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 – 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.

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.

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.

Almost all cars driving to Lake Atitlán will drop you in Panajachel, one of the larger town in Lake Atitlán with lots of lodging and food options, as well as hotels, guest hoses and hostels. Visitors then take a “lancha”, or a local boat taxi, from Panajachel’s Kaycuos Marina to one of Lake Atitlán’s other 10 towns or a hotel on the lake. Our hotel was not in a town, instead just located on the lake, so we took the lancha directly to our hotel. To accomplish this, you can just tell the lancha captain the name of your hotel – they know them all – but our hotel sent its own private lancha to collect us. Pro tip: if you are taking a shuttle or car to Lake Atitlán, ask them to drop you at Kaycuos Marina to get close to the lanchas.

GETTING AROUND LAKE ATITLÁN & ITS TOWNS

On the lancha theme, three modes of transportation get one around Lake Atitlán – lanchas, tuc tucs, and your feet. Lanchas (i.e. what we took from Panajachel to our hotel, discussed above) are both public and private and, again, transport guest between towns and hotels on the edge of Lake Atitlán. Lanchas run from early morning until about 7:00 PM (some later, but confirm). The cost is around 25 – 35 Quetzal per person per ride for public lanchas, more if you are being dropped at a hotel – cash only. We used the public lanchas our entire trip and found them super easy. Private lanchas are available for hire (ask your hotel for information).

Tuc tucs, or small three wheeled vehicles are also available in most towns to transport tourists around. These are very popular in the several towns that are located high above Lake Atitlán and require an uphill walk from the dock to town, but there are also available in flat towns. I do not know the cost because we did not take a tuc tuc during out visit, but I heard it was quite inexpensive. Bring cash.

Finally, once in a town, they are pretty small and easy to walk around by foot. I suggest wearing comfortable walking shoes all around Lake Atitlán.

WHERE WE STAYED IN LAKE ATITLÁN

We stayed at the gorgeous Casa Prana hotel, located a 10 minute walk from the town of Santa Cruz la Laguna. Like many hotels, AirBnBs, and guest houses in Lake Atitlán, Casa Prana is not located in one of the Lake Atitlán villages, but is really on its own on the side of the lake. There is no vehicle access Casa Prana and the only way to leave or arrive is via boat hailed to Casa Prana’s dock or by walking the 10 – 15 minutes along the water (on kiiind of a trial) to Santa Cruz and catching a lancha there.

I am going to post separately about Casa Prana with lots of detail. In brief, however, Casa Prana is certainly one of Lake Atitlán’s luxury properties. Offering a lovely (yet cold) pool, volcano views, and service with a literal What’s App text, Casa Prana felt quite luxurious. Stay at Casa Prana to get away from it all or for a luxury experience.

WHAT WE DID IN LAKE ATITLÁN

We spent a lot of time relaxing at our hotel as it was so nice, so we only accomplished a few of the things I wanted to do in Lake Atitlán. I guess I will just have to return! Honestly, I could have easily spent a week here and not been ready to go home. Below is a brief synopsis of the things we did at Lake Atitlán over four days (excluding our time relaxing at Casa Prana).

An Afternoon Visit to San Marcos La Laguna

San Marcos is one of Lake Atitlán’s “main” villages around the lake. Popular with modern day hippies, the health conscious, and those into adjacent things (ranging from yoga to veganism to reiki to drugs that are certainly illegal in the US), San Marcos is generally considered a “hippie paradise”. I wasn’t expecting to like San Marcos, but I really did enjoy San Marcos and would likely stay in San Marcos next time. In addition to all of these hippie things, San Marcos is full of good (or at least decent) restaurants, fun bars, and offers stunning views of Lake Atitlán and the San Pedro volcano. I suggest a solid half-day to fully explore San Marcos and take advantage of its gorgeous (and clean) lake shore.

We spent most of our afternoon exploring the town of San Marcos but we did pay to enter Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve, which is nature park on the edge of San Marcos that is home to beautiful views and, most importantly, the 40 feet high Trampolin diving platform. Yes, this is a diving platform that tourists can use. We didn’t jump, but it would have been really cool to have done so! Bring a bathing suit and your own towel, etc. if you plan to take the plunge.

For anyone in Lake Atitlán, stores in San Marcos offer all sorts of American health products, especially from the food variety, meaning that its a decent place to find American brands and specialty goods otherwise not easily accessible in Guatemala. We even found popular Kettle cooked chips in San Marcos. Not sure how those fit into a health food store….

