Located in northern South America, Colombia is a land of beautiful golden beaches, lush rainforests, misty mountains, and busy cities.
Its people are something worth mentioning as well:
- The women of Colombia are considered to be the epitome of a sensual and feminine Latina.
- The men are known for being very relaxed and embracing their masculinity.
Whether you’re a man or woman visiting the country, you’ll likely find much to interest you about potential romantic partners.
Here is our guide to dating in Colombia.
The Colombian Dating Culture
There is preciously little need to pick up artistry or corny pick-up lines in Colombia, as the country’s dating culture is calmer and more relaxed than you may have anticipated.
For instance, if a man approaches a woman, she will generally assume that he has an interest in her, and the conversation will naturally take a romantic tone from the start. The man doesn’t need to use a pick-up line to confirm his interest.
With that in mind, here’s what else you need to know about the Colombian culture:
Gender Roles Are Traditional
As with other Latin American countries, the gender roles in Colombia are very traditional, with men and Colombian ladies expected to embrace masculine and feminine roles, respectively.
When it comes to dating, the men are expected to make the first move and do the approaching. If you’re a man and see a girl you want to go out with, you need to take the initiative.
If you’re a woman and spot a man you like, you can display your attraction to him with flirty gestures, but in the end, it’s up to him to get the conversation going.
Platonic Relationships Between Men and Women Are Rare
If a man and woman of similar age are seen together in Colombia, people naturally assume they are a romantic couple in an intimate relationship.
Platonic male-female relationships do exist in Colombia, but they are much less common than in Western countries like the United States or the United Kingdom. If a man and woman are together, they are almost expected to be involved.
His Mother Must Approve
A part of Colombia’s traditional culture is that men have lots of respect for their mothers. In many ways, mothers are the driving force behind each family.
If a guy is highly interested in a girl, he’ll have her meet his family (and his mother in the process) after the second or third date to make sure his new Colombian girlfriend is madre-approved.
Dating Colombian Women
If you’ve ever wanted to travel to a Latin American country just to date Latinas, Colombia may be your best option because the women here are considered among the most beautiful in the world.
Here’s what you need to know about dating Colombian women.
What Do Colombian Women Expect from Their Partners?
Colombian women expect their male partners to:
Take the Lead
Remember, Colombians embrace their respective gender roles. For this reason, the women of Colombia expect the men to take the lead in the following areas:
- Approaching them and initiating flirting
- Officially asking them out
- Coming up with date ideas
Be Well Dressed
Colombian women love to express their natural feminine looks and want men who can demonstrate their masculinity.
As a foreigner, you can stand out to her by being well-groomed and dressed in slightly formal clothes. If you wear a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, you’ll look just like any other male tourist and won’t stand out.
Appreciate Her Culture
Colombians, in general, are very patriotic, and women there are no different. She wants you to appreciate the culture in which she was raised and be open to trying new things that you may not be used to.
What’s It Like Dating Colombian Girls?
As a man, here’s what you can expect when dating girls in Colombia:
You Need to Establish Rapport
The first thing you need to do when approaching a woman is to build rapport with her so she can become comfortable with you. Just because you’re approaching her doesn’t automatically mean that she wants to go out with you.
Most Girls Are Relationship-Minded
While casual sex and one-night stands do happen in Colombia, most girls here are still more relationship-minded. That means that she’ll likely make you wait for sex (expect it to happen after two to four dates), and she’ll be interested in you primarily as a potential lifelong or long-term partner rather than as a short-term fling.
Pay for Everything
In Colombia, the men are expected to pay for the date. From the food to the drinks to the taxi or Uber ride. Make sure to incorporate this into your budget before you visit the country.
Set Up Multiple Dates
There’s an old saying that two is one and one is none. In the case of dating girls in Colombia, it’s wise to set up at least two or three dates to ensure that you get at least one.
That’s because the girls in Colombia can flake out on you or otherwise ask to reschedule, especially if you are a foreigner who they may be less comfortable with.
Dating Colombian Men
What if you’re a woman visiting Colombia and you’d like to find a handsome Latino man to date? Here’s what you need to know:
What Do Colombian Men Expect from Their Partners?
Here’s what Colombian men expect from their female partners:
Embrace Their Feminine Nature
Colombian guys are very drawn to your feminine aspects, from your body shape to your hair to your clothes. Embrace your feminine energy in these ways, and you’ll have multiple men hitting on you in no time.
Play Hard to Get
Colombian girls like playing hard to get, and the men are more than used to chasing them. It is treated as part of the build-up to increase sexual tension. As a foreign woman visiting Colombia, you may not be used to playing hard to get, but it’s how he’ll expect you to act.
Take It as a Compliment When He Shows You Off
Colombians are open people, and a part of that openness is how the men like to show off their girlfriends to their friends, family, and others.
For example, he’ll want to hold hands and be very affectionate in public to show people around you that you’re together.
He’ll also introduce you to his friends and family quickly (remember, he needs you to be madre-approved before taking things even more seriously). Just take it all as a compliment because that’s what it is.
What’s It Like Dating Colombian Guys?
Here are a few things you need to know about dating Colombian guys:
You (Most Likely) Won’t Be Exclusive
Colombian men are not exactly known for being monogamous, at least not in their younger years. So don’t expect to be the exclusive partner for him in your serious relationship. He may even be open about his desire to date other women, at least before marriage.
They Love Foreign Women
When you visit Colombia, you’ll likely find many Colombian guys to be intrigued with you for the simple reason that you’re from a Western country. The Colombian man you date will probably be very eager and energetic going out with you just because you’re exotic to him.
