We are learned a lot about prices in Medellin during our family gap year. After spending over a month in the city, we are sharing a breakdown of what our Medellin trip cost. Hopefully this gives you an idea of Medellin prices, and what to expect to budget for your trip to the city of eternal spring.
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Medellin Trip Cost Breakdown
All of these numbers are from our one month trip to Medellin in December of 2022 for a family of four.
Medellin Lodging Expenses
(35 nights total at an average of $61.49/night)
Total: $2,152
- $326 – Airbnb in Laureles, Medellin (7 nights x $47/night)
- $1,826 – Airbnb in El Poblado, Medellin (28 nights x $65/night)
Round-Trip Transportation
Total: $127
- $ 10 – Paperwork to cross border into Colombia
- $ 5 – Uber from bus station to Airbnb
- $112 – Bus, Popayan to Medellin
Day-to-Day Medellin Trip Cost
Total: $2,357
- Groceries, supplies, and lots of dining out
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Touristy Excursions
Total: $501
- $66 – Comuna 13 walking tour, tip, and lunch
- $435 – Full day private tour of Peñol Rock, Guatape, and Lake
- $0 – Christmas lights – Alumbrados
Total Medellin Trip Cost
We spent $5,278 for a little over one month in Medellin, Colombia. Read more below to hear our thoughts on why we ended up spending this much on a long trip in Medellin.
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Medellin Trip Cost Takeaways…
So, is Medellin cheap? Simply, yes.
At face value it would appear that Medellin is more expensive than Quito since we spent a total of $4,148 there. Learn more about our Quito expenses here.
However, if you look a little deeper, you’ll see that on a day-to-day comparison, Medellin was cheaper for us. $135/day to be in Medellin versus $143/day in Quito, as we spent over an extra week in Medellin.
All in all, both South American cities are very affordable to visit.
Currency In Colombia
The strength of the US Dollar versus the Colombian Peso is significant when visiting Colombia, especially when we were visiting in 2022. The exchange rate was about 5000 Colombian Pesos to 1 dollar. Nowadays, the conversion rate isn’t as great, but still good, being around 3700 COP to 1 USD.
In an interesting podcast episode of “Zero to Travel” (January 10, 2023 Episode “Best Remote Work + Digital Nomad Destinations 2023 (and Beyond) with Tim Leffel”), they discussed how they found that many expats who live in Medellin don’t end up spending less despite the lower cost of living.
Instead they spend about the same and upgrade their lifestyle. We unintentionally did just that.
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Lodging In Medellin
Our main Airbnb in Medellin was so-so. It had fantastic views and a prime location. That said, it was not kept up well, disgustingly dirty, and a bit dated.
We liked our apartment in Quito so much better than our place in Medellin and paid over $600 less for it; however, it did have one less bedroom.
The place we stayed in the Laureles neighborhood of Medellin, we found very last minute. It wasn’t a bad little apartment. The neighborhood was safe and felt more authentic than El Poblado where we spent most of our time.
Unfortunately, they were doing construction next door, so it was a little noisy at times. Sometimes that happens. For $47 a night, we couldn’t complain!
As far as where you choose to stay in Medellin, Laureles has a lot of charm. El Poblado is a nice area too with a lot of quality restaurants to choose from, but it is more touristy.
Transportation Expenses To Medellin
Transportation expenses to and from Medellin was very low as it only involved a bus, an Uber, and some paperwork to cross the border.
It would have been an additional $500-$700 if our rental car hadn’t broken down.
Want to hear that crazy story? Check it out here: Learn From Our Mistakes: How To Have A Successful Road Trip In Another Country
A typical plane ticket to Medellin costs anywhere between $300 to $800 dollars from the United States, depending on where you are coming from.
From Europe, you are looking at between $600 to $1000 for your plane ticket.
Day-to-Day Medellin Trip Cost
Our day-to-day living expenses were elevated this month. The restaurants in Medellin were incredible, and the prices were extremely approachable.
Also, the World Cup was going on, it was Christmas, and it was New Year’s. We wanted to be out and about!
In addition to this, we found that buying ingredients to make meals cost just about the same as eating out most places. It made it really easy for us to choose a meal at a restaurant over cooking it ourselves.
Even when we wanted to stay in, Rappi delivered!
Touristy Excursions
For us, there just were not many things to do in Medellin that peaked our interest besides eating out! We only went on two tours, so this kept the touristy expenses in check this month… so we could eat out more. 😀
The other touristy thing we did was to go downtown and see the Alumbrados. The Christmas lights in Medellin are off the charts. They decorate all along the river and various parks around the city. It is spectacular and free!
Summary Of Medellin Prices
Is Medellin expensive? All in all we spent just over $5,000 in a little over a month in Medellin.
That’s not too shabby for a family of four eating out at great restaurants almost daily, staying in an upscale neighborhood, and living in a 3-bedroom apartment with spectacular views.
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