Medellin Reports

[Zeos1]

The topic of tipping culture for travelers anywhere is a common question. It is both correct but misleading to say that Colombia does not have a tipping culture. The original poster asked about multiple scenarios with tipping, but one of them was "The waiter asked me for a tip when I was taking the food away. Is this a country where you have to tip?

It is completely normal in most restaurants for them to ask "can I add service" which is 10%. Or some will automatically add it. Either way you can refuse it or ask to have it removed. Places that are Arepa stands, executive lunch places, or "order at the counter" places don't ask for it. Or put another way. Its pretty obvious about the places that will ask for it or automatically add it. Vs the places that don't. I spend most of my time in non gringo areas with Colombians half the time.

But in my experience. That type of tipping is completely normal and I feel like you should say yes unless something has gone horribly horribly wrong. Cartegena to me is scam city the way they treat tourists, so I don't like to use it as a data point.

The 10% tip is included automatically as it is legal for them to do that, however they are supposed to ask if it is ok. Mostly that is what is being asked when they ask you about a tip. But sometimes they won't bother to ask. It just is on your bill.

[JackTaggart]

Colombia doesn't have a tipping culture. Many of the places in Poblado will add a service charge (tip) to your bill. I would have ignored the guy who asked for a tip.

The topic of tipping culture for travelers anywhere is a common question. It is both correct but misleading to say that Colombia does not have a tipping culture. The original poster asked about multiple scenarios with tipping, but one of them was "The waiter asked me for a tip when I was taking the food away. Is this a country where you have to tip?

It is completely normal in most restaurants for them to ask "can I add service" which is 10%. Or some will automatically add it. Either way you can refuse it or ask to have it removed. Places that are Arepa stands, executive lunch places, or "order at the counter" places don't ask for it. Or put another way. Its pretty obvious about the places that will ask for it or automatically add it. Vs the places that don't. I spend most of my time in non gringo areas with Colombians half the time.

But in my experience. That type of tipping is completely normal and I feel like you should say yes unless something has gone horribly horribly wrong. Cartegena to me is scam city the way they treat tourists, so I don't like to use it as a data point.

[Gabacho]

Colombia doesn't have a tipping culture. Many of the places in Poblado will add a service charge (tip) to your bill. I would have ignored the guy who asked for a tip.

I think it's a good gesture to leave a tip for the hotel maid. 4 mil a day should be sufficient, unless you asked for special service, like more towels.

On either my first or second trip to Colombia back in 2018 in Bogota I tried to tip the maid 5 mil because she showed me to my room and made sure I had a clean towel and roll of toilet paper.

I said gracias and handed her a 5 mil bill and she got mad at me. She put her hand up and refused to take it and she was like "they pay me here" I kinda got the impression that she thought that I thought that she was poor and was offering her the 5 mil to make up for what she should be getting paid.

Since then I have stayed there mainly times over the years and Doña Gloria always greets me with a hug every time I see her but I never ever have offered her a tip since that first time and I don't offer tips anywhere else I go either because of that experience. And when people ask for tips I frown on it like they are over-entitled and I treat them the same way as girls asking for free money I'm like "soy pobre".

[Wkahddl2]

The security guard just let you walk away with an umbrella? When you returned it, I suppose as you were leaving the barricaded area, you should probably give him 4 or 5 mil for being a nice guy. Otherwise, security guards in the park get no tips unless they do something for you.

Colombia doesn't have a tipping culture. Many of the places in Poblado will add a service charge (tip) to your bill. I would have ignored the guy who asked for a tip.

I think it's a good gesture to leave a tip for the hotel maid. 4 mil a day should be sufficient, unless you asked for special service, like more towels.

There are plenty of convenience stores. There's one just outside the park on Calle 10. They won't be 7/11's, rather they'll mostly be mom and pop stores. The best place to buy condoms is at a pharmacy.

Thanks for the advice! I think the translator is strange. It means that the security guard at the hotel lent me an umbrella when I left.

[FloridaGuy123]

Hey guys, doing a short trip down to Medellin this weekend. Let me know if anyone wants to grab a beer!

Does anyone have any good recommendations for casas or parlors? Would like to get an erotic massage where the girl takes her time!

[Jim0129]

Best restaurants to take a new chica? Interested in modern, trendy but not unnecessarily expensive. Places like Colossal, tho they have some $$$ dishes.

