The first thing I want to get settled is that Medellín is safe to visit.
If you’re planning a trip you’ve probably already seen unflattering search results. Even if you’re not searching for crime specifically, warnings about personal safety are almost inescapable. A typical blog post or YouTube video features a professional traveler saying how wonderful their trip was, then sternly admonishing you, the silly and naïve reader. You must be cautious and alert at all times because danger lurks around every corner!
Nonsense. From the moment you touch down in Medellín you’ll feel safe, because you are safe. Medellín is far safer than many popular US destinations like Las Vegas, Chicago or New Orleans. You don’t need to be afraid to check your phone in public or snap a selfie in front of some cute locale.
Particularly on YouTube there’s a temptation for creators to stand out with splashy thumbnails of the variety “Must Watch to Stay Safe in Medellín!” or “I got DRUGGED and ROBBED in Medellín!” it’s clickbait. Don’t fall for it.
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South America’s “It City”
I’m sure there was a time Medellín was actually dangerous. The Colombian Internal Conflict lasted for decades and the cartels were at one time incredibly powerful. But you wouldn’t hesitate to visit Cambodia because of the genocide there, or Saigon because of the war in Vietnam. Colombia’s darkest days were also that long ago. The 21st Century is well underway in Medellín. It’s brought an immense amount of peace, prosperity and growth along with it.
I’ve spent the last several years living in Nashville, one of the most-visited and fastest growing cities in America. Nashville was never able to shake off its (self-made) image as the It City. Ten years after the Times coined that term the amount of growth and tourism in Nashville has only increased. There are so many acres under development, it will take at least 30 years to complete the projects that have already begun. In the coming decades Music City will only be bigger, more popular, and more expensive, despite the concerns of many locals now living here.
Medellín is much the same. Locals share those concerns about growth. It doesn’t take more than a day or two of being on the ground to realize Medellín is not just Colombia’s It City, but the superlative city in all of South America.
Colombia’s recent economic fortunes and newfound stability have coincided with uncontrolled inflation in Argentina and years of disastrous right-wing rule in Brazil. This has left Colombia as the continent’s most popular destination among foreign visitors. Indeed, in a post-Covid world it now surpasses those countries in international arrivals.
Medellín Still Enjoys “Hidden Gem” Status
Colombia’s tourism successes are spread throughout the country. Bogota and Cartagena are also increasing in popularity. While the number of international arrivals is high and growing, the amount of North Americans you encounter on the streets in Medellín is surprisingly small. Even in the most tourist-centric parts of the city there aren’t nearly as many gringos as you’d expect to see. None of the shops, hotels and restaurants are bending over backwards to wow you with their English. In fact if you’ve got zero Spanish you should probably spend a few weeks with a language program before getting on the plane. You’ll need a few words to be able to get through even the most basic interactions.
There aren’t any exotic beaches to draw tourists to Medellín. It hasn’t got the ancient wonders found at Machu Picchu and Easter Island. There’s no zip line through the rainforest like in Costa Rica. The biggest and perhaps only obstacle in visiting Medellín for the first time is figuring out why you’d want to in the first place.
Simple: because it’s got Vibes. Most of the Americans you do see in Medellín are digital nomad types who are technically traveling but not exactly on vacation. The city appeals to them greatly because you can live a California lifestyle on a Tijuana budget. The people who can choose to live anywhere are increasingly choosing Medellín. AirBnB’s, co-working spaces, and cafes are sprouting like mushrooms to accommodate them. Once American vacationers realize how easy it is to visit Medellín, and investors understand how much potential for growth exists, Colombia will become one of the most popular destinations for American travelers.
Where to Stay in Medellín
Almost all Medellín hotels, hostels and vacation rentals are in the three areas highlighted above. Envigado in the south is actually a separate city with a more suburban feel. Wherever you’re staying, getting around Medellín is cheap and easy either on the metro or via Uber.
