"walk with purpose" Top 5 Page for this destination Bogotá Warnings Or Dangers Tip by richiecdisc

There's nothing wrong with exploring Bogota on foot and the last thing you want to do is to be afraid to enjoy a city that generally is quite safe. Of course, you should heed the warnings of locals about not going too far in a particular direction as in a city like Bogota, your safety is very much a matter of where you walk as well as what time it is. Some places are perfectly safe during the day but should be avoided at night. As a rule, we didn't go out much at night. We were out after dark most days but generally were heading home from dinner or maybe one after dinner drink. We didn't party into the wee hours and straggle back to our hostel like vampires trying to escape the first rays of the sun. If that is your scene. I suggest you use get used to using taxis. Oddly enough, the only time we ever had any problem was on our first traffic-free Sunday.

We were strolling up Carrera 7 like all the locals, enjoying street snacks along the way but made the mistake of stopping to consult our map even though really it was pretty much impossible to get lost on this straight wide street. I was merely checking to see how much further we had to get to the Museo Nacional and someone came up and said hi in English and started to talk to us. He was less than a desirable type of guy and most likely a junkie looking for money but his English was excellent and I didn't want to appear a snob so I made my second mistake of talking to him, though very much conscious of my belongings at all times. My wife was none-too-happy especially when he went to greet us with a warm embrace. Again, we both watched each other like eagles and being from a big North Eastern city in the US, I was ready for just about anything to happen. We pried ourselves away and of course as we did he asked for money which we declined. We turned back towards La Plaza and decided not to go to the museum that day. It was only our second day in town but it was a lesson well-learned. We never stopped like that again and on our return to Bogota two months later, we did the same walk but just marched up the street right to the museum with no problem. Walking with purpose in a town like Bogota is critical. If you look like you know where you are going and not just checking out the new town, you are much less likely to be approached.