Best Overnight & Day Trips From Medellin, Colombia

Medellin, Colombia is a beautiful place to visit. The city has a lot to offer visitors, but if you find yourself with some extra time, you may want to try one of these great day trips from Medellin.

We recently had the pleasure of returning to this part of Colombia for six weeks. After a month discovering the best of Medellin, we enjoyed venturing to other parts of Antioquia, like Jardin and Jerico. This region is truly beautiful and well worth exploring!

In this post, we’ll share some of the best places to visit near Medellin, including destinations that are better for overnight trips (3-4 hours by bus) as well as true Medellin day trips (2 hours of travel time or less).

Medellin Day Trips

These first set of destinations can all be visited in one day or less. Towns like Guatapé and Santa Fe de Antioquia also make nice overnight trips, more because they’re pleasant places to stay even though you can see a majority of the town in an hour’s walk.

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Guatape, Colombia

Guatapé is known for being the most colorful town in Colombia. Fortunately, it’s less than 2 hours by bus from Medellin and relatively easy to do without a tour. Purchase tickets (13,500 COP) and catch a bus at Medellin’s North bus terminal, which is connected to the Caribe metro station.

On the bus from Medellin to Guatapé, one must-stop attraction is El Peñol- an epic climb up a giant protruding rock with spectacular views. Even with its inflated entrance prices (18,000 COP) and “exit through the gift shop” set up, you can’t really go to Guatapé without doing El Peñol. It’s absolutely beautiful.

(If you’re really on a budget, get dropped off and walk up to the parking lot. You can still get good pictures – that’s where we took these first two.)

You’ll climb 750 steps to the top of the rock, then summit the tower, which houses a restaurant and gift shops.

From El Peñol, you can flag down another bus, walk along the road (about an hour), or take a tuk tuk into the town of Guatapé. (I found the info and tips from Along Dusty Roads to be really helpful in planning our transportation for this trip.)

In Guatape, every building in the center of town is photogenically painted with bright colors. The murals on the homes and businesses are called zocalos. They’ll make you want to take a picture pretty much everywhere you turn.

Apparently Guatapé gets crowded with Colombian tourists on the weekends. We’re glad we went on a quiet week day. The main thing to do in town is just walk around and admire the buildings. Grab lunch or a coffee to people-watch from the main square. You can also take a short stroll along the waterfront where paddle-boats, ferry tours, carnival rides, and vendor stalls are mostly vacant without the weekend crowds.

Catch the return bus from Guatapé to Medellin at the Terminal on Carrera 30 and Calle 32. Or stay in town a night or two to enjoy some outdoor adventures in the area!

Where to stay in Guatapé: Om Sweets has highly rated, affordable rooms with shared bath in the town center. Or rent this 3 bedroom apartment on the main square for more space.

Parque Arví

Parque Arví is a nature reserve in the hills just outside of Medellin. You can get there via cable car, transferring from the Acevedo metro station in Medellin (an extra fee will be required in addition to your metro ticket). Alternatively, you could take a Transcoop bus from Carrera 42 and Calle 50 to the park.

The park is open Tuesday to Sunday between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. However, be sure to double check, as the opening days change around holidays.

The main activities to do in Parque Arví are hiking or guided eco-tours. There are also some restaurants and cafes, though not with views that you might expect at that altitude.

Note that signage in the park is minimal and most trails do no show up on Google Maps. If you plan to visit independently, download the free Colombia maps on the Maps.Me app which shows unpaved roads and trails in this area.

Comuna 13

While technically still part of Medellin, we consider Comuna 13 to be a day trip from where most visitors will be staying in the city. The Comuna 13 area provides one of the best examples of transformation and creativity in Medellin. We highly recommend going with a local guide to hear the stories first hand and find your way around safely.

Once one of the most dangerous sectors of the city, these hill top communities on the outskirts have transformed and revitalized. Thanks to investments like new cable cars and pedestrian escalators for better transit, libraries and community centers to improve education, micro-enterprises and community organizations are developing.

Comuna 13 has become a tapestry of street art, dance, and other artistic expressions, as both local and international artists have made it a vibrant hub of creativity. Many of the murals are responses to the violence of the community’s past, commentaries on current issues, and visions of hope for the future.

To visit Comuna 13, take orange metro line B to the end, San Javier station. From there, you can walk or bus to the Ruta 13 where many of the murals and escalators are located. Again, we recommend doing this with a local guide, such as Impulse Travel. You may wish to bring small bills to sample the green mango popsicles, empanadas, chocolates, and other treats from the various micro-enterprises.

