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How To Get To Guatape From Medellin – 3 Safe Transport Options

Category Colombia, Medellin Updated on June 2, 2022

how to get to guatape from medellin
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Wondering how to get to Guatape from Medellin?

It’s not as hard to get to Guatape from Medellin as you might think. We were pleasantly surprised at how well organized the logistics and transportation is sorted in Medellin.

Whether you’re a tourist visiting for a few days or you’re a digital nomad visiting for a couple of months – visiting Guatape is a MUST on the list of things to do while in Medellin!

In this blog post, we are going to share exactly how to get to Guatape from Medellin with the 3 best transport options (and a step-by-step guide).

In This Article: hide
How To Get To Guatape From Medellin – 3 Options And Step by Step Guide
1. Take The Bus To Guatape From Medellin
2. Get An Uber To Guatape From Medellin
3. Go On A Tour Bus To Guatape From Medellin
How To Get Back From Guatape To Medellin?
FAQ – How To Get To Guatape From Medellin
Where Is Guatape? How Far Is Guatape From Medellin?
Is A Day Trip Enough Or Should You Stay Overnight In Guatape?
How To Read The Colombian Bus Ticket?

How To Get To Guatape From Medellin – 3 Options And Step by Step Guide

Guatape is a small town located 1.5-2 hours away from Medellin depending on traffic. This tourist attraction is known for 2 things – the rock aka La Piedra El Peñol and the colorful buildings/history of Guatape.

matthew ashley touring guatape

If you want to see El Peñol, it’s actually not located in the town of Guatape even though everyone calls it that. It’s about a 15-minute walk away from the center of town. Most people will get to El Peñol early in the morning to beat the crowds and climb the 740 steps to the top. Afterward, the usual itinerary is to wander around the colorful town of Guatape, learn about the zocalos and have lunch.

Guatape is a popular tourist destination that is perfect for a day trip or even an overnight trip!

We decided to go on a day trip to Guatape. It’s a packed day with lots of things to do, eat, explore and learn the history of this colorful town.

colorful building guatape

You can choose to do get to Guatape on your own or you might choose to book a tour. Both are great options that are completely safe – you just have to decide what your preference is.

If you’re wondering how to get to Guatape from Medellin, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the 3 best ways to get to Guatape from the city and back.

1. Take The Bus To Guatape From Medellin

Want the cheapest option to get to Guatape from Medellin?

Your best bet is taking public bus transportation. We found that when we did day trips from Medellin – these buses are actually very organized, safe and reliable. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s a bad or unsafe option.

buses to guatape

We have felt safe both times we have taken the public bus transportation. If you speak a little Spanish, it definitely helps because they don’t speak a word of English. You can also have Google Translate ready, if not.

Step-by-Step: How To Get The To Guatape From Medellin By Bus

  1. Take an Uber to Terminal del Norte
  2. Go down the escalators and find the ticket booths
  3. Look for ticket booth #14 which are buses to Guatape from Medellin
  4. The ticket booth is called ‘ Sotrasanvicente & Guatape La Piedra’ – it’s bright red and white
  5. Say “para Guatape” and they will get you on the next bus to Guatape
  6. Pay for your bus ticket to Guatape or La Piedra which costs 17,000 COP ($4.30 USD)
  7. Find a seat and wait till for boarding time
  8. Go through and show your ticket to get inside the departure area
  9. Show your ticket and line up to get into the bus
  10. Let the driver know if you want to stop at El Peñol first before Guatape
  11. You’ll need to walk/take a tuk-tuk to get to Guatape from El Peñol

That’s it – it’s as simple as that. We were nervous about getting the public bus transportation in Medellin but after our trip to Santa Fe de Antioquia, we found it quite easy and not scary at all!

terminal del norte medellin
departure gate terminal del norte

TTA TIP: Once you arrive at Guatape’s bus terminal, make sure you buy your tickets back to Medellin as soon as you arrive. They do sell out of tickets if you’re too late in the afternoon. This guarantees you have a seat back to Medellin!

We loved how organized and convenient it is to take the public bus around Medellin and to surrounding areas.

2. Get An Uber To Guatape From Medellin

Getting an Uber to Guatape from Medellin is the most convenient option!

