Medellín bursts into a kaleidoscope of color, music, and tradition every August during the Feria de las Flores. While guidebooks will tell you about the Flower Festival's iconic parades, concerts, and floral displays, there’s another side to this celebration that only locals like myself know.
The event is arguably the city's biggest celebration of the year, one that is even more popular than the annual Christmas lights. But you might not want to come.
Yes, it is a magical time in a city full of magic, and you can easily find countless blogs telling you about the history of the event and why it should be on everyone's wishlist to see in person.
But my promise to you as Medellín's leading travel advisor is to always give you the information you need to have an authentic and unforgettable experience here while saving time and money. And there are definitely some challenges that come with being here during the festival.
Here are four to keep in mind:
1. Plan For A Long Wait To Enter Colombia
Medellín is usually in the news these days for positive reasons. The ongoing staffing shortages at our international airport is not one of them. What used to be a relatively quick process when I moved here in 2018 has become a two hour or more ordeal that only looks to get worse before it gets better. Popular tourism periods have seen even longer delays.
Guess what is the most popular tourism event of the year? That's right, the Flower Festival.
2. Give Yourself Plenty of Extra Time To Get Around
I love how on most days, with reasonable traffic, from Poblado you can either walk or take an Uber and arrive at your destination in about 15 minutes. The Feria de las Flores is not most days.
With visitors in town this year I made the mistake of suggesting we meet at one of my favorite café's in the awesome Floresta neighborhood. That is usually a 20 minute ride. During the Flower Festival, with its insane amount of traffic, you can put a one in front of that as it took almost two hours. Another moment saw a normally five minute ride to the mall take 45 minutes.
Lesson learned, and visitor beware.
Santafé Mall has lots of flowers and lots and lots of people
3. Get Ready For Packed Crowds at the Mall
Speaking of the mall, Medellín has a few that will blow your mind. Spectacular views. Trendy shopping. Not bad food. And very Instagram-friendly retail theater. Santafé Mall in Poblado is one of the most popular, and it has developed a reputation for putting on one of the biggest floral displays in the city. With that reputation comes lots and lots of people.
Have you survived the sheer madness of a crowded mall on Black Friday? Then you might, just might, make it through this one during a Flower Festival weekend. Never again.
This is probably my preferred way to see the silleteros
4. Think Twice About Attending the Silleteros Parade
The grand finale of the Feria de las Flores is the iconic Desfile de Silleteros. The Silleteros Parade honors the people who have helped establish Medellín and the surrounding area as one of the most verdant and floral destinations in the world, one of the reasons I am so proud to live here.
But guess what happens when hundreds of thousands of people want to attend the parade? Chaos.
If you are going to stand along the parade route and watch for free, prepare to arrive hours early and likely wait hours more as the start time is often delayed. If you want tickets to sit in one of the bleachers you will either need a lot of 1) luck as only a limited number are offered via a raffle to the public or 2) money as resellers look to make a profit.
I had never been, but got lucky this year as a neighbor gifted me three to take my visitors. That was very nice of her. Not so nice was the storm we stood in while trying to get there, and then being denied entry even though we arrived 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.
Perhaps it was for the best, as we noticed the "covered" bleachers were more like screens and didn't completely kept out the sun or the rain.
Leaving to eat delicious arepas instead ended up being a much better plan.
What Does Your Perfect Medellín Trip Look Like?
Whether you decide to come for the Flower Festival is ultimately up to you. But you can be confident that when you work with The Paisa Plan, you'll always get the truth about every aspect of visiting or moving to Medellín. Most of it is amazing, but nowhere is perfect.
When the time comes for your Medellín experience, start by downloading my FREE 16-page The Insider's Guide to Visiting Medellín. It's filled with essential info such as where to stay, what to bring, ways to get around, and how to plan the perfect day with some of the city's top spots. There are even some suggestions for alternative times of the year to visit if you'd rather avoid the Flower Festival.
To download the guide and learn how I can help you have an authentic and unforgettable Medellín experience while saving time and money, one that will include plenty of flowers no matter when you come, click here:
Thank you for reading, enter your email address below to be notified of future blogs, and I hope you enjoy the (sometimes crowded) magic of Medellín!
- Jason ✨🇨🇴