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Money in Colombia, sorted.
A calm, current plan for the money side of your trip: what your card covers in the cities, the cash you want everywhere else, the ATM fees worth dodging, and the hotel tax you should not be paying.
The three things people ask
Will my card work? Do I need cash? Are ATMs easy?
The quick read for a first trip.
Your card
Great in cities, patchy elsewhere
Visa and Mastercard are widely taken in city malls, supermarkets, chain restaurants and hotels. Contactless is more hit-or-miss than you would expect outside the big malls, and Amex is often refused at smaller places and on the coast. Every foreign swipe also adds your bank's own foreign fee unless your card waives it.
Check yours →Cash
Essential outside the malls
Keep pesos on you. Taxis, street food, neighborhood tiendas, markets, tips and most of the Caribbean coast run on cash, and a rule of thumb is to hold about 100,000 to 200,000 pesos in small notes at any time. Break big notes in supermarkets, since small shops rarely can.
How much to bring →ATMs
Mind the fee and the limit
There are no fee-free ATMs; expect a flat 12,000 to 30,000 pesos per withdrawal. Limits vary a lot: Servibanca and Davivienda allow around 2,000,000 pesos while Bancolombia caps foreign cards near 800,000, so use the first two and pull a big amount to spread the fee. Withdraw at machines inside banks, malls or supermarkets in daylight.
See ATMs in Colombia →(opens in a new tab)Cash or card
Card-friendly in the cities, but cash still runs the coast and the small towns.
A rough feel for everyday spending. Cards cover malls, supermarkets (Exito, Jumbo, Carulla), chain restaurants and hotels in the big cities. Cash takes over quickly for taxis, street food, neighborhood tiendas, markets, tips, small towns and the Caribbean coast, and it leans more essential the further you get from the city center.
See what the trip really costs →Your money plan
Four steps and you're set.
Before you go
- Bring a no-foreign-fee Visa or Mastercard for city spending, plus a backup card from a different bank, since a card that works at one ATM may fail at another.
- Get a fee-free ATM debit card for cash. Charles Schwab refunds ATM fees worldwide, which cancels out Colombia's steep machine fees; Wise and Revolut are low-fee with high withdrawal limits.
- Ask your bank to raise your daily ATM limit, since Colombia's per-transaction caps plus your home limit can leave you short.
- Leave the physical dollars at home. You will get a better rate from an ATM than from an exchange booth.
At the airport
- Skip the airport exchange counters, where the rate can be 6 to 8% worse than an ATM.
- Pull pesos from a Servibanca or Davivienda machine and decline "convert to dollars."
- You will not get far on cards alone once you leave the terminal, so take out enough cash for your first day or two.
Day to day
- Card in city malls, supermarkets, chain restaurants and hotels.
- Cash for taxis, street food, tiendas, markets, tips, small towns and the coast.
- Order rides on Uber, Cabify or DiDi where you can, or agree the fare before getting into a street taxi.
- Always choose pesos, never dollars, on every card terminal and ATM screen.
A golden rule
- Always pay in pesos, never in dollars. Choosing your home currency (dynamic currency conversion) quietly adds about 5 to 10%, on both card terminals and ATMs.
- Some machines convert automatically without asking. If you are never offered pesos, that is DCC happening on its own, and there is nothing you can do at that machine except try a different one.
Staying connected
Will my phone work here? And what will it cost?
Good in the cities and larger towns. Claro has the widest reach, with Movistar and Tigo close behind, and 4G is strong with growing 5G across Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena and Cali. Signal thins out in the Amazon, the Pacific coast and the high Sierra Nevada. A local prepaid SIM is cheap, and eSIMs from Airalo, Nomad or Holafly work well if your phone supports them. You do not need mobile data to pay for anything, cards and cash stand on their own, so data is mainly for maps and ride apps like Uber and DiDi. The cost is where people get caught out, and on most US plans it lands in one of two buckets.
Your plan may already include it
Often, do nothing
Some US plans include slow data abroad at no extra cost. If that is you, the honest move is to leave it alone.
we earn nothing
Or it charges quietly, after the fact
The bill lands later
On pay-per-use plans the cost runs in the background while you travel, and the charge can show up weeks after you are home. Forgetting to switch off data roaming is the classic one. For a week or more, an eSIM is usually cheaper and keeps you in control.
