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Santa Elena's flower farms, Medellín
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MedellínTravel Guide

Colombia4 stories

The City of Eternal Spring: cable cars over green mountains, flower farms, botanical gardens, and coffee towns a day trip away.

Is Medellín right for you?

When to come

December to March (drier months)

Around 29°C by day in August, 27°C in November — recorded at the local weather station.

What it costs

Cheap by regional standards — eating, sleeping and moving around all cost little.

What we've planned, and who for

We have a full day here planned hour by hour. Longer stays are covered by subject rather than by route.

Medellín is inWarm in JanuaryKind to a budget
When to go
January: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 141 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
February: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 149 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
March: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 251 millimetres of rain, very wet. We recommend this month.
April: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 300 millimetres of rain, very wet.
May: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 239 millimetres of rain, very wet.
June: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 87 millimetres of rain, wet.
July: around 29 degrees by day, 18 at night, 56 millimetres of rain, some rain.
August: around 29 degrees by day, 18 at night, 53 millimetres of rain, some rain.
September: around 28 degrees by day, 18 at night, 115 millimetres of rain, wet.
October: around 27 degrees by day, 17 at night, 276 millimetres of rain, very wet.
November: around 27 degrees by day, 18 at night, 327 millimetres of rain, very wet.
December: around 27 degrees by day, 18 at night, 244 millimetres of rain, very wet. We recommend this month.
Cold to hot, by dayDry to wetWhen we would go

December to March (drier months)

Average daily highs, recorded at Medellin, Olaya Herrera Airport, 1490 m, 1991-2020 normals.

Where this comes from

Instituto de Hidrologia, Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM) (via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medellin)

Budget level

Budget

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with
  • Cartagena460 km

    half a day's travel · both good in January, February, March · a different price level (mid)

Plan itWhere to stay in Medellínad · Booking.comTours and tickets
On the map

Finding Medellín

Open in Google Maps Larger map
The stories

Reading Medellín

A rounded bronze Botero sculpture in Plaza Botero, with the checkered dome of the Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe behind it
01
Stays

Medellín stays: the areas to book and the ones to skip

Leafy El Poblado, local-flavoured Laureles or quiet Envigado — where to base yourself in the City of Eternal Spring, and the districts to leave off your shortlist.

Colombia · 2 min
Brick houses of Medellín's Comuna 13 climbing the green hillside, Colombia
02
Hidden Gems

Medellín Beyond the Obvious: The Quieter Side

Skip the checklist and find the gentler Medellín — hilltop forest parks, flower farms, bohemian Laureles, and the coffee towns of Antioquia.

Colombia · 2 min
A schoolgirl in uniform with a flowered backpack climbing a steep concrete staircase in Medellin's Comuna 13, between brick and pink-painted houses whose walls are covered in blue and orange spray-painted murals.
03
The List

Medellín for culture lovers: the best of its art and history

Botero's bronzes, a neighbourhood remade by street art, and museums that face the past head-on — seven cultural essentials in Colombia's comeback city.

Colombia · 2 min
Medellin after dark seen from above, the downtown towers lit in the valley floor and the lights of the hillside barrios climbing the dark mountainsides on both sides, under a low bank of cloud.
04
Itineraries

One full day in Medellín, from first light to last call

Medellin's sights are scattered down a long valley, but the metro and its cable cars stitch them together well enough that one carefully ordered day can hold the city's essentials.

Colombia · 12 min
In pictures

Medellín, framed

The honeycombed timber canopy of the Orquideorama at Medellin's Jardin Botanico, seen from below among the trees
Photo: Oneil Williams / Unsplash
The outdoor escalators of Comuna 13 in Medellin, climbing between painted brick houses covered in murals
Photo: Josseph Downs / Unsplash
Painted walls and visitors on the terraces of Comuna 13 in Medellin
Photo: Iñigo Telleria Perez / Unsplash
A street food stall in Medellin at night, steam rising over the griddle
Photo: Rizvi Rahman / Unsplash
Our picks

What we'd do in Medellín

See and do

Before you go

Practical essentials for Colombia

Money

Colombian peso (COP)

Language

Spanish; English is not widely spoken, so a few phrases of Spanish go a long way

Power

Type A/B, 110V 60Hz

Getting around

Bogota's TransMilenio runs on the cash-loaded Tullave card and Medellin's Metro on the Civica card; contactless bank cards are not accepted on either, so carry cash.

Tipping

A 10% propina is usually added to the bill at better restaurants - add it yourself if it is not - while taxi drivers are not tipped.

Tap water

Safe from the tap in the highland cities including Medellin, but drink bottled in Cartagena and along the Caribbean coast.

Driving

Right-hand side; your national licence is generally accepted, though hire companies commonly ask for an International Driving Permit.

Emergency

123 (single national emergency number, voice calls only)

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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