Guatemala 1-Week Itinerary: Antigua + Acatenango + Lake Atitlán
My time in Guatemala was full of adventure, relaxation, and delicious food (especially tropical fruits!). I was asked about my itinerary since it seemed like a hearty mix of hiking, exploration, workshops, and taking it easy.
So, here’s what I did and what I’d recommend as a sustainable lifestyle and travel blogger.
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Guatemala 1-Week Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Fly into Guatemala City + transfer to Antigua
Days 1-3: Explore Antigua
Days 3-4: Acatenango Volcano hike + transfer to Lake Atitlán
Days 4-7: Lake Atitlán
Day 7: La Casa del Mundo + travel to Panajachel + transfer to Guatemala City
Day 8: Fly out
Day 1: Fly into Guatemala City + Transfer to Antigua
Guatemala City is the easiest airport to fly into for this itinerary, and you’ll want to book your tickets to GUA (La Aurora International Airport).
From the airport, you can either get an Uber to Antigua (~45min-1h30 depending on the traffic), reserve a private transfer, or book a shuttle on GuateGO. As of late 2025, an Uber was around $50-60, a private transfer for 2 people $50, and the shuttle is around $20.
I had my ride arranged by my Spanish school (Antiguena Spanish Academy) since I actually arrived 3 days early for a total of a 10-day stay. I paid $57.
I generally would recommend a private transfer since they’re way more comfortable than the shared vans (you’re crammed into a sprinter van often with seats that don’t have headrests). They’re also not magnitudes more expensive for this route.
Traffic is also horrendous most of the day between Guatemala City and Antigua, but it lets up around 8pm, so if you have a later flight in, it might actually be to your advantage.
Days 1-3: Antigua
My friend and I stayed in a homestay that was a bit of a walk from the city center, so I’d recommend a hotel closer to main points of interest like Socialtel instead.
You’ll likely arrive in the evening on day 1, so settle in and grab some food. For a nicer vegan restaurant, I loved La Bruja, and Samsara was also highly recommended.
For your second day in Antigua, this is what I’d recommend to start your day:
- Get breakfast at Cafe Boheme, which has a view of Fuego Volcano from their rooftop terrace
- Walk around the Central Market and secondhand clothing market
- Take a gander at the beautiful Starbucks (and use their free restroom) but keep boycotting :)
- Take pictures at the famous Arco de Santa Catalina
- Get street food at Parque la Merced. The tacos and pupusas cost around 20-30 quetzales ($3-4).
Then, after lunch, you can:
- Explore the Santa Clara Convent ruins
- People watch in the Parque Central
- Do a workshop. I did both chocolate-making and cooking Guatemalan food since I had an extra day, but I’d recommend chocolate-making since the cooking class is everyone taking care of separate small tasks.
Try to go to bed earlier this day since you’ll need to wake up early for the volcano hike tomorrow.
If you stay an extra day, you can also consider doing a tour to Hobbitenango, a Lord of the Rings-inspired theme park about 20 minutes away from Antigua.
Days 3-4: Acatenango Volcano hike
Note: I would strongly discourage starting your trip with this hike and give yourself at least 2 nights in Antigua to acclimate to the higher altitude, as is listed in this itinerary. My friend actually did 3 nights, and I had arrived even earlier for Spanish school.
Hiking Acatenango is the quintessential part of any Guatemala trip. It’s an overnight hike of around 8-9miles and 4500ft of gain. You can also hike even closer to the active volcano Fuego for an additional fee, or do a sunrise hike to Acatenango peak for free (adds on ~3ish miles and 500ft of gain).
There are tons of tour groups for Acatenango, and we were ultimately between Wicho & Charlie’s, Ox Expeditions, and V-Hiking. It’s not recommended to hike on your own due to safety.
We actually booked with Ox but then canceled as we wanted to transfer directly to Lake Atitlán after the hike, and V-Hiking was the only one that offered transportation. I would’ve actually loved to book with Wicho & Charlie’s as they prepare vegan food for everyone.