Check what your own carrier charges before the trip, not after.
If an eSIM is the cheaper call, Nomad covers Colombia.
Get your Nomad eSIM for Colombia→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionMedical cover
The one cost with no price tag.
Every other number on this page has a price you can look up. This one does not, and it can be the largest of them all. Most US health plans cover little or nothing once you leave the country, and Medicare covers essentially none of it abroad. A serious illness or injury is paid up front, and a medical evacuation runs from tens of thousands of dollars to past $100,000 if you are remote or an ocean from home.
First, you may not need to buy anything.
A cheap, refundable trip close to home does not need this. And if you are healthy, headed somewhere with good care, and one of the premium cards on the shortlist above already includes emergency medical and evacuation, you may be covered already. Check your card's benefits guide before you buy. Saying that costs us the commission, and it is still the right call.
How much cover matters here
Care in the main cities is good, but costs add up and reaching top care from a remote spot takes time, so it is worth a real look for a trip here.
If you do want cover, this is what it is for: the evacuation and the up-front hospital bill, the part no card limit is meant to absorb.
Enough for most trips
Faye, or a comparable whole-trip policy
Bundles trip protection with emergency medical, which is enough cover for most travelers on a typical trip.
The deeper end
A dedicated travel-medical plan built for serious care and evacuation abroad
Stronger on medical care and evacuation, for a remote or higher-risk trip where that is the real exposure.
If it happens
Call it first, then call your insurer's 24/7 assistance line, which is what confirms payment and arranges an evacuation. 123 is the nationwide line for police, fire and ambulance, and the operator can route you to medical help. Save your hotel address in Spanish to read out.
TrueTripCosts explains the gap and points to options. It does not set your coverage amounts or act as your insurance advisor, and every policy carries its own exclusions, so read them before you buy. Emergency number checked Jul 2026. Confirm the current number before you travel, as local lines can change.
Currency basics
The peso, in plain terms.
Quick conversion
At about 3,400 pesos to the dollar in mid-2026, 10,000 pesos is roughly 3 dollars, 50,000 about 15, and 100,000 about 29. Locals say "mil" for thousand, so "veinte mil" (20,000) is about 6 dollars. To sanity-check a price fast, drop three zeros and divide by about 3 and a half.
Notes and coins
Notes run 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 pesos; coins are 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000. The 50,000 and 100,000 are awkward in small shops and taxis, so ask the ATM for a mix where you can and break the big notes in supermarkets.
Cities yes, contactless maybe
Visa and Mastercard are solid in city malls, supermarkets and hotels, but tap-to-pay is inconsistent outside the big malls and Amex is often refused. Carry a backup card, since the same card can work at one machine and be declined at the next.
Tipping is light and asked
A voluntary 10% (propina) is usually added to sit-down restaurant bills, and staff must ask if you want to include it. There is no US-style percentage on top. See the tipping section below.
Real exchange rate
What your money is really worth here.
This is the mid-market rate, the one the banks trade at and the yardstick every other rate is measured against. Your card lands a little below it, and if a screen ever offers to bill you in dollars, that is worse again. So this is the number to expect, and how you spot a bad one.
1 US dollar is about 3,241 COP
Taxes and refunds
The hotel tax you should not pay, and money back on shopping.
Colombia has no nightly tourist tax, and there is a bigger win hiding in the fine print: as a foreign tourist you are exempt from the 19% IVA (VAT) on hotel rooms. The catch is that the exemption is not automatic and many hotels charge it anyway, sometimes with creative excuses, so present your passport and entry stamp at check-in, ask them to remove the IVA, and check the final bill and the electronic invoice (factura electronica). Separately, if you shop, non-resident visitors can reclaim the 19% IVA on goods over about 150,000 pesos, roughly 43 dollars, in a store (a 3 UVT minimum, so it edges up a little each year): keep the electronic invoice with your name and passport on it, and claim at the DIAN desk at the airport before you check your bags when you leave. After the operator's fee you get back a bit less than the full 19%. There is no separate departure tax to pay at the airport; it is built into your ticket.
Before you book: passports, the six-month rule and whether you need a visa. Not a US citizen, or connecting through Europe? The rules can differ, and even a layover can need its own visa. See our passports and visas guide →
Watch out for
The small traps that catch first-timers.