A Morning Visit to San Juan La Laguna

San Juan is another of Lake Atitlán’s “main” villages, often described as the “favorite” amongst travelers. San Juan is known for being colorful, full of Mayan culture and more authentic than some of the other towns. I, however, honestly found San Juan to be super touristy and none of those things except colorful, but it was interesting to visit for a few hours. San Juan proper is located a steep walk up from the lancha dock. Tuc tucs are available to transport tourists, but we walked. This street connecting the docks to town was extremely colorful and filled with tourist shops. Once at the top of town, there are numerous other colorful streets, a couple with umbrellas decorating the streets.

We didn’t spend too much time shopping and instead, prioritized walking (er, hiking) up to Mirador Kaqasiiwaan, which is a view point high above San Juan. The walk was longer, hotter and steeper than I expected, but it did offer sweeping views of Lake Atitlán and the surrounding area. We celebrated finishing the hike with a cold Gallo at the top!

Lower Mayan Trial Hike

In addition to visit some of the villages around Lake Atitlán, we also hiked t Lower Mayan Trail.  The Lower Mayan Trail Hike begins in Santa Cruz La Laguna and ends in San Marcos La Laguna (or vice versa, but starting in Santa Cruz has better views), going through Jaibalito and Tzununa and reaching an elevation of 5,400 feet (according to the internet). The hike takes about 3.5 hours (at least us) and truly was gorgeous. We did this hike on our own without a guide, but I would probably use one next time. While not easy, highly recommend to those wanting a good hike while on vacation.

WHERE WE ATE IN LAKE ATITLÁN

Since our hotel, Casa Prana, is not in a town, we ate most of our meals at the hotel. However, we did get out a few days! These were some fun places we ate!

Amo Atitlán

Amo Atitlán is a trendy bar and cafe attached to Kula Maya Boutique Hotel and Spa in San Marcos La Laguna. The restaurant itself is located on the hotel’s pool deck overlooking Lake Atitlán and the San Pedro volcano. We stopped here for lunch and drinks one afternoon and this was by far the best food we had in Lake Atitlán (and possibly Guatemala, aside from Sublime Restaurant!). The restaurant wasn’t too fancy, but the flavors were just really good and well prepared.  Amo Atitlán was so good that we almost came back a second day. Highly recommend.

Il Giardino

Il Giardino is also located in San Marcos la Laguna, and bills itself as a “secret oasis” within the narrow streets of San Marcos. That bit was true – the restaurant is set apart from the streets in a leafy garden complete with tables and sofas for guest use. We only had cappuccinos at Il Giardino but the food smelled good.

Helados Artesanales

Helados Artesanales is a small ice cream shop at the top of San Juan la Laguna offering interesting flavors, such as coal (!) and peanut. I read about the peanut ice cream online and that sold me. The ice creams are served as little pops in a plastic cup with a popsicle stick in the top. Very good, and very refreshing on a hot afternoon!

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR VISITING LAKE ATITLÁN

Here are a few tips that we found helpful in planning a visit to Lake Atitlán:

1. Use the public lanchas to get around Lake Atitlán. They are easy to use and figure out. A private transfer is not necessary unless its at a very odd hour.
2. Carry Guatemalan Quetzal. We found several places to only accept cash, including entrance to public parks and trails, small stores and cafes, and lanchas. ATMs are in some of the towns but I wouldn’t count on them necessarily having cash at all times.
3. On the money note, visit the ATM and get plenty of cash in Guatemala City or Antigua.
4. Bring hiking shoes. There is a lot of hiking in the area and getting around the towns themselves is a bike.
5. Tuc tucs are available in most towns to drive tourists around if you don’t want to walk.
6. Lake Atitlán uses the same electrical outlets as the USA.
7. If you are not staying in a village, you will be largely cut off from restaurants and night life (except those at your hotel) after dark.
8. Many people told us that the lake is much calmer in the morning should you want to swim or engage in water sports.
9. Lake Atitlán is known as one of Guatemala’s safest tourist destinations. We never felt unsafe, but I would exercise caution walking alone in remote areas (such as between towns).
10. We found pretty good interest pretty easily in Lake Atitlán… Amo Atitlán and Casa Prana both had solid internet.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Casa Prana: This is the website of Casa Prana.

Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve: In San Marcos la Laguna at the end of town (to the left of the boat dock past Kula Maya hotel). Open daily 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Entry fee in 2024 was around $3.00 USD. Bring cash.

Mirador Kaqasiiwaan: Around 30 Guatemalan for entry. Hours unclear.

Amo Atitlán (at Kula Maya): Kula Maya Hotel Second Dock on Water, San Marcos La Laguna 07016, Guatemala. Open daily 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM (kitchen closes at 8:00 PM). Credit card accepted.

Il Giardino: Barrio 3, San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala. Open daily 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM. Unclear if credit card accepted (we paid in cash).

Helados Artesanales: MPW7+655, San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala (top of San Juan la Laguna). I would suggest cash (unclear if cc accepted).