Colombia travel- What has been your experience and how would you rate general safety?

This is a long post and I have many questions, so feel free to address just one if you’d like. ’ve been doing research on Colombia for months now and I’ve heard many positives and negatives but I’d really love to hear your anecdotal experience. I have some friends that live in different parts of Colombia that I hope to visit over a few weeks during the summer. (Bogotá, Cartagena, and in the Quindio region. I’m on the fence about Cali and would welcome any advice).

In general, the advice that I’ve been given from my Colombian native friends is to follow basic safety precautions (watching your surroundings, keep valuables away, don’t withdraw money in open areas, beware of tourist scams etc.) My main takeaway from all of this has been to just use good judgement and not to make myself a target. Is there any other specific safety precaution that you think is particularly important for Colombia ?

I plan to spend the majority of my time in Bogotá. As a foreign woman, would it generally be safe for me to do some activities independently during the day?

Overall, I’m pretty excited about the trip, but some of my family and friends are nervous (given the country’s reputation from the 80s and 90s) and I feel that their anxiousness now starting to rub off on me. I understand that things are different now, but I could use some assurance. My plan is to be with friends during the whole duration of my trip, and I do speak Spanish pretty well so hopefully those things help.

What are your thoughts on traveling to Colombia? I’d love to hear advice from natives as well as foreigners (especially women) who have traveled to the country. Thank you! ☺️