Tipping
The 10% is voluntary, and they will ask.
Tipping in Colombia is light and refreshingly clear. In a sit-down restaurant a voluntary 10% service charge (propina voluntaria) is usually added to the bill, and by law the staff must ask whether you want to include it, often as "¿Desea incluir la propina?" You can say yes, no, or a different amount without any awkwardness, though most people leave it unless the service was poor. If you want to tip by card, tell the server before they bring the terminal, since it often has to be added manually; a cash tip is the surer way to reach the staff. Street food and casual counters do not carry the charge, so just round up if you like. A few thousand pesos is a kind tip for a porter or housekeeping, and for a private guide or driver, 5 to 10 dollars per person a day is fair and genuinely meaningful at local wages.
Common questions
Quick answers.
Do I need cash in Colombia?
Yes, more than in Europe. Cards work well in city malls, supermarkets, chain restaurants and hotels, but taxis, street food, small tiendas, markets, tips, small towns and much of the Caribbean coast run on cash. Keep roughly 100,000 to 200,000 pesos in small notes on you and top up from a Servibanca or Davivienda ATM as needed.
Should I pay in pesos or dollars in Colombia?
Always pesos. If a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in dollars, decline; that dynamic currency conversion adds about 5 to 10%. Some machines convert automatically without asking, so if you are never given the choice, try a different ATM.
What is the best ATM to use in Colombia?
Use Servibanca or Davivienda, which allow larger withdrawals of around 2,000,000 pesos; Bancolombia caps foreign cards near 800,000. There are no fee-free ATMs, so expect a flat 12,000 to 30,000 peso fee and pull a big amount at once to spread it. Withdraw at machines inside banks, malls or supermarkets in daylight, and always choose pesos, not dollars.
Do I have to pay the hotel tax in Colombia?
As a foreign tourist, no. Non-resident visitors are exempt from the 19% IVA on hotel rooms, but the exemption is not automatic and many hotels charge it anyway. Show your passport and entry stamp at check-in, ask for the IVA to be removed, and check the final bill and the electronic invoice.
Can I get an IVA (VAT) refund on shopping in Colombia?
Yes. Non-resident tourists can reclaim the 19% IVA on goods bought in stores over about 150,000 pesos (roughly 43 dollars, a 3 UVT minimum that rises a little each year). Keep the electronic invoice showing your name and passport, and claim at the DIAN desk at the airport before checking your bags when you leave. After fees you get back a little under the full 19%.
How much cash should I bring for a week in Colombia?
For two mid-range travelers, very roughly 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 pesos (about 300 to 440 dollars) in day-to-day cash across a week beyond your hotel, pulled from a couple of Servibanca or Davivienda withdrawals. Cards cover city malls, supermarkets and hotels; the cash is for taxis, food, tips, small towns and the coast.
What it really costs
What you'll really spend in Colombia.
Your flights if you want them counted, your room, your on-the-ground spending, the two fees most US cards add without telling you, and Colombia's tourist tax. One number, nothing waiting on the statement. No bank to pick, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Optional. Enter your round trip fare per traveler to fold flights into the total.
In Colombia, plan for about $0.
Realistically somewhere between $0 and $0.
Whether at an ATM or a card terminal in a shop or restaurant, always choose to be charged in the local currency, not dollars. Paying in dollars (called dynamic currency conversion) lets the machine set its own, worse, exchange rate on top of any fee.
Rough guide, not a quote. The percentage here is a blended stand-in for a typical US card's foreign fee, not your exact rate. The real number moves with the card you carry: one no-foreign-fee card can cover both sides, while a plain rewards credit card only removes the fee on what you buy, and cash still costs a little unless that card also waives ATM and foreign-cash fees. A debit card, or accepting the "pay in dollars" (dynamic currency conversion) offer at a till or ATM, can push it higher. Rates checked Jun 2026 and rounded.
How this estimate is built
These are the assumptions behind the number. Change the room price, nights, travelers, or travel style above, and every line here moves with them.
- Hotel
- Daily spending
- Flights
- Cash vs card
- ATM withdrawals
- Foreign fee
- The range
- Tourist tax
Not sure which card to bring? See my pick for Colombia.
Already carry a card with no foreign transaction fee? Then you are set for Colombia, and can skip this. There is nothing to buy.
