This year, three things land on the same weekend in Medellín. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31. Ritvales, the city's biggest open air electronic music festival, runs that Saturday and Sunday at Parque Norte. And Monday, November 2 is a national holiday, which turns the whole thing into a three day weekend for Colombians.

If you are already in Medellín or landing that weekend, this guide covers what changes in the city, how to get to the festival and back, how locals actually celebrate Halloween, what the roads look like during the long weekend, and good plans if a festival is not your thing.

Short answer: From Saturday, October 31 to Monday, November 2, 2026, Medellín has Halloween, the Ritvales festival at Parque Norte and a holiday long weekend all at once. Outside the festival and the nightlife areas, the city runs normally. Expect a packed Provenza and traffic on Halloween night, crowds around Parque Norte on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and full highways leaving and returning to the city. Book your festival return transport in advance, skip Comuna 13 on Sunday unless you go around 8:30 a.m., and if you want to visit Guatapé, go early on Saturday or wait until Tuesday, November 3.

The Weekend at a Glance

Ritvales 2026: What to Know Before You Go

Dates, venue and entry

Ritvales 2026 takes place on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1 at Parque Norte, Carrera 53 # 76-115, in the north of Medellín. The festival started in 2014 and says it has welcomed more than 50,000 people over its history. This year Carl Cox is curating the full lineup of the Vortex main stage, and the bill includes more than 70 artists, among them Paul van Dyk and Adam Beyer.

Doors have been listed for 2 p.m. on both days, and entry is only for people 18 and over with ID, so bring your passport or a valid ID. Buy tickets only through the festival's official ticketing channels. Resold wristbands and screenshots of tickets are a common way visitors lose money at big events.

Getting to Parque Norte

Parque Norte is one of the easiest big venues to reach by Metro. The closest station is Universidad, on Line A, and the walk from the station to the park entrance takes about five minutes. If you are staying in El Poblado, Line A runs straight from Poblado station to Universidad with no transfer.

Keep in mind that Parque Norte sits right next to the Jardín Botánico, Parque Explora and the Planetario, so the whole area around Universidad station will be busier than usual on both festival afternoons.

Getting back

The return is where most visitors run into trouble. At the time of writing, the Metro has not announced extended hours for Ritvales. As a reference, for EDC and the Altavoz festival earlier this month, it extended Lines A and B until 11:30 p.m. Check the Metro's official channels before you go, and remember that Sunday, November 1 runs on a Sunday schedule.

By car, the drive from El Poblado to Parque Norte takes around 30 minutes on festival afternoons, and the trip back at night can be closer to 20 minutes once you are out of the venue area. The hard part is not the drive itself but finding the car. When thousands of people leave at the same time, ride apps get very high demand, prices surge and cars get reassigned while you wait. Mobile signal around a crowded exit can also fail, which makes it hard to request a ride or find your driver at all.

That is why we strongly recommend booking your return before the night starts. Agree on a fixed time and a pickup point a few blocks away from the main gate rather than at the entrance, and make sure everyone in your group knows where it is before the signal becomes a problem.

Staying safe at the festival

A few practical points that apply to any large festival in Medellin ( EDC GUIDE )

Drinks and substances. At EDC Medellín earlier in October, more than 100 people were treated for intoxication related to substance use. Do not accept drinks or anything else from strangers, keep your drink in sight and drink water through the afternoon. If you or a friend feel unwell, go straight to the medical staff on site.

Phones and wallets. Carry the minimum, keep your phone in a front pocket or a zipped bag, and have a meeting point in case your group gets separated.

Weather. Late October is a rainy time of year in Medellín, and the festival is outdoors. A light rain jacket is worth carrying even if the morning looks clear.

How Medellín Celebrates Halloween

For locals, it is mostly a children's day

Visitors from the United States and Canada are often surprised by how Halloween looks here. In Medellín, October 31 is traditionally a day for children, and the trick or treating happens mostly in shopping malls rather than door to door. Families spend the afternoon at the mall, and kids in costume go from store to store asking for candy. Many malls also run free activities on the day; in 2025, El Tesoro, Florida and San Diego hosted haunted houses and family festivals.

If you are traveling with children, this is the easiest way to let them join in: bring a costume, head to a mall on the afternoon of October 31 and let them do the rounds of the stores with local kids.

For adults, it is a big night out

After dark, the celebration shifts to costume parties. Several well known venues host their own official Halloween parties, such as Andrés Carne de Res and Black Sheep, and there are many ticketed events across the city; check each venue's channels for tickets, because the popular ones sell out.

You do not need a ticket to feel it, though. On Halloween night, Provenza in El Poblado turns into the center of the celebration: people in costume on every block, bars running their own parties and a street atmosphere that is fun just to walk through. Because Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and on a long weekend, expect full venues, cover charges, lines at the door and slow traffic around Provenza and Parque Lleras.

If you want something different, the city's official events calendar on medellin.travel lists several Halloween season events this year, including Halloween Circense, a circus themed family event in the gardens of Museo El Castillo; Halloween Sinfónico: Fiesta de las Galaxias, which mixes symphonic music, film and astronomy; and a Halloween edition of El Porro es Legal with Orquesta La Pascasia, for a night of costumes and Colombian tropical music. Check the calendar for exact dates and tickets.

Halloween night traffic

Halloween night in Medellín comes with a heavy police and traffic presence. In 2025, the city deployed more than a thousand police officers for the celebration across the metropolitan area. Authorities also watch closely for motorcycle caravans, which are a Halloween tradition for some riders; in 2024, more than 1,200 fines were issued to motorcyclists for unauthorized caravans. For visitors, the practical takeaway is simple: allow extra time for any cross city trip on Saturday night, and do not plan a tight schedule between dinner and a party in different neighborhoods.

The Holiday Monday: What Changes in and Around the City

The roads

On long weekends, a large part of Medellín leaves the city on Friday night and Saturday, and comes back on Monday. Last year, during the same All Saints' long weekend, the Antioquia government reported the main highways open but warned that rain could cause landslides or temporary closures, and emergency teams were on alert at critical points. If you are planning a road trip, check road conditions the morning you leave.

Guatapé on the long weekend

Guatapé and the Piedra del Peñol are the most popular day trip from Medellín, and holiday weekends are when that shows. Based on our own trips:

If your dates are flexible, the easiest option is to wait until Tuesday, November 3, when the town and the roads are back to normal. If the long weekend is your only chance, Saturday is the better day to go: leave early and avoid scheduling anything tight on Monday evening if you return that day.

Climbing the Piedra del Peñol means roughly 700 steps, and the lines are longer on busy days. Not everyone in a group has to climb; the town itself and a boat ride on the reservoir make the trip worthwhile on their own.

Inside the city

On the Monday holiday, many shops and restaurants keep holiday hours, closer to a Sunday schedule, and banks and government offices are closed. If there is a specific restaurant or attraction you want to visit on November 2, confirm its hours beforehand.

If You Are Not Going to Ritvales

Good news: outside of Parque Norte and the nightlife areas on Saturday night, Medellín works completely normally that weekend, and you can enjoy the city as you would on any other visit. There is one exception worth planning around.

Comuna 13: skip Sunday, or go very early. Comuna 13 gets very crowded on a holiday Sunday. We would not recommend it on Sunday, November 1, unless you go very early, around 8:30 a.m., before the crowds arrive. Saturday morning, Tuesday or any weekday is a much better experience.

Watch the sunset from a viewpoint. A late afternoon at one of the miradores above the Aburrá Valley is a calm contrast to the busiest nights of the year, and you are back in time for dinner.

Get out of the city on Sunday or Tuesday. A coffee farm visit gets you into the countryside for the day. Roads leaving the city are still busier than normal over the long weekend, so Tuesday is the most relaxed option.

Save the north of the city for another day. The Jardín Botánico and Parque Explora are excellent, but this weekend they share a neighborhood with the festival. A weekday visit will be much quieter.

Keep Halloween night simple. A reserved dinner close to where you are staying, rather than across town, saves you the worst of Saturday night traffic.

A Note on Nightlife Safety This Weekend

Busy nights attract people who target visitors. Over the last year, authorities in Medellín have dismantled several groups that targeted tourists in the Parque Lleras area, including a network accused of charging foreigners grossly inflated bills in two nightclubs and holding them until they paid. Most nights out in El Poblado go without any problem, and a few habits make a real difference:

Ask for prices before ordering bottles, and look at the bill before paying. Keep your drink with you at all times. Use transport booked through an app or arranged in advance rather than cars offered at the door. Be cautious about leaving with people you just met, including dates arranged through apps. And keep your phone out of sight on the street, especially when leaving a venue.

Arriving That Weekend

If you land at José María Córdova International Airport between Friday and Monday, plan your transfer into the city before you arrive, since long weekends add traffic on the roads around Medellín. Travelers using shared transport will also find El Encuentro, a new multiservice hub at the Sandiego shopping center that opened in October to connect the city with the airport.

Planning the Weekend With TourPoint

If you would rather not think about Metro schedules and surge pricing on Halloween night, TourPoint can arrange private transportation to and from Parque Norte for both festival days, with a pickup point agreed in advance. For the rest of the long weekend, we can plan a Guatapé day on the right date and at the right hour, a sunset at the miradores, a coffee farm visit or airport transfers around your flights.

MESSAGE US ON WHATSAPP  to plan your Halloween weekend in Medellín.

FAQ

When is Ritvales 2026? Ritvales 2026 takes place on Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1 at Parque Norte in Medellín. Doors have been listed for 2 p.m. on both days, and entry is for people 18 and over with ID.

How do I get to Parque Norte in Medellín? Take Metro Line A to Universidad station; the park entrance is about a five minute walk away. From El Poblado, there is no transfer needed. By car, it is about 30 minutes from El Poblado. For the return, book transport in advance: ride app demand is very high when the festival lets out and mobile signal near the exit can fail.

Is Halloween celebrated in Medellín? Yes. During the day it is mainly a celebration for children, who go to shopping malls in costume and ask the stores for candy. At night it becomes one of the busiest nights of the year for parties, and Provenza in El Poblado fills with people in costume.

Should I visit Comuna 13 on the Halloween long weekend? Avoid Sunday, November 1, unless you can be there very early, around 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Tuesday or any weekday will be far less crowded.

Is November 2, 2026 a holiday in Colombia? Yes. All Saints' Day is observed on Monday, November 2, 2026, creating a long weekend from Saturday, October 31. The next long weekend is November 14 to 16.

How long does it take to get to Guatapé on the holiday weekend? In our experience, the drive from Medellín on Saturday morning takes 2 to 3 hours, usually closer to 2 if you leave early, and the return on the holiday Monday can take around 3 hours. Tuesday, November 3 is a much easier day to go.

What can I do in Medellín that weekend if I am not going to the festival? The city runs normally outside the festival area, so most plans work as usual. Good options are a sunset at one of the city's viewpoints, a walk through Provenza on Halloween night to see the costumes, a reserved dinner close to your accommodation on Halloween night, family Halloween events listed on the city's official calendar, or a day trip on Tuesday, when the roads are back to normal.