Colombia Is Reopening For Travel & Tourism: Here’s When You Can Go

Coffee culture, food, waterfalls, mountain hikes, scrumptuous meals or just a lazy day at the beach? Whatever your fancy, Colombia is reopening to tourism, welcoming back visitors from all over the globe after months of lockdown.

Colombia is a destination that once you’ve been, you’ll absolutely be back, and whether it’s your first visit, or that trip back you’ve been anxiously waiting for, both are now possible. Well, soon.

Colombia’s Official Tourism Reopening

Colombia has been closed to outside visitors in recent months, but will officially reopen international borders and tourism along with them on September 21st, 2020.

¡Avanza la reactivación aérea en el país! El próximo 19 de septiembre entra en operación el aeropuerto de Cartagena y el 21 de septiembre los aeropuertos de Bogotá, Medellín y Cali. #PrevenciónyAcción pic.twitter.com/49pBbXTJAJ

— Presidencia Colombia (@infopresidencia) September 16, 2020

Who can visit Colombia when it reopens on September 19th? The first phase of entry will be between Colombia and the United States, Dominican Republic, Brasil, Ecuador, Guatemala and Bolivia.

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And yes, that means Americans can enter too.

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As phases gradually reopen to include parts of Europe, virtually all the same people who could enter Colombia before the covid-19 outbreak will eventually be able to once again, provided they bring a recent negative covid-19 test and fill out a new ‘Check Mig’ form.

The covid-19 test costs are on you, and are the travelers responsibly to organize, according to the Colombian Ministry. All Entry requirements for entering Colombia can be confirmed online using Timatic, an official airline resource. The new entry requirements will be posted from the 21st.

New Protocols For Entering Colombia

To protect locals and international visitors, Colombia is instituting a variety of safety measures aimed at mitigating risks and adding layers of protection. During the initial reopening, only Colombia’s air borders will open, while land and sea borders remain closed. In other words, if you’re planning on coming, it’ll need to be by plane.

All visitors to Colombia must fill out a health declaration from 24 hours prior to departure up 1 hour before, and submit a recent negative covid-19 test taken within 96 hours of scheduled flight before they’ll be allowed to board. Without a negative covid-19 test, passengers bound for Colombia will be refused boarding.

Upon entering Colombia, there won’t be any quarantine requirement when travel reopens from the 21st of September, but every visitor will undergo health screenings on arrival in the form of temperature checks. Once in the country, visitors can move as they please, with the exception of San Andres Island, where visitors must download a tracing app.

Departing Colombia, passengers can spend no longer than 3 hours in the airport prior to flight, in an effort to keep crowds to a minimum, and allow proper spacing.

Getting To Colombia

First flights into Colombia to celebrate the reopening of international borders will flow from Miami on September 21st, before expanding to over 20 international gateways with direct flights.

On the reopening news, flights into Colombian gateways from Aeromexico JetBlue, American, Air France, Delta, Copa, Spirit, LATAM, Avianca, United, Lufthansa and Air Europa are all expected to resume in October, with most revving back into the skies before the 25th.

Visiting Colombia Right Now

Colombia experienced its worst covid-19 spike to date in August, much later than many other parts of the world, and has remained vigilant since. Health resources in the country are first rate, but are limited in capacity, so it’s important to consider trip insurance and any other factors which help contribute to a safe and enjoyable trip.

Colombia is one of the finest destinations in any time, thanks to the wide variety of landscapes and experiences that draw visitors in. That certainly hasn’t changed in the last few months of border closures. And of course, there’s always the tours that help you relive all the best moments from Netflix’ hit TV show Narcos, too.

Should you go? That’s up to you, but if Colombia was on the list before, it’s now officially an option again. A getaway can do a lot of good, whenever it may be.