Your metro ticket is also good for transferring to the cable car, which is a fascinating ride uphill to three gondola stations. You’ll think you’ve reached the top, but it will keep on going. No need to get off the car to come back down full circle. Remember locals use this to commute and you’ll likely be sharing a car, so be a respectful tourist!

Santa Fe de Antioquia

Like Guatape, Santa Fe de Antioquia is close enough to be visited in a day. Or you may choose to stay overnight if you prefer a slower pace.

Known for preserving its traditional style of colonial pueblos of the past and for frequently being warmer than Medellin, it is a popular weekend get-away for many paisas.

The main activities in Santa Fe are simply to admire the architecture, people watch at the town square, and enjoying the restaurants. You may also wish to venture down to the Occidente Bridge, one of Colombia’s most important civil engineering works of its time.

Where to stay in Santa Fe: Casa de Verano has both private B&B rooms as well as dorm beds, plus breakfast and a pool.

Guided Tours with Impulse Travel

The folks at Impulse Travel have a variety of private day tours leaving from Medellin. They range from 3 to 8 hours in length, with destinations inside and outside the city.

We had the opportunity to try their Gastronomic Railroads Tour, which combines history, nature, walking, and eating local specialties. It was an opportunity to see part of Colombia we never would have found on our own, and we made a great connection with our guide.

Medellin Overnight Trips (2 – 3 days)

Medellin is located in Antioquia, a region that’s also home to some wonderful small towns, full of color, coffee, natural beauty, and historical significance.

Jericó, Colombia

Jericó (pronounced HEH-ree-koh) is a beautiful small town that makes a great off-the-beaten path travel destination. As tourism develops throughout the country, Jericó is one destination where you can still experience authentic, traditional culture.

Known to locals as the birth place of Colombia’s first and only canonized saint, Madre Laura, Jericó has much more to offer than religious significance. The surrounding countryside is absolutely stunning with family-owned coffee farms and waterfalls. The town is rooted in art, with more painting, wood-work, leather crafts, music, and other artisans than you would ever expect in such a small population.

The town itself is full of color. Its colonial and traditional architecture remains well preserved, earning Jerico an official designation as a pueblo patrimonio. 

The bus from Medellin to Jericó is about 3.5 hours and around $8 (soon to be shorter, with improved highways). Buses depart roughly every hour from Medellin’s South bus terminal. While it’s technically possible to visit in a day, we highly recommend doing an overnight trip from Medellin. Jerico can also be combined with a trip to Jardin by taking an open-air chiva to the town of Andes and transferring there to a Jardin bus.

For further reading: Top Things to Do in Jerico, Colombia

Where to stay in Jerico: Budget travelers will find private and shared rooms with an international community vibe at Las Cometas Hostel. Or retreat to El Despertar Hotel with its private rooms featuring the handiwork of local craftspeople and nice views from the courtyards. If you’re looking for a homestay experience to practice Spanish, you’ll enjoy Casa Coffee.

Jardín, Colombia

Like Jerico, Jardín (pronounced har-DEEN) is also a pueblo patrimonio (designated heritage town) that has become a popular weekend trip from Medellin. It tends to get more tourists, both Colombian and international, than Jerico.

Among the colorful little town’s many attractive qualities is its stunning setting in lush green mountains. Coupled with the mild climate of the Antioquia region, Jardin is perfect for outdoors adventures like hiking. Read more about self-guided hiking trails in Jardin here.

There are also a number of cool cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops. One of our favorite discoveries was a relatively new vegetarian place with a tiny but very tasty menu: Destino Silvestre on Carrera 2 and Calle 10.

The bus from Medellin to Jardin is about 3.5 hours (26,000 COP or about $8.25 USD). Buses depart roughly every hour from Medellin’s South bus terminal. While it’s technically possible to visit in a day, we highly recommend doing an overnight trip from Medellin. Jardin can also be combined with a trip to Jerico by taking a mini-bus to the town of Andes and transferring at the bus park to a chiva that takes country roads to Jerico. Note that the Jerico chivas only depart once or twice a day.

Where to stay in Jardin: Apartamentos Primavera has nice Western-style apartments with kitchen, hot water, and internet just two blocks from the main square. For a more peaceful experience, stay on the outskirts and walk into town, like the beautifully landscaped Hosteria El Paraiso.

If you have a favorite day trip from Medellin that we haven’t included, be sure to let us know about it in the comments. Also, check out our free interactive map of favorite places in Medellin – sign up via the form below.

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