Using Medellin ATM’s

Planning to use your ATM card when you visit Medellin? You will get better exchange rates than changing cash or travelers checks at a cambio!

There are convenient ATM’s (called ATH’s in Medellin) all over Medellin. In Banks, Malls, Grocery Stores, Casinos, Restaurants and more. Most of them support the more popular networks like Cirrus, Plus, Maestro, MasterCard and many others. Most also have an English and Spanish language option.

Different ATMs have different per transaction limits of usually 400,000-500,000 COP. You can do multiple transactions up to the daily limit allowed by your bank.

A few hints on using ATM’s in Medellin;

Only withdraw what you will need on a daily basis;

Only carry 1 or 2 ATM/Debit/Credit Cards

Only make withdrawls from ATM’s in well lighted areas and preferably places with on site security;

Keep your paper receipt;

Count your money; Check your balance on line to make sure only one transaction occurred.

Make sure that your transaction has ended and the machine is ready for the next customer….not asking you if you want another transaction!

Medellin Travel Guide Portal

The original design concept for Medellin Travel Guide was to make it into a portal, a gateway if you will, to finding information about visiting or traveling to Medellin Colombia.  Inclusive of our rental apartments, penthouses and realestate for sale listings we have with our clients, the portal is now well over 180 pages in length.  Too big and too cumbersome for many surfers although our unique visitors continues to grow at a 20% month over month rate.

We tracked some data points, for the past 4 months, of which topics were of the greatest interest to our site visitors and decided to publish an easier to navigate more user friendly website with short snippets of information and links back to individual pages on MTG is there was interest in more detail on a particular subject.

 

It had a natural selection of about 5 main topics;

Accommodations;

Getting Here;

Realestate;

Things to do;

and, Services

 

From those broad categories, we took the top 33 most frequently visited pages/topics and created www.medellinvisitorsguide.com  In some cases, you will be taken to a specific page on Medellin Travel Guide but will never leave the Medellin Visitors Guide Site.  We used the KISS approach in determining if less intensive information would meet your needs for Medellin Information and just created new pages or whether the information on MTG was succint enough to just link you to that specific topic.

A splash or landing page was created about a month ago and we have been periodically working to complete the site.

 

Today, we have re-launched www.medellinvisitorsguide for your perusal.  We hope it meets your needs for information about traveling to or visiting Medellin Colombia.  You can always find more detail on many more topics on Medellin Travel Guide but you may just find what you need on Medellin Visitors Guide as well.

 

Thanks for visiting and helping to make Medellin Travel Guide the #1 English web site about Medellin Colombia on the internet.

 

Regards,

 

MTG

Visiting Colombia or Brazil

Since I lived in Brazil (actually, the correct spelling is Brasil) for almost 2 years and have now lived in Medellin for over a year, I get a lot of inquiries about which place is better to visit.

 

Well, from a pure vacation standpoint, it is probably Brasil and Rio in particular.  It has beaches, tourist attractions, fantastic nightlife, gorgeous sensuous women, great restaurants and food and decent shopping. On the other hand, the likelihood of being mugged or robbed is about 5-10 times a greater possibility in Rio than it is in Medellin.  People that visit or live in Rio comically say that, “you haven’t visited Rio until you have a good robbery or mugging story to tell.  To make matters worse, the Rio police are perhaps amongst the most corrupt in the world and many times are in on the scams. The other downside is the language barrier.  Many Western people speak a little Spanish or had some in school somewhere along the way.  In Brasil it is 100% Portuguese and although there are some similarities, they will not understand your broken Spanish nor will you understand their Carioca Portuguese. You also have to get a rather expensive visa for Brasil and you don’t for Colombia

You are not going to find a lot of tourists traps in Medellin Colombia simply for the reason that Medellin doesn’t have many tourists (although that is changing rapidly now that the security has been improved).   The small towns in and around Medellin, like Santa Fe De Antioquia, El Penol, La Pintada, Copacabana (in Antioquia Colombia not Rio) are great places to visit and get a real sense for Colombian life and it’s culture.  Personally, I prefer doing that kind of traveling as opposed to touristy things anyway. Another way of putting it;  You won’t find Medellin Colombia T Shirt shops all over town like you will find Brasil and Rio T-shirt shops in Rio!!

 

Once you have seen Botero Plaza in Medellin, perhaps visit a few of it famous parks (Barefoot Park, Park of Dreams etc), maybe see one or two of the old churches, ride the cable metro up the mountainside and shopped in either the upscale malls of Oviedo, Tesoro and Premium Plaza or the catacombed El Centro shops of Hueco and Palacial National, you will have done and seen just about all there is to do here.  Of course, if you enjoy discos, dancing and partying, make sure your visit includes a Thursday-Sunday stay as this is a party town every week on those days.  You will also see more than your fair share of beautiful Paisa girls at these venues that will leave your chin on your chest gawking at them!  The next one prettier than the last one!!

