Gringos, don’t bring your Euros to Colombia

Are you planning a trip to Colombia and plan to bring cash, especially Euros? This one is for you.

I didn’t do my homework and it showed

I don’t like to do too much research when visiting a country, partly because I want to discover and experience things on my own. When traveling, the most common issue is currency.

When you carry too much is uncomfortable, when the ATM fees are high, it’s frustrating.

In most of the countries I have been, exchanging money at a relatively decent rate was never an issue (not even in Southeast Asia). There are exchange offices at every corner and the exchange rate is very good. I thought that will be similar in Colombia as well — it isn’t.

The exchange rate at airports

The exchange rate in airports is terrible: everybody knows that. This is not the case in Colombia. The exchange rate is a pure ripoff. Let me exemplify.

In Cartagena airport, I was offered 2600 COP for 1 EUR, when the real, mid-market, exchange rate was 3700 COP (rounded). So if you were to exchange 100 EUR, you would lose almost 30 EUR in this transaction.

The exchange rate in the cities

First of all, it is quite hard to come across an exchange office. In Bogota, there are slightly more but in other cities, very well hidden.

In Bogota and Medellin, the exchange rate on the street was 3450 COP for 1 EUR (when the official one was 3650 COP). The exchange offices will not display the exchange rate on a screen, so you always have to go in and ask — I hope you are good with numbers in Spanish!

Only in Medellin, I have found an exchange office that had the rated public on the website: Money Max.

Is USD a better choice?

By looking at the exchange rates, it seems that the exchange rate for USD is better than for EUR.

Example for 100 USD using the Money Max rate:

Exchange office: 100 USD x 3220 = 322,000 COP
Mid-market exchange rate: 336,210 COP
The difference in USD (money lost): 4.18 USD (4% loss)

Example for 100 EUR using the Money Max rate:

Exchange office: 100 EUR x 3460 = 346,000 COP
Mid-market exchange rate: 371,293 COP
The difference in EUR (money lost): 6.74 EUR (7% loss)

Are ATMs any better?

Yes, they actually are. Some have no withdrawal fee and you get the exchange rate from your bank. I use Transferwise and Revolut cards and try to keep the fees at a minimum.

A typical ATM withdrawal fee is something between 16,000–22,000 COP (4–6 EUR).

Most ATMs will only let you withdraw about 300,000–400,000 COP in one transaction. Some will let you up to 800,000 COP.

ATMs with NO withdrawal fee in Colombia

• BBVA