The farm days in Palmitas
D’Arrieros and La Arrinconada are neighbours in San Sebastián de Palmitas, in the hills west of Medellín. The drive takes about 45 minutes each way, so on the four-hour La Arrinconada tour a good part of the morning is in the van. D’Arrieros runs a six-hour day with a mucílago frappé, tastings of a honey and a cherry process coffee, a Paisa lunch and a picker diploma. La Arrinconada keeps it shorter, with an aperitif and a fiambre lunch wrapped in leaves.
Both farms take large groups. Reviews of the same farms on other platforms describe groups being combined and, at La Arrinconada, waiting for other guests before the tour started. The paths are steep and get slippery after rain, so the farm days suit travellers with limited mobility less well. Closed shoes are a must.
Coffee by tram and cable car
The tour in La Sierra is run by Rosa and her family at Casa Finca de La Sierra in Comuna 8. You meet at San Antonio metro station, ride the tram and the Metrocable with the guide, visit a small museum and drink coffee at the family’s house. One reviewer points out that the plants you see are not on the family’s main farm, which is about 50 minutes away. Take it as a neighbourhood tour with coffee rather than a plantation visit.
Don Leandro is a small farm near Parque Arví, reached from the Arví Metrocable station. The visit is short and adds a massage, a coffee steam bath and a barista show, with seven guests at most. The last stretch of road is bumpy; a few reviewers felt carsick.
Seed to cup, and the private option
The seed-to-cup tour is sold on Viator by a Medellín company called Colombia Coffee Tour. It visits an organic farm on the edge of the city and the Green Hills roastery, so you see growing and roasting on the same trip, with pickup in El Poblado, Envigado or Itagüí. The listing gives the group size as both twelve and fifteen. Reviewers mention a long stretch before any food, so bring a snack. This site has a similar name but is an independent comparison and has no connection to that company.
The private tour by MedellinDayTrips is also only bookable on Viator. Reviewers name the farm as Bosques de la Doctora in Sabaneta or as the Don Antonio farm. Being private, the pace and the questions are up to you.
Total time against time on the farm
| Farm day in Palmitas | By Metrocable | Small group or private |
|---|
| Where |
San Sebastián de Palmitas, west of the city |
La Sierra (Comuna 8) or near Parque Arví |
Farms on the edge of the city and in Sabaneta |
| Getting there |
Hotel pickup in El Poblado or Laureles |
Meet at a metro or Metrocable station |
Pickup on the seed-to-cup and Medellin Peaks tours |
| Total time |
Four to six hours |
Three to four and a half hours |
Two to five hours |
| Of that on the road |
About 45 minutes each way |
The tram and cable car ride is part of the tour |
Not stated in the listings |
| Group |
Not stated; reviewers describe large, combined groups |
Seven at most at Don Leandro |
Twelve to fifteen on seed to cup, private with MedellinDayTrips |
| Food |
Lunch included |
Coffee in La Sierra, food at Don Leandro |
Not stated; on seed to cup reviewers mention a long wait for food |
Before you go
The farms around Medellín lie on steep slopes, and the paths are often wet. Wear closed shoes, bring insect repellent and sun protection, and leave valuables at the hotel. Where an operator asks for your passport, it is the number they need, not the passport itself. Tours that start at a meeting point, such as San Antonio station, are easiest to reach if you leave a little early. On the Aeroturex visit you ride the last stretch to the farm on horseback; the meeting point is in El Poblado.
A second day in Medellín? The tandem paragliding flights from San Félix also take off in the hills around the city; the flights, pickups and flight times are compared on paraglidinginmedellin.com.
