• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Want to see the best of Medellin? We got you covered. But as you can expect from a Withlocals experience, the real excitement is its hidden gems. Join your favorite local and get a feeling of the city's real vibe on a tour that has it all, so you can say: I experienced the real Medellin!

Destination

Medellin, Colombia

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Español

Included

• Private Guide
• 1 Local Snack or Drink
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to attractions

What you can expect

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at At the entrance of the museum - Medellin to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. City Highlights

   See from Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín, Junin Passage, Plaza Botero, and other landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots in town so you can get the perfect overview of what makes Medellin so unique

4. Hidden Gems

   Along the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists experience

5. Magical Storytelling

   Behind every landmark and every stop, there’s a story, and your local host is ready to tell it all. Get ready to listen to incredible stories, one-of-a-kind insights, and fun facts only a knowledgeable local would know!

6. Special Treat

   Follow your host to one of their favorite eateries for a snack or a drink beloved by the locals. Take a break and catch up with your new local friend and get the answers to all your travel questions

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Jo

(About local Jhoan )

9 August 2025

Our family of 4 (including 2 teenagers) really enjoyed Jhoan’s tour. His explanation of the history of the conflict at the Museo de la Memoria was particularly good and interesting and he then took us on a walk through bustling markets, stopping a sites of interest. A great way to safely see some of real Medellín and learn something at the same time Excellent, knowledgable guide

mailys🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Jhoan )

19 July 2025

Jhoan guided us through Medellin and it’s history He is very knowledgeable on it’s history and very generous with explanations and answering all our questions It was a real pleasure discovering the city with him

Liesbeth🇧🇪 Belgium

(About local Jhoan )

6 July 2025

Very friendly guide. Good guide

James

(About local Jhoan )

7 June 2025

Very adaptable and knowledgeable about the city and its history enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend to others Great experience

Lauren🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

(About local Jhoan )

23 February 2025

Jhoan was the best. Great communication leading up to the tour. He was really knowledgable and explained what is a very complicated history in an easily digestible manner. He gave great recommendations. Would definitely recommend! Awesome day!

Hannah

(About local Jhoan )

2 February 2025

We only had three days to try and see as much of Medellín as we could while visiting for a friend's party. Jhoan made those days perfect! We started with the general tour of Medellín and got a great amount of history and cultural immersion. El museo de la memoría was made much more impactful when we had Jhoan to walk us through the exhibit. It was very helpful in understanding more context for the Communa 13 tour we did the next day. Both tours were phenomenal and a highlight of our time in the city—we could not more highly reccomend a tour with Jhoan! Two incredible tours of Medellín

herman

(About local Jhoan )

19 January 2025

Todd🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

16 April 2024

We booked two tours with Jhoan and had a great experience. He is knowledgeable, friendly, patient and an excellent tour guide. We had a great time and saw sights we would never had seen on our own. Jhoan has a lot of knowledge about Medellin and shares from personal experience. Highly recommend!Excellent tour guide

James

(About local Jhoan )

5 April 2024

Jhoan gave an amazing tour of the city and it’s history. For anyone knew to medellin, this has to be the first thing you do to start your trip. There is no one better to give you a better view and appreciation for medellin and colombian history than Jhoan. 11 stars out of 10.Outstanding Tour

Lisa🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Jhoan )

2 April 2024

Jhoan was a great guide and told us about the history of the area and Colombia. He went at our pace and adapted the tour to meet our requirements. He was friendly and his English was great. We felt very safe with him and learnt so much about Colombian history. We would highly recommend a tour with Jhoan.Amazing

Cody🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

8 March 2024

Jhoan is fantastic and supremely knowledgeable about Colombian history, especially the hardships and narco stuff that you’re probably wondering about. The emotional weight of all that still burdens him, yet he’s happy to talk about it. 10/10 for him. “Hidden gems” implies to me that you’ll see things that are, well, hidden or at least off the beaten path. There wasn’t too much of that, but then again, this was our second tour with Jhoan in as many days, and there was some overlap so he did what he could to switch things up. The Museum of Memory was a somber but worthwhile highlight.A terrific guide but a poorly named tour

Emily🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

17 February 2024

We absolutely loved learning about Medellin, it’s people, and it’s history with Jhoan. He was an excellent guide and shared so many stories and places that helped us understand the place way better than a more general tour. Would recommend him to anyone. Wonderful experience with Jhoan!!

