Day trips from Medellín: the city, the rock or the old towns

Medellín fills a long valley, and the car takes you between the parts worth seeing. Two of our tours stay in the city. The other three leave it: east to the rock at El Peñol, west down into the hot Cauca valley, and south-west into the coffee hills at Jardín. Here is what each of our five involves.

One day out: Guatapé and El Peñol, for the climb up the rock and the painted town. Half a day in the city: Plaza Botero, Pueblito Paisa and a coffee in El Poblado.

The five, side by side

Trip	Length	Leaves	Price
Guatapé and El Peñol Private Day Trip from Medellín	10h	07:00	from €220
Medellín: Private City Tour with Plaza Botero and Pueblito Paisa	5h	07:00	from €130
Medellín in a Day: Private Tour with Botero, the Botanical Garden and El Poblado	8h	07:00	from €310
Santa Fe de Antioquia Private Day Trip from Medellín	8h	07:00	from €240
Jardín Private Day Trip from Medellín	11h	07:00	from €360

Prices are starting prices and depend on the size of your group.

How to choose

You want the classic day out

Guatapé and El Peñol. Ten hours from 07:00: the granite rock, about 220 metres high, climbed by several hundred steps for a view of islands and water, then the town of painted zócalos, trout for lunch, and a boat among the islands if you want one. You do not have to climb. Weekends are busier.

You want the city in half a day

The city half day. Five hours, at 07:00 or 13:00: Botero's twenty-three bronzes on Plaza Botero, the view over the valley from Pueblito Paisa on Cerro Nutibara, and a coffee in El Poblado. If you want to ride the Metrocable, we drop you at a station and meet you at the other end.

You want the whole city

Medellín in a day. Eight hours from 07:00: Pueblito Paisa first, while the air is clear, then Plaza Botero, the old San Ignacio quarter, the botanical garden and its Orquideorama, and lunch in El Poblado. Tell us when you book if you want time inside the Museo de Antioquia.

You want a colonial town, and the heat

Santa Fe de Antioquia. Eight hours: through the Túnel de Occidente to the Puente de Occidente, a 291-metre suspension bridge over the Cauca, then the old capital of Antioquia, founded in 1541, with whitewashed streets and wooden balconies. Often above 30 °C at midday.

You want the coffee hills

Jardín. Eleven hours, the longest day here, about three hours each way on winding mountain roads: the flowered main square, the basilica of hand-cut stone, lunch, and a coffee farm that shows how the bean is grown and dried. Jardín is worth a night if you can spare one.

Four things worth knowing before you book

Entrances are paid on the day

The price covers the private vehicle, driver, fuel, tolls and parking. Museum and church entrances, El Peñol (in cash, at the booth), boat trips at Guatapé, the coffee farm visit and lunch are paid on the day.

You can stay the night

Guatapé, Santa Fe de Antioquia and Jardín all make good overnight stops. We can drop you one day and collect you on another.

Private costs less than you think for a group

A coach seat is cheap for one person and stops being cheap at four. Our prices are by group size, not per seat: up to four of you share one car at one price, and the price only steps up when you need a van. And you are not waiting for forty strangers at every stop.

You can change your mind

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pick-up, refunded in full. If the date stops working, message us and we will do our best to move you to another day.