We had a decent experience with V-Hiking. I liked that it was owned by a local family, employed local guides, and donated back to local schools. We were also able to leave our non-hiking belongings at the owner’s literal house and we had our departure breakfast at his house (we even met his mom).
The guides were friendly and some of them stopped to point out the different plants. I didn’t do the Fuego hike but a guide took us nearby to view the incredible sunset. The next morning, on the sunrise hike, I was last coming down and never felt rushed by the guide who stayed back with me.
I believe they also had access to private trails, so we never got backed up on the trail like some other tour groups do.
That said, I did not have a good experience with the food. I pre-ordered a vegetarian meal and I got a lunch with chicken in it. Dinner also had no protein and I had to ask if I could have an extra serving of pasta. Similarly, my gluten-free friend got a granola bar with gluten in her lunch and her dinner had no protein since the chicken was fried in flour.
The founder was super apologetic when I told him about the mistake after the tour and refunded my lunch (turns out that someone else got my vegetarian food). I would simply double-check your packed meal before you leave his house and also prepare extra snacks if you have dietary restrictions. If you don’t, you should be totally fine.
Overall, the hike was absolutely stunning. We got to see Fuego erupt several times, and even saw lava at night. It was extremely difficult going uphill at high altitude for 4 hours, and the sunrise hike was frigid (and way too early at 3:45am). The base camp accommodations were primitive cabins with just enough room for sleeping bags, and the toilets were outhouses. I’m very grateful we went though because it was otherworldly to see an active volcano so close up.
As soon as we finished our Acatenango hike (going down only took 2h15) and had breakfast, we hopped on a shuttle organized by V-Hiking to Panajachel, the main transit hub of Lake Atitlán. The ride took around 3 hours and we took a lancha straight to our apartment in Santa Cruz la Laguna right after.
See my Acatenango hike guide for more details on planning.
Days 4-7: Lake Atitlán
Lake Atitlán is located in a massive volcanic crater and it’s the deepest lake in Central America. It’s known for its surrounding villages, each with different personalities, and many only accessible by water ferries called lanchas.
Note: most lancha rides cost 25 quetzales, and you should have cash for this (ideally in small bills). Also brace yourself since they can be really bumpy. It’s better to go before the early afternoon if you’re sensitive to motion sickness.
Where to Stay in Lake Atitlán
There are tons of options for starting points, and I’d personally recommend:
- San Juan: vibrant, bustling town on the other side of the lake from Panajachel
- Santa Cruz: quiet town with many local residences and a big hostel (hostel is noisy)
- San Pedro: backpacker’s town that I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to visit, but many folks were staying here
- La Casa del Mundo: unique resort right on the water shortly after Santa Cruz
While Panajachel is the main hub, I don’t recommend it as it’s extremely touristy, and it would take longer to get to some of the more fun villages. San Marcos is another village that is nice to visit, but it’s very hippie in a way that feels gentrified.
We loved our time in Santa Cruz in Casa Sirena since it had a fantastic view, and we appreciated that it was right next to a local restaurant too. It was up a steep hill but it was walkable, and there were tuk-tuks as well.
If I were to do it again, I would probably pick San Juan since it had much more to do (this eco hotel seems so lovely), or splurge on La Casa del Mundo.
What to do at Lake Atitlán
Massage—after your Acatenango hike, a massage is the best way to kick off some relaxation. We got massages at Eugenia’s studio in Santa Cruz by two local women. It was 350 quetzales each in cash (46 USD) for 1 hour. My Oura ring actually thought I was napping during my massage!
Weaving—my friend and I did a Mayan weaving workshop in San Juan, and it was a fun challenge. The family-owned business was called TinteMaya and a 3-hour wall hanging workshop was 300 quetzales (~40USD). You could pay in card. The grandma, mom, and daughter were all working there and they created some fibers from cotton plants in their garden, and dyed many from plants they grew as well (you could also do a natural dye workshop).
Watersports—you can take a kayak out and explore a few villages. If you’re more adventurous, you can even cliff jump in San Marcos (there’s a 12m diving platform with a small entry feel).
