I started Adventures from Elle in 2016 to inspire others to travel near & far regardless of their station in life– student, with a full time career, on a budget or even on a weak passport. I spend more time than I’d like to admit researching travel and consuming dreamy travel content on Instagram. However, I’m often left with the question “how much would that cost?” There aren’t a lot of Caribbean content creators answering that question, so here I am trying to fill that niche. Feel free to steal my 2024 Medellín itinerary and budget!
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Why Visit Medellín?
Medellín, known as the City of Eternal Spring thanks to its ideal climate, is Colombia’s second largest city after its capital Bogotá. Once holding the reputation of South America’s most dangerous city, Medellín has undergone an impressive transformation over the past two decades and has even been dubbed “World’s Most Innovative City” by the Wall Street Journal in 2013. In addition, Medellín boasts an advanced public transportation system, world-class gastronomy, a great emphasis on nature and cleanliness, fantastic hospitality and inspiring art and history. As such, I chose to spend my 5 days in Colombia exploring this city. If you need more convincing that Medellín is worth visiting, check out my 8 reasons here.
My 5-Day Medellín Itinerary
To properly enjoy Medellín, you need at least 5 days. Here’s how I spent my 5 days in Medellín:
- Day 1: Landed at the airport (MDE), checked in to my hotel & had dinner in Itagüí
- Day 2: Real City Walking Tour of Downtown Medellín
- Day 3: Parque Arví (half day trip from Medellín), Museo de Antioquia
- Day 4: Day trip to Guatapé (entire day trip from Medellín)
- Day 5: Comuna 13 Walking Tour with Zippy Tour
Did you know that the correct pronunciation of Medellín is Me-de-jin? The double L (ll) is pronounced like a j.
With that said, I technically spent 3 1/2 days in the city since I took two day trips from Medellín– Parque Arví and Guatapé. Parque Arví is a must visit for nature lovers and the trails were pretty gentle, well maintained and beautiful. Getting there was an adventure as I had to ride the metro followed by two cable cars to get there, lines K and L. This was my first time ever taking a cable car, and I was nervous initially given how rickety they felt. Guatapé on the other hand– absolutely breathtaking. Climbing the Peñón de Guatapé is a quick workout and gave me some of the best views I’ve ever seen in my life. Driving through the Antioquian countryside was also a treat but lasts about 5 hours roundtrip + you’ll want to spend about 4 or 5 hours in Guatapé. That being said, while Guatapé is a full day trip from Medellín, it is a must-do activity.
My 5-Day Medellín Budget
Now, to the part you’ve all been waiting on– what 5 days in Medellín cost!
Medellín is a very cheap city to visit, as are all South American cities from my experience so far– Cusco, Machu Picchu town, Lima and now Medellín. That being said, the city is undergoing some gentrification as it sees about 1 million tourists each year. The most popular districts of Medellín, namely El Poblado, El Centro, Laureles, Envigado and Belen, will carry a higher price tag. As such, I stayed 5-10 minutes away from Medellín in Itagüí at the Sixtina Plaza Hotel, a 3-star boutique hotel with air conditioning, hot tub, sauna and free breakfast for only $30USD per night! In fact, that works out to $15USD per person; a price totally unheard of in North America and the Caribbean.
Food was also super affordable as the average dinner price per person in Medellín costs $20USD or 80.000 COP. What I loved about my hotel is that it was walking distance away from dozens of great restaurants. Shout out once again to the Bonfire Burger & Grill which served the best burgers my partner and I have ever tasted, so good we had to dine there twice in 5 nights. The metro system was super affordable (less than $1USD per trip), and we stayed 10 minutes walk away from the metro station which made getting around super easy. That being said, we used Uber a lot for convenience– after all, we’re on vacation!
The last thing I should point out is that my trip to Guatapé was sponsored by GetYourGuide hence the asterisk next to activities. If you’re a content creator with over 3,000 Instagram followers, I recommend signing up for free trips in exchange for content. I’ve partnered with them at Jamaica’s Greenwood Great House, Canada’s Niagara Falls and now in Colombia.
Wrap Up
Just like that, my Panama City and Medellín travel series is over! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing + recording my memories. I’m already daydreaming of new destinations for 2025 so let’s see where I end up. Subscribe to keep in touch + bookmark and share this article with a friend. And, if you’ve never used GetYourGuide, download the app then enter ADVENTURESFROMELLE5 to save 5% off your first excursion. 🙂
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:
- Peru Itinerary & Budget
- How to Save Money For Travel
- Panama City Itinerary & Budget
- How to Travel With Only A Carry-On
- How to Book Foreign Trips From Scratch
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Adventures from Elle 
great work! Looks awesome and you did it very well on a budget!
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Thank you! I highly recommend Medellín 👌🏽
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This was fascinating to read and learn more about Medellín. The affordability of this area seems to be a real plus as it’s good to see hotels, food and attractions being so accessible in those terms—it reminds me of my time in Egypt.
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That’s awesome! Seems I need to visit Egypt sooner 🙂 thanks for reading
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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your Panama and Colombia posts, and what a great way to wrap it up with Medellín! I’ve only dipped my toes into Colombia with a brief day visit to Cartagena on the northern coast of the country, and I’d be curious in visiting more in the years to come. The hotel and food prices you listed are mind-boggling for this American, and it’s all the more visit to pack my bags and visit! Thanks for sharing, Elle, and may 2025 bring you more adventures! 🙂
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It was mind boggling for me too!! In fact, South America’s prices always leave my mouth open. To put into context, when I first landed- my driver had to wait on us for 2 hours to get through immigration (seems a lot of flights came in at once and the staff was overwhelmed). At that time, $20US was the smallest unit of cash I had and I knew I had to leave a tip because I was too grateful not to. And it was the driver’s reaction to it that made me realize that wow, this is perceived as a lot of money in Colombia. Not sure how to feel about it but it’s just one of those things. I only hope the locals are able to manage their cost of living with whatever they earn, because phew! I still cannot believe proper hotels are out here charging $30US per night for a room which includes breakfast + sleeps 2! Thanks for reading!!
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Whoa, that’s so affordable! Thanks for sharing.
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I was surprised too! Thanks for reading!!
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