Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, National Litographic may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Every backpacker who rolls into El Poblado on a Sunday gets told the same thing by whoever checked in before them: clear your Monday. Sunday Funday Medellin is not a casual afternoon drink, it is a five-venue, wristband-fuelled, pool-hopping marathon that has eaten more travel itineraries than any delayed flight ever could. Here is exactly what happens, what it costs, and how to survive it with your camera, your wallet, and your dignity roughly intact.
The short version: you buy a wristband, you get shuttled between a series of hostels and pool venues across El Poblado, each one with open bar or heavily discounted drinks included, and somewhere around venue four you’ll realize you haven’t eaten since that empanada this morning and you’re definitely not sober. That is the plan. That has always been the plan.
What Exactly Is Sunday Funday Medellin?
Sunday Funday Medellin is a weekly pool party crawl that runs every Sunday in El Poblado, Medellin’s gringo-heavy backpacker district in the south of the city. The concept is simple: one wristband gets you access to five different hostel pool parties, spread across the afternoon and into the evening, with transport between each venue included. You’re not just getting a party, you’re getting a moving party. The crowd is almost entirely backpackers and budget travellers, mostly in their 20s, mixing with a solid showing of Colombians who know exactly what Sunday in El Poblado looks like.
It runs year-round. Rain, shine, national holiday. Medellin sits at about 1,500 metres above sea level, so the heat is real but not brutal, and the pool at midday actually makes sense instead of feeling like a bad decision.
The Cost Breakdown (What You’re Actually Paying)
Wristbands run around 120,000 to 150,000 Colombian pesos, which works out to roughly $28 to $35 USD at current exchange rates. That sounds like a lot until you remember it covers entry to all five venues and transportation between them. The open bar situation varies by venue but you’ll generally get unlimited or heavily discounted beers and rum-based drinks at each stop. Aguardiente will happen to you. Accept it.
You can book your wristband directly through your hostel front desk, which is the easiest method, or through any of the tour desks that dot Parque El Poblado and the streets around Calle 10. A lot of hostels, including the big party-forward ones like Selina, Wandering Paisa, and Black Sheep, sell them at the desk and might even include a slight discount if you’re a guest. Worth asking.
Budget an extra 80,000 to 100,000 pesos ($18 to $23 USD) on top of your wristband for additional drinks, snacks, and maybe a late-night burger from one of the street spots near Parque Lleras when it all finally winds down. Total damage for the day: somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 pesos ($46 to $58 USD). For a full day of pool parties plus drinks, that’s genuinely cheap by any standard. If you need help setting a travel budget before you fly, the backpacking basics guide has solid general advice on managing money on the road.
The Five Venues: What Each Stop Actually Feels Like
The specific hostels on the rotation change depending on who’s partnered with the organizers that week, but the circuit tends to run through established El Poblado names. Expect stops at places like Selina El Poblado, Casa Kiwi, Wandering Paisa, and a couple of smaller boutique hostels that have pool access and the right vibe. The route kicks off around noon or 1pm and each venue gets roughly 90 minutes before the group moves.
The first stop is usually the most chill one. People are fresh, slightly nervous, still making conversation without screaming over music. By stop three, nobody is nervous about anything. By stop five, someone has lost a flip-flop and it is not going to be found.
Subscribe To Our Mailing List
Get updates and learn how to party
Venue quality does vary. Some pools are actually nice, full-size affairs with good sound systems and proper bars. Others are more “large plunge pool with a Bluetooth speaker” energy. The social atmosphere carries every single one of them regardless, because you’re moving through with a pack of 40 to 80 people who are all committed to the same ridiculous project. If you’re travelling solo, Sunday Funday is one of the genuinely great ways to meet people fast. Book your bed at a solid El Poblado hostel through Hostelworld before you arrive, because hostels within walking distance of the crawl fill up fast on weekends.
The Honest Stuff: What Nobody Tells You Before You Go
First: eat before you start. This seems obvious but apparently it isn’t, because there is always someone wilting by stop two. Grab a bandeja paisa or at least a solid almuerzo from one of the spots near your hostel beforehand. You will thank yourself.
Second: leave your good camera at the hostel. You’re going into multiple pools across the day. Your phone goes in a zip-lock bag or a cheap waterproof case, not your pocket. Petty theft around crowded tourist events in El Poblado is real, particularly phones and loose valuables left on the pool deck. Keep your bag locked, your phone on your person or stowed, and your wristband on tight. These aren’t scare tactics, it’s just what a friend who’s been there would tell you.
