Medellín in December

When to go

EPM's Christmas lights, the Alumbrados, began in central Medellín in the late sixties and spread over the years to the city's main parks, avenues and rural districts, with the river sector as their central node, so check EPM and the city's official channels for this year's dates, hours and route. Colombian law lists two December holidays, so confirm opening hours and transport around them. The WMO climate table, supplied by Colombia's national meteorological institute, shows the month's temperatures and rainfall.

Trip facts

• The WMO's World Weather Information Service lists, for Medellín, Colombia, a mean daily maximum temperature of 27.1 °C (80.8 °F), a mean daily minimum temperature of 16.8 °C (62.2 °F), a mean total precipitation of 94 mm and a mean of 15 rain days in December, from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environment Studies and based on monthly averages for 1971–2000. (worldweather.wmo.int, checked 2026-10-16)
• Colombia's Ley 51 de 1983, as published in the Función Pública's Gestor Normativo, says all public and private sector workers have the right to paid rest on a list of civil or religious holidays that includes December 8 and December 25. (www.funcionpublica.gov.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• EPM says its Alumbrados Navideños (Christmas lights) were born in 1967 in central Medellín, that the company has designed, made, installed, taken down and paid for them ever since, and that their route grew to the main parks, avenues and rural districts, with the river sector between the Guayaquil and San Juan bridges as its central node. (www.epm.com.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• Medellín's official travel guide says the city has more than 15,000 beds in more than 300 hotels, and that the areas with the most lodging, where most tourists gather, are the city center, the El Poblado neighborhood and the Carrera 70 tourist corridor in the Laureles–Estadio sector. (www.medellin.travel, checked 2026-10-16)
• Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists 'Estados Unidos de America' among the foreigners exempt from a visa for short-stay visits, and defines a short stay as staying in the country for up to 90 days, extendable up to 180 days per calendar year. (www.cancilleria.gov.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• Migración Colombia describes Check Mig as a free online service, of non-mandatory use, that lets travelers preload their trip information up to 72 hours before the trip or until one hour before it. (www.migracioncolombia.gov.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• The U.S. Embassy in Colombia's website shows the State Department's Travel Advisory Level 3: Reconsider travel to Colombia due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and natural disasters, and says some areas have an increased risk. (co.usembassy.gov, checked 2026-10-16)
• The 'how to get there' page of José María Córdova International Airport, run by the operator Airplan, says white taxis are authorized to serve the route from the airport to Medellín 24 hours a day, and that public buses parked on the first floor at door 2 also carry passengers to the city 24 hours a day. (www.aeropuertorionegro.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• The Metro de Medellín says its lines A, B, T-A, H, J, K, M, O, P, 1 and 2 run from 4:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and that on Sundays and holidays lines A, B, T-A, O, 1 and 2 run from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., line K from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and lines H, J, M and P from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (www.metrodemedellin.gov.co, checked 2026-10-16)
• The Metro de Medellín says the Cívica Eventual card, designed for tourists and occasional passengers, gives access to the integrated fare across the Aburrá Valley's integrated transport system (SITVA), and is obtained at the points of sale of the Metro network. (www.metrodemedellin.gov.co, checked 2026-10-16)