 

Of course, no visit to Medellin would be complete without an evening in Parque Lleras.  It is in the upscale area of El Poblado and is the in place for the well to do upper class Paisas to eat, drink and party although you will see Paisas from all walks of life while you are there.

 

Maybe it is my age or the fact I have traveled to 74 countries but let me put it this way.  My Brasilian visa has expired and I have no plans of renewing it anytime soon.  I just renewed my visa for the second year to remain in Colombia.  I guees it really depends on what type of vacation you are looking for but be informed before you decide.

 

Medellin Travel Guide

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Medellin Cell Phones

Medellin Colombia, like many countries outside the US, has adopted GSM as their standard for cell service so if you are traveling here and want to be able to use your cell phone, make sure it is a tri or quad band “unlocked” GSM compatible phone instrument.  If yours is not unlocked, you can usually download the unlocking code from your providers web site or take it to the store where you purchased it and they can unlock it for you (some exceptions apply).

When you arrive in Medellin, you are going to need to purchase a local Sim chip (local phone number).  You can buy these at various provider kiosks in malls, super markets and at the individual provider offices. You can eve buy them from street vendors selling phone cards and other accessories.  Simply remove your sim chip, insert the new one, and follow the directions to activate it. 

Next, you are going to need to buy some prepaid minutes.  They come in 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 50,000 and 100,000 peso denominations (some other denominations exist).  Plan to get about 2 minutes of talk time per 1,000 pesos.  It will vary whether you are calling another user on the same provider network a different provider network,  calling a land line or doing text messaging.  Buy only what you think you will use during your stay because they will expire.  Err on the conservative side and if you run out, just buy another card in a small denomination.

There are three major cellular providers in Medellin: Comcel, Tigo and Movistar. Most would tell you Comcel is the largest with the best coverage, more stores and outlets but there is always competition with promotions and other give aways to try and attrach new customers.  I know people that have several sim chips and use the one that is offering the best promotion that month!

Probably because Medellin is in a Valley and the cell towers can get pretty good coverage from the surrounding mountain tops, you will probably not experience many bad connections, dropped calls and surprisingly you will get reception inside most malls (most are open air).

Will you need a cell phone in Medellin?  The answer is yes.  They are almost a necessity.  Can you get by without one?  The answer is also yes because there are “walking cell phones” all over the city.  Vendors that sell cell service by the minute (many of the smaller tiendas also offer this service).  Just walk up to them, make your call and pay the per minute rate (usually 300-400 pesos per minute).  It is not as convenient as having your own but it will get the connection you need to make.

If you are having to buy an unlocked tri or quadband GSM phone to bring with you to Medellin, buy an inexpensive, older model phone from E-Bay or some similar place.  Don’t buy the latest Razor V-8 (or whatever the latest version is) because high end cell phones are big targets for petty thieves. 

To call a cell phone in Medellin from the US, you will need to dial 011-57 and the cell phone number.  To call a landline you will need to dial 011-57-4 and the number (the 4 is the city code for Medellin and is not required for cell phones).  You can call any other cell phone in Colombia by just dialing the number.  No city code is required.

If you have other questions about cell phone service in Medellin you can probably find your answere here www.medellintravelguide.com/medellin_cellular.html

Safe Travels

Medellin Travel Guide

Medellin Realestate Guide

To begin with, there really is no such thing as consistency in prices for Medellin Realestate.  There are no MLS listings, realtors cannot pull comparables (comps), the property sizes are generally in square meters instead of square feet (1 Sq meter=10.763911 Sq. Ft) and except for new construction which generally has prices listed, re-sales are generally whatever the buyer will pay.  Furthermore, like in many US cities or cities around the world, it really depends upon the location of the property.  In nicer neighborhoods a 2,000 Sq. Ft. property will sell for more than in other neighborhoods.

Now, Medellin realtors are notorious for asking you, “how much do you have to spend?”, or “what price range are you considering?”.  In the US, that equates to what properties a realtor has available in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to show you.  Naturally, they want you to spend as much as you can because it means more commision for them. (Note: Medellin Realtors are not required to have any kind of license)

In Medellin, you may find every property you are shown will be the maximum of the price range you have volunteered.  Never answer the question in the first place unless you have seen a listing price published on a property in which you are interested.

I had one realtor show me properties in a volunteered price range.  every property was at the maximum of my range irrespective of size, age or location. It almost became preposterous on some of the real shabby properties he was showing me.  I feigned illness and called a quick halt to our search.  He bugged me daily, for weeks, to resume our search until I told him I had found something on my own.

