Long gone are the days of Pablo Escobar, sky high murder rates, and cartel run cities; but don't let anyone tell you Colombia is "safe", it is safer. It's safe enough to visit and enjoy.
Lacking in a rich culture, healthy food options, and having safety concerns; Medellin only scores a 3 on my travel rating scale from 1-5. Saving itself from a lower score is good affordability and transportation.
Travel Score = 3
Affordability= 4
Food= 2.5
Culture = 1.5
Safety = 2.5
Activities = 2.5
Hotel Value= 3.5
Transportation = 4
Medellin has had many upgrades in recent years, including a very efficient above ground metro system. There is also an impressive network of cable cars leading out of the valley and directly to Arvi park.
Arvi Park is the nicest and biggest park in Medellin. Besides a visit to this lovely place, a great way to spend the afternoon is touring different neighborhoods, churches, and museums.
Medellin is a young party city. Tourist town, El Poblado has many high end nightclubs and bars. Colombian girls go there to have a good time and meet foreigners with money; which comes with the risk of getting drugged and robbed, so be careful.
The population is about 3 million. Each neighborhood has a unique social and economic status with an exact rating given by the government. There are "red zones", and seriously do not go there!
Walking from one part of the city to another; you will be crossing from poverty stricken third world ghettos to spotlessly clean first world upper class neighborhoods. Medellin is a bizzaro-world of the extreme haves and have-nots all living side by side.
In an effort to hide the ugly, all the information online is for tourist to stay in the most pristine and touristy neighborhood, El Poblado. It's so high end it's like you're not even in Colombia! You can buy a Harley Davidson here, you can eat a $12 dollar hamburger here, there is even a Porsche dealer here.
If you can afford it and have little to no travel experience, you should probably stay in El Poblado; However you'll pay through the nose. The average private hotel room is north of $50 dollars and a shared dorm will cost you about $20. There's restaurant after restaurant sporting prices that you would see in an airport and Spanish is definitely not needed in this part of the city.
All other tourist stay in El Centro. I highly recommend the Normandia for 13 dollars a night. I had a very spacious room with good wifi, hot water, 24 hr security, and friendly management. Being in the heart of the city, it is the real Medellin. It's a bit sleazy, so be prepared if you stay there.
Throughout many parts of the city you can find casinos, bars, sex hotels, and prostitutes. In El Centro I saw a father babysitting his two year old son while manning a booth selling dildos! You won't see this in El Poblado, instead you'll see sex shops on the main street selling full body blow up dolls for $2,000 dollars! This is now Colombian culture?
What you see is what you get! I recall a conversation with a young Colombian about neighboring Ecuador and the Quichwa Indian culture there. He laughed with his hat on sideways, put his tattooed hand to his mouth and imitated an Indian chant, then told me they are dumb and stupid. Then he asked "What can you give me?" as I said good-bye.
The food is cheap and generally unhealthy; a quarter roast chicken with potatoes is 2 dollars, a huge Avocado is 35 cents, a liter of water is 25 cents, and a big chicken empanada at the chain Machetico is about 50 cents. This is mostly what I ate. The national dish is the Bendeja Paisa; an assortment of grilled meat and a couple of starchy sides. The Colombians aslo love their deep fried food; fried bready cheese balls, fried chicken, fried cheese sticks, and a large variety of deep fried empanadas are sold seemingly on every corner....not a salad in sight!
Colombia is evolving out of it's dark violent past, and they still have a ways to go. You're either in an expensive tourist district or some form of a third world hell hole. This was true for each place I visited in Colombia. There for I can not recommend a trip to Medellin or Colombia in general when there are so many other countries you can visit that are safer with better food and culture.
Thanks for Reading
-World Travel Pro
-World Travel Pro
(all non-credited photos were self taken)