You might think writing up a 1 week itinerary for Guatemala is going to be easy. But once you start looking into hiking active volcanoes, cliff jumping in Lake Atitlan or five star spas located in a former convents, you may find it hard to narrow down. Lucky for you, I put together a 1 week itinerary for Guatemala that includes all of the above.
Let’s take look at the itinerary below:
This 1 week itinerary for Guatemala includes: Antigua, Volcan Acatenango, and Lake Atitlan.
Day 1: Fly into Guatemala City
Guatemala City is the main international airport in Guatemala so you will want to start off your trip by flying into GUA. From there, you can take a shuttle or Uber to Antigua. Guatemala City doesn’t have much to offer, and since you are only spending 1 week in Guatemala, you’ll likely want to skip it and head straight to Antigua.
In Antigua, we checked into the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, which is on the grounds of a former 17th-century convent. Now, I’m not crazy about religion, but today this hotel is filled with multiple museums, art galleries, and one of the best spas I’ve ever had the chance to visit. Even if you don’t decide to stay here, you should still get a day pass to the spa. You won’t regret it.
Spend the day exploring the cute cafe’s around town or relaxing at the spa at Hotel Santo Domingo which has a heated pool, a jacuzzi that spans two rooms, and a bar overlooking the volcano. At night, you can watch the sunset at a roof top bar like Aqua or Snug.
Day 2: Head to Lake Atitlan
It’s better to head to Lake Atitlan first since you will want to acclimate before hiking Acatenango. To get to Lake Atitlan, you can either take a shared shuttle or an Uber. We heard the roads on the way were very windy…. so we opted for an Uber. The Uber ride from Antigua to the lake was around 3 hours and cost ~$98 which we split between the both of us.
You will get dropped off at Kuyucos Marina in Panajachel to catch a boat to your hotel or Airbnb (unless you are staying in Panajachel). The boat ride is beautiful, Lake Atitlan is one of the prettiest and most unique places I’ve ever been to. The mix of the volcanos and the water just don’t seem real.
We decided to book a very boujie hotel called Casa Prana because it was our honeymoon, however if you wanted something a little cheaper I’ve heard great things about Casa Del Mundo.
Once we arrived at Casa Prana, we felt like we were in White Lotus. The property is 9 acres of beautiful lush gardens, complete with a volleyball court, a spa, and a yoga room. There are also only 8 rooms on the property, which means you always feel like you are the only one there. While staying there, you can get food or drinks brought to you anywhere on the property via text to the staff. The pool and the dock were my favorite places to hang out.
Casa Prana is walking distance to a small town called Santa Cruz which we walked to for dinner.
Day 3: San Marcos
Wake up early and catch a public ferry to San Marcos for the day. The boats come every 30 minutes and you can wave one down at the end of the dock. San Marcos is known for being the small hippy town in Lake Atitlan. Think small yoga studios, cacao ceremonies and palm reading. But it’s also one of the best islands to swim! When I was putting together a 1 week itinerary for Guatemala, I knew San Marcos had to be in it, because I’ve always had a little hippy in me.
Once you arrive in San Marcos, take a yoga class at the Eagles Nest, a yoga studio with a deck overlooking Lake Atitlan. For lunch, grab a healthy bowl at Kula Maya.
After lunch, head to the Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve where you can jump into the lake from cliffs or the high dive.
Public ferries on Lake Atitlan stop running between 5-7 (depending on where you are) so make sure to make it back to the dock before sunset in order to get back to your hotel. If you miss the public ferry and have to take a private ferry, the cost increases dramatically. And sometimes, they can be very hard to find.
In case you’re wondering, I did almost get stuck in San Marcos.
Day 4: Explore San Juan
On day 4, head to San Juan, a town full of dyed textiles, colorful murals and painted art. This was one of my favorite towns to explore.. not to mention to shop in. We booked a reservation at a tiny restaurant called Wine and Cheese which over looks some beautiful mountains in San Juan. We did a very thorough wine tasting here before hitting the streets to explore.
After San Juan, we took a ferry back to Penajachel and caught an Uber 3 hours back to Antigua.
Day 5: Hike Acatenango
I knew this had to be at the end of my 1 week itinerary for Guatemala because it’s important to acclimate before the hike.
There are a lot of companies that you can book with to hike Acatenango, but we went with Wicho and Charlies. Not only does Wicho and Charlies, have tents, but they also have little A-frame dorm cabins and tiny 2 person cabins with direct views of Fuego volcano. Staying here was truly the highlight of my trip. For a two person cabin, we paid ~$355 for the two of us. This includes the guided hike, meals and a lot of the clothing rentals as well.
The Acatenango tours start early (you are required to be on site around 7am to start grabbing gear). You can rent a lot of the gear you need from your tour company. I brought most of my own clothing but rented a backpack, trekking poles, gloves and some additional layers.
After grabbing your gear, you will take a shuttle to the base of Acatenango where you will start the hike. And it’s not an easy one. Most of Acatenango is directly up hill, not to mention you are hiking at Altitude which can make it harder to breath. Make sure to drink a lot of water and eat a lot of snacks on the way up.
Once you arrive at Base Camp, you will be shown your cabins and given the option to hike further to Fuego Volcano. We didn’t opt for the Fuego hike because we were already cold and Fuego requires you to stay an additional hour in the cold once you reach the end point. So I suggest to bring A LOT of layers if you plan for Fuego. People in our group were wearing 6-7 layers of clothing.
If you don’t hike to Fuego, you can watch the sunset over it from afar which was also beautiful. So we did that while roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. If you don’t go to Fuego, you can also eat dinner during this time, whereas those that hike to Fuego will eat ~9pm.
Day 6: Sunrise at Acatenango
The next day you can hike to the summit of Acatenango at for sunrise, but this is weather permitting. During our trip, it was much too windy and unsafe to summit so we saw the sunrise from camp. In the morning we ate breakfast (bean burritos) and headed back down the volcano.
Once the hike was finished, we caught the shuttle back to Antigua and had a very relaxing night at the hotel (which had its own Jacuzzi room).
Day 7: Leave Antigua
The end of my itinerary for 1 week in Guatemala.. and time for you to go home! Catch an uber back to Guatemala City and board your flight back. If you have longer than 1 week in Guatemala, I would recommend spending more time at Lake Atitlan. There is a lot more to explore there. 🙂
Have any questions on my 1 Week Itinerary for Guatemala? Feel free to comment below!
