BEST TIME TO TRAVEL: There is really no bad time to visit Guatemala. We went during rainy season, in August, but there typically were just some afternoon showers.

earth lodge.

If you fly into Guatemala City early enough in the day, make reservations to stay at Earth Lodge outside the city. It is an eco-friendly hotel and avocado farm with BREATHTAKING views of the surrounding volcanos. Your room will literally be a treehouse. Additionally, they have home-cooked vegetarian meals, and on weekend nights, all of the people staying at Earth Lodge have a meal together. If you have time, it would be worth spending an extra day here to get to take a yoga class in their treetop studio or go for a hike.

antigua.

We stayed in this hostel and loved it! The breakfast was awesome and the rooms are decorated in traditional Incan quilts and art. It is centrally located and has beautiful rooftop views of the city.

If you don’t get breakfast at your hotel, head to Saberico for a wonderful breakfast in a hidden garden. Since you’ll likely be grabbing some fried food later, this is a really fresh option to start your day. Then, ask around for a place to buy tickets for transportation throughout your stay in Guatemala. Most tourists take special tourists buses since the chicken buses can be dangerous, particularly in the evening. Make sure you check out prices at 2-3 places to make sure you are getting the cheapest option. Even when you find it, make sure you bargain the person down.

Then, head to the Cerro de la Cruz lookout for a beautiful view of the city. It is also the starting point for this self-guided walking tour, so plan to do that next to see all of the ruins that make Antigua unique. End at Iglesia de la Merced. Make sure you check out the church and the surrounding grounds. While you’re here, pick up some mango with chili powder and an empanada or two for lunch. If street food isn’t your scene, or you’re hungry for more food, there are a few other options as well. Rincon Tipico is a popular lunch spot where you’ll see them roast the chicken right in front of you. Café Stela or Fridas are cute options too.

Nearby, grab some pastries at Dulces Doña María Gordillo for dessert. The sweets shop is super unique, so be sure to pop your head in even if you are full. To walk it off, plan to hike Volcan Pacaya if it’s not rainy. We didn’t have the chance, but it was highly recommended to us.

For dinner, head to Los Tres Tiempos. It has an awesome colorful ambience, authentic Guatemalan food, and a really pretty view from the rooftop. For nightlife, Café No Se is really quirky and a good spot to check out if you enjoy mescal and live music. Por Que No? nearby is another eclectic bar to check out too.

lago atitlan.

We stayed at Posada de Santiago during our stay in Atitlan. The hotel is beautiful, has great amenities, and awesome food. However, we found Santiago in general to be a bit sleepy for our taste. If we did it again, we would probably stay in San Pedro, which is more of a backpacker-hub. When you pick where to stay, you will likely have to make the tradeoff between beauty and entertainment. Santa Cruz seems to have a nice mix of the two, so it might be worth checking out as well.

The point of Lake Atitlan is to relax and explore. I am not inclined to give any specific recommendations about where to eat or go out, because there are so many hidden gems in all of the towns (so I generally recommend spending time just getting lost in San Pedro, San Marcos la Laguna, and Santa Cruz). When you arrive, take advantage of your hotel’s expert knowledge and ask for recommendations.

I’ll mention a couple of the highlights from when we visited. First, I really enjoyed exploring the Atitlan Nature Preserve. When we visited, my favorite parts were searching for monkeys in the trees, passing through the breathtaking butterfly sanctuary, and doing the suspension bridge hike. I also really enjoyed taking out a kayak from our hotel at sunset and seeing the local fisherman wrapping up for the day. We ran out of time, but I heard the Ixiim Cooking School is really fun. Finally, if you can afford it, hike one of the volcanos. When we were there, there were some safety concerns, so hiring a guide was necessary.

semuc champey.

Semuc Champey was hands-down my FAVORITE part of the entire trip. There is so much to do during the day, and it has such a relaxed atmosphere to unwind in the evening. I also can’t recommend Utopia Eco Hotel highly enough. It’s kind of a trek to get there when you arrive, but it was SO WORTH IT. Although they are secluded, they have a family-style dinner in the evenings where you get to share a meal with everyone else staying there.

I really recommend doing their Semuc Champey day-trek. By going through the hotel, you will have the advantage of being in a much smaller group than pre-arranged tours. With Utopia’s trek, you will start the day exploring the nearby caves only by candlelight. It is very Indiana Jones-esque as you swim through parts of the cave while holding your candle above the water, duck under waterfalls gushing into the cave, and climb rope ladders to get to other caverns. Make sure to pack water shoes unless you want to pay for them before entering. Then, they will take you on a hike up to the viewing point to see the Semuc swimming holes. After reaching the viewing point, you will have the opportunity to spend an hour or so actually swimming. It’s probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen and I didn’t want to leave. However, they end the trek on a high note, having you take inner tubes and raft some mild rapids (with a drink in hand) back to the hotel.

flores + tikal.

You will arrive into Flores the night before heading to Tikal, the ruins of an ancient Mayan city. There isn’t great food around, so I would just walk along the water until you find a place that catches your eye for dinner. We grabbed a bite at Maple & Tocino and it was a nice “breakfast for dinner” option.

The next morning, have prearranged travel to take you to Tikal. Upon arrival, you will need to show your passport, so make sure you pack it. We also paid a little extra for a guide. A guide isn’t necessary, but I recommend it. If you have time, I also recommend the ziplining. The area is known for monkeys, and we got to see a handful as we passed through the trees. However, make sure you arrange to be back at your bus in time! Our guide told us our bus would wait for us to finish, which was false, and we ended up having to take a chicken bus back to Flores. Also, I recommend packing your own lunch for Tikal. The places within the complex are really expensive and the food is just okay.

If you have some more time to spare in Flores before leaving, I recommend taking the short hike to the San Miguel lookout. It can be a bit difficult to find, but the locals know where you are headed and are happy to point you in the right direction. We also enjoyed relaxing at Cool Beans Café. They have a decently large menu and some board games for you to play and pass the time.