Coming to MDE this Friday for 3 nights. Feel free to DM me if you want to share ground reports. Not new to scene, have done BOG, CAR, Mexico, west EUR. My Spanish is weak, 30's guy.

Don't want to do standard Poblado / Lleras run so I linked up with some mutual locals (friend of friend), a couple guys who run their own tourism setup. I'll name & post review after.

My trips are short, I'm the wham bam x 4-5 girls a day in Tijuana or BOG but for 1st in MDE I'm slowing the pace, ideally 2 awesome full service girls for the whole weekend.

Have access to some girls through the mutuals, and set up with a girl through a rec from this forum. Turns out she's a "madame" as well. I'm hoping to make trustworthy long term contacts.

Lodging: Airbnb. Nice chill apartment in Envigado. Not close to Poblado, but being outside tourist zone in a nicer neighborhood seems to avoid lodging upsells & girls restriction. Since I'm not focusing on Lleras girls, distance doesn't matter.

Facebook: Didn't have the patience to make a new one, rumors of getting banned.

Instagram: I prefer IG over FB, feels more casual as a regular IG user. Looked up trendy MDE restaurants, found public accounts of girls with "the look" & treasure dove from there. Stuck to girls with public and sizeable but not huge presence, dove further into their friends list. Have 2-3 IG girls on retainer if needed.

Agencies: EroticasBogota (used them in Bogota, had a gorgeous girl for 375 k cop / HR), thet have MDE girls. Also LaCelestina. These are my last line of defense.

Tinder, Bumble: Pass. I already have Hinge, but the pool in MDE is small.

LLeras, Clubs: Gusto, Black Diamond, Fase Dos, La Isla. I know I'll check out Lleras as a walkthru and the clubs just to say I saw it. Since I'm mostly solo & my Spanish isn't great I don't want to get caught in bottle fees, exit fees, ripoffs so I doubt I'll pick up club girls. In CAR it was great, no covers or fees, walk in and grab any girl to your place & negotiate independently. Since I won't be desperate I can see if they bite low ball offers.

From there I'm keeping it loose since I don't know what to expect or overcommit.

It looks like a solis plan, I am planning a trip myself, I look forward to reading how it went for you.

[Mr Enternational]

And should I leave a tip on the bed for the lady who cleans the place, like in Thailand?

I have lived in Thailand for 15 years and I have never left any tips on the bed when I travel around the country. Why do you do that?

[Fun Luvr]

I'd like to ask you a few more questions before I go to bed.

I went to the park and it was raining, so the guard lent me an umbrella.

It's not that he lent me an umbrella, it's that I'm going to see a lot of security guards whenever I bring a girl.

How much should I tip security guards? What's a reasonable Colombian peso tip, not too much, not too little?

And is Colombia a tipping culture? The waiter asked me for a tip when I was taking the food away. Is this a country where you have to tip?

And should I leave a tip on the bed for the lady who cleans the place, like in Thailand?

And don't they have convenience stores in Colombia? I don't think I've seen one while ubering around the city. Where do you buy condoms?

And where else do you pick up except el centro, lleras park, escort service, strip club? Are the street hookers only in el centro?

Lastly, is it not possible to attach a photo unless I pay $25 and subscribe, because it seems like if I do, the post doesn't post.

The security guard just let you walk away with an umbrella? When you returned it, I suppose as you were leaving the barricaded area, you should probably give him 4 or 5 mil for being a nice guy. Otherwise, security guards in the park get no tips unless they do something for you.

Colombia doesn't have a tipping culture. Many of the places in Poblado will add a service charge (tip) to your bill. I would have ignored the guy who asked for a tip.

I think it's a good gesture to leave a tip for the hotel maid. 4 mil a day should be sufficient, unless you asked for special service, like more towels.

There are plenty of convenience stores. There's one just outside the park on Calle 10. They won't be 7/11's, rather they'll mostly be mom and pop stores. The best place to buy condoms is at a pharmacy.

[FFlintstone69]

I'm only pointing out the unequal media treatment. Foreigners are a convenient scapegoat in Colombia. The age of consent is 14 here.

Doesn't this law only address novios and novias.

[Mr Enternational]

but I wouldn't expect any foreigners at 2 am in there,.

9 times out of 10 I stay downtown so I am actually a 2 am foreigner. The underage group and person I reported about was at precisely that time in Raudal.

[JustTK]

Predictably, the government maintains crime statistics and Colombians in the majority in this and every other category.

