Dan and I spent three days, which honestly was not quite enough, in Antigua, Guatemala in July. And yes, it was during rainy season. Despite the season, we experienced only sporadic rain with the exception of a massive downpour on our final day (LOL). This post explores what we ate, drank and did during our brief stay in Antigua, Guatemala!

ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA: A BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED COLONIAL TOWN.

Antigua, Guatemala is a seriously gorgeous Spanish colonial town that is well intact despite having been in existence since the 1500s. It is located in Guatemala’s central highlands and is only about an hour from the Guatemala City airport, making it a popular stop for all Guatemala visitors. Antigua is filled with brightly colored buildings, many of them yellow, and cobblestone streets. It’s also surrounded by three volcanoes, at least two of them active… Truly, Antigua is a photographer’s dream. Throughout history, of course, Antigua has had its share of ups and downs, including experiencing devastating earthquakes. Today, however, Antigua is modern, safe and has lots of popular restaurants, cafes, bars and breweries. I highly recommend Antigua to anyone visiting Guatemala, and it makes a great starting point due to its proximity to the airport.

DAY 1: EATING A MIXTAS, RELAXING AT HOTEL CASA SANTO DOMINGO & A FUN LOCAL BAR.

We arrived in Antigua via private car transfer from Lake Atitlán, which drive took about 3 hours. It was scheduled as shorter, but there were mudslides in the highlands that slowed us down (keep this in mind if traveling during rainy season). We arrived to Antigua in the early afternoon, too early to checkin into our hotel, Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. As it was July 4th in the USA, we decided to look for a Guatemalan hotdog – a mixtas (according to the World Wide Web)! We found one at La Casa de las Mixtas, which has been in business since 1994. We ate on their terrace and the food and cold Gallo beer were fantastic. Highly recommend a stop here for an inexpensive breakfast or lunch.

After a rest and dip in our hotel’s spa pool, which is totally amazing (read the review here), we went for drinks at a cool beer bar called Cafe No Se.  Cafe No Se bills itself as a craft beer and mezcal bar, as well as a live music venue. We tasted their margarita and, of course, their mezcal. The atmosphere was great, as were the bartenders, but this is certainly more of a beer than cocktail bar.

This evening’s dinner was at Hector’s Bistro, which is an Antiguan institution. Hector’s has been operational for years and it has quite the fan base. Hector’s food and vibe was certainly catered to ex-pats in the area, but it is a nice, large space with open air seating and often live music.  I ordered their sourdough pepperoni pizza and Dan had wings!  We went to bed after dinner, as we were exhausted from traveling.

DAY 2: AN EARLY MORNING HIKE, A VERY LOCAL FOOD TOUR, MORE SPA-ING, MORE COCKTAILS AND MEXICAN FOOD.

Our second morning in Antigua called for an early wake up (which are just not my fave, but I am trying to get into them!). First, we took a stroll to the Santa Catalina Arch, which is probably Antigua’s, if not Guatemala’s, most famous site, for photos before the tourist crowds. The Santa Catalina arch is that yellow arch with a volcano behind it. We were successful and I highly recommend this strategy, especially if the weather is nice.

After photos at the Santa Catalina Arch, we walked (or hiked?) Cerro de La Cruz.  Cerro de La Cruz is a public park consisting of a hill overlooking Antigua and its surrounding volcanoes. It offers particularly good views in clear weather and, apparently, at sunset. The “walk” or “hike” only takes about 20 minutes from the Santa Catalina Arch, but its pretty straight up via stairs (very popular with runners). It took us about 40 minutes from the Santa Catalina Arch, but we were moving slowly and taking lots of pictures. Cars can also access Cerro de la Cruz if you are not up for the hike. The top of Cerro de la Cruz does offer truly great views and one very large cross.

We made it back down from Cerro de la Cruz with a bit of time before our 10:00 AM food tour, so we visited Antigua’s original ex-pat coffee shop, Fat Cat Coffee House. And yes, Antigua has many, many coffee shops, numerous of which are modern, pricey and cater to ex-pats in town. Fat Cat was the original one of these style coffee shops. I ordered a cappuccino and it was quite good. We returned later in the trip for more Fat Cat Coffee.

The main activity of our second day was a food tour around Antigua. This tour ended up being more of a history/food tour combo, which was fine with us, than simply a food tour. It also visited some places in Antigua that tourist do not go, including Antigua’s main market. We tried really great dishes, including my very favorite food from this trip, a chiles rellenos from San Antonio bakery. You can read all about our food tour here!

We took a relaxing spa break at Hotel Santo Domingo after our tour before again venturing out for cocktails in the evening. This evening we visited Nuhales, a cocktail bar recommended to us by our bartender at Cafe No Se. Nuhales is a “Mayan cocktail bar”, and it makes excellent cocktails, both classic and those specific to Guatemala (using local ingredients, etc.). We even got to try Guatemalan moonshine! Highly recommend Nuhales – it was one of the best cocktail bars we have visited in a while. Unfortunately, Google claims it has closed; I hope this is not true!

We finished our day with dinner at Fridas, a Mexican restaurant (when so close?) that is incredibly, incredibly popular in Antigua. The food was Americanized and certainly not authentic Mexican, but it was tasty. There was also a lovely band playing live music; they were reminiscent of a cowboy country band. Make a reservation in advance at Fridas, as it is very, very popular.

