Money¶

Currency: Colombian peso (COP). Cards are widely accepted in cities; still carry some cash for taxis, tip-outs, and smaller places.

Day-one recommendation (airport taxi)¶

We were told to arrive with some pesos ready for the airport taxi — El Dorado transfers are often easiest with cash COP, and tired arrivals + ATM/DCC traps are a bad combo.

That advice is still sound for convenience, even if you also have a good card. Typical official taxi El Dorado → Chapinero / Candelaria / similar is often roughly COP 35,000–50,000 in normal traffic (verify on the day; Usaquén can be a bit more). Aim for a small float of roughly COP 100,000–200,000 so you’re not stuck if the first ATM is awkward.

How to withdraw at the airport (it isn’t automatically a trap)¶

Bank ATMs in arrivals are fine. The trap is using the wrong machine or accepting the wrong prompts — not “any ATM at BOG.”

Do this (after passport control / baggage, in the public arrivals hall):

Enable Revolut (or backup card) for ATM withdrawals + Colombia before you fly.
Follow signs for Cajeros / ATM. Prefer a machine branded Bancolombia, Davivienda, BBVA, or Banco de Bogotá (real bank cajeros). Travelers often try Davivienda first if fees look high elsewhere — cancel and walk to the next network in the same cluster.
Insert card → choose Spanish or English → withdrawal / retiro.
When asked which currency to charge / conversion: pick COP / Colombian pesos. Decline DCC (anything like “charge in GBP / USD / pounds”). That prompt is the main hidden rip-off.
Read the on-screen operator fee before confirming. ~COP 20–30k is commonly cited on foreign cards — annoying but visible, not sneaky. If it’s absurd, cancel and try another bank ATM. Counters / random freestanding machines are worse.
Withdraw a useful amount (taxi + day-one float, or the machine max if the fee is fixed per pull — often capped around COP 400–600k). Don’t pull only COP 40k and pay a COP 25k fee.
Then go to the official taxi desk / prepaid taxi in arrivals (not kerbside touts). Pay per their slip/zone fare. Cash is the reliable path; some setups take card at the desk — don’t count on the driver taking Visa.

Avoid: Global Exchange–style currency counters; anonymous standalone ATMs that lean hard on DCC; anyone offering a taxi in the hall before the official desk.

If you hate airport ATMs entirely: buy a small COP float in London before departure (taxi + buffer only — see below), or use a ride-hail app that bills your card (Uber / DiDi / Cabify where available) as the backup. Sources: BOG ATM / currency guide · Bogotá airport transfer notes.

Is buying pesos in London cheaper than an airport ATM?¶

Usually no — UK cash COP is the expensive option on the exchange rate. High-street / online bureau rates (Post Office, Travelex, etc.) typically sit several percent below the interbank/mid-market rate. Example snapshot style: Post Office travel-money COP can be ~5–10% off interbank depending on the day (compareholidaymoney / exchangerates.org.uk style comparisons — check live before buying).

At El Dorado, the costly mistakes are:

Currency counters (often ~5–10% off interbank) — skip for anything but desperation.
Standalone / non-bank ATMs that push DCC (“charge in GBP/USD”) — decline; always choose COP.
Bank ATMs (Bancolombia, Davivienda, BBVA, Banco de Bogotá, etc.) usually give a fair card network rate but may add a posted operator fee on foreign cards (commonly cited ~COP 20,000–30,000 per withdrawal — shown on screen before confirm). Caps per pull are often modest, so withdrawing the max allowed spreads that fixed fee (BOG ATM / currency guides).

Rough cost logic for a taxi-sized float only:

Approach	What you pay for
Buy COP cash in London	FX markup on the whole amount (often worse than card rates)
Revolut/Wise at a bank ATM in BOG	Near-market FX (within plan limits) + local ATM operator fee
Tiny London cash (~£20–40) just for taxi	Markup on a small sum; can beat one ATM fee if you only need a tiny float

Practical plan: bring a small UK-bought COP float for the taxi or withdraw once at a bank ATM in arrivals (decline DCC, accept/reject the on-screen fee consciously). Don’t buy a large COP stash in London — use card + ATMs in-city for the rest. Revolut ATM withdrawals still count against your plan’s cash-withdrawal fair-use limits; the Colombian machine fee is separate and Revolut does not always refund it (unlike some US fee-refund cards).

Revolut (UK) in Colombia¶

Yes — a UK Revolut Visa (or Mastercard, depending on the card you hold) works in Colombia wherever that network is accepted. Use it for shops/restaurants; always pay in COP, never accept “charge in GBP.”

COP as a Revolut currency: UK Revolut lists COP among currencies you can hold and exchange in-app (create a COP balance, convert GBP→COP when rates look fine — weekday fair usage / weekend fees depend on your plan). Official list: Supported currencies for holding (Revolut UK Help) (includes COP). Holding COP digitally is not the same as having cash notes — you still spend by card or withdraw at an ATM.

Also useful:

Enable the card for Colombia / ATM withdrawals in the app before travel.
Check Standard (or your plan) monthly FX and ATM fair-use limits; weekends often have an extra exchange fee.
Prefer bank ATMs; cancel and try another machine if the operator fee looks high.
Keep a backup card (other bank) in case one network declines.

Revolut marketing also covers Colombia travel spend: Revolut UK — Colombian pesos card.

General¶

Cards widely accepted in cities; carry cash for smaller towns and many taxis.
Notify any non-Revolut banks of travel dates if they still care about fraud blocks.
Don’t flash large wads of cash; split float / use hotel safe where sensible.

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