Colombia leans on cash more than its reputation suggests, so the card that earns its place is a fee-free ATM debit card, with a no-foreign-fee credit card for hotels and bigger spots. If you are getting one, this is the pairing I would pick. We earn nothing on these today. Always confirm the current fee with the issuer before you apply. Checked Jun 2026.
Schwab refunds worldwide ATM fees with no cap, the standout for pulling cash abroad. Opening it also opens a linked Schwab brokerage account, though you never have to fund or invest it.
No foreign transaction fee
No foreign transaction fee
Want one account that holds and spends in the local currency? A different job from the three above, and the one I reach for abroad. It is free to open; you can create a virtual card in the app and add it to your phone wallet in minutes, without waiting for the physical card; and you can convert US dollars into the local currency inside the account before you travel, then spend from that balance. Wise uses the mid-market rate plus a small conversion fee (around 0.4% and up), with no flat foreign fee.
The three picks above pay us nothing, and their tags say so. Wise is the only option here that can earn us a commission, and its tag says that too. Paid or not, the pick is still the pick.
Travelers, not touristsA little Spanish goes a long way
A little Spanish goes a long way
A few words and a couple of stories that turn you from a tourist into a guest. Colombians are famously warm and quick to laugh, and a little Spanish, and a little curiosity, are always returned.
Say a few words
Tip: Colombians pepper their speech with chévere (cool, great) and call a friend parcero, or just parce (buddy). A warm ¿Qué más? (kay MAHS), meaning what's up, is how friends say hello.
Know a story
The real El Dorado
The legend of El Dorado, the city of gold, began here with something real: the Muisca people would cover a new chief in gold dust and send him out on a raft on Lake Guatavita to offer gold and emeralds to the water. You can see the little golden raft in Bogota's Gold Museum.
Good to know: see the gold raft at the Museo del Oro
Cafe de Colombia
Colombia's mountains grow some of the finest coffee on Earth, picked by hand on impossibly steep green slopes. A tinto, a small black coffee, is offered everywhere as a gesture of welcome. It is a serious point of national pride.
Say it: tinto (TEEN-toh), a small black coffee
The land of magical realism
Colombia gave the world Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, where yellow butterflies follow a young lover and the ordinary and the magical live side by side. That blend, magical realism, feels true to the country itself.
Good to know: Garcia Marquez won the Nobel Prize in 1982Colombians are proud, warm people who know the old headlines and would rather show you the real place: the coffee, the music, the second most biodiverse country on Earth, and a welcome you will not forget.
No links here, nothing to buy. This part is just to help you travel well.
Sources, and how this guide was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
Changed since last checkSources added. Confirmed with DIAN, Colombia's tax authority, that non-resident foreign tourists are exempt from the 19% IVA on hotel and tourism services (shown with the entry tourist stamp, and not applied automatically) and can reclaim IVA on goods bought in stores. Updated the goods-refund minimum to the current 3 UVT, about 150,000 pesos, since the old figure reflected a much earlier tax-unit value.
- DIAN (Colombia's tax authority)its ruling that hotel and tourism services for non-resident foreigners are IVA-exempt under article 481 of the tax code
- DIANthe IVA refund for foreign tourists on goods, what qualifies and how to claim it at the airport
Our own judgmentThe daily cash share, tipping norms, and likely ATM behavior are our own estimate from experience, not an official figure.
More money guides in the Americas
If you are also weighing up nearby destinations, each guide covers cards, cash, ATMs and the fees to expect.
Going deeper on Colombia
The money questions people ask on the ground.
Short, focused answers to the specific things that catch first-timers out in Colombia.
- Do I need cash in Colombia, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards in cities for hotels and nicer places, and peso cash for markets, small shops and taxis. Use ATMs inside banks or malls for safety. Here is how to handle it.
- Tipping in ColombiaIn Colombia, restaurants add a voluntary 10% tip that the server asks you about. Say yes and that is the tip, no extra needed. Here is what you actually owe.
- Taxi apps in Colombia, and the one rule that mattersIn Colombia the how-you-get-a-taxi matters more than which app. Here is the single rule to follow, the apps locals actually use, and how to leave Bogota's airport without the roadside gamble.
This is how Colombia stands today.
Money rules move. We can let you know for free if that changes.