Hiking—you may be worn out from Acatenango as we were, but if you have the energy, a popular sunrise hike is Indian Nose. It’s recommended to go with a guide as scams are common on the route.
Tour of all villages—go with a tour group and see multiple Lake Atitlán villages in a day.
Day 7-8: La Casa del Mundo + transfer to Guatemala City
On your final day, you may have some time to stop at La Casa del Mundo before catching your shuttle out from Panajachel to Guatemala City.
La Casa del Mundo is a lakefront hotel offering day passes for 50 quetzales each (about 7USD). They only take cash, but can also take USD in good condition. There are so many spots to lie out and relax with incredible views, surrounded by their lush plants. My friend hammocked on the balcony while I sat in a comfy chair nearby.
They also have a restaurant with delicious local food catering to many diets, and there are some swimming spots (we didn’t swim since the water quality isn’t the best in Lake Atitlán).
After your stop, take a lancha back to Panajachel to catch a shuttle to Guatemala City so you can fly out. I’ll be honest: this trip is brutal. It took 5 hours when it should’ve only taken 3. First, the shuttle was late to pick us up, then we had to go around the city getting people at their hotels. We got stuck in traffic on the way, and then we had to drop each group off in Guatemala City. The roads were also winding and nauseating on the way out of Panajachel.
If you can afford it, it may well be worth it to book a private transfer to cut off some time. You can also do this through GuateGO.
Finally, it can also help to rest a bit in Guatemala City before flying out, especially since the shuttle will likely be delayed. We spent one night at Good Hotel, which was a fine stop. It had a restaurant so we didn’t have to leave, as we were concerned about safety in the city. They also have private airport transfers, but I checked Uber prices when we left and they were one-third of what we paid, so keep that in mind (I’ll feel better by reminding myself that we supported a local business instead).
FAQs about Guatemala
Best time to go?
Dry season is November to April, and we had a fantastic time end of November to early December. Temps were ideal, between 50-80F (10-27C), and mostly around 70F (20C). It didn’t rain during the day at all during my trip (only once during the night).
How expensive is it?
One US dollar is about 7.7 Guatemalan quetzales. Meals at nicer places could easily be 100-150 quetzales ($13-20) per person, but at more mom & pop restaurants you could get two people fed for the same amount of money. Housing can range from the equivalent of $20-100 per night depending on whether you choose a hostel, apartment, or hotel stay. My friend and I paid ~$37-60 each to stay in rented rooms or apartments.
Is it safe?
In general, it felt very safe for me to travel in Guatemala as a woman (both alone and with my female friend). We were only warned about parts of Guatemala City, and we make sure not to walk around outside there (stealing and violence is more common). The only thing I really experienced was catcalling and getting charged more as a tourist.
Is it easy to eat vegetarian or vegan?
Eating vegetarian was pretty easy, especially since beans are a staple and an easy protein replacement. Vegan is a bit trickier since cheese and eggs are other replacement staples. Many restaurants in the more touristy cities have vegan options though, and there are even entirely vegan restaurants. As you know though, I ran into some snags with the Acatenango tour, and in my homestay, I was also pretty hungry since we didn’t always have good protein replacements (they gave me a plate with chicken and then swapped it out with zucchini when I reminded them I don’t eat meat). So, I would prep some backup snacks.
Can you pay with card?
This was the trip where I had to take out the most cash. At the markets, for lanchas, and for most workshops/tours, you’ll have to pay by cash. There were several cases where you could pay by card too but with a surcharge, so it helped to have cash. I estimate that I probably spent 3000 quetzales for myself in a week (400USD).
Do you tip in Guatemala?
It’s customary to tip 10% at restaurants and for workshops/tours. You’ll want keep some cash on hand for that. Sometimes the restaurants automatically add the 10% service to the bill, but sometimes they don’t. You won’t need to tip for shared shuttles but you can for private ones.
Let us know what you think if you do any part of this itinerary!
