Guatemala is a country of breathtaking natural beauty, rich culture, and warm-hearted people. Nestled in the heart of Central America, Guatemala offers a diverse range of experiences for travelers seeking adventure, history, and relaxation. Guatemala has some influence from Spanish colonization, but is still very Mayan. For most Guatemalans, Spanish is their second language and an indigenous Mayan dialect is their first. From ancient Mayan ruins to stunning volcanic landscapes and vibrant markets to lakeside villages, Guatemala has something to offer every type of traveler. Guatemala is surprisingly easy to get to from the US but feels a world away. Delta has direct flights from Atlanta and American Air has direct flights from Dallas and Miami. There are not any chain hotels or resorts outside of Guatemala City, but there is a great backpacking scene with a thriving tourism industry. Guatemala is a relatively small country but there is a ton to see in this small country. The main highlights are Guatemala City(southern region), Antigua(southern region), Volcan Acatenango(southern region), Lake Atitlan (southern region), Chichicastenango Market (southern region), Xela (southern region), El Paredon(pacific coast), Monterrico(pacific coast), Rio Dulce(Caribbean coast), Flores (northern region), and Semuc Champey(northern region). Infrastructure is not great and with only 10 days I recommend sticking to the southern region of Guatemala since you’ll be flying in and out of Guatemala City. You could incorporate the northern region(Tikal, Semuc Champey, & Flores) but you will be spending most of your trip in a bus if you have limited time. You would need at-least a month to see all of the highlights. This 10 day itinerary will focus on the highlights of the southern region-Antigua, Acatenango Volcano trek, & Lake Atitlan.

Flying over Guatemala’s beautiful landscape

Day 1: Fly into the capital Guatemala City and transit to Antigua

Most travelers skip Guatemala City as it has a dangerous reputation like most Central American capitals. It looks a little grimy, crowded, and rough around the edges. However, I have recently been hearing good things about Guatemala City and that it’s becoming safer. I usually like to visit capital cities when I’m traveling but I decided to entirely skip Guatemala’s capital because of my limited time, Guat City’s notorious reputation, and Antigua only being an hour away. Upon landing I checked Uber and it was a little over $50 USD to Antigua- an hour or two drive depending on traffic. I managed to negotiate a shared shuttle for $25 that dropped me directly off at my hostel. The shuttles always take a longer than advertised and you can really get burned if you’re the last stop after everyone else, but luckily my hostel was the first stop.

Where to stay: I highly recommend Somos hostel in old town Antigua. It might be the best hostel i’ve ever stayed at. I got a private room room for 300 Quetzals per night which is about 40 USD. The vibes are amazing here, they have a beautiful rooftop terrace, a hot tub, and a really great atmosphere with knowlegable staff. Only thing missing was breakfast.

What to do: On day 1, I recommend taking it easy and wandering around Antigua Old Town. It is a super walkable and beautiful city. It is my favorite city in Central America by far. It might be the most beautiful city in Latin America. There are historical spanish style churches everywhere, cobblestone streets, cafes, parks, and volcanoes in the background. There’s a lot of history here as it was the former capital. You could definitely get a lot of value from a walking tour, but I was happy just wondering on my own. My favorite landmarks were El Acro de Santa Catalina, Cerro de la Cruz, & Parque Central.For a really good Guatemalan lunch check out Rincon Tipico, but they close at 4pm. In the evening grab some drinks at Somos hostel, Tropicana Hostel, El Barrio, Irish Pub, or Antigua Brewery for a lively atmosphere. The party scene is not too wild in Antigua, I think the biggest weekly party is probably a hostel pub crawl- which I heard good things about but did not join. The people in Antigua were super friendly and I did not feel like there were any scammers trying to rip off tourists, I also felt very safe the entire time in Antigua.

Day 2: Antigua

Where to stay: Somos Hostel

What to do: Grab a typical Guatemalan breakfast, this is the meal Guatemalans do best in my opinion. The coffee in Guatemala is really good, but the food feels a little lackluster compared to Mexican in all honestly. After breakfast head to Cerro de La Cruz for sweeping views of Antigua and Volcan Agua. Afterwards, head to Mercado Central Antigua- a labyrinth of small alleys in a flea market sort of style… selling anything from guinea pigs to trekking shoes. You could wander around here for quite awhile, hit up the food court for an authentic Guatemalan lunch. This market is an assault on the senses and a really fun experience, you can really feel the indigenous culture pulsating as you wander through the narrow alleyways. After shopping your way through one of the most unique markets in Central America continue to wander around Old Antigua or head back to your accommodation for some rest. In the evening go out for a nice dinner, Antigua has a lot of great dining options. Take it easy tonight though because tomorrow is the very challenging Volcan Acatenango trek.

