Medellín can be visited year-round, but extra fun if you make your trip around one of the many events, which draw people from Colombia itself and abroad.

June:
Festival Internacional de Tango
The largest Tango festival outside Argentina, with tango performances and tango lessons throughout the city in the streets and parks.

August:
Feria de las Flores
Medellín’s most spectacular festival. The festival lasts a week and highlight is the Desfile de silleteros. Hundreds of campesinos from around Medellín come to town, to show off their flowers during the giant flower parade.

September:
Festival International de Jazz
There are free concerts featuring local and international bands

December and 1st week of January:
El Alumbrado
Medellín is known as a true Christmas city, with the most spectacular Christmas lights in Colombia. The Christmas season begins on Dec. 7, but the lights are lit a week earlier and can be admired until the first week of January.

2-3 DAYS:

In 2 days you can see the most famous sights and grab a museum.

Do a city tour on day 1, then you will immediately have a handy introduction to the city. If you stay in the center, there are several museums you can visit, such as the Musea de Antioquia, with the work of Botero. On day 2, you can then go to the botanical garden, Parque Explora or take the cable car to Parque Arví, for example.

With a day or more added, you could go paragliding on Day 3, do a day of shopping, or do a day tour to Guatapé.

1 WEEK OR LONGER:

If you have longer, you can take a multi-day trip to one of the villages in the area, such as Jardin, Jericho or San Rafael. Check out this article for ideas for a trip to one of these quaint villages.

-Updated July 2025-

We have been to Medellín several times and have never felt unsafe. In the tourist locations, you will see a lot of police, which also makes you feel safe.

There are some things we do recommend if you go to Medellín:

• Book a hotel or hostel in El Poblado or Laureles/Estadio, the safest neighborhoods in Medellín
• Be careful in the city center (Candelaria) at night, including at Plaza Botero, Parque San Antonio and Parque de Bolivar. Better use cabs if you have to be here at night
• Don’t use dating apps to meet people. Gangs are active in Medellín that use dating apps to lure men and then rob them, in some cases fatally. Some of the murders took place in the El Poblado and Laureles/Estadio neighborhoods, which are usually known as very safe. In many nightlife robberies, Scopolamine is used. This is an intoxicant that is virtually odorless and can easily be added to drinks
• Do not accept drinks from strangers
• Don’t go into the suburbs
• Withdraw your first pesos safely at the airport or inside a large supermarket, drugstore or mall
• Leave gold jewelry at home
• Carry your bag in front of you
• Don’t show your phone, not even when you are in the taxi, especially in a busy area such as el Centro.
• Traveling by subway is safe in Medellín, but during rush hour (5-7 p.m.) it is very crowded and hectic, making it easy for pickpockets to get in and out. Tip from a local: if you take the subway during rush hour: stand against the wall on the left immediately, so you won’t give pickpockets a chance.

For general information on safe travel in Colombia, visit this link.

Compared to less touristy cities in Colombia, such as Cali and Barranquilla, Medellín is more expensive. If you compare it to North America and Europe, most things in Medellín are cheap.

Prices of accommodations range from just under $10 for a dorm bed in a hostel to over $100 for a luxury hotel. For about $50 you can have a very comfortable and spacious hotel or apartment in a good location in Medellín.

You can get a short cab ride via a cab app for as little as $3, and a ride on the subway costs around $1.

Eating out can be as expensive as you want and also depends on the location. In the Laureles/Estadio district, we found the food a lot cheaper than in El Poblado. Then again, a good (generous portion) steak in a prime location in el Poblado cost 15$. This fresh salmon trout in Santa Elena cost 7$. You can have a comida coriente (lunch day menu) for about $5.

Even when shopping at the supermarket, you can make it as expensive as you want. Supermarket Carulla is one of the more expensive supermarkets with a nice assortment, with many imported products.

Bueno y Justo is a convenience store where you can get cheaper groceries, but you’ll find them mostly in the more local neighborhoods. In the tourist locations you will find Exito and Jumbo which are cheaper than Carulla.

There is no American embassy or consulate in Medellín, only in Bogotá. Click here for contact details.

There is no Canadian embassy or consulate in Medellín, this the link for the Canadian embassy in Bogotá.

Some European countries have consulates in Medellín, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands and Belgium. This is the complete list of embassies and consulates in Medellín.

• Set of more formal cloths for a night out in an upscale restaurant, so you “”blend in” with the locals. The Paisas love to dress in style.
• Sneekers. You will be doing a lot of walking in Medellín!
• Jacket or coat for the colder days
• Umbrella or rain jacket
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Thermos for water
• Medicine if you want a particular brand
• Book: The Farm, written by Héctor Abad. The story is set in the mountains outside Medellín, where the residents of the farm la Oculta, faced the violence of paramilitaries and the guerrilla. An interesting book if you want to immerse yourself in the history of Medellín.

At the airport you can already withdraw the first pesos. Furthermore, you will find ATMs in shopping malls and in larger drug stores where you can safely withdraw money. Make sure the transaction is complete before leaving the ATM.

Tip: We experienced once that it did not work to withdraw money. When we changed the language from English to Spanish it worked!

Supermarkets
Carulla is a nice supermarket with a lot of imported products, which also makes it one of the more expensive supermarkets. Exito is a well-known department store, where they sell not only food but also clothes, electronics, home stuff, etc. just like Jumbo. Falabella is a well-known store for clothing, jewelry, perfumes and stuff for the home. There are also smaller convenience stores of supermarket chain Justo y Bueno, where you can get cheaper groceries, but in the tourist neighborhoods you will find mainly Carulla, Exito and Jumbo.

Drugstores (farmacias).
Among others, Drojas la Rebaja (24h), Farmatodo and Farmacias Pasteur.

You will find many farmacias in Medellín, including in malls, larger supermarkets and department stores such as Exito. This gives you easy access to medicines, many of which can be obtained without a prescription. Convenient is the delivery service of drugstores, if you are unable to pick up the medication yourself.

Medellín generally has good and reliable internet. Partly because of this, the city is popular with digital nomads. There are coffee shops and shopping malls with good wifi and charging stations. Modern co-working spaces, such as those WeWork, are popular with digital nomads. You can find these shared workspaces mostly in El Poblado. If you want to become a digital nomad in Medellín, you can join this facebook group to get in touch with other digital nomads.