Third: Sunday Funday is genuinely overrun with tourists and that’s fine, but don’t expect to be rubbing elbows with locals at every stop. If you want a more Colombian Sunday experience, Medellin’s barrio parties and neighbourhood rumba nights are a different world entirely. Sunday Funday is an expat-backpacker bubble, and it’s a very fun bubble. Just know what you’re signing up for.
Fourth: drink water between venues. The shuttle is not air-conditioned, the sun is doing its thing, and altitude plus alcohol is a combo that sneaks up on you. One bottle of water per venue is not excessive.
The Colombia government’s official tourism site also has solid general safety information for visitors to Medellin worth reading before your trip, especially if it’s your first time in the country.
The Aftermath: Surviving the Night (and Monday)
The crawl officially winds down around 8pm or 9pm, which in Medellin terms means the night is actually just starting. A chunk of the group will migrate to Parque Lleras or Provenza for dinner and bar-hopping. Provenza, the pedestrian strip running off Carrera 35, is the move for atmosphere: open-air bars, good cocktails, and a crowd that goes late. Calle 9 and the streets feeding into it are where the reggaeton and late-night clubs are if you’re still standing.
The smart play is to eat something proper between the crawl ending and whatever comes next. Heura or El Rancherito near Lleras are solid options for actual food. A proper meal buys you another few hours and means you wake up with a headache instead of a full-blown catastrophe. There is a difference. Respect the difference.
Monday you will feel it. Keep Monday free. This isn’t advice, it’s physics. If you’ve got anything else happening in Medellin that week, check out our broader destinations hub for more on what the city offers when you’re back to functional. And if Sunday Funday’s got you wondering how to pace yourself through a longer multi-day event, the festival survival guide covers the core principles pretty well.
Key Takeaways
Sunday Funday Medellin is a legitimately fun, genuinely cheap day-drinking pool crawl that works best when you go in prepared and realistic about what it is.
- Buy your wristband (120,000 to 150,000 pesos, around $28 to $35 USD) from your hostel desk or a Parque El Poblado tour operator before Sunday morning, not on the day.
- Eat a proper meal before the first venue, and drink water between every stop. Altitude plus alcohol catches people out faster than they expect.
- Leave expensive cameras at the hostel and keep your phone in a waterproof case or zip-lock bag. Pool decks are not the place for loose valuables.
- Budget a total of 200,000 to 250,000 pesos for the full day including the wristband, extra drinks, and late-night food near Parque Lleras.
- Clear your Monday completely. This is not negotiable.
Go in with food in your stomach, a locked hostel locker behind you, and zero plans for the following morning, and Sunday Funday Medellin delivers exactly what it promises.
FAQs
How do I buy a Sunday Funday Medellin wristband?
The easiest way is through your hostel front desk in El Poblado, most of the big party hostels sell them. You can also pick one up from the tour operator desks around Parque El Poblado. Don’t leave it to the morning of, some Sundays do sell out, particularly in high season between December and February and again in July and August.
What is included in the wristband price?
Entry to all five pool party venues and transport between them. Most stops include either an open bar or significantly discounted drinks. You’ll still want extra cash for food, extra drinks at venues where the open bar has limits, and tipping staff who are genuinely working hard all day.
Is Sunday Funday Medellin safe?
El Poblado is one of Medellin’s safest neighbourhoods and the crawl itself moves in a large guided group, so the event is considered low-risk by local standards. The main things to watch are keeping your phone and valuables secure on pool decks, not wandering off alone late at night, and sharing your plans with someone at your hostel. Don’t carry anything you can’t afford to lose.
What time does Sunday Funday Medellin start and end?
It typically kicks off at noon or 1pm with the first venue and the official circuit wraps around 8pm to 9pm. After that you’re on your own, and plenty of the group migrates to Provenza or Parque Lleras to continue the evening. Give yourself from midday to midnight if you’re doing the full thing.
Can I do Sunday Funday Medellin solo?
Yes, and it’s actually one of the better solo travel activities in Medellin specifically because you’re dropped into a large, sociable group from the start. You don’t need to show up with friends. You’ll have some by venue two.
Did You Survive Sunday Funday Medellin?
If you followed the basics, ate breakfast, kept your phone zipped up, and cleared Monday, you probably had one of the better days of your whole trip. Sunday Funday Medellin is cheesy, touristy, and completely worth it. Go once, do it properly, and the only thing you’ll regret is that empanada you skipped before venue one.
