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!

FIRST STOP: 2 NIGHTS IN GUATEMALA CITY

Unlike most Guatemala itineraries, our trip began with 2 nights in Guatemala City, after arriving on an direct evening flight from New York’s JFK. We Ubered (after a 10 minute wait…) from Guatemala City’s airport to the Westin Camino Reale in Zona 10 of Guatemala City. We arrived right after midnight to our hotel, so we we simply checked in, showered and went to bed. Pretty uneventful.

Pro tip: the alternative to staying in Guatemala City is taking an hour-long Uber (yes, Uber works even for longer distances in and around Guatemala City) from Guatemala City’s airport to Antigua (the home of this cover pic), which is certainly more tourist oriented and generally considered much safer than Guatemala City. We didn’t do this because we stayed in Antigua for a few days at the end of our trip, but it is a popular choice.

I debated immediately leaving Guatemala City the next morning, but I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to see a new city. As such, we stayed 2 nights in Guatemala City. Guatemala City turned out to be more interesting than expected and safe for tourists IMO (at least in tourist areas). We spent most of our time on a tour visiting Guatemala City’s highlights, before dining at one of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants – Sublime. Sublime was incredible, as was its sister cocktail bar, Cocktail Lobby. Stay tuned for its own review!

Pro tip: I found the best souvenir shopping of our trip to be in Guatemala City’s Mercado Centrale market. Had I know this, I would have done my souvenir shopping here!

Second pro tip: I wouldn’t spend more than 1 full day in Guatemala City unless you have loads of time, and I really don’t think Guatemala City is necessary on a short trip. There is SO much to see in Guatemala! That being sad, I am not mad about our day in Guatemala City.

SECOND STOP: 4 NIGHTS IN LAKE ATITLÁN WITH A STOP IXIMCHE

We left Guatemala City after 2 nights (and 1 full day) and took a pre-booked private car, via daytrip.com, 3 hours to Lake Atitlán. Th the drive was mostly on modern highway, although the closer to Lake Atitlán, the more windy and hilly the drive became. We stopped en route to Lake Atitlán to visit the Mayan city of Iximche (currently not a real city but an archeological site), which was only a few minutes out of the way and broke up the drive. We spent about 45 minute at Iximche and that was enough to see its highlights.

Pro tip: See Iximche on the way to Lake Atitlán or on the way back from Lake Atitlán rather than a day trip from Antigua or Lake Atitlán. Its RIGHT on the way and a decent stop, as you will likely hear a lot about historical Iximche in Guatemala.

We arrived in Panajachel, the capital of Lake Atitlán, in the afternoon and took a private boat to our hotel, Casa Prana. We spent the next two days lounging around Casa Prana’s luxurious property. I will post more about Casa Prana, so stay tuned; it was fantastic and stunningly beautiful!

Pro tip: What’s App works much better in this area than cell phones (even those with an international plan). Our hotel advised that What’s App is preferred due to costs associated with using traditional phone plans in Guatemala. In any case, download What’s App before you go. We had to download it in Panajachel to contact our hotel to send the boat. Good thing our internet worked (thanks, T-Mobile!).

We ventured off of Casa Prana’s property on our third day to hike the Lower Mayan Trail around Lake Atitlán. The views were absolutely stunning, but the hike was difficult, much more difficult that advertised online, LOL. The Lower Mayan Hike, which I will write more about in another post, begins in Santa Cruz la Laguna and ends in San Marcos la Laguna, each one of Lake Atitlán’s towns. We spent the afternoon exploring San Marcos la Laguna before taking the boat back to Casa Prana. We also ventured out on our final day, taking a boat to San Juan la Laguna, another Lake Atitlán town, for the morning, returning to our hotel in the afternoon to enjoy the sunny weather!

Pro tip: Lake Atitlán’s public boats are easy and cheap to take around the Lake. Bring local cash to pay. We thought about hiring a private boat before arriving, but that was completely unnecessary.

STOP THREE: 3 DAYS IN ANTIGUA

After 4 nights at Lake Atitlán, we, very sadly, departed Lake Atitlán. Truly, one cannot spend enough time here – I could have easily stayed another week! In any case, we took a boat from Casa Prana to a car and were driven around 3 hours to Antigua, a Spanish Colonial town surrounded by volcanos that is currently a very cool place to be. The drive is usually a bit shorter, but there were mudslide issues given that it is the rainy season in July. We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the day enjoying our hotel, Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, exploring they city, and our favorite thing, eating and drinking. More to come on our time in Antigua!

Pro tip: While small and historical, Antigua is a modern town with almost everything a Western tourist or expat could want or need, including a wide variety of food options (US chains, ramen, decent pizza, etc.)

We spent the remainder of our time in Antigua exploring its historical sites, drinking coffee, hiking Cerro de la Cruz, shopping, and eating and drinking. We left Guatemala for New York very late on a Saturday evening, so we stayed in Antigua our last day until about 6:00 PM before calling an Uber to drive us an hour to the Guatemala City airport. Easy peasy.

Pro tip: Uber frequently runs between the airport and Antigua. The time of the drive, however, can vary wildly depending on traffic. Be sure you leave enough time for traffic.

All in, we had an absolutely fantastic trip in Guatemala and would love to go back. High on my list on return are the Tikal Mayan ruins, Acatenango, and more time exploring Lake Atitlan.

REALISTIC TIPS FOR VISITING GUATEMALA

1. Guatemala uses the same electric outlets as the US. No need for converters.
2. Most places accept credit card (like a surprising amount of places).
3. There is no tourist-friendly public transportation in Guatemala. Hiring a driver or a shared private transfer is the easiest way to get around.
4. Uber works really well in Guatemala City and Antigua.
5. Knowing some Spanish helps, as many do not speak English.
6. There are loads of vegan restaurants in Guatemala. This was surprising to me!
7. The Guatemalan Quetzal is the local currency. We used this to pay for boats on Lake Atitlán, for market shopping and for very small purchases (like cheap food or bottled water).
8. Guatemala City, Lake Atitlán and Antigua are all at over 5,000 feet altitude. We had no issues but its something to be aware of.
9. Bring sneakers at a minimum or better yet, hiking shoes. Guatemala is rugged and hiking is popular and great quality. You won’t regret it.
10. Everything seems to operate as normal in rainy season even if its raining. Consider this when booking activities, including hikes, as you may be hiking in the rain for hours.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Jet Blue: Who we flew direct from JFK.

Westin Camino Reale: 14 Calle 0-20, Cdad. de Guatemala 01010, Guatemala.

Daytrip.com: This is the company I used to book our transfers to and from Lake Atitlán.

Casa Prana: Lake Atitlan, Paxanax Bay, Santa Cruz la Laguna 00501, Guatemala

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo: 3a Calle Oriente 28 A, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.