Is Medellin Worth Visiting Or Are There Better Cities To Visit In Colombia?
Trying To Decide Where To Travel To In Colombia And Wondering If the Big City of Medellin Is Worth Visiting On Your Trip?
When I was getting ready to move to Colombia to teach English, I originally requested to be placed in the city of Medellin, however they placed me in the Coffee Region instead (which I ended up loving), but I still made the time to visit this Antioquian city because there were just too many interesting things to see and do here, and I did think it was worth visiting on at least a short trip.
🇨🇴 Is Medellin, Colombia Worth Visiting?
⭐️ Overall – Is Medellin, Colombia Worth Visiting:
- ✅ if you like city travel with mild spring-like temperatures, lots of modern amenities (like shops, restaurants, and hotels), easy access, plenty of English speakers, a few interesting nearby places you can visit on day trips, an active nightlife scene, and lots of 80s-90s historical sites, then Medellin, Colombia will definitely be worth visiting on your next trip
- ❌ but if you’re not a big fan of large metropolitan city destinations with lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of smog, some safety concerns, a big nightlife/party scene, and more expensive prices in comparison to other parts of the country, then you probably won’t find Medellin worth it and will have a better time visiting other locations around Colombia
Continue reading for more details on all of this so you can figure out if Medellin will be worth visiting on your next trip to Colombia.
✅ Why Medellin, Colombia Is Worth Visiting
Although it used to be one of the most dangerous places in the world, Medellin has changed dramatically over the past few decades and it is now probably the most popular place to visit in Colombia, but here are a few actual reasons why you might find it worth visiting on your next trip to South America.
The History
While this history is one many in Medellin would like to forget, the somewhat recent 80s-90s Pablo Escobar history occurred heavily in the city of Medellin (which is why it was one of the most dangerous places on earth), so there are plenty of historical sites to see relating to this.
I definitely recommend being extra respectful and cautious for anything relating to Pablo Escobar in this city and in Colombia in general, and other than going on tours and talking about it in a historical sense, I’d suggest not bringing this subject up with most Colombians.
Check here for a more detailed list of Pablo Escobar historical sites, but below are a few of the sites you can see in and around Medellin.
- Barrio Pablo Escobar
- La Catedral Prison
- Escobar’s Grave
- Escobar’s Death site
- Inflexión Memorial Park
- Escobar ruins at Guatape
- Hacienda Napoles (former Escobar home turned theme park)
➡️ This Pablo Escobar tour is a great option to visit Escobar’s death site, his grave, barrio Pablo Escobar, and Inflexión Memorial Park
The Interesting City Sights
Medellin is a pretty large metropolitan city so there is a decent amount of interesting city sites to see here like:
- 🎨 Comuna 13 – formerly one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Medellin, now transformed into a very colorful and artistic place
- 🏘️ Pueblito Paisa – a replica of a small town in Colombia, also with great views of the city
- 🌸 Jardin Botanico – Medellin’s botanical gardens
- 🗿 Plaza Botero – the famous statue square (by Colombian artist, Botero) in the center of Medellin
- 🖼️ Museo de Antioquia – popular art museum
The Fun Activities
Being one of Colombia’s main major cities, there are plenty of ways you can really experience more of the culture here with activities like:
- ☕️ Coffee Farm Experience – you get to help with the actual coffee process, although there are better coffee places to visit in Colombia
- ⚽️ Atletico Nacional Soccer – one of Colombia’s biggest soccer teams located in Medellin
- 🍫 Chocolate Farm Tour – near the Medellin area
- 🌷 Medellin Flower Farm Tour – with Silleta making
- 🥝 Exotic Fruit Tour – through an authentic local market
The Day Trip Options
Although Medellin and the Antioquian region is not my personal favorite part of Colombia (I lived in the Coffee Region and loved it here), there are still a few great nearby destinations you can visit on a day trip from this big city:
- 🪨 Guatape – a typical small Colombian town but one that gets a lot of tourists for its cool man-made lakes, giant climbable rock, and even historical sites
- 🏘️ Santa Fe de Antioquia – a cute colonial-style small town (pictured above)
- 🌳 Los Salados Natural Park – nature, chorro de las campanas waterfall, and cloud forests
- ☕️ Sabaneta – coffee farm experience (helping with the actual coffee process)
- 🌸 Jardín – cute town with lush greenery and beautiful flowers
- 🦛 Hacienda Napoles – former Escobar home turned theme park
The Weather
Similar to a few other locations around the country, Medellin has spring-like weather all year long so it’s a pretty pleasant place to visit in terms of temperatures.
It can rain quite a bit here (especially from April through November when average rain days can reach 15 per month), but temperatures don’t usually go above the mid 80s.
The Tourist-Friendliness
I think because Medellin was such a dangerous place for so many years, when things started to turn around and people finally started visiting this city again, the people here were very happy and welcoming to the tourists that they hadn’t seen in so long.
Colombians in general are also typically very warm and welcoming to foreigners so it’s really a great place to visit, and a great place to practice your Spanish if you want because they are really great about trying to understand and help you.
❌ Why Medellin, Colombia Might Not Be Worth Visiting
Although I enjoyed most of my trip to Medellin, here are a few things to know before visiting this large Antioquian city that might make you wonder if it really is worth adding to your next trip to Colombia:
- ⛑️ Safety – although it’s not the same dangerous place it used to be, Medellin is still a large metropolitan area, so it is important to stay aware, cautious, and choose the safest areas to stay
- I didn’t have any major issues here, but someone did try to steal stuff out of my backpack (I caught them and they didn’t get anything)
- it is often considered one of the safest larger cities in Colombia, but after living and traveling all over here, I didn’t feel like it was the safest place I visited
- the most common crimes are petty thefts like pickpocketing or phone stealing, so as long as you’re smart and careful, you should be fine
- 🚗 Transportation – Medellin does have a lot of people and there is quite a bit of traffic here which might make it seem not worth visiting in comparison to some other destinations in Colombia
- there are good, safe ways to get around here, but it can take a long time to get places
- 🤑 Cost – it’s not much compared to US or European prices, but Medellin is a larger city so the cost to visit is higher here in comparison to smaller towns or cities around Colombia
- 👥 People – if you’re not a huge fan of crowds like me, you might find Medellin to be a bit too crowded, especially when using public transportation
- 🤧 Allergies – Medellin has spring-like weather year round, but when I visited, I noticed how bad the allergies were as well as the smog, which gave me headaches every day I was here
📆 How Many Days Do You Need In Medellin, Colombia?
I visited more than 20 locations around Colombia when I was living here, so I definitely have some more favorite destinations over Medellin, but regardless of my preferences, this is the most popular place to visit in Colombia so most people are going to add it to their itinerary no matter what.
Because I think there are so many other great places to visit around the country, I’d say a 5 day trip to Medellin is more than enough to see the city sites and visit a few nearby destinations, and then continue on to some other part of Colombia.
➡️ Still Trying To Decide Where To Visit? here is a comparison between Bogota and Medellin, between Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena, and even between Medellin and Mexico City to help you out
🔁 Sum Up: Is Bogota, Colombia Worth Visiting?
With all of the interesting historical sites, museums, fun activities, cool nearby destinations, and tourist-friendliness of this large Antioquian city, I think Medellin is worth visiting at least once, but it was not my personal favorite place to visit in Colombia so I would definitely recommend checking out more destinations around the country than just this big city.
