Medellín travel guide

Medellín’s climate is generally warm and pleasant though it is often cloudy and rain can come at any time over the Cauca valley from the Chocó, which is only 100 km to the west. The city’s festivals draw many visitors from the rest of Colombia and abroad and the paisas know how to have a good time.

Banks

Most banks, opening hours 0800-1130 and 1400 to 1600, in the business zones have ATMs. Many accept international cards. Bancolombia, in El Poblado, cash against MasterCard, Amex, good rates for TCs and cash. Many banks open late and on Sat. Main hotels will cash TCs for residents when banks are closed, but at less favourable rates. Most casas de cambio are found in the shopping malls, eg CC El Tesoro.

Cultural centres

Centro Colombo Americano, Cra 45, No 53-24, T5134444. English classes, library, bookshop (including Footprint Handbooks), daily films, gallery for monthly exhibitions, very helpful. Alianza Francesa, Cra 49, No 44-94, Local 258, T5760780, http://www.alianzafrancesa.org.co, near San Antonio church. Biblioteca Público Piloto, library. British Council, Cra 42, No 16A Sur-41, T3131867. English lessons and cultural centre.

Embassies and consulates

Austria, Cra 43A, No 1 7-50, Of 701, T3121289. Belgium, Diagonal 75B, No 2A-120, Of 309, T3416060. Brazil, Cra 42, No 54A-155, interior 700, T3720022. Chile, Cra 48, No 12 Sur-70, Of 401, T3132209. Ecuador, C 50, No 52-22, Of 802, T5121193. Finland, C 17A Sur, No 48-35 T3263481. France, Cra 65, No 35-71. T3734771. Germany, Cra 48, No 26 Sur-181, Local 106. T3484040. Guatemala, Cra 42, No 33-173, T3722000. Italy, C 31, No 43A-172, T2620707. Mexico, C 36, No 66A-70. T3514812. Netherlands, C 52, No 47-42, piso 10, Of 1001. T5140756 Panama, C 10, No 42-45, Of 266, T3124590. Peru, Cra 43A, No 16A Sur-38, Of 601. T3136075. Spain, C 70, No 43A-99, T3524100. Sweden, C 16A Sur, No 30-53 T3141338. Switzerland, C6 Sur, No 43A-96, Of 802. T3113314. UK, Cra 42 No 53-26, T3779966. Venezuela, C 32B, No 69-59, T23503593511614. Note the Venezuelan consul will not issue visas.

Immigration

DAS, C 19, No 80A-40 in Belén La Gloria section, T2381728 and at main airport.

Internet

There are plenty of internet cafés in El Poblado, travellers’ hostels and most shopping centres.

Language

Eafit University, http://www.eafit.edu.co, has popular 10-week courses with 2 hrs of lessons a day, from US$265. The Black Sheep Hostal, www.spanishin medellin, offers 1-on-1 lessons.

Media

The local daily newspaper is El Colombiano. There is also a weekly El Mundo. 2 TV stations are Telemedellín and Teleantioquia.

Medical services

Hospital General de Medellín, Cra 48, No 32-102. T3847300. Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, C78B, No 69-240, T4459100. Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paul, C64, No 51D-00, T4441333. Clínica Soma, C 51, No 45-93 T5768400. Clínica Medellín, C 53, No 46-38, T3568585. Clínica Las Américas, Diagonal 75B, No 2A-80, T3421010. Clínica Oftalmológica de Antioquia, C 57, No 46-43, T513 3531. Clinica Oftalmológica Laureles, Transversal 74C, No 1-23, T4111000. Dentist Dra Marcela Madrid, Universidad CES, T3127914401, 24 hrs for emergencies.

Police

Local police T112.

Post office

Main Deprisa office, C 10, No 56-06, Mon-Fri 0730-2100, Sat, 0730-1800. Also Cra 46, No 52-36 and in all Exito supermarkets.

