Just a brief note to summarise the (non-hotel) swimming pool situation in the Laureles area of Medellin since it is not easy to find/understand all this information.

There are 3 primary organisation types that are relevant:

• Inder. Run by the mayorality this sports department offers access to many different sports facilities for residents and visitors alike. Swimming can be accessed for free through Inder.
• Liga de Natacion de Antioquia. The swimming league of the department of Antioquia they share access to many of the same facilities with Inder; however they provide paid access to these facilities.
• Private organisations. A third category that runs some pools.

It's worth noting that for all pool types the required swimwear is a swimming cap (even for bald people) and lycra (not board) shorts. There are 2 shops at Estadio that sell these, one near the Inder entrance and the other behind the stairs at the Liga entrance. There may also be a shop at Belen.

Pools

The main pools of interest are the Estadio and Belen sites. Belen has a single Olympic pool (see the private swimming section for details on a second 25m pool in Belen) and Estadio has a range of pools including Olympic, sub-aquatic and many others.

• Estadio, has an Inder gate with ticket office here and a Liga gate here.
• Belen, the pool is here.

Swimming with Inder

To use Inder pools with a reservation you will need to register with Simon 2.0. Simon 2.0 is the booking platform for various sports facilities including the pools at Estadio and Belen. Once registered you can book access to a pool session for free, however as of Spring 2025 there is high demand and because many pools, including the Olympic pool, at Estadio are currently being refurbished the available reservation slots fill up quickly.

Another approach is to join the queue for entry at the pool in Estadio. Each hour (or outside the hour at the discretion of the ticket office) a certain number of people are let in from the queue for free, again depending on occupancy. I don't have first-hand experience with it but in the week it apparently doesn't take too long if you go early. The non-reservation entry queue may also exist at Belen but I haven't validated this.

You will need your original id, either passport or Cedula (no photocopies), to enter with Inder.

Swimming with the Liga

The Liga de Natacion de Antioquia also operates at the Estadio and Belen locations. They don't seem to be mentioned if you ask about swimming in general at Inder locations.

At Estadio you can enter the complex by the 'secret' Liga gate (Accesso #2) and go past the ticket offices and left, round the back to a ticket office where you can pay for individual entry between 9am - 3pm (~COP17.9k). However during the renovations it is hit-or-miss if they can allow this because of the reduced pool capacity. You can ask at the main ticket offices at this gate first to find out if it is possible, I have had varying success depending on the day and hour.

The Liga also shares the Olympic pool in Belen with Inder. However you cannot pay for individual entry here, instead you must purchase an annual membership (~COP85k) and then purchase either a 10-swim or monthly (mensualidad) ticket. If you are in Medellin for a while this might be the most convenient approach since the hours for the Belen pool are longer and you don't have to reserve or take the chance in the queue. As of Spring 2025 the Liga hours for Belen are reported as:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 6.30am - noon, 1pm - 4pm
• Tuesday, Thursday: 6am - noon, 1 - 4pm
• Saturday, Sunday: 7am - 2.45pm (subject to availability)

The Liga ticket office at Belen is also not the easiest to find. You need to walk through the door and past the Inder front-desk and to the left to get to it and this is not obvious from outside. If you ask directly the Inder desk can point you to it.

You will need your original id, either passport or Cedula (no photocopies), to enter with the Liga.

Private swimming

At Belen there is a second pool, the Piscina Corporación Deportiva y Cultural, which is operated by a private company. This is quite a shallow pool 1.1 of metres but has good changing facilities and a secure place to leave your bags. This only costs COP12k for a single ticket with no reservations necessary. Note that there are times when the pool is reserved for classes so you need to confirm the hours beforehand. As of Spring 2025 these are:

• Monday - Friday: 10am - noon, 1pm - 4pm
• Saturday: 11am - 3pm
• Sunday: 11am - 2pm

No id is needed for this pool.

Also worth a mention is the Diana Espinosa Aquatics Center which are smaller pools offering classes for learners/aquafit. These are indoor heated pools.

There may be more pools in this category but these are the ones I am aware of.