Lake Atitlan is a beautiful crater lake that is a must stop on any Guatemala Itinerary. Most itineraries describe Lake Atitlan as a singular stop, while in reality there are multiple different villages scattered around the lake with totally different vibes. You would need a couple weeks to thoroughly explore most of the villages, but most travelers only have a couple days allocated for Lake Atitlan and this guide will help travelers maximize their limited time on Lake Atitlan. I was overwhelmed by contradicting opinions of fellow travelers in Guatemala on the best village. In this guide I will give my insights into the different villages and I will give the pros and cons of each and provide context on what type of traveler would fit best at each village. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all villages, but it will cover the main ones that I have personally visited.

This guide will cover; Panajachel, San Pedro, San Juan, San Marcos, & Santa Cruz La Laguna

Panajachel(Pana): Pana is the main transit hub to Lake Atitlan. It is the most developed & populated village, feels more like a city. Most shuttles to Lake Atitlan will be dropping tourists off and picking them up from Pana. Pana seemed a little dirty and over touristy, I think a lot of local Guatemalans will come here for weekend trips. Pana is the most efficient village to base yourself and easily see the other villages in a day trip as their are always water taxis coming and going to Pana, since it’s the main transit hub. Pana is also the most developed village with normal city amenities- like grocery stores, gas stations, good access to highways, etc. Pana has a really nice nature reserve and some really good restaurants. In my opinion, Pana is an example of somewhere that used to be nice, but has been over touristed in an unsustainable way over the past decade. I would not recommend Pana for more than just a quick stop over in route to a smaller village. Pana might be desirable for someone with very limited time who wants to base out of Pana for one or two days and spend all day village hopping. Pana also may be desirable for a longer term traveler looking for cheap long term accommodation and needs the amenities of a normal city. In my opinion, Pana is not worth basing yourself… it might be nice for a couple hours on the day you shuttle there to stop for a nice lunch and see the nature reserve, but only if you have time to keep moving to the next village later in the day before the water taxi’s stop running.

Walking to water taxi in Pana from tourist shuttle drop off

San Pedro: San Pedro is the main backpacker and party hotspot on Lake Atitlan. It is also the best place to base yourself to do the Indian Nose hike on Volcan San Pedro. If you are a young backpacker that loves partying this is the spot for you. Mr Mullet’s hostel offers bar crawls and is the best place to stay if you like to party. I stayed at Mandala’s hostel because it was supposed to be less of a party hostel compared to Mr Mullet’s. Mandala’s was just decent, with a good view but the rooms were a little lackluster for the price. I actually found everything in San Pedro to be a little lackluster for the price. San Pedro was dirty and I’ve heard of a lot of travelers getting sick. I spent two days in San Pedro and was ready to leave by the end. I think it would’ve been nice for one day as there is a good party scene and a good option of restaurants. If you’re basing yourself in San Pedro it is worth Tuk-Tuking to San Juan to explore a more local village for a couple hours. If the party hostel scene is your jam than this is the village for you.

San Juan: San Juan is a small local village adjacent to San Pedro. It’s really convenient that you can take a tuk-tuk to San Pedro from here without having to take a slower water taxi. I like basing in San Juan and just tuk-tuking to San Pedro for a night out. It feels very Guatemalan and is the least touristy of the villages in this guide. There are a lot of authentic cultural tours offered in San Juan and you can really get a feel for local life on Lake Atitlan. There is not much going on and there is not really a nightlife, but still enough tourist infrastructure for a comfortable stay. The water in this part of Lake Atitlan is rumored to be safer to swim compared to San Pedro. If you like a slower pace and enjoy experiencing local culture than San Juan is the ideal option for you.

San Marcos: San Marcos is known as the hippie village. It has a lot of spiritual esque practices, such as yoga, meditation, and etc. There are some well known yoga retreats such as eagle’s nest & hotel la paz. It is also home to cerro tzankujil nature reserve which is a must visit even if you do not stay in San Marcos. I personally found San Marcos superficial and a little cheesy, but I also only spent a couple hours here so I might’ve not given it a fair chance. There are great yoga, massage, & wellness options all around Lake Atitlan so to me San Marcos was not really worth the hype. The cerro tzankujil nature reserve was my favorite part of San Marcos. If you want to do a yoga retreat or are into the hippie/spiritual side of things and want to surround yourself with other like minded travelers than San Marcos would be a good village to base yourself.

view from cerro tzankujil nature reserve

Santa Cruz La Laguna: My personal favorite, the chilled out village of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is very small and sleepy, but has more to do than San Juan. Santa Cruz feels like an ideal blend of San Pedro & San Juan. It is very chill and clean. There are some great hostels here right on the water that offer everything you need from great homecooked meals, a bar, mayan sauna, yoga, kayaking, etc. The two main hostels are La Iguana Perdida, the more chilled out hostel and Free Cerveza Hostel, the more party centric hostel. I stayed in La Iguana Perdida and did not leave the entire time, I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. If you’re looking for a chilled out village with a great place to relax, still do activities, and still have a couple beers at night then this is the ideal village.

4 day sample itinerary: For a more in depth itinerary check out this article

Day 1: Base yourself in San Pedro. Water taxi to San Marcos for a couple hours to check out the cerro tzankujil nature reserve, walk around San Marcos village, and have a lunch. Head back to San Pedro and hit up Zoola for a nice dinner- their chicken schnitzel is the best and then go out to a bar of your choice or join the Mr. Mullet’s bar crawl.
Day 2: Base yourself in San Pedro. Tuk-Tuk to San Juan for the first half of the day to admire the street art and the local culture. Grab an authentic Guatemalan lunch. Head back to San Pedro and go out for another night on the town or rest in and Hike Indian Nose early day 3.
Day 3: After sleeping in or hiking Indian nose, check out of San Pedro and move to Santa Cruz. Consider La Iguana Perdida and take advantage of their Mayan sauna. Relax around beautiful hostel grounds, enjoy the happy hour, and have a nice communal dinner.
Day 4: In the morning take advantage of one of the many activities at La Iguana Perdida; Yoga, paddleboarding, scuba, massage. Relax around the beautiful hostel grounds admiring the wonderful view of the lake, Volcan Atitlan & Volcan San Pedro.

Conclusion: While it’s pretty easy to take a water taxi to the different villages, it takes longer than you’d think because the water taxi has to fill up with passengers and makes many stops- there are no clear defined schedules for the water taxis. The water taxis also stop running after sunset. Therefore it’s important to base yourself in your ideal village, but at the end of the day you can’t really go wrong on Lake Atitlan!

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