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The area between downtown and El Poblado is light industrial in nature and not a good bet. It’s also worth noting that the only flat parts of the city are near the river, which has the metro’s main line running alongside it. Take a good look at any hotel you’re considering on a map to make sure it’s not situated on a steep mountain road. I stayed some nights at the Ibis Medellín (review here) in the northern part of El Poblado. While I liked that area I wouldn’t want to stay further north than that.
El Poblado
If it’s your first time in Medellín you should absolutely stay in El Poblado, near Parque Lleras. You might have heard this area described as “upscale.” While it’s more upscale than downtown it’s certainly not Palm Beach or Beverly Hills. Poblado sort of has the vibe of a large college town but it’s even better because there’s no university or pesky students to jam everything up.
You may have heard Lleras Park described as a “nightlife area.” While that’s true and there are a number of clubs right around the park, most of the area is restaurants, cafes, shops and hotels. The restaurants are of particular interest as there are so many of them. Medellín is becoming the outdoor dining capital of the world and several of the streets in the area are completely given over to restaurant tables.
I was a bit nervous about staying too close to the heart of the nightlife district but my stay at The Art Hotel (full review here) was quiet and convenient. It’s hard to go wrong selecting a hotel on or just off Calle 10, which is the main avenue through the area.
Laureles
West of Downtown, Laureles is even more upscale than El Poblado. It’s a little more diverse than the area around Parque Lleras, without a large concentration of younger people and tourists, although it has its fair share of both, and the restaurants and hotels to serve them. Laureles has a vibe similar to Adams Morgan in Washington DC. It’s a neighborhood that wasn’t necessarily founded with upscale living in mind, but it has aged so well and remained so desirable that everywhere you look there’s a yoga studio or an organic grocery store.
This is definitely where you want to be if you’re traveling with family as it hasn’t got the street prostitution found around Lleras Park and Calle 10. Street prostitution has a lot of stigma in the US because it’s almost always bound up with drug use and other crimes. It’s not that way in Colombia though. I didn’t find the girls standing around to be intrusive or bothersome at all but if you want to avoid encountering them nightly Laureles is the place for you.
Downtown/La Candelaria
While there are hotels downtown, you should not consider staying there. In many ways it feels like a completely different city. A lot of the crucial building blocks of urbanism that make a city great are already in place in La Candelaria. In 20-30 years it’s not unreasonable to think that Parque de Bolivar could be akin to Washington Square Park in Manhattan.
At the moment though walking through downtown Medellín feels more like walking through the Bronx. The streets are lively and interesting, but it’s 100% working class folks and buildings that haven’t been updated since 1960. There are too many cheap casinos for a truly healthy city. You wouldn’t book your NYC vacation hotel in the Bronx and you shouldn’t stay in La Candelaria for the same reasons.
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Is Downtown safe? Yes, it is. People who say it isn’t are just uncomfortable around poor people. There’s about 2-3 blocks right next to Botero Plaza that are completely given over to vice. They’re easy to avoid if you want to.
Many people online will warn you against going downtown at night. Should you go anyway? Probably not. It would be fine if you did but there is just nothing there for a tourist at night. Like many downtown areas the streets tend to empty out after work. The restaurants are the kind that specialize in cheap lunch, not memorable dinners. There’s not a lot to actually do downtown, especially at night.
What to Do in Medellín
There’s a few things that most visitors to Medellín want to check off the list. I’ve already said a bit about Parque Lleras and almost every visitor is going to find their way there eventually. But what else should you be looking at for a trip to the city?
Take a Coffee Tour
This was sort of a bucket list item for me as I’ve been wanting to see a coffee farm for many years. If this is something you’re interested in you should strongly consider doing it in Medellín because of the region’s mild climate. The tour I took lasted about 7 hours and it was a much better experience doing it in 80 degree weather than it would have been doing it in Brazil or Costa Rica where it can easily reach 100 throughout the day.