Would love to see some stats, or should I say some honest stats. Am not sure they could even pin real charges on many, and what category would the criminals fall in to? USA is the only country I know of where their law from home haunts them wherever they go (along with the IRS). Everyone else obeys the law of the land in which they currently are. Maybe there are some other countries. BUt I am not aware of them. So a USAn could be guilty of an act that is not illegal in Colombia for Colombians nor other foreigners. It seems farsical.

[JustTK]

And where else do you pick up except el centro, lleras park, escort service, strip club? Are the street hookers only in el centro?

You can always get a good price 24/7 from the boys and girls on Cra 50, a few blocks before the street splits in to Palace and Junin and enters Centro proper.

[AdamWl]

Ouch! I have only been to Centro like 10 years ago to tour Botero park so this is an honest question. Are foreigners with minors really a huge problem or a statistical anomaly because of bad news bias? Is there any validity to this sign or establishment just trying to appease the police?

Yeah this is mostly so they can point and say "Look at the sign we've put up! We're on with the bad gringo program too!

It's all for show IMO, I have never even seen any foreigner step foot back there anyway, so initially I thought the message might be personally for me or smth LOL. Besides, it's like couple rooms only and it closes early.

There aren't that many underage centro WGs during the daytime in my experience. But yes, there are other hotels known for not checking cedulas and I do occasionally run into some 17 yo or of age Vennie without papers and then later do see them using hotels. One 17 yo recently was trying to convince me to still go with her to the room, showing me whatsapp photos of many gringos that she went with without issues trying to assure me it's all safe etc. (no I didn't).

Apparently most underage work centro late night, from what two WGs told me while we were watching the police action the other day, but I wouldn't expect any foreigners at 2 am in there, I assume it's mostly locals, so I don't expect the police to loose any sleep over that.

Also, if they have caught any gringo during last week action it would be all announced as a great success on the news so I assume they didn't.

[Mr Enternational]

Are foreigners with minors really a huge problem or a statistical anomaly because of bad news bias? Is there any validity to this sign or establishment just trying to appease the police?

I do not know if it is a huge problem, but what I do know is that minors are there regardless of the foreigners being there or not. The foreigners are not going there and bringing the minors themselves. What I also know from reading this board is many foreigners have no ability to discern. Many can not tell a man dressed as a woman from an actual woman or an under 18 year old from a 20 year old.

Unfortunately it is probably the guys always saying they like them 18 that will go younger if presented the opportunity. And downtown is a place where opportunity presents itself.

I reported years ago walking by a bar where I saw obvious underage girls. I stopped to ask how old one of them were and she said 15. Yeah the Minnie Mouse clothing and the yarn bracelets kind of give it away. I was taunted by an older women if I was scared and I said damn right and walked away. It is fucking funny how the news and politicians are playing "the foreigner made them do it" card when the people that frequent the place know the youngsters are already there waiting for whoever will pay them.

[Knowledge]

Predictably, the government maintains crime statistics and Colombians in the majority in this and every other category. It's no different in any other country; locals predominate unless the violations are immigration related. Local conservative media and politicians have been working overtime the past couple of months to position foreigners as the the heart of the abuse of minors problem. Rupert Murdoch publications in the UK, Australia, and the US have been similarly positioning immigrants and foreigners in those countries. It's cynical and dishonest politics. If you compare the way cases involving foreigners are covered to the way cases involving Colombians (again, they make up the vast majority) it' very striking. Colombian suspects are not identified, sometimes not even after a conviction. The faces of Colombian suspects are obscured. Foreigners are doxxed from day 1. The Livingston guy's passport photo page with none of the details obscured is still making the rounds in local media. The guy who had the drugs, guns, and chica party in Guatape had his face plastered all over the media in photos with every other person's face obscured. The cases with foreigners always appear on front pages of newspapers and as the lead story of news broadcasts. To be fair, the Colombian cases don't generate as much attention precisely because they are so frequent that they are mundane. I am in no way defending these guys. I'm only pointing out the unequal media treatment. Foreigners are a convenient scapegoat in Colombia. The age of consent is 14 here. So when you do see cases involving Colombians the victims are really very young. The guy who got caught with two street urchins in a motel in La Estrella highlighted a common scenario in which the young girls work the late night streets and are taken to motels on the outskirts of the city. He got caught because he got into a loud argument with the girls. That case disappeared from the media.

I don't see how anyone could provide you with anything but an anecdotal answer plucked out of their AR $e. I could say yes or no with equal validity. But I think it is clear that the issue is being used for political gain.