Bienvenidos A Medellin, Colombia!
Hola!
I told y’all I would be back with part 2 of my trip to Colombia. In case you missed my Cartagena post, you can read it here. That post gives you a breakdown on how to prepare for your trip, converting your money, Uber and other things to know about Colombia as a whole.
Next stop: Medellin!
Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central region of the Andes Mountains, in northwestern South America. If you’re looking for a city vibe, then Medellin would be your best option. Cartagena was more so for very hot weather and beach vibes. Since Medellin is in the mountains, it’s not as brutally hot as Cartagena was which was great. The flight from Cartagena to Medellin was a little over an hour. I flew with Latham Airlines and they do partner with Delta Airlines which means you get points for that flight.
Where To Stay?
The Charlee Hotel was the perfect place to stay for the first time traveling to Medellin. This is located in the neighborhood called El Poblado which is a very touristy area. As mentioned before in my Cartagena post, you can pick an AirBnb as well. We knew a few a people that had AirBnb’s in the El Poblado area and they were super nice! You should only book the Airbnb in that area if you’re OK with loud music from all the clubs on the strip. Breakfast is included and they offer a shuttle to and from the airport if you stay at The Charlee Hotel. You can watch my TikTok below to see more of the hotel.
Where To Do and Where To Eat?
Medellin Modern Art Museum
With an entrance fee of just 8,000COP (around $3) and some world-class modern-art exhibits, there's really nowhere better for an art-lover to go in Medellin than the Museo de Arte Moderno in the Ciudad del Rio neighborhood.
Relato Restaurant
Relato was recommended to me. The food, service and ambience was great! Some of the servers knew English which made it a little easier, but the menu is also in English as well. Reservations is a must since this is a popular restaurant.
Pictured: Langostinos Fettuccine (Fettuccine pasta, prawns, mushrooms, creamy parmesan sauce, crunchy onion)
Burdo
Burdo Restaurant is the perfect location for lunch. This is an offbeat restaurant with a terrace offering heaping burgers & french fries, plus specialty cocktails. It’s about a 7 minute walk from The Charlee Hotel and is located on a strip with other bars and restaurants as well in El Poblado.
Pictured: Nachos Burdo
Not Pictured: Coconut Lemonade (Coco de Lemonado)
Comuna 13 Tour
Comuna 13, which went from being the most dangerous neighborhood in Colombia to a bustling art district. The art on this tour was amazing. It’s a very high profiled area. Make sure you put your walking shoes on and keep your bags close to you. People will try to pick pocket you. As part of the tour, we took the metro, a bus and rode the cable car across the mountains. Ice cream and beer was included on this tour.
Guatape Tour, Piedra del Peñol Including a Boat Tour, Breakfast and Lunch
Guatapé is an Andean resort town in northwest Colombia, east of Medellín. It’s known for its houses decorated with colorful bas-reliefs. It sits by the vast, man-made Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir, a busy water-sports center. During the tour, we had almost 2 hours to visit the Church Of ‘Our Lady Carmen ’ which is smack-dab in the middle of town square, surrounded by restaurants and street vendors, is an impressive colonial church. I got a coconut lemonade from Tiki Taka and walked the colorful streets to take pictures. After our tour, we took a boat tour to see Pablo Escobar’s Hacienda La Manuela. This was all included for our tour.
Piedra del Peñol
Piedra del Peñol, a giant granite rock southwest of town, has hundreds of steps to the top, where there are sweeping views. The nearby Marial Stone is giant rock with an overhang.The rock has about 750 steps going up and down. One thing to note, you do have to pay for the bathrooms when you get to the rock. I advise using the bathroom at the beginning of the tour when you stop for breakfast if you don’t want to pay. It took me a little longer to climb since I kept taking pictures and videos. It should take about 30-40 minutes to climb. Once you get to the top, you can shop and they have bathrooms. The views at the top were amazing. It was totally worth the climb.
Pro-tip: Visit before 10 AM or after 4 PM to miss the crowds. Visitors on a day-trip tour arrive mid-day and the stairway can become claustrophobic. You’ll also have to jostle through people for your chance to photograph the view. Prices are set at 25,000 COP. Make sure you walk with cash. They don’t accept credit card for the entrance fee. This fee is also not included in the tour.
More Things To Do - Nightlife
There’s so much to do in Medellin. It just depends on what you’re in the mood for. Provenza is located in El Poblado neighborhood: it starts two streets above Parque Lleras and ends two streets below Vizcaya Shopping Center. For all my night people that love the clubs, check out Dubai Night Club Dharma Night Club Perro Negro or LA House . They play a mix of everything. Dubai Night Club isn’t located on the strip. You would have to take an Uber there. It’s about a 10 minute drive from El Poblado area.
