Top Five Activities in Medellin

The Best Activities in Medellin

Medellin is a city with so many types of activities anyone lucky enough to visit will find something exciting to do. If you are planning a trip to Medellin anytime soon, here is a list of our top ten activities that you should consider adding to your list.

1) Real City Walking Tour

This is a free tour and probably best to do the first or second day you are in Medellin. The tour is full of information that will be useful for the remainder of your stay. Many people in our tour group told us they wish they had done the tour sooner because they now didn’t have enough time left in the city to take advantage of all the new information they had learned. The tour shows you the real Medellin, the good, the bad, the ugly. To be honest, the tour exposes how beautiful Medellin and the people of the city are. Your be able to observe Botero Plaza, home to many of Botero Fernando’s sculptures. You’ll see many other historical pieces of art and achitecture as well as the history behind it.  The tour will also show you some great places to eat, shop, exchange money, and tips on how to get around the city as well as interact with Colombians. The best part of the tour is it is in English! The tour guides operate on tips for providing good tours, so bring some tip money! Make sure to bring comfortable walking shoes because the tour covers some ground. Also, there is often short spurts of rain, bringing an umbrella or a rain jacket isn’t a bad idea.

Our Real City Tour group

One of many sculptures by Fernando Botero that can be found in Botero Plaza.

Another one of many sculptures by Fernando Botero that can be found in Botero Plaza.

Iglesia de la Veracruz, a colonial church dating back to 1682.

Plaza Cisneros

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Learn more about the tour here

2) Go Horseback riding in Santa Elena

Santa Elena is a cute town found in the mountains right outside Medellin. Many locals come here on the weekend to get away from the busy city life and relax for a bit. We found this area perfect for horse back riding. We again booked our ride through Connection Travel. They brought us to The Ranch Hotel were we started our ride. While you are riding you’ll enjoy the ever changing landscapes as you zig-zag in and out of forest, valleys, and peaks. The day ended with a delicious meal back at The Ranch Hotel. Even if you are not into horseback riding, I would recommend staying or at least visiting this hotel. The property is beautiful, amazing staff, and a great kitchen. Their website is a work in progress, but I assure you the owner, Juan Camillo, has been working very hard to create one of the best guest experiences a person could ask for.

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As of writing this, the tour through Connection Travel cost $65/person. This is probably the best value tour you can get and we highly recommend going!

3) Visit a Coffee Farm

There are a few distinct associations people make with Colombia one of which is Colombian coffee. Throughout the country there are many coffee farms you can visit. If your looking to visit one near Medellin, there is a beautiful farm located around 25 miles away above the little town of Los Palomos, Fredonia. Even though it is only about 25 miles from Medellin, it takes about an hour to get there due to traffic and construction. The property itself is very interesting. We were told it was formerly owned by a cartel leader, and since has been repurposed to grow Coffee for the company Oro Molido. The proprerty is a great place to explore, offering amazing views of the valley below. You will learn everything you wanted to know about coffee, from growing, roasting, and selling it. We made arrangements to visit the farm through Connection Travel. They provided transportation to and from our airbnb, the tour of the farm, and an amazing lunch. Connection travel (at the time of writing this) charged ~$85/per person (USD) for the tour. If you think you would want to explore one of the coffee farms on your own, maybe try contacting Oro Molido on their website. They have farms scattered throughout Colombia!

One of the farms that grow for Oro Molido located above the town of Los Palomos, Fredonia near Medellin.

Early stages of a coffee bean

Drying out coffee

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4) Visit Parque Arvi

Arví Park is an ecological nature preserve as well as a Pre-Hispanic archeological site. The park is found in the northeast part of Medellín. The park is wonderful to visit because of its cooler weather, great scenery, and unique vendors. The best part about visiting the park is that you don’t really need to hire a guide to get there from Medellin. You can easily take the metro rail. All you need to do is take the rail to the Acevedo stop, walk to the cable line, and head up over the barrios on the line. The total round trip cost is about $4 to $5 a person.

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5) Walk El Poblado

El Pablado is a very lively part of town. In El Poblado, you will find the top restaurants and bars in Medellin. The area is pretty safe and a great place to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. Some of our favorite places to stop in a check out while walking around El Pablado are the Charlee Hotel, Parque Lleras, and Medellin Beer Factory.

Medellin Beer Factory

The Charlee Hotel

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