Jacqueline🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

17 January 2024

Mooie wandeling gehad en Jhoan weet veel over de geschiedenis,hij is een goede verhalen verteller. With locals is top, heerlijk om een privegids te hebben. Wij raden with locals zeker aan.Top wandeling

Devon🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

1 December 2023

I cannot recommend Jhoan enough as your guide to Medellin. He gave us a rich history of downtown Medellin, effortlessly weaving in multiple time periods in his narratives. We were able to ask him a range of questions about topics ranging from every day life to political developments and he provided us with an in-depth answer to anything we could think of. Please consider booking him for the best tour of Medellin you could possibly experience!Invaluable Insight, Powerful Narrator

Jordan

(About local Jhoan )

8 November 2023

Jhoan was a fantastic guide and was very knowledgeable about the history of Medellín. He was very friendly and helped with some recommendations for after our tour. This is the best way to get to know the city. Highly recommend as a first day activity in Medellín. Fantastic Tour

Unknown

(About local Jhoan )

7 March 2023

As a Medellin local who has direct lived experience with the community, Jhoan's close personal connection allowed him to provide insights on not just the key features of the Medellin but also the associated history, politics, and culture. His engagement was friendly yet professional and his knowledge of the city was clearly deep and nuanced. We would highly recommend Jhoan as a tour guide for any of your explorations of Medellin. Insightful Guide for an Interesting City

Aron🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

13 February 2023

We booked a tour with 3 persons with Jhoan and asked it to customize it a little. He did exactly that and surprised us with a lot of knowledge. He knows a lot about the history and even experienced quite some of it himself (communa 13/serving in the army/and more). Would highly recommend this above the other bigger walking tours!Best tour!!

Jon🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

25 January 2023

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Medellin with Jhoan. He has a great understanding of the City and it’s history and shared not just that knowledge but also his own personal experiences growing up here. It was excellent - highly recommend Jhoan.Great overview od Medellin

Jeff🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

20 January 2023

We had a fantastic tour of historic Medellin and Comuna 13 with Jhoan. He expertly tied the country’s political history and his own experiences into the tour. Jhoan’s knowledge from growing up in Comuna 13 and his passion for the people and the evolution of the community made the tour special. Highly recommended. Great tour of Comuna 13 and Medellin

thibaut🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

20 January 2023

Jhoan was an outstanding guide. Highly recommend him. He is full of knowledge and fun facts about his city Passionate about his city

adriaan🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

18 January 2023

From begin to end of this tour , he showing how special this part of city is in history, culture and the people . Even let me taste local foodInteresting and great tour

Sugehidy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

14 July 2022

We have an amazing time with Jhoan, we felt comfortable and safe. It was a great walking tour. Thanks so much for accommodate the tour to our needs and make us feel welcome. Amazing experience

Natasha🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Jhoan )

3 July 2022

Jhoan was super nice, very knowledgeable, showed us many things, and had incredible history and stories to share. Definitely worth booking with him, and even better to have the personalization of a local!Very Knowledgeable

Mike🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

1 July 2022

It was a little different than the description, but it was great. Would definitely recommend. Learned a lot about the city in a short time.Great tour

tilman.gust🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Jorge Ivan)

19 June 2022

Hi guys, I’m really not that guy who writes reviews but in this case I have to! It’s not about the tour, it was about our tour guide Jorge. First of all he came 30 minutes to late. He asked us what we should do in this tour but we’re not informed about Medellin so in our opinion it’s his decision to show us the top places of Medellin. Second one the palacio egypt was closed for what we payed & he was uninformed. Third he wasn’t sober in our opionion. His way of acting and talking to us was really wierd. Last but not least there wasn’t any introduction of the tour and he even didn’t introduced itself. Because of all these points we broke the tour after 20 min up. I guess with another guy and an real local, it would be way better and a good tour. Cheers Really NO recommend!!!

