One of the most popular things for travelers to do while visiting Medellin, Colombia is to explore the nearby colorful Andean village of Guatapé. This resort town is known for its vibrant historical buildings and Piedra el Peñol, a 656 foot granite monolith towering over the landscape below. While you can certainly visit Guatapé on your own, joining a tour here makes it so much less logistically challenging—and can actually be a steal! So if you want to skip the headache of getting here on your own, here are the 6 best tours to get from Medellin to Guatapé.
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Is it worth going on a tour from Medellin to Guatapé?
In full transparency, it’s not that hard to get from Medellin to Guatapé by yourself. We actually wrote a whole guide on how to get from Medellin to Guatapé, but, in short, you can head to Terminal del Norte in Medellin, purchase bus tickets, and hop on a two hour long ride to Guatapé.
However, it’s definitely not the cushiest of experiences—the station is chaotic and the buses don’t have air conditioning, are crowded, and have pushy buskers on them.
On the other hand, tours provide a much cushier experience—you’ll generally be picked up and dropped off directly at your hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle, provided meals, and chauffeured around to enjoy some of the best things to do in Guatapé, like exploring a coffee farm, enjoying a cruise on its lake, or even playing paintball in one of Pablo Escobar’s former mansions.
Plus, some of them are REALLY affordable.
While a roundtrip bus ticket from Medellin to Guatapé will cost around $10 USD, you can get a tour that includes roundtrip transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle (including hotel pickup and dropoff), breakfast, lunch, time to climb up Piedra el Peñol and explore downtown Guatapé, AND a boat ride on Guatapé-Peñol Reservoir, all for under $40. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!
Best tours from Medellin to Guatapé
With that, let’s talk tours from Medellin to Guatapé!
1. Group tour to Guatapé with a boat ride
If you’re looking for the best bang-for-your-buck, this is definitely it! This is the tour mentioned above, which comes with a LOT of perks for its pricepoint (under $40!).
The tour includes pick-up and drop-off from most hotels in Medellin on a private shuttle.
On your way to Guatapé, you’ll stop to enjoy a traditional Colombian breakfast and then make your way to Piedra el Peñol (also known as Piedra del Peñol and The Rock of Guatapé), where you can climb the 708 steps to the summit and take in the spectacular views of the lake and its dozens of tiny islands sprawling below.
Afterwards, you’ll have lunch in Guatapé and have about an hour to stroll around its cobblestone streets and admire its zócalos (colorful en bas sculptures that are affixed to the baseboards of the buildings’ exterior), before boarding a boat to explore the lake.
Despite its reasonable price point, this tour is really well executed, from the delicious food offerings and the pacing of the stops to the engaging guides. If you don’t mind traveling with a group (this tour can have up to 40 guests), this absolutely would be our pick!
2. Group tour to Guatapé and coffee farm
If you have a short time in Colombia and are trying to squeeze in experiencing as much as possible in your day trip, this small group tour is an excellent option.
You’ll be picked up from your hotel (or even the airport!) in Medellin in an air-conditioned vehicle and then head to Guatapé, where you’ll have time to climb Piedra el Peñol and have time to wander around its historic downtown. While you’re in Guatapé, your guide will show you around a market, where you can eat a variety of exotic and incredibly fresh fruits, like passionfruit and mango.
The last activity of the tour is a stop at Finca Miller, a family-run coffee farm in the neighboring town of Peñol. You’ll learn about the production of the beloved caffeinated beverage on this tour—but it’s actually so much more fun and interactive than that! You’ll get to plant coffee beans, pick coffee cherries, and, of course, taste some incredible brews that are grown right there on the farm.
The small group experience (just 8 guests!) allows you one-on-one interaction with the guides, who are all funny, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing the history and culture of Guatapé and this region with you.
3. Private tour to Guatapé with helicopter and boat ride
If you’re looking for a more *exclusive* tour option, this one is totally private!
