Speak very little Spanish

I presume you do know enough not to display wealth, to not place yourself in situations where you are alone with one or several young males, to be aware of your surroundings, etc. etc.  Remember the old saying, "Nothing good happens after midnight" - change that to about 9 or 10 PM.

Colombians are very friendly towards gringos but often that can be a cover for setting you up to be robbed or drugged.  It pays to be cautious and not to go overboard on any friendships that may arise.

You might want to try showaround.com and search for English-speaking guides in Medellín who may be available for free or for usually only a small hourly fee, to show you the city and suggest things you should see and places you should go.  Click on a person's profile to see a bit more information about them and to see if they speak any English, offer a driving and pickup tour, etc. etc.  But once something has been set up be careful - I would always let someone know with whom I had arranged anything in advance.

Thank you!

More advice on what / what not to do in Medellín....

Don't accept business cards, flyers, handouts on the street.

Keep an eye on your drinks in cantinas, etc.

Follow Brother Archer's advice about not letting new guys get too chummy.  Especially, don't accept drinks or other stuff from them .. don't let them move you to a different venue .. don't allow them to get you into a vehicle.

If they start angling for free drinks at my expense, I draw the line clearly and immediately.  I don't visit Medellín to buy drinks for guys I just met. Especially, no bottles.

There was this one time in Quindío.  A sexy girl said, hey, let me introduce you to my friends.  I ordered a bottle for the table at her suggestion, she danced with me for a few minutes, the bottle came, she disappeared.  I was left with her male friends, who emptied the bottle in short order, and asked me to buy them more drinks.  I felt used.

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I personally differ with respected family man Brother A concerning 9 p.m.  I've seen plenty of good stuff happen after 9 or 10 in Medellín.  Just handle yourself with one rule in mind:  do the right thing.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

Markus, welcome to the club. Club Colombia! (That's a little joke because that's a beer. I've had more Club Colombias than you can shake a stick at).

There's some really great advice above. Just watch your axx, man. You'll feel comfy because Colombia makes you feel comfy. The people are great, and it's a very beautiful place in the world. I just feel at home when I'm there. But for that reason, the bad guys can get to you. You can do everything in the world right, and they can still get you because you'll be relaxed. Just do your best, and use good sense. Don't carry your wallet in your back pants pocket. Keep it someplace like your cargo side pocket. Don't have your credit cards and passport on you; carry photocopies. I'm guilty of not doing this once and I promise you, getting your passport and credit cards nicked in another country is a world of hurt.

Watch your bag in the bus station, airport, taxi stand, etc. I mean don't just have it under your chair. Have your bag strap hooked around your ankle or keep your bag in your lap. A very common scam is for one person to distract you while his friend drags your bag out from under your chair.

The bad guys might still get you, but we all need to live a little. None of us needs to stay in a shell in the US our entire lives. If some jackass in Colombia makes off with my wallet, it was still better than being bored in the USA. Don't let any of this change your mind about your trip. Colombia is fxxxxg stellar. Likely nothing will happen to you or your things, but when it does, I can attest, it really sucks.

Here's some other tips... Buy some imodium immediately. You've never been to Colombia and the food has stuff in it that your body isn't used to. You're gonna poo. Maybe a lot. And you don't wanna need to poo on the bus. Not all buses have toilets. Take an imodium before getting on a bus ride. And ALWAYS carry some travel toilet tissue with you. You won't find the same bathroom amenities in Colombia. You might have to poo behind a tree or your restaurant might not have paper, even if they let you use the loo, which they may not.

Call your bank and tell them your travel dates and destinations. There's a fraud block on US credit cards for international travel, and you don't want to show up in the middle of the night in the airport in Colombia and not have money because your cards are blocked. And don't take a bunch of US money. The money changers at the airport will give you a shitty rate, and the banks will take an hour to change you over to pesos.

Don't be afraid of hostels. They're $8 to $10 a night and very many of them are super nice. You can also find some hotels in the little towns that are $10 a night with your own room and bathroom.

