I hated it. To begin with, I am not a bus person. I need gravol for my motion sickness. This bus ride was supposed to take 4 hours and it ended up as 6 1/2. Plus it was 6 1/2 hours of windy roads. This happened to me already in Colombia and now I’ve learned my lesson. Non stop windy roads through mountains. The trip from Manizales to Medellin via bus reminded me that I hate bus trips.
The Roads from Manizales to Medellin via Bus
These roads were filled with trucks. Trucks that can’t handle windy roads up and down hills, so have to stop and wait at every single turn until there is enough room for them to navigate. Some of these waits lasted 15 minutes. Some felt like they were taking 30 minutes.
Brian said it was going to be worth it for the views. Nope. This wasn’t an epic road trip like The Garden Route or the Ring of Kerry. Not worth it. Hated it. Should have flown.
Losing my Book
Plus in all the desire to leave the most hated bus ever I left my Lonely Planet Colombia behind. I packed light but that was one of my prized possessions. It served its use and I am fine without it. It was pretty thin on Medellin – really? Only 4 pages for the 2nd biggest city in the country? Fine. We’ll use our wits and we’ll see how that goes! Maybe some good stories ahead!
At Least It’s Over
That bus ride was terrible though. Keep in mind when they say how long a bus is going to take here to add 2 hours. We left at 2:30 and got to our hotel at 9pm.
On the bright side: We are alive and only lost a Lonely Planet. We made it to Medellin and I already love it!
Logistics Manizales to Medellin
The trip from Manizales to Medellin is just under 200 kilometers and drive time is estimated at 5 hours. Buses run frequently through multiple bus companies and ticket prices start below $20. Alternatively, a one-way plane ticket is approximately $100 USD, you change planes in Bogota, and it takes about 3 hours. It’s ultimately everyone’s decision what to do, but I should have flown.