DAY 3: A REPATE CHILES RELLENOS, MORE SPA-ING, SHOPPING AND DRINKING IN A DOWN POUR

Our third and final day started off a little slow – I think from too much street food on our food tour, LOL. I got up early and picked up a sourdough bagel from Hector’s (yes, they are a bit “known” for their sourdough) for Dan and another chiles rellenos from San Antonio for me (the cost difference between the two was striking). We then used the hotel spa for a bit before heading out for the day.

Our first stop today was for coffee at Cafe Condessa, right next to San Antonio bakery. This was recommended to me by a friend. Condessa was just ok, not bad but also not my favorite, although I do not think this is the original shop.

We then walked around Antigua for a bit, again viewing the Santa Catalina Arch and buying some GORGEOUS local pottery (unfortunately, I cannot recall the name but it is near the Santa Catalina Arch).

It began pouring in the afternoon, so we decided to dedicate the rest of our day (and trip) to trying the local tipples. Our first stop was at the Antigua Brewing Company, which is a local brewery with rooftop volcano views. We were lucky to catch a quick view from the rooftop before the sky opened up! Antigua Brewing Company, or “ABC” is quite established in the area and very popular with tourists and ex-pats. We had lunch here, in addition to beers. I particularly enjoyed the fried chicken sandwich – very tasty!

Our next drinking stop was at Ulew. Ulew is a “speakeasy” inside Antigua Brewing Company, but its not really a secret anymore…Guests simply enter through the very visible red phone booth on the first floor of ABC. I recommend going early, as the bar is tiny and space limited. The cocktails, while expensive for Antigua, were good and lots of effort was put into each one.

We ended our drinking tour of Antigua at La Casa del Ron, which is yet another fancy cocktail bar in Antigua. La Casa del Ron gave cigar bar vibes and specialized in, of course, Guatemalan rum cocktails. In fact, I am certain Zacapa has an ownership interest in this bar, LOL. We had great cocktails here before leaving in the early evening for the airport via Uber, where there is also a La Casa del Ron branch on Priority Pass! Stay tuned for my review of that!

WHAT WE MISSED

Unfortunately, we missed an overnight/sunrise hike up Acatenango. I really wanted to do this, but it comprises a day and and night (and likely another day to recover). We simply didn’t plan enough time to partake in this activity. The fact that it was rainy season and I did not want to hike in the rain made this a bit better. Next time for sure!  We also missed Hobbitenango, which is a “fantasy filled” amusement park outside of Antigua that apparently offers pretty views. I wasn’t really interested in Hobbitenango, so I was fine missing it.

PRACTICAL TIPS

1. Antigua has SO MANY American fast food chains and international cuisines (ex., a Vietnamese restaurant near our hotel). As such, many ex-pats in the greater Guatemala area come here for a taste of something different. This is cool on one hand, but it can be difficult to find traditional food, especially in “nice” restaurants.
2. The best way to get around Antigua is on foot. The entire city is walkable, albeit on cobblestones.
3. Antigua is a good starting or stopping point in Guatemala, as its not too, too far from the airport. That being said, I understand traffic can be terrible, so please confirm with locals as to how long it should take you to reach the airport. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes in July on a Saturday night, and I understand that is currently more like 2 hours with construction traffic.
4. Uber works and its easy to get from Antigua to other places in Guatemala via Uber cheaply.
5. Antigua is more expensive than other destinations in Guatemala.
6. Restaurants book up in Antigua. I suggest reservations during busy season and on weekends.
7.  Most everywhere accepted credit card in Antigua, but I would keep some Guatemalan cash on hand just in case.
8. Antigua has lots of nightlife, a big contrast from Lake Atitlán.
9. Antigua is home to many ex-pats and long term travelers. You probably won’t get the most local Guatemalan experience in Antigua.
10. Antigua has so much history – I suggest a guided tour to get the most out of the city.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo: 3a Calle Oriente 28 A, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. We stayed in a spa room, which is necessary to access the spa.  Read about my stay here.

Casa de las Mixtas: 3a Calle Poniente 31, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Open weekdays from 8:00 – 15:00. Closed Saturday – Sunday. Reservations not necessary.

Cafe No Se: 1a Avenida Sur, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Open daily 14:00 – 1:00.

Hector’s Bistro: 6a Calle Poniente 24 Antigua, Guatemala 03001, Guatemala. Open daily 7:00 AM – 22:00, 23:00 on Friday and Saturday. Reservations suggested during busy periods.

Cerro de la Cruz: H779+P7H, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Free. Open daily 7:00 – 18:00.

Fat Cat Coffee House: 4a Calle Ote., Antigua Guatemala 03001, Guatemala. Open daily 7:00 – 19:00.

Food Tour: This is the food tour that we took, booked via GetYourGuide. The cost was $68.00 per person. In addition to the food mentioned, the tour also included a walking tour of Antigua and lots of history.

Nuhales Mayan Mixology: La Fuente Mall and Foodcourt, 4a Calle Ote. n° 14, Antigua Guatemala 03001, Guatemala. Unfortunately, the internet claims Nuhales has since closed. I hope this is not true!

Fridas Restaurant: 5th North Avenue # 29 Arco Street Antigua Guatemala, 03001, Guatemala. Open daily 12:00 – 22:00. Reservations recommended and can be made via website.

Cafe Condessa Express: Antigua Guatemala 3001, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Open daily 6:00 – 18:00.

Antigua Brewing Company: 3a Calle Poniente 4, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Open daily 11:00 – 23:00.

Ulew Cocktail Bar: Inside Antigua Brewing Company. Open daily 14:00 – 00:00.

La Casa del Ron: 4a Calle Oriente #22 Antigua, Guatemala 03001, Guatemala. Open daily 10:00 – 23:00.