This is actually very easy if you know what to do. Almost any cell phone case store will sell SIM cards for < $5. Just say โSIM cardโ and point to the side of your phone. If they say โnoโ, say โdonde es?โ. Usually there will be another shop nearby.
Iโve bought them in Medellรญn at a cell phone store on Calle 10 just West of Parque Poblado and in the basement of the mall โ thereโs a cell phone repair place in the parking garage next to the escalators.
After you get a SIM, youโll need to put minutes on it. Go to any GANA window in the city. Theyโre all over the place. Say โrecargoโ and show them your phone number. She will give you options for what you want to add. Just do something like โ3 GBโ and point to it. Donโt just put $$ into your account here because you wonโt have the app or data needed to apply it to your data or minutes. Get actual data. Should be like 30 mil pesos. ($10)
If youโre staying longer, go to TIGO in the mall but take your passport. They will give you an official SIM (the others are actually black market), but it has to be registered to your name.
In both cases, once you have a SIM, you can take your phone to any TIGO store and use the self-serve kiosk to put money into your TIGO account. Then you can use your balance on the TIGO Shop mobile app to buy more minutes or more data. I usually put $50mil in if Iโm by the mall and see the balance is low just in case.
Ok, after typing that out, I realized itโs not so easy. But I pulled it off effortlessly when within the first hour or two of landing in Medellรญn the first time I visited. It sounds harder than it is. Hope that helps!