How to Get Internet in Colombia: Stay Connected from Arrival

Roafly lets you prepare mobile internet before departure on a compatible phone. If you need a Colombian number and domestic calls, a local prepaid SIM is the more useful choice. First, check whether your existing tariff already includes Colombia.

Buying a SIM at the airport

Bogotá’s El Dorado offers an arrival-time buying route through Sim Market in Terminal 1’s international-arrivals area. Look for it along your arrivals route, before heading away from the terminal. Ask which Colombian network the SIM uses and whether the quoted amount includes an activated data package.

Compare the full amount payable: SIM, package and any seller or setup charge. The useful details are general-purpose data, validity, domestic calls and hotspot permission. An advertised recharge price may exclude the cost of opening a new line.

Once activation is complete, turn off Wi-Fi and load a webpage before leaving. Keep the receipt and the instructions for checking your remaining allowance. Our guide to buying a SIM at Bogotá Airport covers the airport-specific purchase decisions in more detail.

If you are landing directly in Medellín or Cartagena, keep your accommodation address and transfer details available offline until your connection works. A tight onward connection is also a good reason to prepare data before flying or postpone the shop visit until you reach the city.

Getting a local prepaid SIM in Bogotá, Medellín or Cartagena

Buying in the city gives you time to compare local prepaid service and get help with registration. Claro and Tigo both offer prepaid options. This route is particularly useful if you want a Colombian number for ordinary calls, or expect to keep topping up during a longer stay.

Practical places to start include these Claro service centres:

• Bogotá: Plaza Claro, useful if it fits your route along the Calle 26 corridor.

• Medellín: Premium Plaza shopping centre.

• Cartagena: Bocagrande, on Avenida San Martín.

Use the Claro store locator to find a convenient branch and its opening hours. Ask for a new prepaid line and explain that you are registering with a foreign passport; individual locations can differ in stock and the assistance available.

Bring your passport. Colombia’s prepaid registration rules require identification before service is activated and explicitly accommodate foreign passport holders. The line should be registered in your name.

Phone registration is a separate matter. If you brought your handset from abroad, ask the operator about its IMEI registration and model approval when setting up the local line. Do not ignore a later registration message simply because the SIM initially worked.

Your phone must be carrier-unlocked and support the SIM format you are buying. Before paying, establish whether the package includes the calls, general data and hotspot use you need. The local SIM buying guide for Colombia covers operator choices, package prices and registration in greater depth.

Preparing your mobile data with a Roafly eSIM

Roafly’s Colombia eSIM uses the Claro network, with 4G where available. You can buy your plan and install the eSIM over Wi-Fi before departure, avoiding a shop visit just to arrange travel data.

Your device needs to be both eSIM-compatible and carrier-unlocked. Follow the installation instructions, then select the Roafly line for mobile data when you are ready to use it in Colombia and enable data roaming on that line as instructed.

The plans are data-only, without a Colombian phone number or ordinary calls and SMS. You can continue using WhatsApp with your existing number. Hotspot is supported within the purchased allowance, with no separate hotspot quota, and top-ups are available.

That makes Roafly useful for maps, messages, bookings and sharing data with a laptop or companion. Choose your allowance around those tasks and your trip length:

If you want to compare networks, validity and allowances across providers, compare eSIM providers for Colombia before choosing.

Coverage still depends on your actual route. For stays in the Coffee Region, excursions around Tayrona or travel into the Amazon, check connectivity at the specific accommodation and places you will visit. Download maps and essential booking details before leaving a reliable connection; a city connection should not be treated as proof of service throughout a rural itinerary.

Using airport, hotel and café Wi-Fi

El Dorado provides free Wi-Fi for passengers and visitors. Select Aeropuerto_El_Dorado, enter the requested details in the access portal and open your browser. If the connection is interrupted, you can reconnect without charge. Paid premium access is available for a continuous connection.

Cartagena’s Rafael Núñez Airport has different terms: Aeropuerto_Rafael_Nuñez provides the first 30 minutes free, after which continued internet access is paid. Use that initial session for arrival messages, your accommodation address or a booking you need immediately.

At your accommodation, Wi-Fi can handle larger downloads, backups and much of your evening browsing. If you intend to work, ask about the connection in your room or workspace before booking. Café Wi-Fi can be useful during a stop, but it will not stay with you when you walk out.

Wi-Fi alone can suit a trip with arranged transfers and little need for online access between stops. Mobile data adds flexibility when plans change, you need to contact your host from the street, or you want to follow a route while travelling.

Renting pocket Wi-Fi or sharing your phone’s connection

TravelWifi includes Colombia in its regional rental coverage. Its portable router can provide a shared connection for your devices, but the rental needs planning around delivery and return.

Arrange those logistics before travelling. Colombia coverage does not establish that you can collect a router at a Colombian airport; the available delivery address, dates and return method need to work for your itinerary.

Pocket Wi-Fi makes more sense when several devices will stay together and you want a separate hotspot. Everyone using it needs to remain within its Wi-Fi range, and the router needs charging.

If you only need occasional laptop access or want to connect a companion’s phone, Roafly’s supported phone hotspot may be enough. It uses your existing data allowance and avoids renting another device, although hotspot use also draws on your phone’s battery.

Checking whether home roaming already covers Colombia

Before buying additional service, open your home carrier’s roaming details and look specifically for Colombia. An included regional allowance can make keeping your existing connection the simplest choice.

Compare these details with your travel needs:

• How much usable data is included, and what happens after that allowance.

• Whether a daily charge starts automatically when you use data, make a call or send a text.

• Whether hotspot use is permitted.

• How calls and texts are charged separately from data.

Multiply any daily charge by the number of days you expect to use it. A convenient day pass for a short visit can produce a different total over a two-week trip.

If you use Roafly or a local SIM for data while keeping your home line active, set the travel line as your mobile-data line and disable data roaming on the home line. Calls and texts on that home number remain subject to your carrier’s roaming terms.