Best itinerary for 3 weeks in Guatemala

After Mexico, here we are in Guatemala !

We crossed the border by land by taking a shuttle from Palenque to Flores (650 pesos/pers or 32,50€/pers)

Here is the whatsapp of the agency we took if you are interested : +52 916 120 1877

We spent 3 weeks (21 days) in this beautiful country, here is our Guatemala itinerary :

📍Flores (3 days)

📍Rio Dulce (2 days)

📍Semuc Champey (2 days)

📍Lake Atitlan (6 days)

📍Antigua (7 days)

We found the country very pretty with a lot of nature (mountains, lakes, volcanoes, beaches...) !

Unfortunately we also found it very polluted depending on the regions...

Indeed, there is no ecological conscience in the country, don't be surprised if you see locals throwing their waste on the ground...

Vehicles, trucks, collectivos etc... also pollute a lot which often makes the air unbreathable.

Guatemala Itinerary

1) Flores

Credit Photo : Forbes Centroamerica

After some transport woes to get to Flores, we decided to rest on the first day !

We stayed in a hotel on the other side of Peten Itza lake in front of Flores, the view was incredible;

However, we advise you to stay in Flores as we were obliged to take and pay for lanchas every day in order to do our activities.

The price is 5 quetzals/pers one way! Always ask before going up because some people made us pay 10 quetzals/pers.

On the second day, we booked a tour with Reino Kan Travel Agency to visit Tikal (entrance not included) !

Entrance fee to Tikal : 150 quetzals/pers (18,50€/pers)

We loved it, it was one of our best memories in Guatemala 🫶🏼

We also booked our shuttle to Rio Dulce with the same agency to get a better price ! (170 quetzals/pers or 21€/pers for Tikal + Rio Dulce).

We recommend the tour 100%, very good value for money and in addition there is a guide included in the tour (who was great and taught us lots of things).

Our tour lasted about 4 hours and we had time to do everything thanks to him !

The archaeological site is beautiful, a guide may be necessary as it is very big and you get lost quickly.

Tikal

2) Rio Dulce

Credit Photo : Visit Centroamerica

After Flores, direction Rio Dulce at 3h drive.

We take a shuttle that we booked at the same time as our tour to Tikal !

We stayed in the city center and we strongly advise against it !!! Pollution, noise, unbreathable air... You will have understood, we didn't really enjoy our stay in this city.

We advise you to stay on the rio and to take lanchas in order to visit the surroundings which are much prettier, green and relaxing.

You can also go kayaking, visit the town of Livingston and the beaches nearby.

Unfortunately, due to lack of time and budget we preferred to skip this step !

During our stay in Rio Dulce, we went to visit the hot waterfalls Finca El Paraíso.

This place is really not touristy at all which is super nice !

To get there, we went to the street : carretera a san felipe de lara, which is located just after the hotel "Cafe de Paris" !

At the beginning of this street are several local colectivos.

We took one heading towards El Estor, you just have to ask for it to drop you off at Finca el Paraiso (price : 25 quetzals/pers or 3€/pers).

For the return trip, there is a stop just in front of where you are dropped off, be there early because the last one goes at 5pm (ask them for confirmation on the outbound trip) !

Concerning the waterfalls, the water that falls is very hot while the river water is cool !

We spent part of the afternoon there, on the program : swimming and massage under the waterfalls, we loved it it was so relaxing.

You can have a picnic, a snack or a drink, the place is pretty good even if there are only big rocks to put your stuff.

We also advise you to have river slippers, we didn't have any and it wasn't very practical for our feet.

3) Lanquin

Credit Photo : My Best Place

We then headed to Lanquin known for the Semuc Champey waterfalls !

We don't recommend you to reach this town from Rio Dulce because only one agency offers the route and we lived a nightmare from the beginning to the end (explanations in our instagram stories on the front page) !

The state of the road is catastrophic and the drivers execrable, disrespectful and dangerous 🫠

Most of the travellers make the trip from Flores, Antigua or Atitlan generally !

Concerning Lanquin, it's really a very small town where there is not much to do.

So we chose to stay in an hotel 10 minutes walk from Semuc Champey (the hotel picked us up for 40 quetzals/pers when we arrived in Lanquin).

The day after our arrival, we went to visit these famous waterfalls.

The entrance to the site cost us : 50 quetzals/pers (6€/pers)

The place is really beautiful, very natural and soothing 🫶🏼!

We started by going along the waterfalls and then started a 1h30 climb to reach the main viewpoint (bring good walking shoes, the ground is slippery + muddy if it rains)

When we arrived at the top, we had our eyes full of it ! The view is incredible, it gives on all the waterfalls, the colours are resplendent.

We then went back down to swim for an hour before go back to the hotel.

Count between 2 and 4 hours to visit the site (climb + swim) !

4) Atitlan Lake

Credit Photo : iStock

We then head to Panajachel by taking a shuttle that we book with our hotel (price : 300 quetzals/pers or 37€/pers).