Hannah🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Jhoan )

17 May 2022

Jhoan is a super knowledgeable and fun guide. Having a lot of experience with “withlocals” guides I must say this was definitely one of the best tours I have had so far!! Not only did I see many things in Medellin but also I learned so much about Colombia, it’s history and it’s heritage. I would definitely recommend spending your time in Medellin with Jhoan if you get the chance to do it!Perfect day in medellin

Mateo🇪🇨 Ecuador

(About local Jhoan )

9 May 2022

Tomamos los servicios de Jhoan para el tour por el Centro de Medellin y fue un 10/10. La larga caminata no se sintio asi por la gran cantidad de datos que habian en el camino y las paradas estrategicas para descansar. Si o si deben hacer este tour con JhoanExcelente

Mathilde 🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

2 May 2022

Jhoan could tell us a lot about history , showed us highlights, gave background information. It was a great way to see and learn about Medellin and Colombia . He is a very nice, relaxed guy , helpful and a pleasure listening to . I did the tour with two teenagers and they were impressed and loved the trip ! I can recommend this trip to everyone who would like to know more about Medellin !! A great way to learn about medellin , super guide .

Allie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

15 April 2022

Our tour with Jhoan was one of the highlights of our trip to Medellin. I traveled with my husband to study Spanish, and didn’t feel like I was getting a feel for the city only walking from school and back in el Poblado. Jhoan was super informative, passionate about his city, and very generous with his time. He was also super gracious when we were 15 min late because of traffic. We would definitely recommend a tour with him, and planning on doing another on our next trip!A great experience!

Jeff🇨🇴 Colombia

(About local Jhoan )

18 February 2022

Very happy I booked a tour with Jhoan. Jhoan responded promptly and set up our meet quickly. He was waiting for me when I arrived and informed me that one of the tour sites was closed that day (Egyptian Museum) but he had alternate suggestions which turned out to be much better. I wasn’t that interested in seeing Egypt while visiting Columbia anyway. Jhoan is very knowledgeable in the history, struggles and cultures of Columbia in general and Medellin in particular. He is easygoing and fun. He answered all of my questions and provided many questions and answers that I hadn’t thought of asking. After only few hours I felt that I had an unbiased basic understanding of a very complicated country/culture. Wish I had a few more days to spend with him. Good stuff! Jeff Excellent Experience!

Adriana

(About local Jhoan )

30 November 2021

Muy buena persona y muy amable Muy buena persona y muy amable

Donald🇺🇸 United States

(About local Santiago)

27 November 2021

Guide never showed up and was not reachable!!!!! I have been waiting to hear from with locals regarding a refund and appropriate compensation for my lost time!!! Haven’t heard from them yet. Awful dangerous experience as I was alone in an unfamiliar place and no one available to help from the company. Guide never showed up!

Adriana

(About local Santiago)

26 November 2021

Muy buena persona y muy amable Genial

Marta🇭🇺 Hungary

(About local Jhoan )

8 August 2025

Jhoan has an impressive depth of knowledge about both history and the local area. His personal stories make the trip feel engaging and relatable. His summaries are excellent — clear, concise, and to the point. He constantly offered us choices about what we would prefer to see or hear about, and even allowed us to choose the route. He answered every question we had.What really stood out is his personality — he’s not the kind of tour guide who overplays the role; instead, he comes across as genuine and authentic, which made him instantly likeable.It’s absolutely worth it, because Jhoan is the one who turns the tour into such an interesting and memorable experience.Genuine and knowledgable guide

Vera🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

5 August 2025

Jhoan kent de weg en de historie van de wijk goed! Hij houdt ook goed rekening met het reisgezelschap. Fijne gids!

Daniella & Michael🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

3 August 2025

Veel dank aan Jhoan voor zijn boeiende verhalen en duidelijke uitleg tijdens onze communa 13 tour in Medellin. Jhoan spreekt goed Engels, vertelt veel interessante feitjes, is supervriendelijk en attent. Hele goeie ervaring en absolute aanrader!Interesting tour, great company

Jeremy

(About local Jhoan )

2 August 2025

You can’t get much better or well fed than with Jhoan! We toured around the city center while discussing the history, art, culture, food, and politics of Medellin, all while stopping at incredible food stalls and shops. He was very knowledgeable about everything so the tour felt more like a conversation between friends than a tour. Highly recommended! Had an incredible tour with Jhoan

Berber

(About local Jhoan )

2 August 2025

Jhoan is an excellent guide with a lot of interesting stories about Medellín/comuna 13. He’s flexible, patient and genuinely kind and he even let us decide which paths to explore along the way. We’d absolutely recommend him to anyone visiting the city!Excellent guide!