You don’t have to plan ahead and it’s door-to-door service. For some reason, a lot of blogs didn’t include this as an option when we knew several people who actually opted to get to Guatape this way.

uber to guatape from medellin

It’s not a cheap option that’s for sure. For example, an Uber ride from Poblado to El Peñol will cost around $170,000 COP ($43.60 USD) more or less. That’s almost double the cost of booking a full guided tour for the entire day.

But if you’re looking for convenience and getting there as quickly as possible, Uber is the best option for you.

Step-by-Step: How To Get The To Guatape From Medellin By Uber

  1. Open the Uber App
  2. Search for “El Peñol” or “Guatape” depending on where you want to go first
  3. Make your departure point your hotel or Airbnb
  4. Click “Confirm” and wait for your Uber to arrive
  5. Get in the car and they will take you straight to your destination

From here, you will need to either walk to Guatape or take a tuk-tuk Guatape. While Uber is a convenient option to get to Guatape, you’ll need to figure out how to get back to Medellin. Uber is generally not available in Guatape so you’ll have to take the public bus.

3. Go On A Tour Bus To Guatape From Medellin

The best transport option for a day trip to Guatape is to book a tour!

tour guide guatape

We did this and we were so glad we did! The tour company takes care of everything for you and you just need to pay one price. For our day trip to Guatape, it included:

  • bus transportation to Guatape and back to Medellin
  • Colombian lunch
  • cruise on the lake

cruise on the lake -guatape

If you don’t mind being on a tour bus with other tourists, it’s a great way to learn about the history and culture of Guatape and El Peñol. Otherwise, you just look at a rock and town without knowing the context or meaning behind the colors/zocalos. Our tour guide, Sandy, spoke great English and it was easy to understand all the stories he told! This made the trip much more meaningful.

zocalos guatape
zocalos of guatape

It’s also very inexpensive. Surprisingly, it’s less than half the cost of the Uber ride to Guatape. That’s right – it’s only $94,000 COP ($24 USD) per person for a full-day tour including transport, lunch and a cruise on the lake!

Step-by-Step: How To Get To Guatape From Medellin By Tour Bus

  1. Go on Airbnb and click on the ‘Experiences’ tab
  2. Search for Guatape and click on one that says ‘Guatape and La Piedra del Peñol’
  3. Enter the number of people and click ‘Confirm’
  4. Pay online via Airbnb and you’ll receive a message from the guide
  5. On the day of the tour, head to the meeting points in Poblado or Laureles
  6. Spot the lady in red and tell them your name
  7. Get on the bus she tells you to and sign in
  8. Once you’re on the bus – you can sit back and relax for the entire day

We highly recommend Guatape and La Piedra del Peñol tour on Airbnb Experiences. It was easy for us to hop on and off the bus to see and explore what we wanted. You also get a walking tour of Guatape by an English-speaking tour guide. The value for money is unbelievable!

How To Get Back From Guatape To Medellin?

Are you already in Guatape and need to get back to Medellin?

interior colombian buses

The best option for you is to take public bus transportation from Guatape to Medellin. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Head to the bus station called ‘Terminal de los Buses‘.
  2. Go to the ticket booth and say “para Medellin”.
  3. They will get you on the next bus to Medellin (if seats are available)
  4. pay for your ticket and double-check the departure time
  5. Have a coffee and wait to depart from Guatape to Medellin
  6. Get on the bus and get off at Terminal del Norte
  7. You can take an Uber or public transport (bus/metro) from here

There’s generally no Uber available in Guatape itself and if you don’t book a tour in advance. If you want to get from Guatape to Medellin, you will have to take public bus transportation which is a great system!

FAQ – How To Get To Guatape From Medellin

Where Is Guatape? How Far Is Guatape From Medellin?

Guatape is located east of the city of Medellin. If you want to get to Guatape, it will take around 1.5-2 hours of driving depending on traffic. Guatape is around 80 kilometers away from Medellin.

Is A Day Trip Enough Or Should You Stay Overnight In Guatape?

Yes, a day trip is more than enough to climb La Piedra del Peñol and explore the colorful town of Guatape. If you want to spend the weekend, most people go to Guatape to escape the city life and enjoy the quiet, lake views for a couple of days.

How To Read The Colombian Bus Ticket?

Here are some key phrases to know:

  • puesto = seat
  • rampa = gate

Most buses in Medellin will assign a seat number. This means you don’t have to rush to the bus – your seat is allocated for you. Make sure you don’t confuse rampa or puesto! You can always ask someone to point you to the right gate for departure.

