Guatemala has been on my bucket list for the past few years, so when my friend texted me about going? I pretty much bought our flights immediately. We spent a wonderful 7 days traveling around Lake Atitlan & Antigua. This Guatemala Travel Guide is going to be for my “go-with-the-flow” travelers who love a little relaxation & culture immersion.

Transportation in Guatemala

In general when traveling to and from Lake Atitlan or Antigua, I would recommend hiring a driver (for the longer drive) or using Ubers (for the shorter drives). You can likely find drivers through your airbnb/hotel/hostel host which is easier in my opinion (that’s what we did). For shorter distances like from Antigua to the airport or vice versa, we used uber. Estimated drive time and pricing below:

• From the airport to Lake Atitlan it’s about a 3.5 hour drive (~$100 USD)
• From Lake Atitlan to Antigua it’s about a 3 hour drive.  (~$100 USD)
• From Antigua to the airport it’s about a 1.5 hour drive.  (~$35 USD)

Money Exchange

Be sure to take out cash to exchange BEFORE you get to Guatemala. The airport has pretty poor exchange rates so try to go to a bank or conversion place in the city. I recommend asking your driver or accommodation host for places to exchange based on where you’re going, and try to go on the way to your accommodation. In our experience, we went straight to San Marcos La Laguna in Lake Atitlan and there were only 2 places to exchange USD to Quetzales and they weren’t always open. 

How much to take out: I used about $240 USD in cash (food, activities, & souvenirs) 

Credit Card Usage in Guatemala: Note you can use credit cards in more established establishments like restaurants & stores but there will be a 5 – 7% tax on it. AMEX is accepted occasionally but less so, Visa and Mastercard are usually accepted everywhere cards are. 

Where to Stay

Lake Atitlan 

Lago de Atitlan aka Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America formed by a volcano eruption thousands of years ago! It is a truly incredible place known for the Mayan villages, volcanoes, artisanal arts, & rich culture. There are about 11 towns around the lake so I’m sure you’re wondering which one is right for you to stay? Here’s a short breakdown of the most popular ones:

Lake Atitlan Map of the Towns

• San Marcos: Known as the “hippie” town of the lake. San Marcos offers a great respite for yogis, earth lovers, and people looking for a restful stay. You’ll find yoga retreats, art, cafes & many restaurants offering vegan & vegetarian cuisine. We stayed here and loved it, but probably would’ve split our time between here and Panajachel if we could do it again.
• San Juan: Known for its colorful streets, textiles & coffee cooperatives and beautiful art galleries. San Juan has a few accommodations, typically smaller eco-hotels. I would recommend staying in a nearby town that has a bit more to do and traveling to San Juan during the day. 
• San Pedro: Known to be the party town on the lake. You can find many hostels here.  There are many bars, party boats, and restaurants open late. This is also where Indian Nose Hike begins!
• Jaibalito: Adding this here because Casa del Mundo – the amazing hostel – is located in this town. A fantastic place to stay for its affordability & beautiful views.
• Panajachel: Most popular & closest to Antigua/Guatemala City making it a hot spot destination for tourists. Staying here would be a nice option as there’s much to do in the town from shopping, artisan markets, restaurants to adventurous activities like zip lining,  visiting the nature reserve or the sacred caves. The only thing to note is Panajachel is about a 30 min boat ride away from San Pedro/San Juan whereas the other towns are closer together with 10-15 min rides.

Airbnb / Hotel / Hostel?

There are amazing hotels, hostels & Airbnbs in all of the towns. Obviously hostels will more often be your cheapest option, with airbnb’s and hotels to follow. I’ll list a few below that have amazing reviews:

• San Marcos:
  • Kula Maya Hotel
  • Eagles Nest Atitlan Hostel
  • Casa Salvaje Airbnb – details below
• Panajachel Accommodations
  • Hotel Atitlan
  • Regis Hotel & Spa
• Jaibalito Accommodation
  • Casa del Mundo

Where we Stayed

Salvaje Casa and Deisgn Alexandra
1 BD | 1 Ba | Shared kitchen, shared courtyard space, gated community
Price range: ~$150 USD a night  (note this price can flux depending on time of year)

Pros:

• Walking distance to stores, restaurants, cafes (2 min walk)
• Walking distance to the dock (5 min walk)
• Shared courtyard space & kitchen! 

Cons:

• The bathroom is open air (many will be in Lake Atitlan) so sometimes we would see some big spiders (specifically only saw 2!) but truly nothing to be afraid of. Remember you’re in nature you’re gonna see some insects, but not enough to ruin the time here. 

Antigua

Antigua is located about 3 hours away from Lake Atitlan and we stayed here for the second half of our trip. Did you know the ENTIRE city is an UNESCO World Heritage site!? So so cool. It’s a very walkable city and everything surrounds the central park. I recommend staying anywhere nearby in a 10 min walk radius. 