You’ll be picked up from your accommodations and driven to Guatapé, where you’ll get a lay of the land by cruising around its lake. This is the perfect place to take in the surrounding scenery, ranging from Pablo Escobar’s former lakefront mansion (yes, really!) to the iconic Rock itself. Afterwards, you’ll head to downtown Guatapé for some lunch and time to explore.
The inarguable highlight of the tour is hopping in a helicopter and flying over the Guatapé-Penol Reservoir AND over Piedra el Peñol. One of our favorite ways to see new landscapes is by helicopter—it’s really the only way you can get a bird’s-eye perspective!
Finally, you’ll end the tour at Piedra el Peñol, where you’ll climb to the summit with your own two feet and get to take in the beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding Andes Mountains.
The guides on this tour group are incredibly knowledgeable and, because it’s a private tour, you’ll have more flexibility if you want to spend more time wandering around the town’s cobblestone streets or admiring the views at the top of Piedra el Peñol. Plus, did I mention the helicopter ride is hella cool!
4. Private tour to Guatapé with ATVing
If you want to include some pumping adrenaline in your Colombia itinerary, this tour from Medellin to Guatapé includes pick-up and drop-off directly at your hotel in El Poblado or Los Laureles and heads straight to an ATV site that’s about halfway between the two cities.
For the next hour and a half, you’ll zoom on gravel paths through the jungle and on the slopes of the Andes Mountains. There’s a variety of ATVing routes that you can choose from, depending on your skill level. You’ll have two guides on the trail—one that rides in front of you and one behind you. So if you’re a total newbie to ATVing, you’ll always have someone who’s got your back (literally!).
Once you’re done zooming down the pathways, you’ll head to Guatapé, with a short stop along the way at a local farmers market to taste some fresh tropical fruit, like tamarillo and dragon fruit.
Afterwards, you’ll take a guided walking tour of Guatapé’s charming downtown, with time for you to explore on your own and for lunch. And, of course, you’ll stop at Piedra el Peñol and have the chance to scale its famed staircase.
The guides for this company are fantastic, from their impeccable English to how well-known and respected they are in Guatape.
5. Private paintball and ATVing tour in Guatapé
If you’re looking for an action-packed tour to Guatapé (or the perfect bachelor or bachelorette party activity here!), it doesn’t get more adrenaline pumping than this—you’ll get to ride ATVs AND play paintball at one of Pablo Escobar’s mansions!
On this private tour, you’ll be picked up in an air-conditioned car at your hotel in Medellin and whisked away to Guatapé. Once in town, you’ll get to hit all of the main highlights in town—cruising in a luxurious boat around the lake, climbing Piedra el Peñol, and exploring the cobblestone streets of its downtown area.
But the highlight of the tour is the two hours that you’ll get to spend at Finca La Manuela, Escobar’s former lakeside mansion. The guides for this company are SO knowledgeable about Escobar and his impact on Colombia (both good and bad!) and do a great job of helping you have an awesome time ATVing and paintballing at the beautiful property.
6. Private Guatapé and Dam Tour
For a bit more of a relaxing and luxurious outing, this all-inclusive tour is much more laidback with a two hour boat ride around the lake (complete with beer and wine, if you so choose!) and lunch at a lakeside villa.
You’ll be picked up from your hotel and driven to Guatapé, where you’ll kick off the tour with one of its highlights—a cruise around the reservoir, including sailing past Escobar’s mansion, the dam, and the enormous granite monolith that you just climbed up. Beyond just the beautiful views of the surrounding Andean landscape, you’ll also get to drink some cervezas and learn more about the area’s history from your local guide.
After your cruise, you’ll head to a private cabin on the lakeshore, where you’ll enjoy lunch (prepared right in front of you on the grill!), local fruits, and, of course, some really solid Colombian coffee.
You’ll then have a few hours to mosey around its shops, stroll along the lake’s shores, and learn more about its colorful zócalos. You’ll end your trip climbing Piedra el Peñol, where you’ll get a birds eye view of the landscape you just spent the day exploring.
I hope you enjoy your day trip to Guatapé—it was definitely our favorite thing we did while we were visiting Medellin! Do you have any questions about any of these tours or visiting Guatapé? Let us know in the comments below!