After 10 hours on the road, it was a real breath of fresh air ! After all the troubles we had between Rio Dulce and Lanquin, we had the impression to find a semblance of normality.

We found the locals very nice and the city super cute ! So we took the opportunity to rest, visit the town and do some sunsets by the lake.

We also wanted to visit the other villages around the lake but found the price of the lanchas very expensive (30 quetzal/pers one way) ! So we gave up the idea.

Small tip : If you stay in one of the villages around the lake, find out well in advance if it is served by public lanchas, because if it is not the prices are exorbitant (we were asked 350 quetzal/pers only for a one way ticket).

After Panajachel, we go to San Pedro de la Laguna by lancha (25 quetzals/pers).

We were not really fans of the town which lacked authenticity and charm for our taste.

The atmosphere is very fetard, there are many bars where the music resounds from 4pm until late at night.

If you are interesting, there are other activities to do around Atitlan Lake : canoeing, kayaking, volcanoes, hiking...

Be careful to always be accompanied by a guide for hiking/volcanoes as there is a lot of robbering...

5) Antigua

Credit Photo : CityMax Antigua

After our stay at Lake Atitlan, where we could rest and get some strength, we are heading to our last stop in Guatemala, the city of Antigua !

We booked a shuttle, to do San Pedro ‑ Antigua, on this website : https://gekkotrailsexplorer.com/services/shuttle‑san‑pedro‑la‑laguna‑to‑antigua‑guatemala/

Price : 16$/pers

Our favorite city in Guatemala ! It's warm, typical and really super pretty, we loved walking around there.

On the other hand, the restaurants are really expensive so we advise you to take an accommodation with kitchen !

Under the recommendation of friends, we advise you to visit the Hobbitenango park : https://www.hobbitenango.com/entrance

This park will make you travel in the fantastic universe of the Hobbits of the Lord of the Rings.

A breathtaking view of the valley and the neighbouring volcanoes awaits you there.

Price : 50 quetzals/pers (6€/pers)

6) Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes

Credit Photo : Noulaba

After arriving in Antigua, the next day we set off to climb the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes (which are face to face) !

We booked our climb with @vhiking.tours 1 week in advance as they are in high demand.

Price : 500 quetzals/pers (62€/pers) breakfasts + all other meals included.

Extra Fuego : 200 quetzals/pers (24€/pers)

Departure in the morning and return the next day at noon.

Pay close attention to the weather (specialized in the mountains) !

We chose our day according to this one, it would be a shame to go up and see nothing.

If you don't have warm enough clothes, no worries, the agency can rent you some !

We advise you to have 5 layers on top (including 1 coat) + 2 on the bottom + 1 or 2 pairs of gloves + 2 pairs of socks + a hat and a neck warmer that you keep in the bag and put according to the cold (you will spend your time putting on and taking off).

Also for the sticks (1 or 2), really mandatory to relieve you, the whole climb is on a slope !!!

Concerning our experience, it was just magical, it was the best experience of our lives.

We recommend Vhiking agency 100%, everything was perfect from the start to the end, the team is incredibly nice and the guides are the best !

Fuego Volcano

Credit Photo : Globe Trotting

There are 4 possibilities of ascent :

• Acatenango ascent to the camp (5h)

• Climb from Acatenango to the camp (5h) + Sunrise at the top of Acatenango (2h round trip)

• Acatenango climb to camp (5h) + Fuego climb for sunset (3h round trip)

• Acatenango climb to the camp (5h) + Fuego climb for sunset (3h round trip) + Sunrise at the top of the Acatenango (2h round trip)

Even if it's very hard physically (depends on your condition), we really advise you to do the Fuego.

The feeling at the top is just indescribable, you are 100 meters away from the volcano that erupts every 5 to 15 minutes !!!

You see the lava right in front of you and feel all the explosions, it's awesome, an unforgettable experience 🥹🫶🏼

There is so much to say about our experience that we are preparing a YouTube video and a blog post about our whole experience and all the things you need to know !

Conclusion of our trip in Guatemala

After 3 weeks travelling through this beautiful country, here is our assessment :

The good sides :

• The relaxed pace of life in the country

• The nature and the beauty of the landscapes

• The ascent of the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes which is for us the best experience to do in Guatemala

• The city of Antigua which is really typical and super pretty

• Tikal which is the most beautiful Mayan archeological site we did between Mexico and Guatemala

The bad sides :

• The pollution

• The means of transport which are really not comfortable, long and expensive

• The accommodations depending on the regions can be really expensive

• We expected better in terms of hospitality from the locals (especially after everything we've read), although we also met some lovely people

• The food

Small regret not to have explored the beaches on the Pacific side that we would have preferred to discover rather than some corners (rio dulce, lanquin).

Concerning our budget...

For 22 days, we spent : 1686€

Of which :

• 412€ for accommodation

• 361€ for restaurants

• 175€ on shopping

• 302€ for transport

• 128€ for sim cards, internet, laundry, beer/cocktails etc...

That is an average of 36,50€ per person per day !

For this country, we completely respected our budget which was 2000€ with 2 !