CALLING COLOMBIA
Whether you are calling your new found friends in Colombia, or calling while in Colombia, calling will be no more difficult then what you are use to.
Here is some useful information to simplify your reaching your friends.
First of all, Colombia utilizes the GSM cellular standard. If you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can purchase a SIM from a local carrier. If you do not have a suitable GSM phone, you will be able to rent one on the Singles Tour.
Calling Colombia from the USA and Canada:
Dial 011 + 57 + area code + phone number
Explanation:
011 - US exit code; must be dialed first for all international calls made from the USA or Canada
57 - Country code for Colombia
Area code - 1 digit area codes
Phone number - 7 digits
US to Colombia land lines international dialing format: 011 + 57 +x + xxx xxxx
How to dial to Colombia cellular from the US/Canada: 011 + 57 + 3xx + xxx xxxx
Calling within Colombia
Colombian Cellular to Cellular Calls
When making a Cellular to Cellular phone call within Colombia, a city code is not required.
Just dial the Cellular number direct.
Colombian Cellular Carrier Information
Colombia has Cellular Carriers, TIGO, COMCEL and MOVISTAR.
It is important to beware that the cost to call within a cellular network is much less then to call another carriers number. So before you select a carrier, it would be wise to see which carrier your friends are using. Also, due to the high cost of calling between carrier networks, it is common for Colombians to have two phones, each on a different carrier.
Colombian Cellular Carrier Prefixes
| TIGO |
300, 301 |
| COMCEL |
310, 311, 312 |
| MOVISTAR |
315, 316, 317 |
As you can see, all Colombian Cellular phone numbers start with a 3.
Colombian Cellular "Protocol"
While Colombia's economy is growing very rapidly, money is still tight for most Colombians. As a result, most Colombians do not have a monthly cellular plan, but instead purchase minutes as they go. This means that they watch their talk time very carefully.
To save their minutes, it is very common for a woman to call a man on his cell phone and hang up without leaving a message. This means that she wants you to call her back on your minutes.
Calling from a Cellular phone to a Land Line
Like everywhere else, to dial a land line you will need to know the area code, or city code as they are known in Colombia.
To dial a land line from a cellular phone, dial 03, the city code, and the land line number. The format is 03+? + ??? ????
Colombian Area/City Codes:
| Armenia |
6 |
| Barranquilla |
5 |
| Bogota |
1 |
| Bucaramanga |
7 |
| Cali |
2 |
| Cartagena |
5 |
| Cellular #’s |
3 |
| Cucuta |
7 |
| Ibague |
8 |
| Manizales |
6 |
| Medellin |
4 |
| Neiva |
8 |
| Palmira |
2 |
| Pereira |
6 |
| Santa Marta |
5 |
| Villavicencio |
8 |
