Before you start

A passport and valid entry stamp to travel and to drive short-term on a foreign licence
A valid foreign driving licence plus an International Driving Permit obtained before departure
A cédula de extranjería for RUNT registration, a Colombian licence or vehicle registration
A Transmetro card if you will use the trunk corridors, and at least one ride app with a working payment method

Step-by-step

1
Get a Transmetro card and learn the two corridors
Transmetro runs articulated buses on the Murillo and Olaya Herrera trunk corridors with a feeder network into the barrios and out to Soledad. Buy and top up a card at any station. The Área Metropolitana de Barranquilla set the 2026 fare at COP 3,700 on ordinary days and COP 3,800 on Sundays and public holidays, effective 19 January, and the same adjustment applied to the conventional colectivo buses.
In personWho: You, at a Transmetro station15 minutes; same-day useCOP 3,700 weekdays, COP 3,800 Sundays and holidays (2026)
2
Use the apps, but know the taxis here do run meters
Uber, DiDi, Cabify and InDrive all operate, and quote a fixed price in the app. Unlike Cartagena, Barranquilla's street taxis are metered, so hailing one is a reasonable option — check the meter is running and visible before you set off. At night and in the outer districts, an app with a recorded trip is the better habit regardless of price.
Mobile appWho: YouMinutes to installCOP 8,000–25,000 across the northern corridor and the centre
3
Do not confuse the absence of pico y placa with an absence of rules
Since Decreto Distrital 0450 of 7 July 2025 there is no permanent circulation restriction on private cars, motorcycles, taxis or motocarros — a genuine outlier among Colombia's big cities. Carnival is the exception: Decreto 0036 of 26 January 2026 restricted private cars by last plate digit from Friday 13 to Monday 16 February 2026, with motorcycles exempt. Expect a comparable decree each Carnival and check the district's own publication, because national pico-y-placa apps still carry stale permanent rules for Barranquilla.
OnlineWho: You, checking the district's current decreeOnce, plus each Carnival
4
Learn which streets near you are arroyo routes
Barranquilla drains toward the Magdalena down its own roads. A long canalisation programme has boxed in many of the worst arroyos, but not all, and in the August-to-November rains the remaining ones become fast, deep torrents within minutes and have carried away vehicles and people. Ask neighbours and your building's portero which nearby streets flow, and treat moving water across a road as impassable rather than as a puddle.
In personWho: You, with neighbours and local knowledgeFirst weeks; critical August to November
5
Drive on a foreign licence for up to six months, then convert
Under Ley 769 de 2002 (art. 25) a foreigner in tourist or transit status may drive on a valid foreign licence for up to six months. Carry an International Driving Permit alongside it — it is a translation rather than a licence and it smooths roadside checks. Once you are resident with a cédula, the foreign licence stops being an answer.
In personWho: YouUp to 6 months of tourist statusIDP obtained at home before departure
6
Get a Colombian licence: RUNT, CRC medical, CEA course, exams
There is no straight exchange for most nationalities. Register your cédula in the RUNT, pass the psychomotor and medical assessment at an accredited CRC, complete the required hours at a registered driving school (CEA), and pass theory and practical tests. Barranquilla has plenty of CEAs, so this is quicker here than in the smaller coastal cities. Budget four to eight weeks and roughly COP 800,000–1,500,000.
In personWho: You, via a RUNT-registered CEA and CRC4–8 weeksCOP 800,000–1,500,000 (~US$250–470)

Documents you’ll need

Passport with a valid entry stamp, and the cédula de extranjería once resident
Foreign driving licence plus an International Driving Permit for the six-month window
RUNT registration, CRC medical certificate and CEA course certificate for a Colombian licence
Licencia de tránsito, current SOAT and tecnomecánica certificate if you own a vehicle

Things most newcomers don’t know

Barranquilla has no permanent pico y placa at all — for cars, motorbikes, taxis or motocarros. Decreto Distrital 0450 of 7 July 2025 removed the last of it.

Every other big Colombian city rations car use by plate digit, and every relocation guide written before mid-2025 says Barranquilla does too. It changes the arithmetic of owning a car here: no second vehicle to cover a restricted day, no rota to memorise, no fines for forgetting. The catch is that stale advice and national pico-y-placa apps still show a restriction, so people either plan around a rule that does not exist or, worse, ignore the Carnival decree that does.

Source: Decreto Distrital 0450 de 7 de julio de 2025; Decreto 0036 de 26 de enero de 2026 (Carnival)

The arroyos are the real driving hazard here, not traffic. Fast-moving street floods in the rainy season have carried away vehicles.

For most of the city's history storm water ran down the roads themselves, and although a large canalisation programme has covered many of the worst channels, the remainder still form within minutes of a downpour between August and November. Newcomers judge them by depth, which is the wrong variable — it is the flow that moves a car. The local habit is simply to stop and wait twenty minutes, and it is the correct one.

Source: Barranquilla drainage and canalisation programme; local practice

Street taxis in Barranquilla run meters, unlike Cartagena's, so hailing one is a normal thing to do here.

Anyone arriving from Cartagena carries the reflex of negotiating every fare, which reads as odd here and can cost you more than the meter would. Check the meter is running and visible; if a driver declines to use it, take a different cab or open an app.

Source: Barranquilla taxi regulation; local practice

Fares are set by the Área Metropolitana de Barranquilla, not by the district, and they move once a year in January.

The AMB covers Barranquilla plus Soledad, Malambo, Galapa and Puerto Colombia, and its resolution sets both the Transmetro fare and the conventional bus fare together — which is why the January 2026 rise of COP 400 hit every bus in the metro area at once. If you are budgeting or contesting a fare, the AMB is the body to check, not the Alcaldía.

Source: Área Metropolitana de Barranquilla — 2026 fare adjustment

Common mistakes to avoid

Planning around a pico y placa that no longer exists, or missing the temporary Carnival decree that does.
Driving into moving water across a street in the rainy season because it does not look deep.
Accepting a street taxi fare 'by zone' when the vehicle has a working meter you are entitled to use.
Driving past the six-month foreign-licence window, which risks a fine in daily minimum wages plus immobilisation.
Assuming the Alcaldía sets bus fares — the Área Metropolitana does, and it covers five municipalities.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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