catalina

(About local Jhoan )

1 August 2025

I booked Jhoan because I wanted the tour of Comuna 13 to be fit for me and my family. Jhoan was absolutely a treat to have as our guide, he was so knowledgeable and sooo friendly. My whole family loved our tour and would definitely recommend him. #1

Susannah

(About local Jhoan )

29 July 2025

My husband, friend and I are new to Medellin and were looking to become more familiar with the city and history. We hit the jackpot with Jhoan! He has an intimate connection with the city and Comuna 13 in particular. You will get a thorough history of the warring factions that caused untold violence in Medellin as well as a resilient people who revived Comuna 13 to be the crown jewel of the city. Jhoan is an asset to honoring those who fell victim to violence. What an incredible and memorable day we had! Make sure you have the proper foot wear and stamina for countless stairs.Above and beyond

Claudia

(About local Jhoan )

28 July 2025

We had a wonderful day with Jhoan in Medellin. He was very knowledgeable about Medellin and its history. He was very friendly and helpful, and he was always in touch with us. Highly recommended!Fantastic

Jared

(About local Jhoan )

26 July 2025

Jhoan's tour began well outside the tourist zone and gave us great insight into the history and transformations of this fascinating part of Medellin. We saw other tours spending more time just taking instagram photos of street art, while Jhoan devoted more time to sharing with us the underlying story of the neighborhood.Not your typical tour of Comuna 13

Jared

(About local Jhoan )

26 July 2025

Jhoan walking tour of central Medellin is beautifully organized: you get a sense of the vibrancy and history of the city from many different perspectives, all animated by Jhoan's captivating storytelling and deep knowledge. He also has great tips for everything from musical venues to tropical fruits. We enjoyed this so much that we also booked the Comuna 13 walking tour with him.Captivating storyteller

Brian🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Jhoan )

23 July 2025

Really enjoyed the food tour of Medellín. Jhoan is a very nice guy and very knowledgeable about Medellín and it's history. He brought us around and we ate local foods until we couldn't eat anymore 😅Great tour

Adam🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Jhoan )

22 July 2025

Jhoan was a great guide for Comuna 13. He grew up in the Comuna and is very knowledgeable about it's history and Columbia's history in general. This kind of tour is essential for a good experience of this area as you will not learn the meaning behind any of the graffiti and why it is so important if you do it on your own or as part of a big group. We couldn't recommend Jhoan highly enough.Great tour

Iman🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Jhoan )

21 July 2025

I have never seen anything like Comuna 13 - despite having traveled to many places. The history and its current vibrancy stir all your emotions and senses. Jhoan is a great guide, knowledgeable, personal. He took us away from the beaten track and shared many fascinating and heartbreaking stories. A tour not to be missed. A tour not to be missed

Missi🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jhoan )

19 July 2025

Jhoan was extremely knowledgeable and fun to spend the time with getting an intro to Medellin! Highly recommend! Excellent

Hilde🇫🇮 Finland

(About local Jhoan )

17 July 2025

We had a great tour with Jhoan. First of all, it was a private tour, not like the 30+ people tours we saw. He has actually lived there most of his childhood, and it was really interesting to hear his own experiences. He would take us up alleys that were less crowded - because comuna 13 is incredibly crowded. He was also very open to answer all questions. We really enjoyed this tour, I definitely recommend it!An amazing experience with a local!

Francisco

(About local Jhoan )

15 July 2025

Jhoan was a great your guide. He made the experience enjoyable, fun and interactive. Even our young kids (10 and 7), enjoyed the experience and a fun way to learn about Medellin. Highly recommended!Great Tour

STEPHEN🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Jhoan )

15 July 2025

Jhoan is truly knowledgeable about Comuna 13 and Medellin/Colombian history, with deep personal connections to the neighbourhood. If you are seeking a touristy visit focus on fun and pretty pictures, perhaps look elsewhere. If you are looking for a deeper understanding and first-hard experience of a unique community, then this one is for you. Jhoan is a great communicator, very genuine and caring, planning the experience around our interests. He clearly knows many folks in the community and has a balanced and clear view of Comuna 13’s troubled past and bright (we hope) futue. Highly recommended!For those history minded, a moving journey