Medellin is a thriving city in the mountains of Colombia. It takes about an hour to fly from the capital, Bogota. Flights between the two cities are frequent. We learned about Medellín from a couple of slow-travelling nomads, Amelia and JP @ameliaAndJP. Watch their YouTube post about Medellin here. Our curiosity was piqued. When we planned a visit to the Galapagos Islands, we decided to add a 5-day visit to Medellin, Colombia. We were glad we did!
There are many reasons to visit Medellin. Here are the ones we discovered on our visit in February:
- Climate- consistently warm, around 22 °C all year long, because of its high elevation in the mountains
- Lush vegetation -flora and fauna everywhere, even in the city’s many malls!
- Amenities- variety of dining and hotel options, and Uber was an easy method to travel to different parts of the city.
- Entertainment- sightseeing, shopping, and enjoying nature are possible
- Safety- Poblado and Laureles neighbourhoods are safe places to explore on your own as a tourist.
Our 5-night visit to Medellin turned into 4 nights because of a very long immigration line in Bogota. Another part of the immigration process was a fee for Canadians of 270 000 COP or $95 CDN upon entry, which we paid by credit card.
Our Accommodation in El Poblado
We arrived at our hotel at 7:30 am (instead of the previous evening) and went straight to the free breakfast! We booked the Four Points by Sheraton with our newly accrued Bonvoy Points. This was our first time using our points for a stay, and all went well. The hotel had an amazing breakfast with attentive staff. We were able to use the secluded pool to relax in the middle of the day. Our quiet room was perfect for our tired bones at the end of the day.
Our hotel was located in the popular El Poblado neighbourhood, where many wealthy citizens and international expats live. Medellin is quite car-centric, though we found this part of the city quite walkable. Don’t step out at a crosswalk unless a Colombian does first! We felt safe exploring this neighbourhood on our own and found many great dining choices near our hotel.
Things to Do in Medellin
We visited Medellin after a very busy week in the Galapagos, and so we planned to relax and enjoy the milder weather and nicer hotel amenities. We visited three very different neighbourhoods while we were there.
Shopping
Since the hotel was attached to the Oviedo Shopping Mall, we made several visits. It had several high-end stores, a huge food court, a supermarket and several nice sit-down restaurants. Apparently, taking your dog to the mall is a popular activity on a Saturday night. Many dogs were well-dressed, could go to the cafe and mall employees cleaned up after them!
There are many opportunities to dine out and shop in Medellin. We were only metres away from a variety of shopping experiences. The malls were designed as open-air, multi-level meeting places. Many people flowed through the mall and the seating areas.
Dining Options
We enjoyed our buffet breakfast each mornings at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel. There were many fresh fruits, which the birds tried to eat- and eggs made to order. I enjoyed my coffee with warm, frothy milk. The last time we ate such fresh fruit was when we lived in Vietnam. We didn’t take pictures of the food, just the kiskadee bird who was interested in our meals!
We enjoyed all our meals while in Medellin. There were two establishments we visited twice. We especially enjoyed our dinners the French Bistro called Cafe Le Gris and the Colombian lunches we tried at Cazuelitas.
Walking Tours
When we visit a new city, we like to take a walking tour to orient ourselves and to learn about the place from a local. We took two walking tours in Medellin. One tour was in Candelaria, the downtown area and another took place in the infamous Comuna 13 neighbourhood.
Paisan Food Tour in Candelaria
We used Guru Walk to find and book Maria’s Food Tour. We enjoyed her 2h tour of the downtown area. The tour felt much safer in her presence than we would have been on our own. We also would have missed some of the local favourite foods! Although it was a free tour, we paid the vendors for the food we sampled and tipped Maria at the end of the tour. GuruWalk is a great app as it provides a clear description of the tour, meeting points and a suggested tip amount.
Here are some of the passion fruit varieties and tree tomatoes we sampled from the famous Placita de Florez. This market has been operating since the 19th Century. Did you know there are 5 varieties of avocado to choose from in Medellin markets? We also loved the Arepa with the soft, salty cheese on top! This is a staple for breakfast or lunch. The sugar cane juice with lime was a refreshing treat, too! We skipped tasting the gelatinous candy-see the woman spinning it! Many of the foods we tried originated from northern Colombia. Many of the Paisa meals include plantain as the starch.
Comuna 13 Walking Tour
Comuna 13 used to be a dangerous, cartel-controlled, poverty-stricken neighbourhood in the mountains above Medellin. In the last 20 years, it has grown much safer to visit. The local community and the city have been reinventing and collaborating to provide much-needed infrastructure, such as sewers, electricity and even a huge escalator for residents. Approximately 150 000 people live in the handcrafted stacked homes. Today, there is a thriving artists’ community living among some of the poorest residents of Medellin. Many visual artists, musicians and dancers live and work here, and tourists are encouraged to visit to support their work. This neighbourhood has become an example of hope and collaboration, rather than fear and violence.
We wanted to see this neighbourhood with a knowledgeable tour guide, so we booked a walking tour with Viator. We were a little nervous when we first got dropped off by an Uber driver at the tour meeting point. The streets were narrow and filled with the afternoon rush. Everywhere you looked, homemade stacked homes were going up the side of the mountain. Students go to school either in the morning or the afternoon in Colombia, so midday traffic is heavy!
We enjoyed seeing Comuna 13. It’s a renewed community which is quite safe to visit today, but was an extremely dangerous place when Escobar and his gang ruled the streets. Our tour guide was quite friendly, had organized opportunities to sample some food and walked us around the neighbourhood to meet the local artists. Unfortunately, he provided few details to enhance the experience. This was the first time we were disappointed with a Viator-booked tour guide. Perhaps it was an off day??
Medellin is an easy city to explore, and we could easily spend a month there visiting different neighbourhoods and taking in more of the nature outside of the city. If we were to return for a month, we would probably stay in the Laureles area. It is more residential than El Poblado and would be quieter. For a short visit like ours, I think staying in EL Poblado is a good idea because you are close to all amenities!
Things we learned
- Medellin’s consistently warm weather means it’s always a good time to visit.
- Connecting through Bogota airport will take longer than anticipated, so make sure to leave time between your flights
- There is a lot of public transit available in Medellin, but we found Uber was the most convenient way to get around as a couple
- plan to visit different neighbourhoods to experience the diversity of the city
- Guided walking tours booked through GuruWalk and Viator were worth it!
