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 you leave home
A cédula de extranjería, required for RUNT registration, a Colombian licence or vehicle registration
A MÍO card, and two ride apps installed with a working payment method

Step-by-step

1
Get a MÍO card and learn what the network does and does not reach
Buy and load a MÍO card at any station. Since 10 January 2026 the flat fare is COP 3,500 across the network, including the MÍO Cable up to the Siloé hillside. The troncal corridors along the Calle 5 and the Avenida Simón Bolívar are quick; the feeder routes are slower and the network does not reach parts of the south and west well, which is why most residents combine it with apps or a motorbike.
In personWho: You, at a MÍO station15 minutes; same-day useCOP 3,500 (~US$0.85) per journey in 2026
2
Install two ride apps and stop hailing on the street
Uber, DiDi, Cabify and InDrive all operate in Cali, and several will route you a licensed yellow taxi. Ride-hailing has an unsettled legal status in Colombia, so having a second app matters when one is disrupted. Trips across the southern belt run COP 10,000–25,000; the airport at Palmira, about 20 km out, runs COP 60,000–90,000. After dark, ordering through an app rather than flagging a car is the standard local advice.
Mobile appWho: YouMinutes to installCOP 10,000–25,000 (~US$2.50–6) across the south; COP 60,000–90,000 to the airport
3
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 translates the licence and smooths roadside checks. Once you are resident with a cédula, the foreign licence is no longer an answer and driving without a Colombian one risks a substantial fine and immobilisation.
In personWho: YouUp to 6 months of tourist statusIDP obtained at home before departure
4
Get a Colombian licence: RUNT, CRC medical, CEA course, exams
There is no direct 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. Cali has plenty of CEAs and costs sit slightly below Bogotá's. Budget four to eight weeks and roughly COP 800,000–1,500,000 all in.
In personWho: You, via a RUNT-registered CEA and CRC4–8 weeksCOP 800,000–1,500,000 (~US$200–375)
5
Check the pico y placa table every January and July
Two plate digits per weekday, restricted 6am to 7pm Monday to Friday, with no restriction at weekends or on public holidays. For the second half of 2026: Monday 9 and 0, Tuesday 1 and 2, Wednesday 3 and 4, Thursday 5 and 6, Friday 7 and 8. The whole table shifts on 1 January and 1 July, so the day you learned last semester is wrong this one. Motorcycles are expressly exempt, as are official, electric and hybrid vehicles and heavy cargo — a point the Secretaría de Movilidad has had to restate publicly against recurring rumours of a moto restriction.
OnlineWho: You, checking Cali's current pico y placa decreeRe-check each semester
6
If you buy a vehicle, budget SOAT, tecnomecánica and the departmental tax
Running a car legally means RUNT registration, the compulsory SOAT accident policy, the annual tecnomecánica technical inspection, and the annual vehicle tax — which for a Cali-registered car is a Valle del Cauca departmental tax, not a municipal one. Add a private todo riesgo policy, since SOAT covers injuries to people and nothing about your vehicle.
In personWho: You, with an insurer, a CDA inspection centre and the departmental revenue officeOngoing; SOAT and tecnomecánica are annualSOAT and tecnomecánica together roughly COP 850,000–950,000 a year for a mid-size car, plus the departmental vehicle tax

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

Cali's pico y placa applies on the entry and exit corridors as well as inside the city, so living in Jamundí, Yumbo or Palmira and driving in does not avoid it.

People move to the cheaper satellite municipalities specifically expecting to escape the restriction, because in some Colombian cities the cordon really does stop at the city limit. Cali's decree covers the whole urban perimeter plus the approach roads, which means the commute you moved out to make possible is restricted one weekday in five.

Source: Alcaldía de Santiago de Cali — pico y placa decree (2026)

The digit-to-weekday table rotates every 1 January and 1 July, so your restricted day changes twice a year.

The second half of 2026 restricts 9 and 0 on Monday, 1 and 2 on Tuesday, 3 and 4 on Wednesday, 5 and 6 on Thursday and 7 and 8 on Friday — a complete shift from the first half. Drivers who memorised a day in January and never rechecked in July are the single most common category of pico y placa fine here.

Source: Alcaldía de Santiago de Cali, Decreto 4112.010.20.0814 de 2026

Colombia does not exchange most foreign licences. Expect a medical assessment, a registered driving school and both a theory and a practical exam, not a counter swap.

Only a handful of countries have homologation arrangements; everyone else goes through the full RUNT process. Newcomers arrive assuming a licence with twenty years on it converts in an afternoon, then find themselves booking CEA hours. The saving grace in Cali is that it is cheaper and less oversubscribed than in Bogotá.

Source: Código Nacional de Tránsito (Ley 769 de 2002), art. 25; RUNT

Cali is genuinely flat and warm, which makes a motorbike or a bicycle far more practical here than in Bogotá — and motorcycles are expressly exempt from pico y placa, so a bike really does buy you a five-day week.

The valley floor means no hills and no altitude, and a large share of caleños get around on two wheels. Rumours of a moto restriction recur often enough that the Secretaría de Movilidad has publicly denied them, so check the current decree rather than a Facebook post — but as things stand the exemption is real, and it is a genuine argument for two wheels over four here.

Source: Alcaldía de Santiago de Cali, Secretaría de Movilidad (denial of a moto pico y placa, 2026)

Common mistakes to avoid

Memorising your pico y placa day in one semester and not rechecking after the January or July rotation.
Moving to Jamundí or Palmira for cheaper rent and assuming the commute escapes Cali's restriction — the entry corridors are covered.
Expecting to swap a home licence for a Colombian one rather than budgeting weeks for medical, school and exams.
Driving past the six-month foreign-licence window, which risks a fine in daily minimum wages plus immobilisation.
Forgetting that the semester changeover can catch you twice: when the table rotated on 1 July 2026, plates ending 3 and 4 were restricted on both Tuesday 30 June and Wednesday 1 July.

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