Guatemala travel guide

Sunrise in Lake Atitlan, one of the world's most beautiful lakes.

Guatemala is one of my favorite places I've been to. The country is diverse and full of interesting culture. I spent a week in Guatemala and was initially worried about filling my time there, but once I arrived, I found that there is more than enough places to explore. By the time that I left, I felt like I could spent a month there. This Guatemala travel guide will help you plan your itinerary for 5 days, or even more.

In this article:

• The itinerary I followed during my trip in Feb. 2024

• Other places I recommend exploring

• What I wish I knew before my trip
  

  
  

My itinerary

I spent Monday through Friday in Guatemala and here's what I did.

• Day 1: Arrived in Guatemala City on Monday morning on a red-eye flight.

  • Took pre-scheduled airport transfer to Sababa Hotel in San Pedro, a town in Lake Atitlan. The drive took about 3 hours.

  • Had lunch at Sababa Restaurant on a beautiful, sunny patio overlooking the lake.

  • Took the lancha to San Pedro de la Laguna, another town clustered around the lake. Explored the boho, hippie shops and got a massage.

  • Went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool. Had an early dinner after a long day.

• Day 2: Mayan cooking class in San Pedro

  • Woke up early to grab a quick breakfast in town. We signed up for a cooking class with Mayan Kitchen Cooking that met at 9 am. (Anita, the owner of Mayan Kitchen Cooking, is amazing! This class was one of our highlights for the trip.) We went to a local market to purchase produce, then Anita brought us to her home kitchen, where we cooked a delicious meal. Learn more in this article.

  • After our class, we took a walking tour of a coffee plantation. It was more like a hike, but it was really cool to see the coffee trees, and our guide cut fresh fruit and avocados for us to sample.

  • We ended the night at Los Termales hot springs in San Pedro. I recommend getting there earlier to reserve your spot, especially if it is for the day of. We arrived at 5:30 p.m., and managed to snag a spot at 8 p.m. the same day.

• Day 3: Travel to Antigua

  • We got up early for a shuttle bus to take us to Antigua. It also took about 3 hours and was arranged through our hotel, Hotel y Arte.

  • Once we arrived, we walked around a bit to explore, had some lunch and then we stopped by Hobbitenango.

• Day 4: Explore Antigua and hike Volcan Pacaya

  • The next day we went out for breakfast at a delicious spot recommended by the hotel. We ate so much good food to fuel our hike later in the afternoon.

  • We reserved a tour of the Volcan Pacaya starting at 2 p.m., which included a bus to and from the trailhead. When we arrived, we paid a small fee for entrance at the park, and from there we hiked to the top of the volcano.

  • We roasted marshmallows at the top, and watched the sunset. Read more about my experience hiking Volcan Pacaya.

• Day 5: Head home

Other places to explore in Guatemala

Photo credit TripAdvisor

• Semuc Champey

  If you have time, I highly recommend Semuc Champey. It has stunning turquoise pools and caves. I'm bummed I didn't have time to visit while I was in Guatemala, but I've heard great things. Travel time from Antigua is about 8 to 10 hours by road. It's worth noting that road travel is often unpredictable, with lots of traffic.

  
  

Photo credit World History Encyclopedia

• Tikal National Park

  Tikal is the ruins of an ancient city, found in the rain forest of Northern Guatemala. It is a UNESCO World Heritage property. Tikal, a major Pre-Columbian political, economic and military centre, is one of the most important archaeological complexes left by the Maya civilization. It is about an 8 hour drive from Antigua, so it definitely requires planning ahead.

What I wish I knew before my trip

My trip to Guatemala was my first trip in Central America and I learned so much! Here's a few tips I learned along the way:

• Paying in cash for activities is often cheaper. We used ATMs during our trip, and avoided foreign transaction fees using the Charles Schwab debit card.

• Factor in extra time for road travel. Traveling by car or bus is very common in Guatemala, but traffic can be unpredictable. I found that adding an hour to each journey we took by road became a more predictable estimate.

• Learn basic Spanish. I made sure to learn some Spanish phrases before my trip and was so glad I did! It's always polite to learn the local language, and some of the locals did not speak English, but we were able to get by with basic Spanish phrases.

• Wait until you arrive to book activities. I am usually a planner, but since this trip was during off-season, my friend encouraged me to wait until we arrived to book activities. I'm really glad that we did, because it allowed us the freedom to see how we felt and go from there. Luckily everything we ended up doing turned out great!