Day 3: Trek to Acatenango Base Camp

Where to stay: Base Camp- Tent or Cabin depending on tour. See detailed guide on Hiking Acatenango

What to do: There are plenty of tour operators offering trek’s to Acatenango base camp. I went with Go Wild Acatenango Adventure- a local guide with cabins at base camp. They are a local operator I met in person and was offered a discount on their trek. It cost me $90 USD, not including rentals and porter. If you want their contact information message me and I’ll refer you. I would be selective about who you decide to go with. If you just book through your hostel you will likely end up in a huge group and sleeping in tents. I was really happy with my tour provider, it was only 7 of us in a group accompanied by 2 guides, 3 porters, and we slept in an insulated cabin with views of the frequently erupting Volcan Fuego. Also make sure your tour operates in a sustainable matter, this trek is growing in popularity causing over-tourism and a rise in unsustainable tour operators chasing profit- keep Acatenango clean. I can also highly recommend Old Town Antigua outfitters as a sustainable tour operator. It is a challenging trek to base camp taking about 4-6 hours reaching roughly 3600M, you need to be in decent shape. I recommend hiring a porter and renting trekking poles. I wrote a detailed post about the Acatenango hike here. Note* it is highly recommended you spend atleast two days in Antigua acclimatizing for this trek, you can get altitude sickness if you do this coming straight from sea level without any time to acclimatize in Antigua. Most hostels/hotels are used to tourist coming for this trek so it is common practice to leave your luggage at your hotel and pick it up when you return. I left mine in a locker at Somos hostel and brought my own luggage lock.

Day 4: Summit Acatenango

Where to stay: Antigua you will be back around 1pm.

What to do: There is an optional sunrise summit that leaves around 4 am from basecamp. I highly recommend doing it, these were some of the best views I’ve ever had in my life. This was definitely the most steep and challenging part of the hike, but the most rewarding. It is very cold at the summit and the wind chill is brutal. After soaking in summit and watching Volcan Feugo erupt with sunrising in the background head back to base camp for breakfast and to pack up. Then descend down the volcano and your tour will drop you back at your accommodation. The descent is much faster but can still be tough and slippery because of the loose lava rock. You will be very tired and ready to rest up in Antigua for the rest of the afternoon. If you have the energy, in the evening head to Irish Pub for a hearty meal and rooftop beers to celebrate trekking a volcano.

View of Volcan Fuego from Acatenango Summit

Roof top at the Irish Pub- there is always an Irish Pub everywhere

Day 5: Transfer to Lake Atitlan

How to get there: You have three options; 1.) The local chicken buses- super cheap and local experience but challenging for the non-spanish speaker and take forever with many stops. 2.) Tourist shuttle- Mid range cost picking up a caravan of tourists at their respective hostels and dropping them off in Panajachel. 3.) Private driver- most expensive option, but fastest. I went with the tourist shuttle, it was convenient and fairly priced- 90Q from my hostel to Panajachel. The shuttle drops you off at the main pier and will direct you to the water taxis. Take a water taxi to whatever village you decide on. It’s 25Q for a water taxi ride.

Tourist Shuttles are abundant between the main highlights of Guatemala

Where to stay: Check out this detailed guide to figure out the best village for your style. San Pedro, San Marcos, San Juan, or Santa Cruz. There are many villages around the lake with different vibes, read this article to find the one that suits you best. I spent two days in San Pedro & two days in Santa Cruz. It was nice to split my time between a party touristy village and chilled out local slow placed village. This itinerary will assume the same. I stayed at Mandala’s hostel in San Pedro, if you are looking to party stay at the party hostel Mr. Mullets.

What to do: Take a morning Tuk-tuk from San Pedro to San Juan to explore the most authentic Guatemalan village for the first half of the day. After wandering around San Juan and getting an authentic lunch, head back to San Pedro. There is a great backpacker party scene here and Mr. Mullet’s hostel is the most popular party hostel in Lake Atitlan with frequent pub crawls. There are also a lot of Israeli restaurants in town and a lot of Israeli travelers, my favorite restaurant was Zoola- an Israeli cuisine, they also have a hostel. San Pedro is a little grimey and very touristy, I wasn’t a huge fan but it was a fun place to base myself for two days and have some fun.