What was funny, I had another realtor show me one of the same properties this guy had shown me.  He showed me the listing information with the listing price clearly written.  Ahem….50,000,000 pesos (about $25,000) lower than what the first guy had quoted me.  He was planning to put $25,000 above the list price in his pocket.  Local friends tell me they try it all the time.

The same thing can be said if you are rental apartment hunting.  When they ask you how much you can afford monthly just respond by saying it depends on the apartment and the location.  Ask to see their listing agreement with rental costs per month and narrow it down from there. Again, I had one agency showing me apartments.  I told the guy I wanted to spend between 1.0 million and 1.3 million pesos per month (about $500-$650..yeah, they can be that inexpensive here).  Suddenly, everything in all parts of the city he was showing me was $1.3 million pesos per month. I asked to see the listing sheets and he conveniently did not have them.  Some of the places were tiny, some were large, some were old, some were new, some were in the nicest neighborhoods some were so far out I would have to spend a fortune in taxis to get anywhere.  After about 4 hours of seeing places with this yahoo, he suddenly got the hook as well.  Now, wanna hear the real rub.  He only had a motorcycle.  I wasn’t about to put my life at risk so I suggested we just hire a taxi for a couple of hours.  I wound up paying for the taxi.  He only had about 5,000 pesos in his pocket.  Think an American realtor would make their client pay to see properties?  Wouldn’t be in business very long would they?

Fresh air on the horizon.  Medellin is becoming a very popular place for expats, people wanting to move here or retire here.  Many have purchased second homes or investment properties.  Well, as in most cases, when there is a demand, someone steps forward and fills the need. There are a couple of english speaking real estate offices opening here and they practice US business ethics when dealing with their clients. A couple of new web sites or splash pages are beginning to post rental apartments, condos, standalone homes and fincas for sale.

Medellin Travel Guide is beginning to accept listings for rental apartments, condos, homes and fincas on it’s web site complete with amenities, prices, locations and photos.

Do the Paisas like it?  Probably not but a few of the local agencies have started to adopt listing prices and amenities along with photos of their available properties.  One even has all of their listings computerized so when you enter their office, you can see everything they have available, prices, photos, amenities, location etc. Unfortunately, they do not speak a lot of English but they certainly are professional and seem legit. (Yes, I did some business with them and was very pleased).

If you visit www.firstamericanrealtymedellin.com , they have several pages of articles about investing in Colombia, Medellin, Medellin Property and general information about the economic outlook for this area. Several are worth the read.

If you are thinking about buying, renting or investing in realestate in Medellin, do your homework, do not be in a hurry, never give a price range unless you have seen listing prices first, never accept that an agent does not have listing sheets for each property and most importantly, look at several places in any building.  You may find a very wide range of prices for essentially the exact same floor plan on a different floor.  How do you find out if other properties in a particular building are for sale?  Go back the next day and ask the portiero (security).  They all know when a unit is for sale in their building.

In Medellin, as it does everywhere, it pays to shop.

Medellin Travel Guide

Medellin Travel Guide – It was a great day in Santa Fe and a good time was had by all

A group of friends had been planning to visit Santa Fe De Antioquia for several months but it seemed like everytime we made plans, something would rear it ugly head to step in the way and prevent it.

Finally, last weekend, we had solid plans in place, a gorgeous Medellin Sunday and it looked like our goal of visiting Santa Fe was going to come to fruition.

Our dates were supposed to meet us at 12:00 “sharp” in our favorite coffee bar, Le Bon, in Parke Lleras.  Well, as is the Paisa way, at 12:30 we called and found they were still sleeping.  We were a little angered and they agreed to meet us at 1:00 (but actually showed up at 1:30)

This was going to cut into our day as Santa Fe is about a 1.5 hour drive from Medellin.  We took off and stopped to get a map and something to drink.  No map but a couple of drinks and snacks made their way into our shopping basket.  Making our way up the windy mountain 2 land roads out Ave 80, there was enough traffic to keep us well below the 60Km per hour speed limit. Once attaining the top of the mountain, we were presented with some of the most idyllic scenery one can imagine.  Huge mountains rivaling the heights of the rockies but covered with emerald green foilage and dipping down into deep valleys criss crossed with rivers and streams.  Several sections of the 4 lane highway had been buried in mudslides (sometimes 100’s of feet deep) which further slowed our advance due to 2 lane slow downs.

Traversing the 7Km long tunnel through the mountain (cost $10,400 pesos one way) was a unique experience and a testament to the engineering skills of the local Colombian people.

Naturally, when you make a trip like this, an occasional potty break is in order.  We stopped at Don Pedros #2 planning to take a break and re-fuel our meager provisions. It turned into a full meal deal lunch break.  The food was excellent, cooked to perfection and very reasonably priced.  About $30 for 4 people including a round of beers and a round to go (except our driver who was drinking a coke).

