“If you’re wondering if you should go, just go.”
“Si te estás preguntando si deberías ir, simplemente vete”
-Me
Medellín, Colombia. December 2022
Colombia is a magical country and one that I had been thinking about visiting for a long, long time. Ever since meeting Colombian friends in DC and seeing the passion they have for their country and hearing about the incredible culture and landscape, I felt like I needed to go.
Have you ever had that feeling where you needed to visit someplace? You don’t really know exactly why you feel it, but something is calling you? For me I’ve had that feeling a number of times and Colombia was one of the places I needed to see and experience for my soul.
A long time coming
Rewind a few years back, circa 2014, on a hot summer day in DC where I was a young lad working an office job. I really didn’t like my job and was thinking of taking a sabbatical and just travelling the world for a bit. I’m a bit of a daydreamer and of course I started looking up places to travel on the map.
I started with Colombia and started googling and mapping out the all places I’d visit; checking out the jungles, the Amazon, the coffee region, and figuring out the best routes to take. I mapped out everything. The idea of travelling around Colombia was etched in my brain and never left.
Well, the trip never happened and I ended up taking a new job that I liked a lot more and it allowed me to live and travel the world. After travelling all around Asia from 2017 to 2019 and moving back to DC at the end of 2019, I still had not visited Colombia.
During the midst of the pandemic I seriously thought about just taking off and living down in Colombia as a “digital nomad”. I don’t like the term digital nomad but it kind of described my lifestyle the last couple years. Digital Nomad = working remote without a permanent home and just traveling the world.
By serendipity, I connected with a fellow world traveller through a mutual friend who had just recently moved to Medellín, Colombia in 2020. We connected and bonded over our similar wanderlust spirit and ideas for making a home abroad. My new friend, Sasha, was such a great help and really inspired me with thinking differently about some of the issues with settling abroad; including how to build and connect with the community in a different country. I’m extremely grateful for her guidance, support, and hospitality when I did finally visit. There is something special about fellow expats who go out of there way in helping other travellers.
Sasha was also really instrumental in encouraging me to start my spanish language journey. She introduced me to Baselang back in 2020, which was incredibly helpful for improving my spanish. We bonded over how to stay motivated with the setbacks and struggles of learning a new language.
If you ever want to learn spanish with real native speakers Baselang is hands down he best platform out there. It’s unlimited online classes and just so happens to be based in Medellín. If you sign-up, mention me! 😊😉
Medellín – the city of eternal spring
Where to stay
My trip was only 6 days long and I could of easily spent a full week or 10 days there. I flew into Medellín international (MDE) which is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of the city by uber ride.
The two areas that I would recommend to stay when visiting Medellín:
Poblado – this is the fancier area of the city with a lot of chic hotels/restaurants and bars. This would be the place to go out for a nice restaurant and or a night out on the town dancing, etc. It’s a bit more expensive than other areas of the city, although it’s all relative since everything is so cheap in Colombia.
In Poblado you’ll meet a lot more gringos & expats and might not even have to speak much Spanish.
A perfectly good option if you’d like to stay in a more high end area with more of the modern amenities you’re accustomed to in the U.S. I went out in Poblado for dinner and drinks one night and had a blast. If you go to Medellín you definitely need to check it out.
Laureles – this is another great neighborhood on the west side of the city with a good mix of restaurant /bars and a little less touristy. There still is plenty going on with nightlife and lots of cools spots to check out. It feels more like a typical Medellín neighborhood.
I stayed in Laureles and would recommend staying here for the best mix of great restaurants/bars, nightlife, and seeing the real Medellín. It’s also a lot more affordable and you’re more likely to meet and talk to locals. There are still a lot of gringos in Laureles, just not as many as Poblado.
I stayed at the Factory Lofts and it was a great location near everything – restaurants, train station (Estadio), cool parks. Plus it had sweet views of the city on the rooftop.
Safety – Not the Medellín from Narcos
One of the first things people ask me about Colombia, and in particular Medellín, is the safety.
Overall Medellín felt safe. Medellín does have a grizzly history with drug cartels and violence during the 80s and 90s but today that is not at all an issue. The risk nowadays is mostly petty crime and getting roofied and then robbed (they do target gringos).
I took extra caution since I was a solo traveller and didn’t want to put myself at risk. I was fine but did hear some stories about people getting roofied at bars while out so I think you do need to be on alert. If you go out, watch your drink and don’t walk alone late at night and you’ll be fine.
What to do
Medellín has so many things to offer! I hung out with new friends most of my trip and didn’t have a lot of time to do all the activities that I wanted, which was fine. I used the trip as a getaway and just to relax and decompress a bit. I guess I will need to go back!
