Medellin on $28/Day: The Full Budget Breakdown

Medellin on $28/Day: The Full Budget Breakdown

I just spent 6 days in Medellin for $168 total. That's $28/day including accommodation, food, transportation, and activities. Here's every dollar.

Daily Budget Breakdown

The Breakdown

ACCOMMODATION: $9/day

I stayed at Casa Kiwi in Laureles — a 6-person dorm for $9/night. Hostelworld 8.6. Clean beds, working shower, kitchen access, and a common area where I met people from everywhere. Not fancy, but solid.

Pro tip: Laureles is where locals live, not tourists. The vibe is different. You're actually IN Medellin, not in a tourist bubble.

FOOD: $12/day

Colombian street food is criminally cheap and genuinely delicious.

• Breakfast: $1 — Arepa con queso (corn patty with cheese) from a street cart. Perfect.
• Lunch: $2 — Bandeja Paisa (Medellin's signature dish — beans, rice, meat, plantain, egg, arepa). This is a MEAL.
• Snacks: $1.50 — Empanadas, fresh fruit (mango, papaya), coffee
• Dinner: $3 — Sancocho (stew) or ajiaco (potato soup) from a local restaurant. Massive portions.
• Buffer: $4.50 — Random meals, nicer restaurants (still cheap), trying street food I haven't had

Real talk: Medellin food is FIRE and it's cheap. You're eating like a king on $12/day.

TRANSPORTATION: $2/day

Medellin's got a metro system and it's clutch:

• Metro card: $0.80 per ride (unlimited transfers)
• Cable car up the mountains: $0.80
• Buses: $0.80
• Grab (when I was lazy): $1-2

I budgeted $2/day but probably spent $1.20 on average. The metro is efficient and cheap.

ACTIVITIES: $3/day

Medellin's got tons of free stuff and some worth paying for:

• Free walking tour (tip $5-10) — covers the transformation, safety, real Medellin
• Monumental (art museum) — free on Sundays, $7 other days
• Cable car up to Santo Domingo — $0.80, incredible views
• Pueblito Paisa (old town replica) — $2
• Street art tours — $10-15 (worth it, but I skipped it this trip)

I spent $3/day on activities, mostly the free walking tour and the cable car.

The Honest Review

What was great:

• Medellin's transformation is real — you feel it in the city
• People are genuinely friendly and curious about where you're from
• Food is elite and cheap
• The metro is efficient and safe
• Laureles neighborhood has LOCAL energy, not tourist energy

What sucked:

• Altitude (1,500m) — took me 2 days to adjust, felt dizzy
• Some neighborhoods are still sketchy — you need to know where NOT to go
• Pickpockets exist — especially in crowded metro during rush hour
• One night the power went out in my hostel (common in that area, apparently)

Would I go back: 100%. Medellin's the real deal. It's not the Medellin of 20 years ago — it's a vibrant, growing city with incredible food, friendly people, and a cost of living that makes travel actually possible.

Total Trip Cost

A full week in Colombia — flights, accommodation, food, everything — for under $510.

How to Book This Trip

1. Flight: Google Flights, set alerts for JFK to Medellin. I got $320 RT (error fare, but normal is $400-450). December-March is peak season (pricier). April-May is sweet spot.

2. Hostel: Hostelworld, filter by Laureles or Poblado, 8.0+ rating. Book direct for the 10% discount.

3. SIM card: Buy at the airport. Claro or Movistar. $4-5 for a week of data.

4. Go: Seriously. This is one of the cheapest major cities in South America and one of the friendliest.

The Bottom Line

Medellin is proof that budget travel in South America is real. $28/day gets you great accommodation, amazing food, and a city that's genuinely interesting. If you want to prove to yourself that international travel is affordable, Medellin is the place to do it.