Colombia Calling: Your 6-Day Medellín & Cartagena Adventure Awaits!

Planning a 6-day Colombia trip and would love some local advice — Medellín + Cartagena

My friend and I are visiting soon(end of april) from toronto and currently thinking of splitting the trip as roughly 4 days in Medellín and 2 days in Cartagena (more like 1.5 days in Cartagena plus a Rosario Islands day trip).

Current rough plan:

• Fly into Cartagena
• Go to Medellín for most of the trip
• Do Guatapé as a day trip
• Possibly visit a coffee farm near Medellín
• Return to Cartagena for the last part of the trip
• Rosario Islands boat day on the Cartagena side

A few things we’d really appreciate advice on:

1. Is 4 days Medellín / 2 days Cartagena the right split, or would you change it?
2. Is Guatapé worth it, or is it overhyped?
3. Any good coffee farm experiences near Medellín that are actually worth doing?
4. Best areas to stay for first-timers? We’re currently thinking El Poblado in Medellín and Getsemaní in Cartagena.
5. For accommodation, what would you recommend between hostels, Airbnbs, and hotels? We care about location, safety, convenience, and decent value. Budget is about $500 USD per person total for 6 days just for stay.
6. Any places with great social vibe but still comfortable/private enough for two friends traveling together?
7. Best food spots we shouldn’t miss in either city? Open to local food, seafood, steakhouses, late-night food, cafés, etc.
8. Any bars/clubs/lounge spots worth going to in Medellín and Cartagena, especially if we want a fun night out but not total chaos/tourist traps?
9. Best Rosario Islands boat tours or ways to do it without ending up on a bad overcrowded party boat?
10. Is it easy/safe enough to get around with Uber/Cabify/taxis in both cities? Anything to know about airport transfers or moving around at night?
11. Any scams, areas, or situations we should really avoid and be mindful of?
12. Best SIM/eSIM options for tourists right now?

Would also love any “don’t miss this” recommendations for either city, especially things that are actually worth the time and not just hyped on Instagram.

Thanks in advance.