Telephone

Telecom Cra 48, No 54-62, on Parque Bolívar, for international telephones and fax.

Map of Medellin: http://www.medellintraveler.com/travelguidemap.html

Metro Map: http://www.medellintraveler.com/medellinmetromap.html

The best way to get around the city is by metro, which serves the three main sectors of Medellín: centre, south and west. It is efficient and safe. A single ticket, US$0.65, is valid for the Metrocable as well. The town bus services are marginally cheaper but slower. There are plenty of taxis.

Bus

Slow because of the volume of traffic, but many are smart and comfortable – a reaction to the new metro. Colectivos, operating on certain main routes, US$0.35.

Metro

The metro has 2 lines: Línea A from Niquía to Itagüí; and Línea B from San Javier to San Antonio, where they intersect, which connect up with 2 cable car lines, Linea K and Linea J. 1 journey (anywhere on the system) US$0.72. The system operates from 0500-2300 on weekdays, 0700-2200 Sun and holidays.

Taxis

Taxis have meters, make sure they are used, minimum charge US$2. Radio taxis include Taxi Bernal, T4448882 and Taxi Andaluz, T4445555. For airport pickups, try Turixmo, T2662846.

Car hire

Milano, Cra 25, No 9A Sur-182, T3174928, http://www.milanocar.com.

Hertz, C 1A Sur, No 43A-31, T3119262. National, Cra43A, No23-08, T2610572. Also offices and vehicles at International airport. If driving in Medellín, check if there are any restricted routes (eg car-sharing, bus lanes, rush-hour restrictions) that apply to hire cars.

Air

The Aeropuerto José María Córdova, 28 km from Medellín, T5622828, has a Presto restaurant, shops, Telecom with email and fax service, no left luggage, but the tourist office may oblige. It is reached by the toll road or by 2 other routes, 1 of which enters the city along Variante Las Palmas through the south of the city. This is normally used by busetas and you can be dropped at a convenient point for transport to hotels in El Poblado.

Flights from Aeropuerto José María Cordova (sometimes called Rionegro airport). To Bogotá, 45 mins with Avianca, or AeroRepública, everty 40 mins. To Cali, 1 hr, Avianca 5 daily and AeroRepública 2 daily. To Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, 1hr, 1 daily, Avianca. Flights from Aeropuerto Enrique Olaya Herrera to Bogotá, 8 a day with Satena, also with easyfly (sometimes via Armenia, cheapest). To Cali, 2 a day with Satena. To Quibdó, with easyfly or Aerolíneas de Antioquia (ADA). To Bucaramanga, with Satena. To Acandí and Capurganá, 1 a day with ADA.

Airline offices

AeroRepública, C 5A, No 39-141, T2684500. Aires, Cra 65A, No 13-157, T3611331. Avianca, Cra 43A, No 1A Sur-35, T3115833 and at both airports. Satena, Olaya Herrera airport, or C 9, No 41-56, T2662185. Aerolíneas de Antioquia, C 10, No 35-32 or at Olaya Herrera airport.

In addition, there are non-scheduled charter flights to coastal resorts eg San Andrés, and elsewhere, check with travel agents. To get the best price, shop around. Special offers can mean substantial savings. With difficulties on the road network from time to time, air services have become more comprehensive.

Note

When leaving by air, make sure you go to the correct airport.

Bus

The terminal for long-distance buses going north and east is Terminal del Norte at Cra 64 (Autopista del Norte) y Transversal 78 (full address Cra 64C, No 78-580), T2308514, about 3 km north of the centre, with shops, cafés, left luggage, 2 Visa/MasterCard ATMs and other facilities. It is well policed and quite safe, though best not to tempt fate. metro stop: Caribe. Taxi to or from the centre about US$2.70-US$4.40.

