. Speak to a travel clinic about your specific route, and confirm the entry rule directly with Migración Colombia or a Colombian consulate before you fly.
The 19% hotel IVA exemption — check it still applies
Non-resident foreign visitors have been able to claim exemption from Colombia’s 19% IVA on hotel accommodation — but only at properties registered in the Registro Nacional de Turismo (RNT), and it is applied by the hotel at checkout, not reclaimed afterwards. Confirm RNT registration before assuming the saving. A tax reform presented in July 2026 proposes removing this exemption; treat it as subject to change rather than as a fixed discount.
Travel insurance
We require every guest to hold travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation. Check that it covers adventure activities you have booked — diving, paragliding and canyoning are commonly excluded as standard.
Flying to San Andrés? Extra rules.
The archipelago is a special customs and immigration zone inside Colombia. These apply even if you are already in the country, and even to Colombians.
Tarjeta de Turismo (tourist card)
Every visitor flying to San Andrés must buy a tourist card. It is normally sold at the departure airport before you board, and you must keep it to leave the island. Price is set by the local authority and changes — budget roughly US$30 per person and confirm the current amount when you book.
Confirmed return flight
San Andrés is a restricted-residence archipelago. You will be asked for a return or onward ticket and accommodation details at check-in.
Seaflower Biosphere Reserve rules
The archipelago is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Single-use plastics are restricted, reef-safe sunscreen is expected, and touching or standing on coral is prohibited. Some sites charge a separate marine-park entry fee.
Medical care on the island is limited
San Andrés has basic hospital services only. Anything serious means an air ambulance to the mainland, roughly two hours away. If you have a significant medical condition, tell us before you book — and make sure your insurance covers medical evacuation.
Health, altitude and diving
Bogotá sits at 2,640 m (8,660 ft)
That is high enough to notice. Take the first day slowly, skip the gym, drink water, and go easy on alcohol the first night. If you have a heart or lung condition, sickle cell trait, or are pregnant, speak to your doctor about altitude before you book — and tell us, so we do not put a páramo hike on day one.
Yellow fever depends on where you go next
Not generally needed for Bogotá, Medellín or San Andrés. Recommended if you are heading to the Amazon or other lowland regions, and required by some countries you might fly on to afterwards. The certificate only becomes valid 10 days after the jab, so do it early.
Do not dive and fly on the same day
Leave at least 18 hours between your last dive and any flight — 24 hours is safer after repeat or multi-day diving. This genuinely constrains your last day in San Andrés, so we plan dive days early in the trip, never last.
Insurance is a condition of booking with us
You must hold travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation. Check that your policy covers the activities you have booked — diving, paragliding, canyoning and motorbike hire are commonly excluded as standard, and San Andrés may need medical evacuation to the mainland.
When to come
| Place | Altitude | Climate & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Bogotá | 2,640 m | Cool year-round, 8–19 °C. Rain any month; heaviest April–May and October–November. |
| Medellín | 1,495 m | The "city of eternal spring" — 17–28 °C all year. Wettest April–May and September–November. |
| San Andrés | Sea level | Hot and humid, 26–31 °C year-round. Driest January–April; wettest October–November. |
This page is a starting point, not legal advice.
Entry rules change without notice and we are a travel company, not a government. Confirm everything against Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migración Colombia and your own government’s travel advice before you book flights. If anything here contradicts an official source, the official source is right.Still unsure?
Ask a person who lives there.
We are in Bogotá, Medellín and San Andrés. Tell us your dates, your passport and what you actually enjoy, and we will tell you honestly whether the trip you have in mind works.