In: Colombia, Medellin

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Welcome!

We’re Matt and Ashley, the American-Aussie couple behind this blog. In 2018, we realized we could take our work with us…anywhere in the world. We packed our bags, sold our stuff and bought two tickets to Bali. Today, we slow travel full-time, run our business from our laptops and embrace life one adventure at a time. We’ve completely fallen in love with the freedom that comes with this lifestyle and we hope to inspire you to join us on the digital nomad journey!

Recent Posts

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  • Laundry In Lisbon: Best Spots To Get Your Clothes Washed May 4, 2023
  • 5x Amazing Lisbon Sunset Cruises For 2023 (Info & Prices) April 24, 2023

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Flying out to Cyprus just made sense! 🇨🇾⁣ Flying out to Cyprus just made sense! 🇨🇾⁣
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The weather in Europe started to get colder in October and if you know us, you’ll know we chase the sunshine ☀️⁣
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The best part is that we were joining a coliving space with some friends we made back in Zagreb! We spent an awesome month together - exploring the country, getting work done together and getting to know each other better!⁣
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We love coliving because you get to have an instant community as soon as you land. A nomadic life gets lonely (yes, even as a couple) and coliving spaces usually create great communities with like-minded people!⁣
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@tohani_coliving was especially great at creating events for everyone. During our first week, we had a community design meeting to discuss and plan the kind of things we wanted to do together. I'll share more about our experience on coliving soon ✌️⁣
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Here are some of the highlights:⁣
🌊 Swimming in the ocean with friends⁣
🚗 Weekend getaway to northern cyprus⁣
🎳 Bowling night with the coliving fam⁣
🍼 Meeting good friends (+ their cute baby)
🚤 Jet skiing with my girl @jbabbage 
🥟 Monday dinners at home with the coliving fam⁣
🏖️ Exploring the many beaches Cyprus has to offer⁣
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Would you ever try staying in a coliving space?⁣
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#digitalnomadcyprus #colivingspace #tohanicoliving #digitalnomadlife #funnytravel #traveltheworld #coliving #workandtravel #workfromwifi #digitalnomad #travellifestyle #traveladdict #twoticketsanywhere #travelblogger #travelawesome #digitalnomadlifestyle #fulltimetravel #passportcollective #travelcouple #cyprusdigitalnomad #cyprus
Is Skopje, North Macedonia on your destination lis Is Skopje, North Macedonia on your destination list? 🇲🇰⁣
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On our Europe tour, we decided to make Skopje home for a few weeks! One of the main reason is because I needed to renew my passport which is much faster outside the country.⁣
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Other than that, we didn’t really know what to expect. There weren't many blogs or videos about being digital nomads here. We could only find 1 coworking space in the area but there were plenty of cafes to visit! There’s a huge cafe culture which is always nice.⁣
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We had a really nice, modern, comfortable apartment in Skopje for $580 USD which was 5 minutes walking from the city center. The cost of living is pretty affordable and it’s very safe! ⁣
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If you’re looking for a city to get some work done, explore the surrounding destinations and establish some routine or even simply go to the BEST gym I've ever been to (@fit_in_performance) - Skopje could be that place for you!⁣
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Would you visit Skopje, North Macedonia as a digital nomad?⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadskopje #skopje #skopjedigitalnomad #skopjenorthmacedonia #visitskopje #visitnorthmacedonia #europedigitalnomad
Lisbon, Portugal is the top digital nomad destinat Lisbon, Portugal is the top digital nomad destination in Europe! 🇵🇹Why?⁣
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One word: community!⁣
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According to some digital nomad statistics, loneliness is the #1 reason people leave this lifestyle. When you’re traveling alone (or even as a couple), you easily feel all alone. Thankfully, the digital nomad community is very strong, open and welcoming!⁣
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Lisbon is also a popular spot because of the fast wifi (we had speeds of 500+ Mbps), endless coworking options and a relatively affordable cost of living (except the rising rental prices, of course let's be real). ⁣
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Our month in this wonderful city wasn’t long enough! It’s got all the simple things we love:⁣
 ☕ specialty coffee⁣
🍷 delicious food & wine⁣
🥑 bustling brunch scene and ⁣
👯 friendly people & community⁣
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We can easily see why digital nomads keep coming back to this city and we hope we can explore more of Portugal (Porto, Algrave, etc).⁣
