Guatemala Guide to Lake Atitlán & Antigua!

Know Before You Go!

The easiest, most convenient way to get around Guatemala to Lake Atitlán and beyond is by the Relaxidriver Private Car service. They’re super affordable and very safe! You can contact them on WhatsApp at +502 3073 0413 before your trip to set up your transportation from the airport to your first destination. Just give them your flight info and they’ll be there ready to go!

Upon Arrival

Once you land in Guatemala City simply follow the steps that your Relaxidriver gives you, connect to wifi, (unless you already have phone data), and contact your driver to tell them you’ve made it through customs. They’ll be at the exit door waiting for you in 2 minutes from when you text them. (*Note it’s the exit door to the right when you’re exiting the airport. Not the one on the left by the bathrooms.)

Relaxidriver is a safe company that has many people working for them. Therefore, you’re almost guaranteed a ride whenever you need it, even if it’s super early or late at night. Anytime, day or night, they’re happy to drive you. They’re also some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met!

I’d suggest exploring Lake Atitlán first. The drive to Atitlán is roughly three and a half hours. It goes by super fast! If you’d like to stop to get cash out at the ATM along the way, simply tell your Relaxidriver and they’ll stop for you! You can also grab snacks and drinks for your drive as well! It’s only 650 Quetzales/ around $83 USD to go from the airport to Lake Atitlán, and the car will fit 4 people, so you can split the cost with your group.

Getting to the Lake

The drive to the lake is extremely foggy with very low visibility for quite a while when you’re up in the mountains, but don’t be alarmed, the drivers are very used to this, and they will get you there safely without stress!

Once you get to Panajachel in Lake Atitlán there’re taxi boats that run every 30 minutes to take you to where you’d like to go. These are 25 Quetzales each or 3 USD each way and they run until 7 pm. So, if you get there after 7 pm, you’ll need to take a private boat that costs 250 Quetzales or roughly $35 USD. You can split this price among your group, so whether you’re solo or with friends, it’s still cheap!

Where to Stay:

If you want the ultimate Lake Atitlán experience that looks like Lake Como but at a 4^th of the cost, you must stay in the most unreal hotel/house I’ve ever seen. La Casa del Mundo. La Casa del Mundo is seriously magical, mystical, idyllic, and just a dream. You will want this experience, trust me! It’s only accessible by boat, so you’ll just tell your boat you’re going to La Casa del Mundo.

Rooms at La Casa del Mundo:

A regular room at La Casa del Mundo is roughly $45 USD/night. I would suggest splurging if it’s available, and getting a suite with a balcony! We got suite number 11 with a balcony for only $85 USD. And it’s well worth 4 times that. The view alone will make you fall in love!

To put things in perspective price-wise on the lake, our 5 nights with all food and drinks, 2 hot tub rentals, and a massage was $450 per person. There were 2 of us splitting the room. That is such a good deal!!!

Amenities at La Casa del Mundo

Restaurant:

La Casa del Mundo has an awesome restaurant with incredible food and a full bar with cocktails and wine etc. The food and drink prices are also incredibly low while the quality is incredibly high. You will not be disappointed.

Hot Tub:

La Casa del Mundo has the most incredible wood-burning hot tub that you can rent out for 3 hrs at a time. It takes 5 hours for it to heat up, so the reservation times are from 3-6 and 8-11. There’s an actual fireplace with a chimney in the middle of the hot tub that heats the entire thing. The hot tub is on a cliff overlooking the lake with volcano views surrounding it. It’s just magical! This 3-hour rental is around 35 USD.

Steam Sauna:

Next to the hot tub, there’s the coolest traditional Mayan Eucalyptus steam room. It smells and feels incredible!! It’s the perfect way to heat up after swimming in the lake, or to detox and relax in after a massage. The steam room is free of charge. Just let them know when you’d like to get in so they can turn it on for you.

Massages:

La Casa del Mundo also offers incredible deep tissue, Swedish or hot rock massages. The massage room is this adorable room right above the lake with a balcony jutting out to the lake like a fairy tale. It’s the most relaxing setting with the waves crashing below as you get your massage. The massages are an hour long for only $45 USD.

Kayaking:

La Casa del Mundo also offers Kayaking and paddle boarding for only 35 Quetzales or roughly $5 USD.

Swimming:

You can also just jump off the dock/balcony and swim for free! The lake is so beautiful in front of the house. You’ll definitely want to swim.

Another Option for Cute/Affordable Places to Stay!

If La Casa del Mundo is booked there’s a super cute hostel called Free Cervezas, which looks awesome! You can glamp in teepees, book a bamboo casita, or a private lakehouse. In Guatemala, they have tons of hostels that are also hotels because they offer shared rooms, but they also have lots of different private room options available and they’re beautiful and very inexpensive!!!

The best part is, it’s super easy to meet friends at places like these because they have group activities and happy hours daily. This one offers lots of awesome free activities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, games at night, group trips to town for a night out, daily yoga, etc. There are also free cervezas served every night, a DJ, and a pool! It’s a really fun vibe and worth checking out, even if you’re not staying there.

