How to get from Medellín to San Gil

A comprehensive guide explaining your options for getting from Medellín to San Gil. Find out how to do the journey by bus or plane.

Medellín is Colombia’s culture capital while San Gil is the place to be for outdoor adventure. So if you like soaking up a country’s history, food and art but also exploring its nature, then you should visit both of these cities.

Getting from Medellín to San Gil and vice versa is easy and your options are taking a bus or flying. If going by bus, then you’ll have a connection in Bucaramanga and flying is either direct or with a connection in Bogotá.

In this guide I’ll explain these options in detail including the costs and timings. I’ll also cover how to get to the bus terminals and airports in either city and using the metro system in Medellín.

Getting to the bus terminal in Medellín

There are no direct buses between Medellín and San Gil. Instead, you need to first take a bus from Medellín to Bucaramanga, the capital city of Santander Province, and then another bus from Bucaramanga to San Gil.

Buses from Medellín to Bucaramanga leave from Terminal del Norte, a large, busy terminal. You can get here easily with the metro from Medellín’s touristy districts such as Laureles-Estadio (Laureles) and El Poblado.

A map showing the location of Terminal Del Norte bus terminal in Medellín as well as the districts of Laureles-Estadio and El Poblado. — You can reach the terminal from either Laureles or Poblado in less than 45 min by metro.

If coming from Laureles, you can take metro bus Ruta 0 all the way to Estación Caribe, which is connected to Terminal del Norte by a footbridge.

Instead of taking the metro bus, you could take the metro train. First get on Line B and stay on until Estación San Antonio where you’ll switch to Line A to go to Estación Caribe.

If coming from Poblado, then simply take Line A all the way to Estación Caribe.

Using the metro in Medellín

Medellín’s metro is an integrated system of buses, trams and trains connecting much of the city. It’s a safe and cheap way of getting around and most places are reachable with the metro.

Te standard fare for a single metro journey is 3,900 COP ($1 US) and the most convenient way is to buy a rechargeable Civica card and keep it topped up.

With a Civica card you don’t have to buy a ticket, but instead can head straight to the barriers, scan the card and then continue to the platform.

In my guide to getting around Medellín as a tourist, I explain how to use the metro including ho to buy and use a Civica card.

A map of Medellín's metro system. The map shows the colour coded train lines running through the city. — _{Source: Metro de Medellín CC 4.0.}

Buses between Medellín and Bucaramanga

The journey takes roughly 7 h 30 min and buses leave from early in the morning to late at night. I recommend taking a night bus, ideally around 23:00, so that you arrive around 6:30. This way you’ll save on a night of accommodation.

A map showing the journey buy road between Medellín and Bucaramanga. — The journey takes you between Antioquia and Santander provinces.

There are several bus agencies operating the route between Medellín and Bucaramanga but the most reputable include Copetran, Expreso Brasilia and Omega.

Expreso Brasilia and Copetran are usually slightly cheaper than Omega and tickets start at around 95,000 COP ($23 US).

You can buy tickets for both legs of the journey, between Medellín/Bucaramanga and Bucaramanga/San Gil, at once. For this, prices start at around 120,000 COP ($30 US).

The cheapest way to book your bus ticket is at the agency’s kiosk inside the terminal or directly on its website.

But if you prefer booking on comparison sites, then redBus and BusBud are your best options. There’s usually a small commission of around 4,000 COP ($1.5 US) for booking through these.

The terminal in Bucaramanga is Terminal de Transportes de Bucaramanga. This is a large, busy terminal too.

Getting to the bus terminal in San Gil

There are 2 bus terminals in the city. 1 is called Terminalito, a small bus station near the middle of town serving closer, regional destinations such as Barichara. The other is Terminal de Transporte San Gil, 2 km from the central plaza serving longer, intercity routes.

A map showing the location of Terminal de Transporte (bus terminal) in san Gil, Colombia. — A taxi ride between the terminal and city centre takes roughly 10 min.

Buses between San Gil and Bucaramanga leave from/arrive at Terminal de Transporte. A taxi is the most convenient way to get from San Gil city centre to the terminal and should cost around 8,000 COP ($2 US).

There are also small buses called busetas which are cheaper. However, I haven’t been able to find more information about these online so you’ll have to ask at the terminal.

Buses between San Gil and Bucaramanga

The journey between these 2 cities takes roughly 3 h and prices start at around 27,000 COP ($7 US). The main bus agencies are:

A map showing the journey by road between San Gil and Bucaramanga , Colombia. — The journey between the cities by bus lasts 3 h.

Transsander is usually the cheapest as their vehicles are minibuses and not large, more comfortable coaches. However, there’s not much difference in cost among all the companies.

