Medellín, Colombia - 5 minute guide

Note: This was written last year, so just re-adding it to the site.

I recently finished my trip in Colombia, visiting just one city, Medillin, and the Caribbean island of San Andres. I was there for 10 days in total and am already planning a return trip. Colombia is incredible, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of the country.

Getting there:

I flew from Lima to Medillin with Latam, and to San Andres with Viva Air, which is usually cheaper than other airlines (think Ryanair). One frustration with Viva Air is that you have to print your boarding card or they charge you at the airport to do it.

Where to stay:

El Poblado is the main tourist spot and is quite safe to stay in. I stayed in the Ivy Hostel, 25 minutes walk from the centre, but very walkable and nice.

What to do:

Real City Tour - free, great guides and really informative. Dio was my guide and was excellent.

• Try the empanadas and boluenos (cheese balls) on the tour!
• Do an Escobar tour, but be selective about which one - some glorify the man, others are simply factual. I did a tour with Epic Tours, and can’t recommend it highly enough.
• Visit Guatape (see the pics below) and do a coffee tour - I went with Epic Tours again.
• Salsa dance! Dancefree does a great (and hilarious) group class.
• Visit Comuna 13 - I didn’t get time to do this but heard nothing but good things about the tour, but do a tour and don’t go yourself! Take the cable cars for views of the city.
• El Poblado for great coffee and shopping.
• Museo di Antioquia for Botero paintings.

What to Eat

• Boleunos and Empanadas like I said earlier
• Real City Tours do a fruit tour and a food tour which are also supposedly excellent.

Photos