Colombia
Medellin is one of the most exciting cities in the world right now.
Colombia has gone from a place travelers avoided to one of the highest-energy destinations in the Americas. Medellin is the headliner — eternal-spring weather, electric food and nightlife, and serious digital nomad gravity. Cartagena for colonial coast, the coffee zone for green hills, the Tayrona coast for jungle-meets-Caribbean.
At a glance
- Best time
- January, February, March, July…
- Climate
- Warm
- Budget
- Backpacker – Budget
- Trip length
- 2–6 weeks
- Language
- Spanish
- Currency
- COP (Peso)
Best time to visit
- January: peak
- February: peak
- March: peak
- April: fine
- May: fine
- June: fine
- July: peak
- August: peak
- September: fine
- October: fine
- November: fine
- December: peak
Peak Fine Avoid
Highlights
-
Medellin
The city of the moment. Stay in El Poblado or Laureles.
-
Cartagena
Walled colonial old town on the Caribbean.
-
Coffee zone (Salento)
Green valleys, coffee farms, palm-filled Cocora.
-
Tayrona
Jungle hikes to remote Caribbean beaches.
Practical info
- Visa
- Visa-free for most Western passports (90 days).
- Currency
- COP (Peso). Roughly 4,200 COP ≈ 1 USD.
- Language
- Spanish. Limited English outside tourism.
- Safety
- Much improved. Stay in good areas, no flashy phones, no street drugs.
- Getting around
- Domestic flights cheap and necessary for distances.
- Tap water
- Tap water safe in Medellin and Bogota; bottled elsewhere.
- Plug type
- Type A Type B 110V
- Money
- Cards in cities; cash for street and small businesses.
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Last updated 2026-05-04