Las Palmas hillside riders use this airport bus instead of taxis
This Aeropuerto–San Diego–Las Palmas bus runs from T1 at José María Córdova (MDE) down toward Medellín via the Las Palmas highway, then finishes at the San Diego mall area. It’s the option scenery chasers and people staying along Las Palmas use when they don’t want to ride all the way into the valley first and backtrack by car.
Tickets sell on board in Colombian pesos, cash only, with prices typically well under what you’d pay for a metered taxi from MDE to San Diego. Buses load outside the arrivals area of T1 and share space with other Medellín-bound routes, so always confirm “San Diego – Las Palmas” with the driver before you sit down. Figure on airport-to-San-Diego ride times in the 45–70 minute range, depending on traffic and rain on the Las Palmas climb.
Service frequency varies through the day, with more departures during daytime and early evening and fewer late at night after 21:00. If you’re landing on a late Avianca or Viva-style arrival bank after 23:00, assume you may be waiting longer or may need to fall back to a taxi or app car at the curb outside T1. Ask airport staff “bus a San Diego por Las Palmas” and they’ll usually point you to the right bay.
One Reddit tip: riders heading to Airbnbs along Las Palmas sometimes ask the driver for a custom drop-off before the big descent into Medellín, near a hotel, restaurant, or mirador they know by name. You need the landmark ready in Spanish and clear timing, because the bus will not crawl at 20 km/h just to find your side road. If that sounds stressful, ride to the San Diego terminal stop and grab a metered city taxi back uphill instead.
Watch out for the twisty section of Las Palmas, especially on wet nights when fog and rain slow traffic and can make the curves feel rough. One user mentioned multiple passengers getting nauseous on a rainy run, so sit near the front, keep a plastic bag handy, and avoid staring at your phone for the 20–30 minute mountain segment. If you get motion sick easily, a taxi via the tunnel might be worth the extra pesos.
Step-by-step from arrivals at T1
- 1. Exit international arrivals at T1 and follow signs toward ground transport and buses; this is on the lower level of the terminal.
- 2. Look for buses marked for “Medellín – San Diego” and confirm with the driver that the route goes via “Las Palmas” before boarding.
- 3. Pay the fare in cash pesos directly to the driver or conductor as you board; keep the small paper ticket they hand you.
- 4. If you want a Las Palmas drop-off, tell the driver your landmark in Spanish before departure, for example “Parada en Mirador ****** por favor.”
- 5. Ride 45–70 minutes to San Diego; if you stay on to the last stop, grab a city taxi from the San Diego mall area to your final address using the meter.
One final tip: screenshot your address and a nearby landmark with the name in Spanish and show it to the driver before the bus leaves T1; it saves a lot of shouting over engine noise once you’re already on the hill.