The terminal in Bucaramanga is Terminal de Transportes de Bucaramanga.

Flying between San Gil and Medellín

There are 2 options to do the journey by plane. The first is to fly between Medellín and Bucaramanga and the second between Medellín and San Gil.

Option 1: Medellín – Bucaramanga

Avianca and LATAM operate the Medellín-Bucaramanga route but only Avianca has direct flights; LATAM goes via Bogotá. Flights start at around $100 US 1-way and Skyscanner is your best bet for getting a good deal.

A map showing the flight journey between Bucaramanga and Medellín, Colombia. — This flight also only lasts 55 min.

The airport in Medellín is José María Córdova International and in Bucaramanga it’s Palonegro International. In Bogotá the airport is El Dorado International.

The direct flight time is slightly less than 1 hour. The flight time from Medellín to Bogotá is just under an hour too and the flight time between Bogotá and Bucaramanga is slightly more than 1 h.

Option 2: Medellín – San Gil

According to this 2024 Tripadvisor thread, Pacifica Airlines has 4 flights weekly between Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín and Los Pozos Airport in San Gil on Mondays and Fridays.

A map showing the flight journey between San Gil and Medellín, Colombia. — The flight is short only taking 55 min.

The creator of the thread contacted Pacifica Airlines himself and found out that the flight costs around $110 US each way and that there are very strict baggage policies. The flight time is roughly 1 h.

Unfortunately Pacifica Airlines’ website doesn’t seem to be working but here are its contact numbers to book tickets:

Whatsapp: +57 321 848 6818 or +57 319 230 5057
Landline: +57 300 912 5165

Getting to/from the airport in Medellín

Olaya Herrera Airport

This is the airport which you can see running through the middle of Medellín. You can easily get here on the metro from Laureles-Estadio by taking Line B to Estación San Antonio and then Line A to Estación Poblado. From Estación Poblado it’s a short walk to the airport.

From the district of Poblado it’s best to take a taxi. The airport is only 3 km away and the ride should cost around 10,000 COP ($2.5 US). Uber operates in Medellín which is usually a bit cheaper than regular taxis.

José María Córdova International Airport

This airport lies 25 km outside of Medellín in Rionegro. The journey time between the city centre and the airport used to be 1 h, but the opening of the Túnel de Oriente (East Tunnel) in 2019 cut this to just 20 min.

A map showing the location of Jose Maria Cordova International Airport just outside of Medellín, Colombia. — The airport is 25 km outside of Medellín in Rionegro.

Unfortunately you can’t take the metro, but there are several other options, the most convenient and more affordable including:

Shared taxi between the airport and San Diego Mall – maximum 4 people / 32,000 COP ($8 US) per person to the mall / 27,000 COP ($6.5 US) per person to the airport

Airport bus to either San Diego Mall or behind Nutibara Hotel – 20,000 COP ($5 US)

Here’s a link to more detailed advice and transport options between Medellín and José María Córdova International Airport.

Getting to/from the airport in Bucaramanga

Palonegro International Airport sits atop a cliff 15 km outside of Bucaramanga and getting here takes around 30 min. Your best option is to take a taxi between Terminal de Transportes de Bucaramanga and the airport.

A map showing the location of Palonegro international Airport near Bucaramanga, Colombia. — It’s a 30 min taxi ride between Palonegro International Airport and the bus terminal.

At the time of writing this guide, the taxi fare is fixed at 34,500 COP ($8.5 US) but goes up by 600 COP ($0.15 US) at night.

I’ve also read online that there’s a bus company called Azula operating a shuttle service between the airport and Terminal de Transportes de Bucaramanga.

However, I couldn’t find a website for Azula nor further information about this service so it may no longer be operating. You can always ask about it at the bus terminal or the airport.

Getting to/from the airport in San Gil

Los Pozos Airport is roughly 9 km outside of San Gil and to get here you’ll need to take a taxi. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly how much this costs nor whether there are buses.

A map showing the location of Los Pozos Airport in San Gil, Colombia. — The taxi ride between the airport and bus terminal takes 30 min.

There’s practically no information online about getting between the city and the airport and I haven’t done this journey myself.

Have a smooth journey from Medellín to San Gil

So those are your options for doing the journey. If going by bus, you’ll be on the road for around 10 h not including connecting in Bucaramanga.

If flying direct then the journey takes just under an hour while the total journey time with a connection in Bogotá is around 3 h 30 min.

And while you’re in San Gil, I highly recommend heading to Barichara – Colombia’s ‘most beautiful’ town – for a few days.

More Santander recommendations:

All Medellín guides on A World Over:

How to get From Medellín to San Gil: Your Options Explained