Airbnb / Hotel / Hostel?
Again, you can’t go wrong with any option. There are amazing hotels, hostels & Airbnbs literally everywhere. Here is where we stayed:

Where we stayed

Room #6 w/ Wifi, Roku TV | Pool | Walking Distance

We stayed at a hotel booked via Airbnb. It was on a gorgeous property sharing space with El Criollo restaurant. There’s a courtyard, pool & security manning the door most of the day. It’s located about a 7 min walk from the central park so it’s pretty quiet compared to places directly in the city center. The best part is the view of the volcano from outside.

1 BD | 1 Ba | Shared kitchen, shared courtyard space, garden, pool & security / locked entrance
Price range: ~$110 USD a night  (note this price can flux depending on time of year)

Pros:

• Quite part of town, but still walking distance to the central park (3 blocks away)
• Beautiful hotel with garden, courtyard & pool

Cons:

• We experienced some ants, but only if food was left out, so be mindful to keep your room clear.

How to Spend 1 Week in Guatemala – Itinerary

Okay, now that you know where you’re going and where you’re staying, let’s get into the fun part of the trip – the activities! Note this will be a recreation of my trip so some activities are based on staying in San Marcos.

Day 1 – Arrive in Lake Atitlan

I always recommend landing by noon, so you can take advantage of your first day, especially since you’re headed to Lake Atitlan – a 3.5 hour drive.

Travel Tips:

• Book your driver through your accomodation host. 
• Stop for food on the way – I recommend San Martin (its a chain and there are many locations).
• Ask to stop for money exchange on the way to Lake Atitlan, as there are only a few exchange places in the towns and they’re not always stocked with cash.

The drive is easy for the most part, will get a little bumpy towards the end but you do get beautiful views of Lake Atitlan the closer you get! 

Once you check into your hotel, you probably want to take some time to unpack, freshen up and change for the rest of the day. 

5:30pm Have an early dinner at El Dragon

This is a hotel but has a lakefront resturant with beautiful views of the mountains & lake. We spent our first night here eating an early dinner and watching the sunset. I recommend the sandwiches and fries! We spent the rest of the night walking around, grabbing snacks from the local stores and resting at our airbnb.

Day 2 – Swimming, Kayaking, Lake Day

7:15am (optional) Complete a sunrise yoga class at Eagles Nest
8:30am – Have breakfast at Kula Maya

10am – 2pm Enjoy your day at Casa Del Mundo

• This place is accessible by boat only and has the most stunning views. Now sadly we didn’t get to stay here because they’re BOOKED solid, but they do day passes for 50 quetzales pp or $6 USD. You can swim, kayak, lounge in the hammocks and they even have a spa! Note: we were told by locals that the food is just okay, so maybe eat a heavy breakfast or lunch before coming

 – 3pm – Head back to San Marcos to change & rest
6pm – Dinner of your choice (our dinner option – La Sagrada Mezcal bar) was not great so I will not be recommending it!)
9pm – Optional Live Music / open mic night at La Sagrada cocktail bar: check out their weekly schedule to see what thay have each night!

Day 3 – Explore the Towns

Day 3 is all about exploring the surrounding towns and getting to know the culture! 

• 9am – Breakfast at Circles Cafe: They have yummy pasteries, sandwhiches, fresh juices & coffee. Note this is also a great place to work from if you’re ever needing strong wifi and a cute place to sit.

• 10:30am – Head to San Juan via una lancha (boats) (~20Q pp one way)
• 11am – Walk around and explore the shops, take photos, & admire the art

• Noon – MUST DO ACTIVITY Textile weaving demonstration at Casa de Flor Ixcaco
  30 min demonstration, walk-ins okay, 30Q pp

   

  • It takes hours upon hours to source, clean, thread, dye, weave and hand make various fabrics. All of the colors you see are NATURAL from nature! How insane!? The coolest part to me is how much respect, love & hard work goes into this business to ensure their traditions and business thrive.
  • When you buy a product, you get a card with a photo of who made it, how long it took them and a list of the natural ingredients used to make the item. All proceeds go directly back to the women of the community. 

• 3pm – Take the boat back to San Marcos
• 5pm – Watch sunset at the private dock (located a few blocks fown the right from Kula Maya – ask for directions if you need!) 
• 7pm – Dinner of your choice
• 8pm – Head to bed early because tomorrow is the Indian Nose Sunrise Hike! 

Day 4 – Sunrise Hike & Transfer to Antigua

Time to wake up hours before the sun so you can see the sunrise from Indian Nose! Be sure to book this excursion with a guide – I recommend asking your host or hotel OR booking via GetYourGuide.com or Viator.com. We booked through our host directly and it was a great time!

