YES! There are a LOT of almost free things to do in Medellin that are so fun & very easy on a fixed monthly budget!
Lets talk about the types of almost free entertainment or things to do in Medellin that can be very easy on your purse/wallet! Along with some very reasonably priced entertainment to see in this beautiful city. I will share with you some great fun for seniors traveling on a fixed monthly income! We are – let me repeat – SENIORS traveling so these are some of our ways of entertaining ourselves while in Medellin. What makes us happy may not be on the radar of a 30 or even 40 something – you do you. We are nice & easy. Ha.
We honestly believe that you can be entertained quite easily for little or nothing without feeling like you are missing out on anything that some tourists are piling debt up to see. Here are a few examples of easy entertainment in Medelllin for you seniors! Lets get started!
Walking Tours in Medellin!
Free Bilingual Walking tours with guides are abundant & most of the time, you can leave the guide a tip at the end of the tour that fits your monthly budget. There are private and non-private paid walking tours that can get pricey, but you will basically get the same type city tour as the Free Walking Tour. As I always say “You do You”. A walking tour at the beginning of your visit will definitely help you orientate yourself to the various neighborhoods. BUT for several of the guided walks offered, we decided to just walk ourselves & were well entertained with being able to take great photos & checking on Google history of some of the sites we photographed.
Places such as Comuna 13, paying a guide is well worth the money.
Malls in Medellin
Mall walking & people watching is free fun! All you need to add is a cup of coffee or a helado cone & find a bench or comfy seat [depending on the mall] & enjoy! Here are three great malls in Medellin to check out.
Arkadia Mall
This has to be my one my favorite of malls in & out of the U.S. The Arkadia Mall is simply beautiful. Clean with a nice mix of shops, restaurants, drugstores, etc. It is huge but not to the point of being where you could get lost [that is the next mall].
It is easy to get around & very walkable for window shopping. Fast food & sit down restaurants are on the top floor. The awesome thing is the large area where you can eat & watch the planes land from the smaller airport nearby. Very cool! My fave coffee shop is the Santa Lena coffee cafe on the first floor. Nice employees, great breads & really good cappucchino! The cost might be a bus or taxi to get you there from your living quarters but really cost effective for a day of just walking, window shopping or just need that cup of coffee.
Santafe Mall
This mall is HUGE. Five floors of shops, restaurants & a huge play area on the main floor for children & sometimes parents to relax & play. Beautiful stair cases – straight & curved.
The Santafe Mall is not for the faint of heart! I took The Big Guy on one visit & he quickly decided this was not his idea of fun. So take it with a grain of salt. Ha. The main circular walk on each floor shoots off to other shopping areas of different names. Elevators, escalators & the most beautiful staircases. You will easily be able to spend the day wandering the walkways!
Le Tesoro or TREASURE Mall
The Le Tesoro located in El Poblado area is a beautiful modern mall with some world famous designer clothing shops, other upscale name brand shops, fabulous views & one of the largest children’s play areas I have ever seen in a mall. Restaurants are abundant & this is said to be the largest mall in Medellin and it really seems to have everything. Trees (some real – some not) sit in the interior of the shopping areas. If you visit this mall it would truly take you a day of non-stop walking to see everything.
The absolutely best feature is the Jumbala amusement center in the MIDDLE of the mall OUTSIDE. It is jungle themed with a real train, roller-coaster [small for kids], river, huge real trees, etc etc!
If that isn’t your thing, then shopping, eating, coffee breaks in the coffee sitting areas throughout the mall will be right up your alley. Nomad work areas are available free! I think there is something for EVERYONE in this mall!
Parques of Medellin!
There are loads of parques in Medellin. It only depends on your length of stay on how many you can visit. These are a few that sit on top of my list! They were all free.
Parque Botero
Where you can stroll & view the many many Fernando Botero bronze sculptures. The plaza is fenced in so you won’t be able to wander off the grid. Very very busy plaza with vendors & lots of traffic but the sculptures by Colombian artist Botero makes for a lot of great photos! And its free!