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Have you been a digital nomad in Lisbon before? What were your thoughts?⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadportugal #lisbon #lisbondigitalnomad #lisbonportugal #visitlisbon #visitportugal #europedigitalnomad
We embarked on another 6-hour bus journey to our n We embarked on another 6-hour bus journey to our next digital nomad destination on this Europe tour.⁣
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Zagreb, Croatia has been on our minds for a while. While most people think of Split or Dubrovnik, we wanted to visit the capital and see what it’s really like for digital nomads.⁣
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These are some things that we think of before choosing a destination:⁣
- Is there an active digital nomad community?⁣
- What’s the wifi speeds like?⁣
- Are there good coworking spaces?⁣
- Is the cafe culture buzzing?⁣
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And so much more! Our biggest concern was the community part. After traveling Serbia alone - we were starting to feel quite lonely! We joined an FB group and found someone had set up a weekly coworking day.⁣
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It’s always nerve-wracking going to events where you don’t know anyone but as digital nomads, you get acquainted pretty quick! TLDR, we had a pretty close group of 8 working from cafes together, exploring Zagreb and getting to know each other.⁣
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Zagreb is a great destination in Europe for a digital nomad wanting a more affordable cost of living while still exploring Croatia! 🇭🇷⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadcroatia #zagreb #zagrebdigitalnomad #zagrebcroatia #visitcroatia🇭🇷
Never did we think we would visit Serbia…⁣ ⁣ Never did we think we would visit Serbia…⁣
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…but we are SO glad we did!⁣
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Serbia surprised us in so many ways, we honestly didn’t know what to expect! ⁣
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That’s one of the ways we like to approach some of our travels - not judging the country by its cover. You can hear some positive (or negative) things about countries but you never truly know until you experience it for yourself. ⁣
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We spent a month living in Belgrade, Serbia and it wasn’t long enough! With such limited time, as digital nomads you have to hit the ground running to get settled into your new home. We used our first 3 days to find (good) cafes to work from, sign up for a gym membership and plan our travel across Serbia.⁣
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Here are some reasons we can recommend Belgrade to fellow digital nomads:⁣
- friendly, welcoming people⁣
- they have delicious food⁣
- high standard of living⁣
- relatively low cost of living⁣
- fast wifi with tons of cafes to work from ⁣
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We ate countless bureks, drank copious amounts of coffee and worked from some of the coolest cafes. We can’t wait to get back to Belgrade!⁣
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Serbia, you stole our hearts!⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #digitalnomadserbia #belgrade #belgradedigitalnomad #belgradeserbia #visitserbia
European Digital Nomad Summer 2022, incoming ✨⁣
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After 4 months in Medellin, Colombia - we decided to head to Europe for the rest of the year!⁣
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Travel planning just becomes part of your lifestyle as digital nomads - it almost becomes a side hustle. When we're not working or exploring, we are researching/booking our next destinations!⁣
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What countries did we decide on?⁣
🇬🇧 England⁣
🇦🇹 Austria⁣
🇭🇷 Croatia⁣
🇷🇸 Serbia⁣
🇫🇷 France⁣
🇳🇱 Netherlands⁣
🇵🇹 Portugal⁣
🇲🇰 North Macedonia⁣
and finally, a last-minute decision to visit...⁣
🇨🇾 Cyprus⁣
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We found flights for only $400 to London from Colombia! My lovely friend and her husband were the best hosts and showed us around their new home. We spent a week in London exploring, acclimating to this continent and working from Pret! ⁣
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TTA TIP: If you're in London, Pret has a subscription service for only about £30 and you get 5 drinks per day plus a cafe space to do a little work!⁣
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*I'm going to be recapping the rest of our 2022 as digital nomads for the next few posts, we are currently in Asia🤪 ⁣
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#workfromeurope #workfromwifi #laptoplifestyle #digitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #remoteworking #digitalnomadcouple #locationindependent #freedomlifestyle #fulltimetravel #digitalnomadeurope #remotework #workonline #workfromanywhere #workandtravel #digitalnomadlifestyle
Figuring out where to live can be difficult as a d Figuring out where to live can be difficult as a digital nomad. Medellin is a big city to navigate but there were some areas that stood out to us. ⁣
