Three days in Medellin, Colombia
I have been procrastinating on starting the blog for Medellin. Mainly because I miss it way too much! Medellin is one of those gems with which you are just bound to fall in love. If I said I didn’t have tears in my eyes on the way to the airport, I would be lying.
In just three and a half days, we covered so much ground! This was a much needed trip with four of our friends who are also lovers of exploring new cities. In addition to Medellin, we visited Guatape and Santa Marta during this trip.
COVID: During our month of travel, a COVID test was not required to enter Colombia. However, we all tested prior to travel just to be safe and had our results handy in case requirements changed on the day of our travel to Colombia. For travel back to the United States, a negative COVID test was still required. Instead of waiting in line at a testing facility, we took our own Reliant at-home test kits, scheduled a virtual visit with a doctor to perform the test virtually, and received our results in a pdf within 15 minutes. Conveniently completed this test while having our morning coffee.
Where to stay:
El Pablado without a doubt is the best area to stay. It’s vibrant, full of nightlife, and central to most restaurants, bars, clubs. El Marquee Hotel is conveniently located in the middle of everything you would possibly want to do during the day and night. The only down side of El Marquee is that whether you book a high floor or a low floor, you will hear street noise until 4am. But, who says you’ll be getting back to your room before then anyway?
Where to eat:
Numerous options! You will not go hungry in this city!
Lunch & Dinner:
Burdo: located on one of the busiest streets amongst several other restaurants. Burdo has both indoor and outdoor seating options. Live music can also be enjoyed depending on the night you are visiting. Grab a table outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and immerse yourself in their ceviche, batatas, nacho dip in a skillet, and empanadas. Cocktails are served to your liking and can be custom made to your taste.
Tacos: street tacos to keep you satisfied for days and take care of that “homemade” food craving. Several casual taco spots where you can walk up to the counter and order tacos to go or enjoy at a table on the closed off street.
Alembique: Two level retro garden style restaurant. At night, there is music on the top floor which turns into a “rooftop” bar.
Try their mango mezcal drinks, quinoa with bread and mushrooms, tacos with shrimp, seafood paella with coconut rice served in a coconut shell, veggie salad with baba ghanoush, chicken salad with avocado and plantain stuffed with cheese & mango sauce. We might’ve ordered half of their menu!
Colasol: best for dinner. Ask to be seated towards the open terrace so you can enjoy a gorgeous night time view of the city.
Try their lamb, cotopus, salad, seafood paella, chicken lef, tuna tartar, beef tartar, flan and pudding
Hatoviejo: quick lunch spot while visiting the Plaza Botero. We just had to order ajico after falling in love with it during our previous visit to Colombia! Other foods to try there are empanadas, mondongo, bandaiha plaiza, and of course the rose sangria.
Oci*mde: Not our favorite dinner so I’ll spare you the details. Might not even be worth a visit, honestly!
Nightlife
This city never sleeps! Parties go on till 5 or 6am. One of our favorite nightlife spots was Envy. It’s a rooftop bar at the Charlee Hotel. With two levels, you get a stunning view of the city. The first floor has seating around the pool (no, you cannot swim in the pool at night). The DJ had us dancing the entire night with a mix of today’s hits and EDM. Definitely dress up for this bar - men, bring out your slacks and collared shirts; ladies - bring out that little black dress and sexy heels.
Aside from Envy, there are tons of bars up and down the same street as Charlee Hotel, Marquee, and El Pablado. We did venture into Gusto Nightclub, not knowing what to expect. It’s full of “female workers” who will approach most men, even those who are clearly with their spouses. Great music though! We did leave after a drink as it’s not our sort of scene. Yes, there IS a cover charge! I can’t remember what it was but perhaps around $20USD per person.
Explore the town
Other than walking around El Pablado, we ventured into Comuna 13 and Plaza Botero. While taking the subway sounds convenient and quick, I would highly caution you against taking it and recommend a taxi instead. One of our friends had his iPhone stolen while attempting to board the subway - it’s just NOT safe. Tourists on subways can be easily spotted and end up becoming targets. So please, request an Uber or hail down a taxi.
We joined a public walking tour of Comuna 13. The tour guide met us at a subway station and we took a tour bus to the beginning of Comuna 13. From there, we walked to the top, stopping at various spots to hear the history of the area. Joining a tour is not necessary if all you want to do is see the town which is full of stores and murals. If you must go on a tour, instead of a public tour, I would recommend reaching out to Silvio via Facebook page Discover Medellin Tours or Diana via Facebook page Aventura San Francisco. Diana is a native of Comuna 13 and can provide much more history than a tour company who usually follows a script.
What to wear
Daytime is simple - shorts, t-shirt, sundress, just something casual. Walking shoes are a must. Please stay away from wearing heels or wedges or uncomfortable flip flops.
Night time - everyone is dressed up for dinner and post dinner drinks. Dress shoes, nice slacks for the guys, dresses for the ladies.
Medellin is one of those cities one can easily fall in love with. The liveliness of the venues and people is captivating, leaving the traveler wanting to come back for more exploration. We have been longing to return to this magical city. One day soon we will be back in Medellin. Until then, there are tons of other countries to continue exploring! -Much love, Neha
