Medellin – quick travel guide

Colombia’s coolest hippest city, built in the mountains and infamous as Pablo Escobar’s former territory.

In what used to be a dangerous narco city is now a rapidly transforming hilly city providing beautiful panoramic views, massive nightlife, and expat-friendly scene. Is it as expat-friendly as say Mexico? NO! But it’s getting there and many foreigners do love it. Medellin is great for parties, and also if you just want to live in a cool place in Colombia and don’t mind that there’s no beaches nearby here.

2-3 days is enough to see everything. Stay longer only if you want to party.

Where to stay:

• El Poblado – recommended area close to everything. Also the busiest, most partiest area.
• Provenza – this small area within El Poblado is even nicer and safer.
• Laureles – honestly not recommended for backpackers or foreigners. It’s too much of a local neighborhood, while it’s safe…there isn’t much to do or see for foreigners and the food options are mostly crappy street food. The party area here (called “La 70” because it’s on 70th street) is also very local vibe. I would only recommend staying here if you’re renting an apartment longterm and want something cheap yet still nice. The area itself isn’t yet developed to be hip/cool yet.
• Comuna 13 – I think it would be fun to stay here for a night just to see, and enjoy the panoramic views at night.

There are many other neighborhoods rapidly developing.

Hostels:

• Arcadia Hostel – really solid hostel. Friendly, cozy, comfortable, free breakfast, family dinners sometimes, reliable internet (compared to others. I loved the Pablo Escobar room with private balcony.
• Purple Monkey – I didn’t stay here but heard really great things about it.
• Wandering Paisa (Laureles) – nice friendly vibe in more authentic area, not crazy party peoples area.
• La Familia Hostel – mixed reviews of social to not social. Noisy and uncomfortable. Rooftops. I guess it could be cool depending on who’s there.
• Arcadia Hostel – in preferred Poblado area, but 10 mins walk from the action and nearest metro is 20 mins away. Cheap, unmaintained vibe. Maybe this is friendly and cool to you. Maybe you want something more posh. I would totally consider this one.
• Rock Hostel Medellin – dirty party hostel with bad customer service. Smoke smell everywhere. Not enough bathrooms. Definitely loud party vibe.
• Masaya Medellin – seems another fancy cute big hostel, hotel-ish experience. Looks nice and Instagrammable but lots of complaints about comfort.
• JO & JOE – nice setup but it’s a hotel, not a hostel. No social vibe, more like “social hotel” than backpacker community. Come here if you want a comfy professional setup but not socialize with anybody. I generally hate these places. Good location though. Also a good option if you’re a big group and can’t find enough space anywhere else.
• Viajero & Selina – I imagine similar thing as JO & JOE. It’s a big chain that looks like a hotel more than a hostel. I do however hear of them having social events and some people say it’s great for meeting people but I feel that’s only for the most extroverted party animals type of people.
• Centro Hostel – low reviews but definitely work looking out for.

Wandering Paisa, La Familia, and Arcadia are the top 3 from my research. Purple Monkey was another great one I heard about.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

• El Poblado – prime tourist neighborhood. Beautiful and safe. Go specifically to the Provenza part of it to see even nicer parts.
• Comuna 13 – nice to hang out during the day. Leave before it gets dark. Also visit the cable cars (“MetroCable”) but don’t go to Arvi Park like everyone recommends, unless you wanna risk getting robbed.
• Laureles – I don’t recommend walking around here especially during daytime. Nothing to see. At night has more life but it’s pure locals and not much of a vibe for foreigners. IMO, this area is more for living than for hanging out.

Activities to do:

• Walk around El Poblado
• Comuna 13 tour – it’s a free tour of an infamously dangerous neighborhood…ridden with violence, crime, and human injustice. I recommend using ZippyTours. They have awesome tour guides who grew up in that neighborhood. Of course you can just walk the Comuna 13 yourself but I highly recommend a tour guide to explain the context of what you’re seeing. Otherwise it’s just you walking up some touristy neighborhood hills. Come here at day and leave before night. As much as they speak about it being newly transformed into a peace zone, I heard of people hearing gunshots when they went. When I went, it was full of tourists and felt safe but definitely everyone left before night came.
• Buildings & architecture –
• Cable cars & Arvi Park – these 2 are usually tied together because Arvi Park is up the hill one one of the cable car routes. You should definitely ride the cable cars, but do not leave the station once you’re on the hill. Those are dangerous neighborhoods and you’ll see zero tourists there. Even on the cable cars, I didn’t see any tourist. I also seriously recommend NOT going to Arvi Park, I always hear of foreigners getting robbed there. Sometimes by gun or machete. MetroCable Estacion Linea H was the standard we use for our Uber marker.
• Botanical Garden – many people said it was really nice. Worth the visit.
• Museum Modern Arte – not a lot to see since many exhibits were closed but the part we did see, we really enjoyed. Was only an hour.
• Parks, gardens, green spaces –
  • Don’t ever come around Parque Lleras (at day or night), drug dealers are here. Avoid clubs around here, too.
• Beaches, bridges, water-points –
• Arts & museums –
• Sunset views –

Restaurants & Cafes:

• The nice fancy stuff is in El Poblado neighborhood, and especially in the Provenza sector.

Bars & Clubs:

• El Poblado – (and especially Provenza) have the nicest nightlife options. Your safest bet is to go here if you want a more upscale experience.
• Laureles – very local nightlife, zero foreigners here.
• Las Palmas – also has upscale nightlife.
• Nueva Guardia – really good dance school and dance club with events going on seemingly every day of the week. They have salsa, bachata, tango, and probably others as well.
• Gusto Night Club – never go here unless you want to get drugged (scopolomine) and robbed. Lots of fake girls, thieves and prostitutes working here. Bouncers are armed. Shady people (both staff and other patrons). Foreigners get ripped off, prices already US-level and show up even higher when paying.

Miscellaneous tips:

• General travel tips for Colombia.

Nearby towns:

• Guatape** – of all the small cute towns in Colombia, this one is a definite must see. And very easily reached from Medellin, just 1.5hrs drive. You can go there as a day trip or stay the night. Cute colorful street and the big Piedra del Penon rock.

Unfiltered notes: