Every November, travelers planning a trip to Medellín over Thanksgiving week send us the same handful of questions. Do Colombians celebrate it? Will restaurants be open? Can we find a real turkey? Can someone cook it for us? Where can we go for dinner?

This guide answers each one for Thanksgiving 2026, which falls on Thursday, November 26. It is written for visitors, not long term residents, so it focuses on what you can realistically arrange during a short stay.

Short answer: Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Colombia, so Thursday, November 26 is a normal working day in Medellín and almost everything is open. A number of restaurants, bars and hotels offer Thanksgiving dinners every year, usually announced in mid November and usually with reservations. Whole turkeys can be found at a few supermarkets in late November, but most of what is labeled "pavo" in Colombia is sliced deli turkey, and a frozen whole bird needs about three days to thaw. If you are cooking in a rental, check the oven before you buy. And because Colombia shares the U.S. East Coast time zone in November, the NFL games air at exactly the hour they do back home.

Thanksgiving Week 2026 at a Glance

Is Thanksgiving Celebrated in Colombia?

No. Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday, and it is not part of Colombia's calendar of national holidays. Most Colombians do not mark the day at all, and there are no public events or decorations tied to it.

What you will find is a small but steady Thanksgiving scene built around Americans who live in or visit Medellín: restaurants and bars that serve a turkey dinner for one day, expat community dinners and potlucks, and a few hotels that add a holiday menu. If you want to celebrate, you can. It just takes a reservation or a bit of planning rather than a walk down the street.

Colombians do know the date for another reason: Black Friday. The shopping event has been adopted here, and in 2026 it falls on Friday, November 27.

Is Everything Open in Medellín on Thanksgiving Day?

Yes. Because November 26 is an ordinary Thursday in Colombia, supermarkets, malls, pharmacies, restaurants, tours and transportation all run on normal schedules. Traffic is also normal for a weekday, including rush hours and the pico y placa driving restriction.

Two things are worth knowing:

1. The U.S. Embassy follows the U.S. calendar. The Embassy in Colombia lists Thanksgiving among its holidays, so if you need consular services during your trip, plan around that day.
2. The day after is busier than the day itself. Black Friday brings crowds to the malls on Friday and through the weekend, so if you need to shop for anything, Thursday is actually the calmer day.

Where Can You Have Thanksgiving Dinner in Medellín?

This is the question we hear most, and the honest answer depends on timing. Restaurants in Medellín rarely announce their Thanksgiving menus before mid November. In 2025, the most complete local list of Thanksgiving dinners was published just four days before the holiday. So if you search in early November and find nothing for 2026, that is normal: the offers are coming.

The places below have served Thanksgiving dinner in past years. Treat this as a starting point and confirm each one for 2026 before you plan around it.

Prices are in Colombian pesos and come from past years, so expect 2026 menus to cost somewhat more. If you convert to dollars, use the exchange rate on the day you book, since it moves.

A few patterns hold almost every year:

1.Reserve as soon as menus are announced. Popular places fill up, and some serve only the Thanksgiving menu that day.
2.Expect a Colombian take on the classics. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and pie are standard. Some sides your family considers essential may be missing or reinterpreted.
3.Look beyond restaurants. Medellín's expat community groups regularly organize potluck style dinners where each guest brings a dish. These are announced in local WhatsApp and Facebook groups closer to the date.
4.Ask your hotel. Larger hotels in El Poblado sometimes add a holiday menu without promoting it widely.

Can You Buy a Whole Turkey in Medellín?

Yes, but this is where most visitors run into surprises.

"Pavo" usually means sliced turkey

Whole turkeys do exist, mostly in late November and December:

1.Pavos del Campo, a Colombian producer, sells whole turkeys of roughly 6 to 9.5 kg (13 to 21 lb), both fresh and frozen. It does not deliver to Medellín directly, but says its products are carried by supermarket chains including Jumbo, Éxito, Carulla, Makro and Metro.

2.Jumbo lists whole turkeys online, such as an 8 kg Pavos del Campo bird and a 6.5 kg frozen Cuisine & Co turkey, at roughly 150,000 to 185,000 COP. Availability and prices vary by store and region, so call or check in person.

3.PriceSmart, the membership warehouse club, has stocked imported frozen turkeys in early November in recent years, until they sell out.

4.Carulla and Éxito sometimes carry them toward the end of the month, with better odds in the El Poblado stores.

If you are set on cooking, buy early in the week of November 16 rather than counting on finding a bird a day or two before.

Plan the thaw before you plan the menu

Most whole turkeys you find here are frozen. Pavos del Campo recommends thawing in the refrigerator, allowing about 24 hours for every 2.5 kg (5 lb). For a typical 8 kg (about 18 lb) bird, that means roughly three days, so a frozen turkey for Thursday dinner should be in the fridge by Monday, November 23. Never thaw it on the counter.

Check the oven before you buy the turkey

Kitchens in Medellín rentals vary a lot. Villa style rentals usually come with a medium or large oven, but in apartments you can find anything, from a full size oven to a compact one, or no oven at all. Before you book a place with Thanksgiving dinner in mind, or before you buy the turkey, confirm with your host that there is an oven and ask for a photo or its interior measurements. A whole bird of 6 to 9 kg (13 to 20 lb) needs real room; if the oven turns out to be small, a turkey breast or turkey pieces are a safer plan.

What else to expect at the supermarket

Boxed stuffing is not sold here, so plan to make it from scratch. Canned pumpkin is very hard to find, but fresh ahuyama (a local squash) is sold everywhere and works for pie. Imported items like cranberry sauce appear in the international sections of premium supermarkets, but not reliably, so if a specific product matters to your family, consider packing it.

Can a Private Chef Cook Thanksgiving Dinner in Your Rental?

Yes, and for families and groups this is often the easiest way to have a real Thanksgiving table without spending the day in an unfamiliar kitchen. Medellín has a well developed private chef scene, both independent chefs and platforms that list chefs by reviews and number of services.

What makes it work:

1.Book early. November 26 is one date, and the chefs who do Thanksgiving well get booked first.

2.Agree on who buys the turkey. Given how hard whole birds are to find, confirm that the chef will source it, and how far ahead.

3.Share your oven details. A good chef will ask about the kitchen. If the oven is small, they can roast a turkey breast or cook parts separately.

4.Be specific about the menu. Send the dishes that matter to your family, with photos or recipes if you have them. "Green bean casserole" or "sweet potatoes with marshmallows" may not be obvious to a Colombian chef, but any good chef can make them with clear instructions.

Watching the NFL Thanksgiving Games From Medellín

Here is a detail that surprises a lot of visitors: in November, Medellín is on the same clock as New York. Colombia does not use daylight saving time, so once the U.S. East Coast falls back in early November, both are on UTC minus 5. Every kickoff time you see in Eastern Time is the local time in Medellín.

Sports bars around Parque Lleras that cater to Americans usually show the games, and some pair them with their Thanksgiving dinner. If you plan to stream in your rental, check before the trip that your subscription works from Colombia.

What Else Is Happening in Medellín That Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is when Medellín starts turning toward Christmas:

1.Festival de Navidad Medellín Te Quiere runs from Friday, November 27 to Sunday, December 13, with free concerts and Christmas activities across the city.

2.Medellín Marcha Musical, the city's international marching band festival, takes place on Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29.

3,Beéle plays the new DAVIarena in Sabaneta on Saturday, November 28.

4.The Christmas lights (alumbrados) may or may not be on yet. As of early November, EPM has not announced the 2026 switch on date. Regional media point to a window between November 23 and December 6, and in 2025 the lights went on November 28. If they are on during your stay, they are a beautiful plan for the evening after Thanksgiving.

5.The night of November 30, fireworks go off at midnight in many neighborhoods to welcome December. They are prohibited and it is not an event to attend, but expect noise if you are still in town.

Planning the Rest of Thanksgiving Week

For Americans, Thanksgiving weekend is a long weekend. For Colombians, it is not: there are no holidays on Friday, November 27 or Monday, November 30. That works in your favor. The roads to Guatapé, coffee farms and other day trips carry normal weekend traffic, not the heavy holiday traffic of a Colombian long weekend, and Friday is a regular workday, which makes it a good day to get out of the city.

If you are traveling as a family or a group, a few practical habits help:

1.Do the day trip on Friday or Tuesday, not on Thursday. Keep Thanksgiving Day itself light, with time for the dinner and the games.

2.Arrange your ride to and from dinner in advance. Thursday evening rush hour is a normal weekday rush hour, and getting a large group across the city takes more planning than a couple.

3.Pack a light rain jacket. November is one of the rainier months in Medellín, and showers often come in the afternoon or evening.

Planning Thanksgiving Week With TourPoint

If you are bringing your family or a group to Medellín for Thanksgiving, TourPoint can help with the parts that take local knowledge: coordinating a private chef to cook Thanksgiving dinner where you are staying, private transportation to and from dinner, a day trip on the right day of the long weekend, and an itinerary built around the holiday.

Message us on WhatsApp to start planning your Thanksgiving in Medellín.