Medellín Bus Terminals: A Guide to Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur

Medellín has two bus terminals that make it easy to travel cheaply to many cities and pueblos in Colombia. We provide a guide to Medellín’s two bus terminals: Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur, as requested by several readers.

Finding a bus to your destination in either bus terminal in Medellín is easy. The ticket windows in the bus terminals have destination signs. And you can ask security or other people working in the terminal which windows sell tickets to your destination. Also, some destinations will have more than one bus company providing service.

There is usually no need to book in advance for most destinations. But if traveling to a popular location like Bogotá, particularly on holidays, it is good to book in advance.

In addition, for most destinations there will be multiple buses each day. For example, from Medellín to Bogotá at Terminal Norte, just the Bolivariano bus company has eight buses per day.

Also, bus fares are relatively inexpensive. For example, the bus fare from Medellín to Bogotá is typically 60,000 pesos or 80,000 pesos for first class on the Bolivariano bus company. And from other bus companies the fare to Guatapé is only 15,000 pesos, to Jardín – 25,000 pesos and to San Carlos – 21,000 pesos.

But keep in mind the bus rides to cities further from Medellín can be long trips with the long, windy mountain roads in Colombia. You have mountain ranges to cross.

For example, the bus ride from Medellín to Bogotá is at least nine hours and sometimes even longer. And from Medellín to Cartagena I have heard takes something like 15 hours.

So, I only take buses for shorter trips to pueblos near Medellín. For longer trips like to Bogotá or Cartagena I use cheap flights in Colombia.

Medellín Bus Terminals History

In 1973, Colombia created a “Master Plan” for the institutionalization of bus transport terminals in Colombia. In addition, Medellín created Sociedad Terminales de Transporte de Medellín to be in charge of the organization and administration of bus transport terminals in the city.

The first Medellín bus terminal, “Mariano Ospina Pérez”, opened in February 1984 in the northern part of Medellín. And this terminal is now known as Terminal Norte.

This first bus terminal was approaching capacity by the early 1990s. So, a second bus terminal, “Alberto Díaz Muñoz”, was built that opened in April 1993. And this second bus terminal is now known as Terminal Sur.

The Terminal Norte bus terminal in Medellín

Terminal Norte – the Medellín North Bus Terminal

Terminal Norte is the busier of the two bus terminals in Medellín. In addition, this bus terminal has buses that primarily go to locations north and east of Medellín.

Terminal Norte has 54 ticket windows with many different bus companies that provide service to over 120 destinations in Colombia.

Inside Terminal Norte

Some of the more popular destinations served from this terminal include:

• Abejorral
• Barranquilla
• Bogotá
• Bucaramanga
• Cartagena
• El Carmen de Viboral
• Guatapé
• Marinilla
• Medellín’s José María Córdova Airport
• Rio Claro
• Rionegro
• San Carlos
• Santa Fe de Antioquia
• San Rafael
• Sonsón

You can see a complete list of destinations from Terminal Norte on the TerminalsMedellin website.

Some of the food options in Terminal Norte

There is a small food court in Terminal Norte. And in the terminal, you can find a total of over 20 different places to eat including fast food and restaurants.

One of the outlet stores in Terminal Norte

There are also several shops to be found in Terminal Norte. Over 30 shops are listed on the Terminal del Norte website.  Also, several of these are outlet shops with good prices in my experience.

The Terminal Sur bus terminal in Medellín

Terminal Sur – the Medellín South Bus Terminal

Terminal Sur has buses that primarily go to locations south of Medellín. And Terminal Sur is located next to the Olaya Herrera Airport.

This bus terminal has 49 ticket windows with many different bus companies that provide service to over 90 destinations in Colombia.

Inside Terminal Sur

Some of the more popular destinations served from this terminal include:

• Abejorral
• Armenia
• Bogotá
• Cali
• Jardín
• Manizales
• Medellín’s José María Córdova Airport
• Pereira
• Popayan
• Salento

You can see a complete list of destinations from Terminal Sur on the TerminalsMedellin website.

The food court in Terminal Sur

Similar to the north bus terminal, there is also a small food court in Terminal Sur. And in Terminal Sur, you can find a total of over 25 different places to eat including fast food and restaurants.

Courtyard in Terminal Sur with some shops surrounding it

In addition, there are several shops to be found in Terminal Sur. Over 20 shops are listed on the Terminal del Sur website.

How to Get to the Medellín Bus Terminals – Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur

Both bus terminals in Medellín are easy to get to. It is possible to get to both terminals via the Medellín Metro.

Terminal Norte Address: Carrera 64C # 78-580, Medellín

To get to Terminal Norte, the north bus terminal, take Line A of the metro to the Caribe station. And the bus terminal is directly connected to the metro station with two short pedestrian bridges from either side of the metro station.

Go to Caribe metro station for Terminal Norte

Terminal Sur Address: Carrera 65 # 8B-91, Medellín

To get to Terminal Sur, the south bus terminal, take Line A of the metro to the Poblado station. And the bus terminal is located about a 15-minute walk west from the metro station.

Or there are taxis normally lined up at the Poblado metro station. And it’s a minimum fare 5,500-peso taxi ride to the bus terminal.

Terminal Sur is a 15-minute walk from the Poblado metro station

Another way to get to the either of the bus terminals is via taxi . All taxi drivers in the city know where Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur are located.

In addition, when leaving either of the two bus terminals it’s typically easy to catch a taxi as there is normally a line of taxis.

The Bottom Line: Medellín Bus Terminals – Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur

Medellín’s two bus terminals and all the bus companies providing service make it easy and relatively inexpensive to travel to many pueblos near Medellín as well as to other cities in Colombia.

I have used these bus terminals many times over the past nearly eight years I have lived in Medellín to travel to pueblos near Medellín.

Each time I called to find out when buses were scheduled to depart to my destination. And I arrived about an hour before the scheduled departure and never experienced a problem getting a ticket.

The bottom line is that bus travel in Colombia to other pueblos and cities is very convenient and cheap. And Medellín’s two bus terminals are relatively easy to navigate to get to your destination.

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