Contact us to design a custom Guatemala travel program – pick your own dates!

Spend two weeks immersed in the rich & colorful culture of this amazing country. Visit ancient Mayan ruins, stay with a local Mayan family, wonder at the spectacular natural beauty of Lake Atitlan & the soak-in the colonial splendor of Antigua.

SAMPLE ITINERARY
Day 1 (Saturday): ANTIGUA Your Guatemalan journey begins in the former colonial capital of the Spanish conquistadors, La Antigua. Ringed by majestic volcanoes, Antigua is a popular tourist destination, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a large potion of Guatemala’s ex-patriot population. Depending on arrival time, we’ll enjoy a walking tour of the colorful, cobblestone streets of Antigua and take in the view of the valley and surrounding volcanoes with an easy hike to an overlook above the city. Overnight at Casa Christina.

Day 2 (Sunday): CHICHICASTENANGO Today we venture farther into the Guatemala highlands and the heart of the modern Maya world. We’ll spend the day in the famous Mayan market town of Chichicastenango. “Chichi,” perched among the mountains, is where local K’iche residents gather to buy, sell and socialize with their neighbors and the rash of gawking tourists who descend on the town each market day. This is one of the best places in Guatemala to purchase authentic (and not-so-authentic) Mayan handicrafts while witnessing the fascinating melding of ancient native spirituality with traditional Catholic rites. We return to Guatemala City in time for our afternoon flight to Flores in the northern El Peten region. Overnight at La Casa de Don David.

Day 3 & 4 (Monday and Tuesday) EL PETÉN REGION Flores is the natural starting point for a visit to the untamed jungles of northern Guatemala’s Petén region, home to many of the lost Mayan cities, including one of the largest and grandest, Tikal. We explore Lake Petén Itza by kayak, wander the maze-like cobblestone streets of Flores and rise very early for a sunrise tour of Tikal where we will gaze at the massive temples towering above the wide plazas and avenues of this jewel of the Petén. We’ll spend an afternoon zipping through the jungle canopy on a zip line tour. Overnight at La Casa de Don David.

Day 5 – 7 (Wednesday – Friday): QUETZALTENANGO We leave the tropical jungles of the Petén and after returning to Guatemala City by air, we are met by our private transport at the airport. We hop on the Pan-American Highway westbound, our destination: Xela. Quetzaltenango, or Xela as its commonly know to locals and tourists alike, is Guatemala’s 2nd largest city but its compact central core, where we will stay, makes it feel much smaller. The center of the country’s K’iche Mayans, Xela (from the ancient K’iche name “Xelaju” meaning “under ten mountains”) has the feel of a slightly shabby European highland city. It sits at 7,500 ft and is looked over by the perfect conical volcano Santa Maria, which is visible from almost anywhere in town. We will spend one day at Escuela de la Calle (EDELAC), located in the Xela neighborhood “Las Rosas.” EDELAC, founded in 1997 by two progressive Guatemalan teachers, provides quality education and rehabilitative programs for disadvantaged, abused and orphaned children. At the school, we will participate in a largely nonverbal cultural exchange program focused on arts, sports and health. The unique artistic and cultural heritage of the K’iche people will be woven into the activities. That afternoon, the students and their new Guatemala friends visit the local market and then together prepare a communal meal at the Hogar Abierto, a dormitory/orphanage that serves as the home of about 20-25 EDELAC students. On our second day in the Xela area, we travel to the water park Xocomil for a day of fun! Guatemalans are very proud of this park and they should be. It is exceptionally well designed, efficient and safe. It has become a real monument to the cultural and natural riches of Guatemala. That evening, we meet with the guides from Quetzaltrekkers and prepare the gear for our trek to Lake Atitlan. Overnight at The Black Cat Hotel.

Day 8 & 9 (Saturday & Sunday): LA FINCA ALIANZA Communidad Nueva Alianza is an organic coffee and macadamia plantation owned and operated by a cooperative of forty Guatemalan families. The community is nestled amongst a 300 acre plantation of organic coffee and macadamia trees where large tracts of natural tropical forest have been preserved. Our two days include touring the 100-year-old coffee processing plant, the macadamia processing, microhydroelectric plant, biodiesel workshop, water purification system, and bamboo workshop. We’ll learn about the compelling history of the community’s struggle to obtain legal title to the land and how the community is currently organized as a worker-owned cooperative. We’ll relax by cascading waterfalls with crystal clear water, learn about edible and medicinal plants, and take in breathtaking views of the volcanoes Santa Maria (3772m) and Santiaguito – an active volcano which erupts, on average, every hour.

OR

Day 8 – 10 (Saturday – Monday): TREK TO LAKE ATITLAN We rise early on Saturday and led by Quezaltrekkers’s experienced guides, begin the spectacular three day highland trek from Xela to “the most beautiful lake in the world,” Lake Atitlan. The trip takes us through very remote Mayan villages, well off the beaten tourist trail, into lush cloud forest, along rugged ridgelines and beside and across a meandering river. While challenging, the trek is achievable and incredibly rewarding. Our second night, we stay with a local Mayan K’iché family in their home. After a communal dinner, the family often joins us around the fire for songs, stories and games. The final day of the trek begins very early as we rise for a short hike to a viewpoint where we watch the amazing sunrise over the still-slumbering Lake Atitlan. After a warming cup of tea or coffee and a leisurely breakfast, we climb up to the sacred peak of La Naríz (The Nose) and then hike down to Mayan Tzutuhil community of San Juan La Laguna for a swim in the lake and lunch at a women’s weaving cooperative. Sitting side by side with these artists, we learn the traditional weaving and dying methods used by the Maya for generations. Overnight at Eco Hotel Uxlabil.

Day 10 – 12 (Monday – Wednesday): LAKE ATITLAN Ringed by rugged green ridgelines and towering volcanoes, the sparking deep blue Lake Atitlan is truly one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. We stay in lakeside accommodations in the Maya Tzutuhil communities of either of San Juan, La Laguna or Santiago. Activities at the Lake include touring and volunteering at a cooperative, fair-trade coffee plantation, learning the traditional dying and weaving methods of the Maya at a womens weaving cooperative, exploring the lakes many small coves by kayak or simply relaxing in a hammock. Overnight at Posada Santiago or Eco Hotel Uxlabil.

Day 13 – 15 (Thursday – Saturday): ANTIGUA (EL HATO) Leaving the most beautiful lake in the world, we climb twenty minutes and 6000 feet into the mountains above Antigua. We stay at the Earth Lodge, a wonderful natural retreat and avocado farm with stunning views of the volcanoes and valley below. Located in the small village of El Hato, the Earth Lodge is affiliated and supports Los Manos de Christine, (The Hands of Christine) an NGO dedicated to providing English instruction to the 300 students attending primary school in El Hato. On Thursday we join the first graders for the Thursday Art Project, assisting with the scissors and glue while providing the kids more fresh exposure to English communication. On Friday and Saturday, spend more time volunteering at the school or spend the day swinging lazily in a hammock or hiking the hills through small villages and fields while Volcan Fuego puffs smoke in the distance. Overnight at Earth Lodge (Thursday and Friday) and Casa Christina (Saturday).

DAY 16 (Sunday): RETURN HOME