To Bogotá, 9-12 hrs, US$25, every 40 mins or so, with 5 companies. To Cartagena, Brasilia, Rápido Ochoa, Bolivariano or Copetran, 15 hrs, US$44-52, road paved throughout but poor. To Santa Marta, 18 hrs, US$51-58. To Sincelejo, 9½ hrs, US$23. To Arboletes, Rápido Ochoa, US$35, 12 hrs. To Turbo, US$27 with Gómez (the best), 14 hrs. To Santa Fe de Antioquia, 1½ hrs, US$5 with Sotrauraba or Gómez Hernández. To Magangue, US$41, with Rápido Ochoa or Brasilia.

The Terminal del Sur, Cra 65, No 8B-91, is alongside the Enrique Olaya Herrera airport. There are similar services to those of Terminal del Norte. To get there, take a bus No 143 marked ‘Terminal del Sur’ from C 51 (in front of the Banco Popular) along Cra 46 or the metro to Poblado on Línea A, from where you will probably need a taxi for the remaining 1.5 km to the bus station.

Frequent buses to Manizales, 7 hrs US$15, hourly 0430-1930 with Empresa Arauca. To Pereira, 8 hrs, US$16 by Flota Occidental Pullman or Empresa Arauca 0430-2330. Many buses to Cali, eg Flota Magdalena, US$20, 10-12 hrs. To Popayán, US$31, 12 hrs, Expreso Bolivariano at 1430 and 2315. To Ipiales, US$42, 22 hrs, Expreso Bolivariano. To Quibdó, 11-13 hrs, US$25, with Rapido Ochoa. To El Retiro, US$2, with Sotra Retiro. To La Ceja, US$3, half hourly 0600-2000, with Transportes Unidas La Ceja. To Jardín, 4-5 hrs, US$9, with Rápido Ochoa or Transportes Suroeste.

Medellín is set in the comparatively narrow Aburrá valley surrounded by high mountain barriers of the Cordillera Central in nearly all directions. The built-up metropolitan area now extends from Copacabana in the north to Sabaneta in the south, more than 25 km.

The city is centred around the old and the new cathedrals, the former on Parque Berrío and the latter overlooking Parque de Bolívar. The main commercial area is three blocks away on Carrera 46, with shopping and hotels throughout the area. Some streets have been pedestrianized.

In the south, El Poblado has become an upmarket commercial and residential area and many companies have moved their headquarters there from the centre. The best hotels and restaurants are in or near El Poblado. The area around Parque Lleras, known as the Zona Rosa, is where most of the bars and nightclubs are situated.

Also favoured is the area west of the centre between Cerro El Volador and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Around Carrera 70 and Calle 44 are busy commercial and entertainment sectors with many new hotels, shopping centres and the huge Atanasio Girardot sports stadium nearby.

A new feature of Medellín is the pedestrianization in the centre. Pasaje Junín (Carrera 49) is now closed to traffic from Parque de Bolívar to Parque San Antonio (Calle 46). This gives walkers pleasant relief from traffic in the busy heart of the city. If driving out of Medellín, check routes carefully before leaving. There are few signs and information from officials and petrol stations is often less than clear.

We give the Calle (C) and Carrera (Cra) numbers for easy reference. Unlike most other Colombian cities, most central streets are named, and locally these are normally used. Refer to the maps which show both numbers and names. Particularly important are: Carrera 46, part of the inner ring road, which has several names but is known popularly as ‘Avenida Oriental’; Carrera 80/Carrera 81/Diagonal 79, the outer ring road to the west, which is called ‘La Ochenta’ throughout; Calle 51/ 52, east of the centre is ‘La Playa’; and Calle 33, which crosses the Río Medellín to become Calle 37, is still called ‘La Treinta y Tres’.

For your first general view of the city, take the metro. Most of the track in the centre is elevated, none of it is underground and you can ride the whole system on one ticket for US$0.65.

Travellers should take the same safety precautions as they would in any large city, particularly at night. Medellín is, nevertheless, a friendly place. For all police services: T112.