Here are some of the things I would recommend doing:
Free Walking Tour – in my opinion, this is a must do to learn the history and the culture of the city. If you can, do it on the first day of your trip. You’ll learn so much about the city and it will give you a lot perspective and background for your whole trip. They also have food tours that included exotic fruit tours which sounded pretty cool.
I did the Real City Tours and my tour guide, Germán, was amazing. It was probably the best free walking tour I’ve ever been on with the perfect amount of history, architecture and sightseeing. They’ll take you around the main downtown sights in Plaza Botero.
Metrocables – Medellíin is full of cable cars that were built to help get up the steep mountainous slopes into the different neighborhoods. The best one to do is the Santo Domingo cable car. La Sierra is also a cool one near San Antonio.
Getting around – Take the metro for most of your transportation. You can uber too but for most of my trip I was using the metro. If you check out the metrocables it’s easiest to get there by metro.
Comuna 13 – a must do in Medellin for the history and incredible turnaround story. This was the most violent, secluded areas of Medellín (and maybe all Colombia) during the 80s/90s. After the fall of Escobar, they built access with stairs and metrocables and used art as a way to build up the community and give the youth an outlet. I recommend doing this with a group or guided tour for the best experience. It’s super interesting history. There are also some cool cable cars in this area as well.
Other things to do:
Parques Y Caminatas (Parks and Hikes)- there are so many cool parks and hikes in the city that I didn’t get to check out. A popular park is Parques del Rio and a popular hike is Cerro de las Cruzes. But there are tons of parks throughout the city depending on what you like – Parque de los Pies Descalzos, Jardin Botanico, Parque Lleras.
Coffee tour – Medellíin is in the coffee epicenter of Colombia! You definitely need to do a day tour and check out the coffee region if you are a coffee lover like me.
Guatapé – Guatape is a full day trip (maybe 2) about 2 hour car ride from the main city. It’s a main attraction and must do with beautiful mountains and lakes. I wasn’t able to go on my trip since the road was washed out from a recent flood. Next time.
Paragliding – I didn’t know that Medellín was a paragliding hotspot of South America. It makes sense with the mountains and the temperate climate all-year round. I almost went one day but think I’ll have to do it when I go back.
What to eat
As someone who doesn’t eat meat, I will say it was a little tough in Medellín with the food. I was always able to find something but I think I couldn’t fully enjoy all that Medellin has to offer since most of the typical dishes (platos tipicos) were meat based.
If you do go to Medellín and are an equal opportunity eater, here are a some plates you should try:
- Arepas – Colombian arepas are definitely different than their Venezuelan cousins. They are a little smaller and have less fillers but still very good. They make them with cheese and make a sweet version too – Arepa de choclo.
- Empanadas – every South American country has their own version but you will definitely need to try for yourself and make the call on who makes the best empanada. I love my El Salvadorean emanadas and I’m probably biased since that’s what I had growing up Maryland.
- Bueñelos – fried dough ball with some cheese in the middle. Muy delicioso!
- Bandeja paisa – Traditional colombian plate with rices, beans, sausage, plantains, and avocado.
If you happen to be a vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian (like me), Medellín still has a lot of options. You just have to make a little extra effort.
Here is a great list with all the vegetarian / vegan spots in Medellín that a girl from my walking tour put together.
And here are a few of the bars / restaurants
- Andres de carne de res – really cool bar with live music and great dancing in Poblado.
- Chiclayo – awesome Peruvian/ Ceviche restaurant in Envigado, a very local and quiet part of Medellin.
- Oh! Food – really good vegan place in Envigado.
- Smash Avocadoria – Super good cafe in Laureles with great lunch and breakfast. Was right next to my hotel and I went here almost every morning. Also coffee was on point.
- Naturalia Cafe – another really good cafe in Laureles that I recommend.
Trip Review
I had an amazing time in Medellín. I met so many wonderful people and I felt like I spent most of my time hanging out with new friends and finally meeting people I’d connected with a long time ago. Shoutout to Shonna, Fatima, and Cielo for being super generous hosts and friends – gracias por su hospitalidad!
I had always heard that the people in Colombia were super friendly and that turned out to be 100% true I think the people and the culture of Medellín was what really made the trip.
After 6 days I realized I needed another full week to do all the things on my list. I’m definitely planning to go back to Colombia again, and this time will be ready to hit up the coffee region and Amazonia! I will also be better prepared on what to eat as it does take some planning as a pescatarian in the heart of Colombia! 😂
Until next time – Keep It Sambal! 🌶️🍛🍲 y cuidate!