Day 6: Explore San Marcos or Hike Indian’s Nose Sunrise at 4am

How to get there: quick water taxi from San Pedro

Where to stay: In San Pedro

What to do: Take a morning water taxi to San Marcos. Water taxi’s leave when they are full, and they come and go frequently. Shop around the main street and admire the hippy lifestyle. Next, head up to Eagle’s nest for a yoga class- def take a tuk tuk here it’s too far uphill to walk. They have yoga at 8AM and 11:30AM. You can also hang out there and enjoy the epic views and eat lunch. After yoga, head to the Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve. It’s 20Q to enter, and they have a deck for cliff jumping- it’s about 13M high, they also have nice trails along the edge of the cliffs with great views of the lake below. After enjoying the beautiful nature reserve head back to San Pedro for dinner and drinks on the town. If you have the energy pre-arrange a hike to Indian’s nose, it is best to do from San Pedro and there are tour operators all over the place where you can easily book. I personally didn’t do the hike as I was hiked out after Acatenango trek, but if I had more time I would’ve done it. From what I’ve heard it’s an easy hike, I just couldn’t be bothered to wake up at 4am. Just a note of precaution, be careful venturing too far up the side of the mountain away from the lakeside village as there have been reports of tourists getting mugged when getting too far outside of the lakeside area. It’s best to do Indian nose with a guide for safety reasons.

The Cliff Jumping at Cerro Tzankukil Nature Reserve

Day 7: Transfer to laid back Santa Cruz

Where to stay: La Iguana Perdida- A really nice lakefront hostel. They have everything from hostel dorms to private bungalows. You could stay for a couple days and never leave their campus because they have a plethora of activities, a great kitchen, and a bar.

What to do: After a night out in San Pedro, I was very excited to transfer to chilled out Santa Cruz. I got a private small cabin with a shared bathroom for 150Q per night. I recommend just chilling around the hostel or walking around Santa Cruz. There is not much going on in Santa Cruz and that’s the point. The hostel has paddleboarding, scuba, yoga, massage, sauna, hammocks, etc. It is a great place to chill out couple of days. They have a community buffet style dinner every night for a very fair price.

Day 8: Chill out in Santa Cruz

Where to stay: La Iguana Perdida if you wanna chill out or Free Cerveza hostel if youre more into younger party hostels.

What to do: Have a nice breakfast overlooking the lake. Lounge in a hammock. Go Paddleboarding. Do some Yoga. Roast in their Mayan sauna.

Day 9: Transfer back to Antigua

Where to stay: Somos Hostel

How to get there: Book a tourist shuttle through your hostel from Panajachel to your hostel in Antigua. It is possible to go straight from Lake Atitlan to the airport in Guatemala City, but Antigua is a good spot to break up the journey before flying home. The travel times in Guatemala take a lot longer than you think. For example, we boarded the water taxi in Santa Cruz at 11am. We waited till 11:25am for the water taxi to fill up and leave. We got to Panajachel around 11:45am, the tourist shuttle showed up at 12:30pm(it was scheduled for noon). The shuttle back took almost 4 hours instead of 2 hours, because we had to stop multiple times to pick up other tourists, etc. Not complaining, just disclosing so you know what to expect when traveling around Guatemala. For some reason it’s more expensive to return to Antigua from Panajachel- this time it was 150Q… earlier in the itinerary I mentioned it was 90Q from Antigua to Panajachel, not sure why they price gouge on the return trip.

What to do: Enjoy your last evening in Antigua. Consider doing some last minute souvenir shopping in the market or doing anything you didn’t have time for on your first few days in Antigua. Antigua is a great town to chill out with little plans and just enjoy. I hope to bring my family and work remote from here in the future.

Day 10: Depart from Guatemala City Airport

How to get there: I reccommend booking a private driver through your hostel. Forget the tourist shuttle when trying to get to the airport. It was 275Q for a direct private driver and I split it with my friend. It took us an hour and a half and it was well worth it.

10 Day Guatemala Itinerary

Guide to Hiking Acatenango Volcano

10 Day Dominican Republic Itinerary