The only practical way to do this is an organized tour. I booked this tour on Viator because at $89 it was a very solid value proposition for everything that’s included. Also because I wanted to ride the horse. It was great and I recommend it highly but if you book keep in mind: it’s not pony rides at the state fair. You get on a horse and it goes straight up a very steep mountain. Then it goes down a very steep mountain. Then it goes down even further through a little town. You need to be hanging on for dear life as these animals scramble up the rocky mountainside. Also you should have your phone or camera secured around your neck for taking photos. It’s a miracle I didn’t drop mine along the way.
Ride the Metro Cable Cars
In a city where you can get an Uber anytime for $3 it can be hard to motivate yourself to learn the ins and outs of a public transit system. But riding metro in Medellín is absolutely worth the effort. The fare is around 70 cents and isn’t dependent on your destination. Some lines are typical heavy rail, some are surface streetcar trams, and some are cable cars. The cars fit up to ten people but if you’re riding a less popular line at off-peak times it’s easy to get one to yourself.
The views and photo ops are amazing. But these are meant to serve local neighborhoods so it’s kind of a journey-is-the-destination deal. Riding the trains is a good way to see parts of the city you might not otherwise, and the low fares make it very easy to hop on/hop off if you want to walk around a new neighborhood.
Botero Plaza and the Museum of Antioquia
If you know art, I don’t need to tell you how important and amazing Fernando Botero’s work is. If you don’t know art: get some culture, dummy! Botero’s sculptures and his paintings inside a dedicated wing of the museum are extremely approachable. A wider understanding of art and history is not necessary to appreciate Boterismo.
There are around two dozen of the master’s large bronze statues scattered throughout the plaza, which is free to enter and is the main attraction for visitors downtown. The museum costs just a few dollars to enter and the collection donated by the artist is large and impressive.
Street Art at Comuna 13
The cartels cast a long shadow over Medellín. Visitors to the city can do some really scumbag things, like play paintball at one of Pablo Escobar’s mansions, or they can choose a more enlightened route with something like the Museo Casa de Memoria. A visit to Comuna 13 is closer to the latter as long as you’re not buying merch with Escobar’s face on it.
Some bloggers would gas you up and have you believe it’s a great humanitarian gesture to come here and help the locals move on from their Dickensian pasts. That’s all bullshit. These are just regular people trying to make a buck slinging micheladas and souvenirs in a place where tourists come.
Get Going: Medellín Tours and Activities at Viator
You can nearly reach the escalators and street art by riding the metro, but it is about a mile from the final station to the entrance. It’s a nice neighborhood and not a difficult walk. Anyone with normal mobility should go it on foot. Stopping along the way for lunch is also a good option as you’re likely to get a better meal in a local neighborhood restaurant than along the street art trail.
Colombians use the terms “graffiti” and ‘murals’ interchangeably. There isn’t really any graffiti at Comuna 13, and the murals are not terribly impressive. But the place overall is great and definitely worth a visit. They’ve basically created a boardwalk, but instead of walking along and looking at the sea visitors get continuous views of the mountain vistas and city homes ranging up their sides. If you enjoy the day drinking, junk food and general atmosphere of an ocean boardwalk you’ll enjoy Comuna 13 even without looking at the murals too closely.
Visit Guatape & Penol Rock
There’s no photo of Guatape because even after two weeks in Medellín I just didn’t feel like it. It’s almost 3 hours each way in a rental car. It’s about 3 hours to climb, look around, and descend the rock. Add in another 2 hours to see the town and eat a meal and you’re looking at 11 hours for what? A nice view and a bunch of souvenir stands and arepa stalls… which is exactly what you just enjoyed at Comuna 13.
It can be a lot easier if you’re booking a Guatape tour in advance. There are a lot of enhancements a tour operator can add like a helicopter or ATV’s. If you’re staying in El Poblado you can even find a tour operator and book your spot in person the day before. You might even show up at 7:30 am and try your luck same day to see if they have room in the van.
When (not if) I return to Medellín I’ll either book a Guatape tour in advance or plan to stay overnight in the town of Guatape. Booking a hotel in town will give you time to get out on the lake and really enjoy the place.
