How to get to Salento from Medellin

We tried to find information about how to get to Salento from Medellin by bus online for a while and while there were some good sources, most were outdated. so we thought we'd make out own!

You've decided to go to Salento which is probably a great idea (Spoiler, it is) so you already know how good it is, im not going to go into it and instead get straight to the facts!

parked bus with mountain in background — Flota Occidental Bus

Booking your bus tickets

There are 2 options to get your tickets to Salento. The first option is to just show up at the Terminal Del Sur bus station and buy them there. The second and more popular among tourists is to book the tickets online. Whichever you choose you'll pay the same price. If you are booking online you will either use Bookaway.com or busbud.com both of these also reflect an identical price BUT we recommend using busbud wherever possible because it allows you to choose your seats. We had multiple people randomly seperated who had booked on Bookaway.com or in person!

There are 3 departures from the Medellin Terminal del Sur station at 9:15, 2pm and 9pm. The most popular route is the 2pm but we opted for the 9:15.

bus schedule to Salento — Flota Occidental bus schedule

Arriving at the Terminal del Sur bus terminal

When you arrive you head inside and follow the 'Transport box office' signs all the way through to the Flota Occidental desk. There you present your booking and passport and they'll print you some paper tickets and let you know where the bus will pick up.

Flota Occidental Bus tickets at the front of the flota occidental office — Flota Occidental Bus tickets

Getting on the bus

The bus boards through the south gate which is right around the corner from the ticket office. You show your ticket and move through metal detectors and into a sort of waiting lounge. Theres no point heading outside and waiting by the bus as they seem to usher everyone back inside to check tickets there before boarding the bus (Usually in Colombia they check them as you board, this was different)

once your onboard you can find your seat and depending on the bus you will get a small, medium or large bus. We got the medium sized bus which was pretty new and actually had WORKING tv screens with movies and games. The seats reclined a bit but i wouldnt characterise the seats as big. There was also no toilets on this or the small bus. We settled in for the ride.

The Journey to Salento

You'll notice the tickets might say 'Medellin - Pereira, Pereira-Salento' which we thought might indicate the need to change buses in the Near Salento town of Pereira. Thankfully we didn't and we rode the bus the whole way. The Journey is supposed to be 6 hours but as with any bus in Colombia you need to allow at least 30% extra time. The bus took us 8 hours total. We stopped extensively in traffic 3 times at which some people took the opportunity to relieve themselves in the bushes by the side of the road.

Our first REAL stop happened at 13:50, thats 4.5 hours into the journey so make sure you don't need the bathroom when you board! The stop was a good one and had multiple restaurants and stores as well as a free toilet that was big and seemed to be cleaned regularly. We were there for almost exactly 30 minutes.

Arriving in Salento

We continued on the bus and arrived in Pereira at 16:10 where we stopped for 10 minutes, some people got off, some got on and some tickets were checked once again. From there it was only another hour of driving we arrived at the Salento terminal which was only a quick 10 minute walk uphill into the iconic town square of Salento.

Salento bus terminal — Salento bus station