Typical tour schedule:

4/4:30am – Meet your driver outside of your hotel (depending on if you do the short or long hike)
4:30am – Drive to the base of the hike lcoated in San Pedro
5am – Hike for about 35 min (for the short hike)
6am – 7am – Watch the gorgeous sunrise!
8am – arrive back at your hotel

After the hike its absolutely time for a shower and a little nap before packing up and checking out of your Airbnb.

Time to say goodbye to Lake Atitlan and head to Antigua! Before leaving grab a bite to go. We otped for Kula Maya (can’t go wrong with something we know we loved). The drive will be 3-3.5 hours, the earlier you start the better traffic will be. 

Depending on when you arrive in Antigua, you may have time to explore the town and get acquainted with the area. We grabbed dinner from a local fast food chain – Pollo Campero – and called it a night! (Would I recommend eating here? well, not particularly. The chicken was good & flavorful but also greasy and made my stomach hurt a bit the next morning – which most greasy foods do! But if you’re used to eating fried greasy food – then check it out you’ll like it. It’s almost like eating KFC in the states. Affordable and tasty, but may not agree with your tummy lol).

12pm – National Museum of Art Guatemala:

• Museum is FREE
• It takes about an hour to go through everything
• Beautiful collection or art, sculptures & the courtyard has a view of the volcano

1pm – Lunch at Y tu Pina Tambien

• This was a quick lunch at a super cute place. They have breakfast & lunch options – we got some of their bowls and a smoothie. 10/10 on flavor and presentation.

2pm – (optional) Head to Hobbitenango for some fun games & viewpoints

• This is a eco park, resturant & hotel located about 20 min from Antigua. They offer shuttles but you can also uber here.
• Entry is 50 Quetzales (~$7 USD) and includes: unlimited games (archery, ax and machete throwing, fairground games, 6-hole mini-golf), unlimited jumps on the giant swing, acess to the green areas, more than 10 view points & trails in the forest. 
• On the weekends & holidays, there’s an all you can eat buffet! The price includes the entrance fee (varies between 149-184 Quetzales)
• We didn’t get the chance to go BUT I would’ve loved to and have heard nothing but great things from reviews! 

6pm – Head back to the city and change for dinner.
7pm – Dinner at Patsy

• This is a popular resturnat amongst Antiguans and a place to try good Guatemalan cuisine. We got our food to go and enjoyed everybit! I got chicken tostadas with platanos maduros.

9pm (optional) – if you’re up for it, check out some of the local bars. There’s SO many all around you could walk around and find some on a whim. Time to be spontaneous 🙂

Day 6 – Food & Culture Day

A trip to any country is never complete without a cooking class. I booked a cooking class and market tour with Foddietenango and this was my favorite activity the entire trip. Check out my TikTok recap here.

Note: This is noted as the #1 Food tour in all of Antigua! (As of Feb 2025)

9am – Meet for your Cooking Tour

What to expect:

• Cost is $85 USD pp and you can pay by cash (USD or Quetzales) or card.
• They have a 9am – 1pm OR 2pm – 6pm option for the tour. We opted for the morning.
• You’ll meet in the central park then head to the local market to shop for some of the ingredients.
• Your guide (Milton) will talk about the market, its value and connection to the locals & show you exotic fruits & veggies you’ll be cooking with.
• You’ll then take TukTuks to the cooking school – which takes place at his home on the rooftop.
• You’ll end up making 2 appetizers, 1 entree, a dessert and you get to try some exotic fruits.
• Everyone cooks together taking turns doing different activities and at the end you leave full, satisfied, happy and more knowledgable about Guatemalan cuisine.

Truly an amazing experience I could not recommend enough! If you go, tell Milton I sent you 🙂 

2pm – Head back to your hotel to rest and change
4pm – Go shopping for souvenirs at El Mercadito & Nim’Pot

• El Mercadito – 84 stalls of artesian marks (jewelry, pottery, textiles, lots of art)
  Address: H748+Q47, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
• Nim’Pot – by the yellow santa arch has traditional mayan clothing, textiles & souvenirs
  Address: 5a Avenida Norte 29 Antigua, Guatemala 03001, Guatemala

6pm – Have your last dinner at Toko Baru – 10/10 resturant with incredible middle east & indonesian food
Address: 1ra avenida sur #17 B Antigua G.

8pm – Have dessert crepes  at Santa Crepa 
Address: 6ta Avenida Norte #9A, Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepequez 03001

10pm – Head back to your hotel for the night

Day 7 – Say bye to Guatemala

Sadly every trip must come to an end, on your last day head say goodbye and head to the airport. We’ll miss you Guatemala. Guatemala is incredible. The people, the art, the culture and the views were everything I needed and more!

This was my first international trip of the year and wow what a great way to begin my travel journey of 2025. I hope this post helps you plan your trip and you get to discover the wonders of Guatemala!

xoxo, Nylah