As we entered San Jeronimo, we were quickly diverted to a detour due to a massive rock and mud slide up ahead.  As it turns, this was a delightful bypass as it afforded us a view of the “Old Highway” that used to serve Santa Fe from San Jeronimo.  Fincas, pousadas, small hotels and hostels lined the road.  All excellently maintained, hedges well groomed and tranquil settings amongst the trees and lakes that dot this area of Colombia.  Small vendor stalls loaded with fruits, vegetables, local crafts and sweets take you back in time to an era a hundred years ago.

As you approah the Puente Occidente (West Bridge) that is the main entry point to Santa Fe you suddenly realize you are about to be taken back in time. This bridge was one of the first ever suspension bridges in the world and quite possibly the first in South America.  Cars naturally slow down as they cross the bridge, not because of safety reasons but to view the rapidly flowing Cauca River below.

When you reach the other side, you are immediately taken back in time to a period of colonial architecture complete with cobble stoned streets, stucco houses and terra cotta roofs.  Santa Fe has been so well conserved in this period of architecture that in 1960, it was declared a Colombian National Monument.

Finding a parking space along the many intertwined streets was simple and as we exited the car and headed for the town square, we knew we were in for a treat.  After snapping way too few photos and taking a little bit of video, we walked the square taking in all the delightful local treats, arts and crafts and just intermingling with the people in general.  We found them to be very friendly, very courious at having a couple of gringos visiting their town, willing to go out of their way to make sure we had a pleasant experience.  We finally settled into a small outdoor resturant to have some refreshments.  Naturally, the local national drink Ron Medellin Rum was our order of choice (driver still only drinking coca cola).  We wiled away several hours taking in the scenery and sights.  Doing a lot of people watching it became clear that Sunday was family day.  While Americans are holed up inside their homes watching sporting events, or visiting the beaches, lakes and parks in small groups, these people are actually out visiting with friends, family, neighbors and making a day of relaxation amongst the whole townspeople.

Alas, due to our late departure, the setting sun became more ominent and we wanted to get a start back over the mountain before it got too dark.  Well, best laid plans!

Just ourside of San Jeronimo, fueled by the afternoons beverages, the ladies had to make a potty stop.  That turned into a meal at a roadside fonda clled Acacias.  Folks, absolutely some of the finest smoked ribs (beef and pork), chicken and steaks I have ever tasted.  I got a combination protion to take home with me.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful and we arrived safely at our apartment.  Everyone was drowsey but had a very enjoyable day in Santa Fe De Antioquia.

Normally a shutter bug photog at heart, I realized I had only taken a few photos and a few minutes of videos even though they were within grasp of my hands most of the day.  I guess the newness and uniqueness of visiting Santa Fe caused me to forget one of my ultimate goals of going there.  Oh well, guess another trip is in the near future to get more media on this delightful old city 80 Km from Medellin.

Worth a day of your vacation to visit.  You can rent a car or taxi by the hour to make the trip.  Enjoy and share your experiences.

Medellin Travel Guide.

Medellin Tours

Many people that visit Medellin want to take various tours but don’t really know where to start.  “Where can I find an English speaking tour guide to show me around?”

Some people want to do things that are a little more exciting like white water rafting, rock climbing, parasailing (and Medellin has some of the finest in the world) while others want to get out of the city to visit the countryside, visit a coffee farm or do a finca tour.

While finding an English speaking tour guide is no simple feat, there are a few that specialize in and cater to English speaking visitors.  Most are very reasonable and willing to accommodate special requests like arranging a birthday party or special event, go on birdwatching tours (Colombia has 1,810 species of birds.  The most of any country in the world.)

Whether you prefer to visit museums, churches, universities or take a wild ride down some class 3 and 4 rapids you can find a tour guide in Medellin to assist you.

Medellin Nightlife-

IF there is one thing consistent in Medellin it is the nightlife.  Every week from Thursday through Sunday, Medellin Discos and Clubs open to standing lines at their front doors, blast loud Salsa, Cumbia and Reggaeton music until the wee hours of the morning, serve lots of Rum, Aguardiente and beer and everybody just parties!!

Most Discos do not even open until around 10:00 PM and keep going strong until 3-4 and some 5 AM.  The ladies will be dressed fashionably as for them, this is a social night out with friends.  The guys will be dressed in jeans, T-shirts, or club type shirts.  For them, it is a night to party and perhaps find a new girlfriend. Such is the Medellin Lifestyle!

If you are a partier, you will love visiting Medellin Colombia.  Just bring lots of cash because it is not cheap.  You might want to pack some extra Alka Seltzer as well.