While most digital nomads who come to Colombia end up in the now-iconic city of Medellin, Antioquia, There are many more options for those looking for a bit more adventure.

As a digital nomad, a few things are vital: namely: internet access, a safe and comfortable place to work, and cheap, quick food right around the corner.

Manizales, luckily, offers all three.

Why Manizales Colombia?

About half a day south of Medellin, Manizales, Caldas is smack in the middle of the coffee triangle and an excellent home base to explore the region for a week or two. Or, you can use it as a stop-over between the beautiful small towns of Jardin, Antioquia, and Salento & Filandia.

Manizales is a medium-sized city and is located way up in the mountains with an elevation of 2,160 meters- which means the air is a little thin but you can comfortably walk around in a t-shirt and pants during the day.

Why Manizales over Pereira or Armenia? This is for a few reasons but the biggest is this: Manizales has a small central area about 2 km or 1 mile long that is considered pretty safe by Colombian standards.

I spent 3 days in Manizales and during that time I felt safe enough walking around alone (as a single *very* caucasian woman, mind you) during the day and early evening in the Centro area. There were always families and couples around- a big factor when I considered safety in Colombia for myself.

There’s also the benefit of some really good workspaces. And INTERNET. While I LOVE the small coffee towns for their charm, their internet is, quite frankly, pretty sh*t. Manizales won’t blow you away with lightning-fast speeds but you also won’t be tempted to throw your computer at the wall. I uploaded a high-res Youtube video there in about 2 hours.

Golden Frog Hotel

Also known as Golden Frog Mountain hostel, staying here is what made my stay in Manizales so great.
It’s in a prime location just a few hundred meters from the cathedral and main square. The rooms are large and comfortable and very affordable. A private twin room currently goes for COP 75,000 or about $20 USD/night.

There are also a couple of different lounge areas and dedicated workspaces so you can *actually* get some work done.
Also, the staff are incredibly kind and accommodating which is so nice.
And did I mention there are *hot* showers? A precious thing to find in Colombia.

Getting around Manizales:

Unless you have a car, you’ll probably show up in Manizales at the transportation terminal in the south of the city.

From here you can take a taxi to the Centro which will run you between 9,000 and 20,000 depending on how much the driver thinks they can swindle you.

If your driver doesn’t know your hotel, you can try to guide them there (I highly recommend downloading Colombia on maps.me) or you can just have them drive you to the Plaza de Bolivar and walk if your hotel is nearby.

Your other option is to take the cable car which runs from the bus terminal to the center of the city. (Did I mention Manizales is pretty much a mountain itself?) The cable car costs about 2000 COP, which is pretty dang cheap.

The cable car lets you out about a 10-15 minute walk from the cathedral in an area that’s pretty safe to walk around.

Where to Eat & Hang Out in Manizales:

Carrera 21, 22, and 23 all within a 5-10 minute walk from the Plaza de Bolivar are good places to find food & groceries.

Right behind the cathedral is a (mostly) pedestrian street (Carrera 23) filled with shops and food vendors. You can easily find cheap street food here for all tastes. It’s usually crowded during the day and early evening, which generally spells safety for us solo travelers BUT

As with any Colombian Street, this is not the place to be flashing around your camera, wallet, or cell phone. Personally, I keep my valuables tucked away in a theft-proof bag.

I also keep a small change purse with no more than ($15 USD/ 50,000 COP) easily accessible (please read also stealable) in a pocket. Sure, it would suck to lose it, but it won’t kill me. And I find it much more convenient and less *hey look at the gringa with the big wallet* than pulling out my wallet from its very safe location every time I want to spend 1500 on an arepa.

I’m not a big ~fancy~ eater so I only went out for a nice meal once in Manizales, but it was a NICE meal. La Azotea Rooftop is on the top floor of one of the big municipal buildings in the main square. The restaurant has great food and a beautiful view. On a clear day you can see the mountains of Los Nevados.

What to do in Manizales

Honestly, not much. You can have a few nice meals and walk around the Central Area, maybe find a friend or two and venture to one of the parks.

If you’re into birding and have a friend or two, you can walk down to Ecoparque Los Alcázares Arenillo, which is home to dozens of species of native birds. It’s a decently safe walk but I wouldn’t go alone. I was lucky and made friends with a local birder who took me there!

BUT

Around Manizales there is PLENTY to do. You can spend a day or a few visiting a Finca, AKA Colombian Coffee Farm, or a cacao farm if that’s more your thing.

You can spend a day visiting Santa Rosa de Cabal and the famous hot springs there.

Most popular, you can embark on a trek through Los Nevados National Park, one of the most beautiful Mountain parks in Colombia. Almost every trek through Los Nevados is a multi-day excursion, so come prepared with hiking boots and warm clothes if this is in your itinerary.

You can also use Manizales as a return-to-city base for exploring Salento and Filandia if you’d like. Manizales is about 1.5-2 hours from both, but you’ll end up passing through Pereira (where I do NOT recommend staying) and changing buses each time.

Some Things to Note:

Would I recommend staying in Manizales long-term? Probably not. Unless you’re an intense nomad who needs really good internet Monday through Friday and then spends all weekend mountain climbing in the nearby Los Nevados national park, there is not so much to do in Manizales that you could stay there for a month or two.

Also, because it’s not a popular destination, you probably won’t run into too many other nomads, unlike in Medellin, where you can make friends who may stay near you in the city for months.

As Manizales isn’t as popular a destination, you need to be more cautious as a tourist, especially if you are *ahem* a very obvious gringa or gringo:

I mentioned this earlier but it’s worth saying again: DO NOT FLASH YOUR VALUABLES. Keep that camera, wallet and even phone hidden away unless you’re sitting down in a restaurant or in your hostel. If you want to take a pic, hold the phone with both hands and put it away immediately.

Don’t go out late at night- especially alone. As someone who has no interest in partying, this one is easy for me, but if you do want to go out, proceed with caution. Most violent thefts I’ve heard of tourists experiencing in Colombia happened at night when they’re drunk.

Dress Conservatively- especially as a woman. Look, as a foreign woman in most of Colombia, you’re going to attract some attention no matter what. In cities with fewer tourists, even more attention. With my pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes I couldn’t be inconspicuous in this country if I tried. But I try, nonetheless.

You don’t have to go all out but keep the booty shorts for Palomino and wear a pair of long pants and a t-shirt if you’d like to avoid *most* comments and catcalls.