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Santa Marta is under heightened security: what changed in Colombia's travel advice

Qurexa Editorial Team24 September 20265 min read 0 0
Santa Marta is under heightened security: what changed in Colombia's travel advice

What happened

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its travel advice for Colombia on 23 September 2026. The update concerns Santa Marta, a Caribbean coastal city that is one of the main bases for British visitors to northern Colombia. The FCDO advice states that Santa Marta remains under heightened security measures following a major operation against armed groups in the area. The advice describes disruption to public order, including damage to vehicles and local businesses, and disruption to transport services. Schools and businesses have closed. It also flags risks along Route 90, the Troncal del Caribe. That is the coast road, and it is the route connecting Santa Marta to Tayrona National Park, one of Colombia's best-known destinations, as well as onward towards Palomino and the Guajira peninsula. This is a change to the detail of the advice for a specific area. It is not a blanket warning against travel to Colombia, and it does not affect Bogotá, Medellín or Cartagena.

Why this matters

Santa Marta and the coast road are not obscure. For many British travellers doing a Colombia trip, Santa Marta is the overnight stop and Route 90 is the way to Tayrona. If you have a booking, this is directly relevant. The specific risks described are worth separating out. 'Heightened security measures' usually means more roadblocks, more checkpoints, and a greater chance of unexpected delay. 'Disruption to transport services' means buses and shuttles may not run to timetable or may not run at all. 'Damage to vehicles and local businesses' points to civil disorder, which is a different risk from crime aimed at tourists. Route 90 matters because a single coast road with no easy alternative is a vulnerable thing. If it closes, you do not go around it. School and business closures are also a useful signal. They tell you local people are treating the situation as serious, which is generally a better guide than how a hotel describes it.

What the evidence actually says

It is important to read this precisely rather than as 'Colombia is dangerous'. The FCDO does advise against all travel, or all but essential travel, to a number of specific areas of Colombia, mostly border regions and particular departments. That has been the case for a long time and it has not changed here. The change is a description of current conditions in and around Santa Marta. That distinction matters for insurance. Where the FCDO advises against travel, most UK travel insurance is void. Where it simply describes heightened risk without advising against travel, insurance normally still applies, but your policy may have its own conditions about civil unrest. It also matters for planning. 'Heightened security' is a situation that can settle in days or persist for months. The page is updated as the picture changes, which is why reading the live version matters more than reading any article, including this one. One more point. Operations against armed groups often produce a period of disruption followed by improvement, but they can also produce retaliation. Nobody, including the FCDO, can tell you which will happen. The advice describes conditions; it does not forecast them.

Practical advice

If you are going, or thinking about it, here is a sensible order of operations. Read gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/colombia on the day, and sign up for its free email alerts so you are told when it changes. Contact your tour operator or accommodation directly and ask what they are seeing on the ground and whether transfers on Route 90 are running. Ask for a written answer. Check your insurance policy's civil unrest and travel disruption wording. Many policies cover cancellation only in specific circumstances, and 'I changed my mind' is not usually one of them. Build slack into the itinerary. If you have a flight out of Santa Marta or Barranquilla, do not plan to travel the coast road on the same day. Avoid demonstrations and roadblocks entirely, even ones that look calm. This is standard advice and it is standard because it works. Keep a charged phone, a paper note of your accommodation address, and some cash in small notes. Card systems and mobile data are among the first things affected by disruption. Register your itinerary with someone at home and agree a check-in time. And if you are in Colombia and need consular help, the British Embassy in Bogotá's details are on the same FCDO page.

What to know

The FCDO updated Colombia travel advice on 23 September 2026 to say Santa Marta remains under heightened security measures after a major operation against armed groups, with disruption to public order, damage to vehicles and businesses, transport disruption, and school and business closures. Risks are also flagged along Route 90, the coast road to Tayrona National Park. This is a change in the described conditions for one area, not a new advisory against travel to Colombia as a whole. Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena are unaffected by this particular change. Check the live page, sign up for alerts, ask your operator directly, and leave spare time around any journey on the coast road. Sources: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 'Colombia travel advice', updated 23 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/colombia ; FCDO, 'Foreign travel advice', https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice ; National Travel Health Network and Centre, TravelHealthPro, https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.

#Colombia#FCDO#travel advice#Santa Marta#Tayrona#travel insurance

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