They Love to Have Fun
Dating a Colombian man is anything but boring. Besides going out for dinner and drinks, he may also want to do things like watching a live soccer game, spending a day at the beach, or heading out on a hike in the jungle. Allow him to lead the way and be ready for a potentially wild ride!
Where to Meet Colombian Singles
In Colombia
You may be wondering: where should you go in Colombia to meet single men and women? As a foreigner, your best bet is to visit the major cities, which include:
- Bogota
- Medellin
- Cali
- Barranquilla
Bogota
Bogota is the capital and largest city of Colombia and the primary destination for many tourists. The area with the best nightlife in Bogota is Zona T, but La Candelaria is the neighborhood with the most tourists.
La Candelaria is also the best place to find women in Bogota from other countries besides Colombia.
Take note that Bogota can become very congested, and scams and theft are unfortunately widespread. As a result, when you approach a girl on the street, she will likely be very wary of you. That is why building trust through rapport, as we talked about previously, is so essential before you ask for her number.
Medellin
Another trendy city for tourists in Colombia is Medellin. Some of the finest women in the world live in Medellin.
The best neighborhood in Medellin for finding singles is El Poblado. This area is also popular with tourists, which means the girls here are used to being hit on by foreign guys.
You could also check out shopping malls such as
- Santa Fe
- Oviedo
- El Tesoro
Cali
Cali is the most popular city in southwestern Colombia and is known for its beautiful coastlines. Many people also know it as Colombia’s sports capital.
The best places to meet single Cali Columbia women in the daytime are:
- Palmetto Plaza Unicentro Mall
- Centro Commercial Centenario
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is the best city to visit in Colombia if you want to stick to the Caribbean coast. The city doesn’t have a lot of nightlife, but there are still plenty of opportunities for meeting single men and beautiful women.
The best places to meet singles are:
- Buenavista Mall
- Miramar Mall
- Centro Comercial Viva
How to Meet Colombian Singles Online
You can also potentially set up your dates in Colombia before you even arrive in the country.
Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps in Colombia, but there are a few other dating sites you should check out.
LatAmDate.com
LatAmDate.com has one of the largest databases of single women in Latin America, including Colombia.
It is a popular dating website that provides you with all of the essential features that you would expect from a dating website, including viewing profiles of users that fall under your criteria (such as age, geographical location, and so on).
Additional benefits of the online dating site include:
- Strong privacy and anti-fraud policies
- Translation services available for all members
- User-friendly navigation
All in all, LatAmDate is one of the highest-quality dating sites for Latin America. If you want to make sure that you have a date set up before you arrive in Colombia, give it a try!
ColombianCupid.com
Colombian Cupid is owned by Cupid Media, one of the world’s largest networks of international dating sites. It’s easily one of the best places to meet Colombian women, regardless of whether you want to meet a Colombian bride in or out of the country.
Colombian Cupid comes with several search filters that make it simple to screen matches by factors such as physical appearance, religion, age, whether they are open to traveling or relocating, whether they want children, etc.
There are three primary membership levels with Colombian Cupid:
- Standard (Free) Membership – allows you to match exchange or communicate with paid members only.
- Gold Membership – allows you to communicate with all members, hide ads, keep your profile hidden when you’re not online and use the instant messenger feature.
- Platinum Membership – allows you to rank your profile above other members and utilize the advanced matching and searching algorithms described above.
Overall, Colombian Cupid is one of the best online dating sites for meeting Colombian women interested in dating for the long term.
LatinAmericanCupid.com
Latin American Cupid operates the same way as Colombian Cupid with all the same features as it’s owned by the same overarching company Cupid Media. As the name suggests, Latin American Cupid has members (over 5 million) from Central and South America, not just Colombia.
Like Colombian Cupid, Latin American Cupid comes with advanced search option features. You can easily filter to match with Colombian women only if you have your heart set on meeting and dating a Colombian girl.
Just like Colombian Cupid as well, Latin American Cupid comes with three primary membership levels:
- Standard (Free) Membership – allows you to match or exchange messages with paid members only (so you can’t match with or talk to other free members).
- Gold Membership – allows you to communicate with all members (free or paid), hide advertisements and your profile, and utilize the instant messenger feature to send unlimited messages.
- Platinum Membership – allows you to rank your profile above other members to become more visible and utilize the advanced matching and searching algorithms we described above.
All in all, Latin American Cupid has one of the largest user bases of any dating site in Latin America. It also makes it easy to filter to Colombian women only as well.
Safety and Security in Colombia
As with most South American countries, Colombia is safe, but it’s wise to use common sense.
The most basic safety tips are:
- Know where you are going
- Don’t display electronics and other valuables as you are traversing the cities
- Practice good situational awareness.
- Think twice about traveling alone at night
- Watch out for drink spiking at clubs and bars
Current Situation in the Country
Colombia does have a history of political instability, corruption, terrorism, and the presence of powerful drug cartels such as Pablo Escobar. For these reasons, people often visualize Colombia as being very dangerous to visit.
Fortunately, the overall violent crime rate in the country has dropped significantly since the mid-2000s. Theft, scams, and pickpocketing are the most common crimes in the country, and kidnapping and murder rates have fallen to an all-time low.
How Does Colombia Compare to Other Latin American Countries?
Colombia is significantly safer than neighboring Venezuela, which is rocked by an economic collapse, poverty, major food shortages, hyperinflation, a refugee crisis, and some of the highest violent crime rates worldwide.
Colombia is also moderately safer than Brazil, which has a slightly higher violent crime rate but slightly more dangerous than Ecuador and Peru, where the violent crime rates are a bit lower.
Overall, Colombia is much safer than it used to be, but you still need to be on your guard. Latin America, as a whole, is the most dangerous region in the world, so practice situational awareness and rely on your wits as you go about your day.
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