Parque San Antonio
A plaza in centro Medellin used at times for various markets & programs. You will see street people but the Botero Bird statutues here are definitely a must see. The first bird statute was blown up by terrorist/guerillas/militia {I don’t believe any one group claimed responsibility} in the mid 90’s. This was in the midst of the violence that Medellin has since spent years trying to overcome. Anyway, the story goes when the bombed bird was to be removed, Botero donated a second ‘The Bird of Peace’ to sit side by side as a memorial (29 lost their life) of the violent past & the future of peace they desired. Entrance is free.
Parque de la Luces
Is maybe a five to ten minute walk from Parque San Antonio & to in Centro which was once a very dangerous area. Day trips here are quite safe & we had no issues with either area. We found a nice restaurant a few blocks from the Parque that had some great traditional Colombian food for a late lunch. The attractions are the 300 cement columns of various heights intermixed with bamboo & plenty of seating. I’m told the columns are representative of the forest & truly is an amazing view when you walk up on it. Surrounded by older brick buildings, it is a very interesting walk & free.
Day Trips from Medellin
Day trips are an awesome way to see the country even on a budget. Whether you take a bus or hire a driver depends on your purse strings of course but for us an occasional day trip is necessary to see what we are missing by staying in the city. Bus trips are very inexpensive & most of the buses seem to be very comfortable. Bottom line, you need to have an idea of where you are going, what you expect to see & the best way to get there & back. Be diligent of your surroundings. A day trip might cost you a driver/taxi/bus/taxi fee & coins for snacks or a local meal. Here are a couple we took!
Guatape
On our Guatape day trip we hired a driver, Edwin, [had been recommended to us] who picked us up at 8 a.m. & had us back at apartment at 7 p.m. that evening. Awesome day trip with stops along the way that kept us excited at the same time learning more about the various areas from Edwin. All day fee included driver, stop at a farm, visit town of Penol, boat ride & finally climbing Guatape rock & final stop for visit [we paid for lunch], free photos in Guatape with chocolate candy sample for a very reasonable price for three adults!! While not free, the pictures and memories were well worth the price of the all day trip.
San Vicente
San Vicente is just one of MANY towns just outside of Medellin that you could bus to view. For our 1 1/2 hour bust ride to San Vicente the cost was 9.000COP each for each way. That’s $2 USD each & the bus was comfortable! Catch the morning bus, check out the little town, grab a cold drink or helado, take photos & then catch the 4p.m. bus back to Medellin! Very inexpensive way to spend a day & see new sights!
Dining Out? It can count as entertainment!
You know you – you can spend your $ on what entertains you. I am not judging! Nothing as delicious as a Tinto & a hot Bunuelo (the ones with queso are mouth watering) at one of the many coffee shops! The price is ridiculously affordable.
Look for the menu boards on the sidewalk with daily specials & price! Yes, grabbing an almuerzo counts as entertainment for these two seniors traveling! One of the many nice things about being South of the Border – restaurants, coffee bars & bakeries love to have ‘you’ in their place of business with a huge welcome. They DO NOT Care if you sit for hours [we have] to have a cup of coffee & just chat with friends. Its so tranquil the time usually flies by before we realize we’ve sat there for a few hours! So entertaining yes & great time to people watch!
Our all time favorite restaurant to grab an almuerzo (mid day meal/lunch) in Medellin has to be Come Pues! The food is traditional, smartly priced & the staff is absolutely wonderful. We would lunch here & then walk to the Arkadia Mall to walk off lunch before we headed to our coffee stop!
So we have given you a start on a few free or almost free things to do in Medellin that kept these two seniors busy…
Medellin is beautiful & we really have not seen anything that we do not like! The people we have met have been so warm & very patient with us learning Spanish. We have spent three months here & if it wasn’t for the fact that we have plans in Mexico next week we would definitely have applied for three month extension! Bottom line, we will be back next year for a longer stay I’m sure.
If you can get pass the negative history of Colombia, give Medellin, Colombia a chance. It may be the piece of paradise YOU are looking for! Happy Travels!