Hiking to Towns around the Lake:

There are 11 Mayan villages surrounding Lake Atitlán and there’s a trail that connects them all. So, you can easily walk from one to the other, which is so cool! You simply walk up to the top of La Casa del Mundo and hop on the trail. If you take a left you’ll start heading toward the tiny town of Jaibalito.

Once you pass through Jaibalito you’re going to have lots of rocks to climb and a stunning volcano/lake view, then you’ll stumble upon another little town area with a cute little bar/restaurant/hostel with an old school bus converted into a kitchen. I’d suggest stopping there for a beer or kombucha and then continuing on the trail. About an hour and a half in you’ll arrive at the cute hippy town of San Marcos. There are lots of cute little restaurants and shops to explore and get a bite to eat at before continuing to the next town.

If you get tired of walking, just hop on one of the taxi boats and have it take you either back to La casa del Mundo or to the next town you want to visit. It would take entirely too long to walk to every town, so the boat taxis make it much easier.

I still suggest doing that first hike if you have time, from La Casa del Mundo to San Marcos. You need to see the gorgeous views along the way. I will warn you, there are forks in the road on the trail, so always stick to the left. Keep on the train that hugs the lake.

You’ll always want to make it back to La Casa del Mundo for the sunset because it’s just beautiful with the backdrop of volcanoes and pastel clouds. It truly is unreal.

Visiting towns by Boat:

When you want to grab a taxi boat and take it to explore other towns, you simply walk down to the dock at La Casa del Mundo, or any dock that you’re near, and simply wave and a boat will come. Let them know which town you want to go to and they’ll make sure they get you on the right boat.

San Juan:

The little town of San Juan is super cute and colorful and a great place to buy cute local purses, bags, hats, and handmade artisan gifts.

It’s a great place to spend a few hours exploring the adorable colorfully painted streets and buildings and admiring the beautiful church with the backdrop of lush green mountains.

The Ideal Amount of time Needed on the Lake:

We had 5 nights and 4 full days. I would have loved to stay longer to explore more of the villages. With that being said, it was a good amount of time to see a lot and experience all the amenities La Casa del Mundo has to offer.

Once you’re ready to leave the lake, simply get your taxi boat or private boat back to Panajachel and get your ride from there onto the rest of your Guatemalan adventures, or back to the airport. I would suggest Relaxidriver again, as they’re the best, and they’ll be there ready for you once your boat docks. It’s super seamless and stress-free!

Exploring More of Guatemala:

If you’re wanting to explore more of Guatemala I’d suggest:

Antigua– A UNESCO world heritage site and cool little city

Acatanego– Guatemala’s most active volcano that erupts daily. You can do the overnight hike to the top to watch it erupt!

Pacaya– Small volcano you can hike that’s still relatively active. They cook pizzas and roast marshmallows at the top in the volcano.

Semuc Chamey Natural Monument: A lush, tropical park known for its sweeping jungle views, numerous caves, and swimming holes.

Beaches– Playa el Paredon, I can’t wait to explore this beach area where they raise and release tiny sea turtles. You can participate in the release of them into the ocean once they hatch.

Antigua

I explored Antigua next. It’s only a 2.5-hour drive from Lake Atitlán. It’s a super easy city to explore. I had 3 nights and in my opinion, that’s too much. I only needed one night. That being said, I still had a great time taking my time and exploring slowly. I suggest Ojala and Casi Casa. These are sister hotels/hostels. They both have hotel rooms as well as hostel rooms, so they can accommodate both budget and lux, budget travelers.

The queen bedrooms with private bathrooms in both hotels are beautiful! The queen bedroom in Casi Casa was huge with a fireplace and big desk, for only $75/night. It’s a great deal for Antigua!

Both of these hotels have a great free breakfast, a cute coffee bar, and a regular bar. Casi Casa also has a pool as well as a beautiful rooftop with a view of the volcano and rooftop yoga on certain days of the week. They both also have a two-for-one happy hour as well!

Things to do in Antigua:

Antigua is a lovely little city to wander around and look at the churches and ruins as well as shop in the markets. There are cute restaurants and bars to explore as well. The famous Santa Catalina Arch is beautiful and a cool vibrant area of town to explore!

The square is the most popular area of town with the beautiful Las Sirenas Fountain and shops surrounding it.

Most people come to Antigua for a day and then head to the Acatenango volcano hike. This is a two-day overnight hike of Guatemala’s most active volcano. This is a must-see!

If you don’t have time, but still want to do a volcano hike, there’s a small volcano called Pacaya that you can take a tour to hike to. At the top, you can roast marshmallows in the volcano. They also make Pizzas in the volcano as well. This tour is about 6 hours in total.

You can sign up for these volcano hikes with multiple different tour companies. We used CA Tours. They’re one of the best companies for the Acatenango hike because they provide the best equipment to protect you and keep you warm while camping on the volcano.

Again, when you are ready to move on to your next Guatemalan destination or back to the Airport, definitely use Relaxidriver to have the most seamless and smooth ride with the sweetest drivers for a really low price.

If you have any questions let me know, and as always, have a blast if you go!!

Have a Blast!

There is so much more to see and do in Lake Atitlán and Antigua, but this will give you a good starting point for your adventure and you can add on from there! If you loved this blog, you may also want to check out a few other underrated destinations that deserve exploring! Here are my guides to Samoa and the Cook Islands.

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