Latin America

4 Nights In Lake Atitlan, Guatemala in July: What to Do, Where to Stay & How to Get Around

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Lake Atitlán is a gorgeous lake in southwestern Guatemala in the highlands of the Sierra Madre mountains. It has been described as “the most beautiful lake in the world”, and honestly, it is totally stunning. Dan and I spent 4 days and 4 nights in Lake Atitlán in early July this year (2024). This post discusses what we did, where we stayed and what we ate, in addition to practical information. Our itinerary is good for those looking for a luxury stay with a bit of adventure and a lot of relaxing.

Lake Atitlán on a map.

LAKE ATITLÁN – GENERAL INFORMATION

Located pretty high in the Guatemalan mountains, Lake Atitlán is actually an ancient valley situated between three volcanos, Atitlán volcano, Tolimán volcano, and San Pedro volcano. The valley was long ago dammed by volcanic ash from said volcanoes, which resulted in the modern day lake with fantastic volcano views.

San Pedro Volcano overlooking Lake Atitlán.

Around eleven small (some tiny) villages dotted around the lake make up the Lake Atitlán community, most connected only via boat and old trails that are somewhat difficult to hike. Mayan people make up much of the local population, and one can pretty easily experience relatively authentic Mayan culture in Lake Atitlán. Some of Lake Atitlán’s most popular villages are Panajachel, San Pedro, San Marcos, San Juan, and Santa Cruz.  Pro tip: if you are someone enjoying night life or wanting to walk to shops, cafes, etc. in the evening, be sure to stay in one of these towns as other locations shutter after dark.

Arriving in Lake Atitlán! It rained a little bit on arrival day, but nothing too crazy (especially for “rainy season”).

HOW WE GOT TO LAKE ATITLÁN

As Lake Atitlán is kind of in the middle of nowhere, it, not surprisingly, lacks a proper airport. Most visitors fly into Guatemala City’s airport and drive from there, which is what we did. The drive from Guatemala City is a little over 3 hours (slightly shorter from Antigua) and consists of mostly well-paved highway, although the roads get twistier and smaller when you get to the mountains. We booked a private transfer, but there are plenty of shared buses/vans and Uber also goes between Guatemala City and Lake Atitlán (and I have heard this is the cheapest option). I also understand helicopters fly between Guatemala City and Lake Atitlán, but that seems wholly unnecessary.

The lancha dock in Panajachel – where we arrived via car from Guatemala City.

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Dining at One of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants – Sublime, Guatemala City & Its Sister Cocktail Bar, Cocktail Lobby.

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Sublime is ranked the best restaurant in Guatemala and the 24th best restaurant in Latin America(right after my fave Gusto in La, Paz, Bolivia!). I made a reservation as soon as I knew I would be in Guatemala City. Sublime, and its adjacent cocktail lounge, Cocktail Lobby, was the best meal and cocktails that I had in Guatemala. Run, don’t walk, to Sublime or Cocktail Lobby (or both!) when in Guatemala City.

Welcome to Sublime.

In terms of location, Sublime is located in Guatemala City’s Zona 14, in a nondescript building off a slow street. There is parking on site and the hip Cocktail Lobby is just on the other side of the building (they are connected to each other). We Ubered from our hotel to Sublime, the Westin Camino Reale, but the area seemed safe enough, and our tour guide from earlier in the day confirmed this.

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Itinerary: 8 Days in Guatemala in July (Rainy Season)

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Dan and I spent a fabulous 8 days and 8 nights in Guatemala in July, which also happens to be Guatemala’s rainy season. We opted go visit despite the season due to cheap flights, 2 work holidays, and a general consensus that it wouldn’t constantly rain, which turned out true! In any case, I struggled to plan our itinerary with so much to see in Guatemala, so I am sharing ours for your future trips. We found this itinerary to be perfect for a week-long trip to Guatemala in July!

Lake Atitlán, Guatemala in July 2024.

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Touring the Tarija, Bolivia Wine Region: Great [and Terrible] Wine, Lots of Steak, and Gorgeous Scenery!

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Last April, Dan and I traveled to southern Bolivia to drink more of our favorite wine – Tannat (a close tie with Sagrantino de Montefalco from Umbria, Italy)! You may recall that we traveled to Uruguay a few years ago for the same reason! And like before visiting Uruguay, we knew absolutely nothing about Bolivian wine country, or really even Bolivian wine, prior to our visit. In fact, we only knew that Bolivia makes Tannat, and that was enough for us. It also didn’t hurt that I had really been wanting to visit Boliva, and that Dan loves South America. We sandwiched our trip to Tarija between the Bolivian tourist hotspots of Uyuni and La Paz and hoped for the best, as there was MINIMAL information available online regarding wine tourism.

Bolivian winelands.

We found Bolivian wine country, or Tarija to be exact, beautiful, difficult to navigate, and having a variety of wines – some to our taste and others terrible in our opinion (in all fairness, Bolivians generally like really sweet wine and we do not). We will certainly be back to Tarija when we have more time to explore. For those planning time in Bolivian wine country, this article shares the knowledge that we learned on our trip, which seems largely missing from the internet.

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A Surprisingly Fun Weekend in La Paz, Bolivia!

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Dan and I spent ten days in Bolivia earlier this year visiting the Uyuni Salt Flats and Bolivia’s wine region, Tarija. We ended the trip with a couple days in La Paz and, while not expecting to love La Paz, we ended up having a grand time.  This post details what we did on our few days in La Paz, Bolivia.

LA PAZ (AND EL ALTO), BOLIVIA

La Paz as most travelers see it, is actually made up of two adjacent cities high in the Andes mountains: La Paz and El Alto. El Alto is home to the La Paz airport, where many travelers fly in (including us!), and is located at over 13,000 feet above sea level. La Paz abuts El Alto, but is located at a lower altitude, with the lowest parts being around 10,000 feet. The difference in altitude is wild! The two cities are connected by cable car but, for most casual tourists on a short visit, there’s not a noticeable difference between the two. Most tourist attractions, besides the airport, are located in the city of La Paz. La Paz is one of two capitals of Bolivia (the other being Sucre).  In terms of tourist attractions, La Paz does not have many “bucket list” sites IMHO, but I listed some of the things we enjoyed below. On a quick trip, I probably wouldn’t spend more than 2 or 3 days in La Paz, unless you have something planned.

La Paz, Bolivia.

El Alto, Bolivia.  La Paz is below in the background.

WHAT WE ENJOYED DOING IN LA PAZ

As I mentioned, there are not a ton of must see sites, but here are some things we enjoyed.

Vallee de la Luna: Located on the outskirts of La Paz near “the highest golf course in the world,” Vallee de la Luna (or “Moon Valley”) is a natural park comprised of an eroded mountain left with really cool clay spires jutting out of the Earth.  There are clearly marked trails and the views and photo opportunities are really cool. Tourists can go on their own, but our guide gave some additional context. Note that the altitude will making walking around here much harder than you think.

Valle de la Luna.

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