Travel safety comparison · Latin America & the Caribbean
Colombia vs Costa Rica: safety comparison
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Side-by-side safety comparison of Colombia and Costa Rica for 2026: risk scores, FCDO and US State Department advisories, drug law, women's safety, LGBTQ+ legal status, and the practical decision between the two.
Costa Rica carries a materially lower safety risk than Colombia on the composite Warnely score: 26/100 against 57/100, a gap of 31 points. The biggest single category gap is in civil unrest, where Costa Rica scores 1/5 against Colombia's 3/5. The US State Department currently carries a Level 3 advisory on Colombia and a Level 2 on Costa Rica. Women's-safety rating differs: Colombia is Exercise Caution and Costa Rica is Generally Safe.
| 🇨🇴Colombia | 🇨🇷Costa Rica | |
|---|---|---|
| Warnely composite (0–100, lower is safer) | 57 / 100 | 26 / 100 |
| Risk tier | High Risk | Exercise Normal Caution |
| UK FCDO advisory | avoid all but essential travel to parts of country | No active advisory |
| US State Department advisory | Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) | Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution) |
| Global Peace Index rank | #140 | #54 |
| Drug law | Strict | Strict |
| Women's safety rating | Exercise Caution | Generally Safe |
| LGBTQ+ legal status | marriage | marriage |
| Tap water | n/a | n/a |
| Currency | COP | CRC |