If you don't visit the Coffee Region, then I will never talk to you again. I don't drink coffee; it's not about that. It's the most gorgeous place you can see in your life. And the memories are something you'll always carry with you. Don't miss it.

If you're going to Medellin, get on a bus and go see Guatape. It's 90 minutes from Medellin, and it's super. I rented a little apartment there and stayed a month. I truly enjoyed that little town. It's very beautiful and fun.

Please tell us about your trip.

BrandonBP wrote:

Don't have your credit cards and passport on you; carry photocopies. I'm guilty of not doing this once and I promise you, getting your passport and credit cards nicked in another country is a world of hurt.

Great post, Brandon.

I agree with the idea of carrying only a copy of your passport unless you're on a travel day or visiting a government agency.

But about the concept of carrying copies of your credit cards instead of the actual cards....

I figure I'd be laughed out of the supermercado if I picked out a bunch of groceries and handed the checkout girl a paper copy of my Visa bank card.

Were you serious?

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

cccmedia wrote:

I figure I'd be laughed out of the supermercardo if I picked out a bunch of groceries and handed the checkout girl a paper copy of my Visa bank card.

Were you serious?

I was drunk.

And I meant passport and drivers license. I don't carry my credit card or ATM unless I'm going directly to the bank to get money.

BrandonBP wrote:

cccmedia wrote:

I figure I'd be laughed out of the supermercado if I picked out a bunch of groceries and handed the checkout girl a paper copy of my Visa bank card.

Were you serious?

I was drunk.

OK, that also explains your unvarnished use of the f-word in paragraph four.

cccmedia

Thanks Brandon! So do most places except debit cards? I know the exchange rate doesn't favor me, so how much us dollars would you recommend I exchange for pesos? I won't be spending much money.....mostly food. Thanks!

Thank you! I appreciate your advise:)

Markus01 wrote:

Thanks Brandon! So do most places accept debit cards? I know the exchange rate doesn't favor me, so how much US dollars would you recommend I exchange for pesos? I won't be spending much....

I'll leave it to Brandon to guess how many dollars you should exchange for pesos .. while I discuss debit cards.

Yes, your debit card with a leading North American bank or institution will be honored at merchants who are used to selling to extranjeros.

However, in Colombia it's my experience that merchants find it easier to get cards processed as credit cards.

Meaning:  Present your debit card and ask that it be processed as a credit card. 

Since they almost always ask, I tell them to make it a single payment, though you'd be within your rights to spread out the payments.

Procésela como tarjeta de crédito .. con una cuota.

  -- cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

So you're saying if a card is processed as credit  rather than debit, the bank fees apply? That is why you prefer this method? Thanks for your input 🙂

Markus01 wrote:

So you're saying if a card is processed as credit  rather than debit, the bank fees apply? That is why you prefer this method?

Negative.

I did not say anything about fees.

My point is that in my experience, it's easier -- not necessarily more or less expensive -- just easier to get Visa Card purchases processed in Colombia if the purchase is done by the merchant as a credit-card purchase, not a debit-card purchase.  Even though the actual card is a debit card.

Before I started regularly asking to have debit-card purchases processed as credit-card purchases, many times the debit-card transaction would not go through.  Then, when we switched to credit-card purchase, the transaction did go through.

cccmedia in La Zona

Gotcha. Thank you for clarifying that🙂

The OP stated....

I'm visiting Medellin for a couple of weeks and speak very little Spanish. I'm traveling alone.....anything that I should definitely know to do or not to do while visiting?

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Don't engage strangers on the streets near Parque Lleras at night.  Eye contact with men in such a circumstance is not a good idea.

Especially the ones with the other-wordly eyes and the look that says, “I'm gonna tell you a story about how I got stranded without documents in Colombia .. and how I desperately need 150,000 pesos to make it till tomorrow.”

....

Also, don't accept business cards, flyers, beverages, food or handshakes from street people.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafeteria

Can you explain why not to accept business cards, flyers and other things like that on the streets?