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We moved from Laureles to El Poblado in March to truly answer the question “Which neighborhood is best for digital nomads?” - there seems to always be a debate (for good reason). If you read our blog post on where to stay, you’ll know our answer 😉⁣
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If you hate working from home - you’ll love your ‘office’ options in Poblado! There are endless cafes, coworking spaces and free coworking zones in the mall (yes, free!). @elopenspace, @pergaminocafe and El Tesoro Mall are some of the faves!⁣
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Medellin, Colombia continued to impress us and we’re so glad we ended up staying here for 4 months in 2022!⁣
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#medellincolombia #medellindigitalnomad #colombiadigitalnomad #elpoblado #laureles #digitalnomadlife #funnytravel #traveltheworld #catchflightsnotfeelings #workandtravel #workfromwifi #digitalnomad #travellifestyle #traveladdict #travel #twoticketsanywhere
Settling into a new country as digital nomads isn’t always easy…⁣
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…We spent our first full month in Medellin, Colombia going through a list of things to sort out for ourselves (per usual).⁣
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It might look like we just land in a country and have everything sorted by day 1 but that’s certainly not the case.⁣
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In each country as digital nomads, you have to:⁣
- Buy a local SIM card (or find an eSIM solution - @airalocom & @realnomadtravel are our faves)⁣
- Find your local grocery store⁣
- Get connected with the digital nomad community (constantly putting ourselves out there)⁣
- Figure out where to work (coworking vs cafes)⁣
- Plan the activities we want to do while visiting the country⁣
- And so much more!⁣
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We heard so much about Medellin for digital nomads, we just had to check out what all the buzz was about (especially as we run a blog for digital nomads).⁣
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This was also my (Ashley’s) birthday month and we went paragliding for the first time (2nd pic). We flew with @paraglidingmedellin 💯 I absolutely loved it - if you get the chance, it was a great experience!⁣
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#medellindigitalnomad #colombiadigitalnomad #digitalnomadlife #funnytravel #traveltheworld #catchflightsnotfeelings #workandtravel #workfromwifi #digitalnomad #travellifestyle #twoticketsanywhere
2022 didn’t start off as we expected…⁣
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…lying on the beach in Thailand, one of our favorite places in the world. 🌴⁣
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Instead, we were touring a couple more US cities: Phoenix, San Francisco and Miami! At this point, we didn’t know how our year would look but we just needed to nail down our next location as digital nomads.⁣
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How did we do that? Simply go on Google flights, enter Miami (where we currently were) and don’t add a destination! There was one place that popped up that was high on our digital nomad destination list - Medellin, Colombia! 🇨🇴⁣
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For $245.15 USD total, Matthew and I hopped on a 2 hour plane ride to a country (and continent) we’ve never stepped foot on before! 🥹⁣
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We were tired of flying and traveling (faster than usual) and we decided to make Medellin our base for a few months but that’s for the next couple of posts to come…⁣
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#travelawesome #digitalnomad #fulltimetravel #travelinglifestyle #travel #digitalnomadlifestyle #laptoplifestyle #exploretheworld #passportcollective #traveldestination #digitalnomaddiary
Well, that's the truth...🤷🏻‍♀️ ⠀ Dig Well, that's the truth...🤷🏻‍♀️
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Digital nomad life isn’t for everyone.

There are days you’ll feel excited to live in a new country every couple of months, ready to learn about other cultures & always inspired by fellow digital nomads you meet on the road. 

But there are days where you’ll feel lonely, stuck, miserable and exhausted from moving and/or always making new friends. 

This digital nomad lifestyle is no way perfect, as it may look. But…

We wouldn’t have it any other way 🤍
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#travelreels #digitalnomadlife #funnytravel #traveltheworld #catchflightsnotfeelings #workandtravel #workfromwifi #digitalnomad #travellifestyle #traveladdict #travel #twoticketsanywhere #travelblogger #travelawesome #digitalnomadlifestyle #fulltimetravel #passportcollective #travelcouple #funnytravel

CATEGORIES

  • DIGITAL NOMAD
  • TRAVEL
  • WORK ONLINE
  • DESTINATIONS

Sunday Suitcase Newsletter

A newsletter for digital nomads! Each Sunday you'll receive an email with the latest nomad news, digital nomad lifestyle updates, new destination guides and work online tips to ease you into your week.

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