It turns out, you can fly direct from DC to Guatemala City. While Guatemala is a small country, infrastructure challenges mean you either need a couple of weeks or just pinpoint a few locations and go for a few days. When in Belize a few years ago, I really wanted to do a day trip to see Tikal. But the borders were closed due to COVID. I think this worked out better. While I didn’t get to see everything, and I’ll need to go back again, I got to see Tikal as well as spend time in Flores, Antigua and Lake Atitlan. Here’s what I did and what I recommend –
Basic Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly from US to Guatemala City
-Fly to Flores
-Afternoon in Flores exploring the town
Day 2: Explore Flores
-Transportation to Tikal
Day 3: Tikal Ruins including the sunrise tour
Day 4: Fly from Flores to Antigua
-All day in Antigua
Day 5: Day trip to Lake Atitlan
-Fly back to US on red eye
If really pressed for time, I’d head straight to Tikal (skip Flores), one night in Tikal with a sunrise tour and head to Antigua that evening, a full day at the Atitlan lake exploring (or maybe a volcano hike) and then return home. If you have a little more time, I’d add a night or two at Atitlan.
Flores, Guatemala:
Flores is a charming lake side village and the jumping off point for Tikal. I liked Flores much more than I anticipated. I thought I might regret having 26 hours there but could have easily enjoyed 2-3 days.
I stayed at Isla De Flores hotel and would again. It is a charming hotel with great public spaces, air condition, good food, friendly staff, a rooftop pool and a rooftop bar. The only place that caught my eye and I thought I would look at for a future trip is Hotel Peten. I didn’t see the rooms but they have a beautiful lobby with a pool that overlooks the ocean. Although considering it is about 5x the cost of Isla De Flores – probably not!
We spent quite a bit of time walking around trying to find what would be a great place for a sunset meal. We finally decided on Raices and were not disappointed.
We tried to find the night market but didn’t … and since the island is pretty tiny, I have to assume it didn’t survive COVID.
A public boat across the lake is 10-25Q while a private boat (round trip) for 4 pers is 150Q. It felt silly to pay for a private boat but in retrospect it may have made things easier. We wanted to hike to Mirador de Canek (beautiful view and worth it), visit the animal reserve Arcas (didn’t get to do because you can ONLY get there from boat – which is where I messed up by thinking once we were on that side of the lake we could tuk tuk or walk where wanted to go), and Jorge’s rope swing (a wonderful place to hang for several hours – also only accessible by boat). Regardless, two out of three ain’t bad and it was a relaxing day.
Things I didn’t do that I would have added with more time … that said, for the most part, I don’t feel the need to go back to do them…
-Yaxha and Uaxactun ruins are another set of less famous ruins in the area
-5 day trek to El Mirador (this might go on the list for retirement)
Tikal
It’s about an hour from Flores to Tikal and most visit Tikal from Flores — but I wanted to stay in the jungle and I wanted to do the sunrise tour of Tikal. So glad I did!!! Both were definitely worth it!
Tikal tickets can now (starting in 2023) be bought online at boletos.culturaquate.com. I recommend having the tickets both on your phone as well as printed copy. For the sunrise (or sunset) tour you need a ticket to the park, a separate sunrise (or sunset) ticket and to arrange for a guide. If visiting during normal hours you just need a single ticket. There is also an extra ticket for the museum. Websites say tickets can be bought at the airport but the booth was empty when we were there. Highly recommend just taking care of it online ahead of time.
I was exceptionally pleased with our Tikal Tour arranged through Welcome to Tikal Park, tours, lodging and transportation or discovermayaworld@gmail.com. Caesar was a phenomenal guide and communication with the company before our trip was clear and consistent.
Getting up before 4 am was worth it. The views were amazing, it was much cooler (it was hot by 9 am) and we got some wonderful photos before the crowds showed up. We explored Tikal from 4-11am, went back to the lodge for lunch and then spent an hour at the museum. The museum is underwhelming but has some fun photos of Tikal from the 1880s until 2000. There is also an original museum to the right of the ticket booth where you can see some carvings and remains. It is locked, but if you ask at the ticket booth, they will open it for you.
We stayed at Tikal Jungle Lodge which I really enjoyed. It was the original research camp in the 1950’s. It was a lovely mix of jungle and comfort. Of note, I found out when we were there that Tikal Jungle Lodge and Isla De Flores are partners which made transportation between the two very easy.
We were there two nights, but honestly if pressed for time, you could take an afternoon flight back to Guatemala City and get to Antigua one night earlier. In retrospect, this is what I would have preferred.
Antigua Area:
Antigua is about 45 minutes from Guatemala City. Our hotel picked us up but it appeared there were lots of other options between shared vans and taxis from the airport.
Antiqua is a lovely picturesque town. Guatemala was the capital until 1773 and much of that beautiful architecture remains. As lovely as it is, unless you plan to explore the surrounding area, you can easily see the town in a one full day. And frankly, we were all a little “ruin”ed out by mid-afternoon.
We stayed at Cacao Boutique Hotel which was fantastic and charming and I’d stay there again. However, I’d also strongly consider Santo Domingo which wasn’t much more expensive and rebuilt from ruins. But frankly, the town if full of charming hotels and there is probably no bad choice.
Our favorite sites in Antigua:
Ruins of Cathedral of Antigua (when looking at the modern Cathedral walk around to the right side)
Carmen ruins
Tanque de la Union (the old colonial communal laundry)
Central Square
And of course, you have to see the iconic Santa Catalina arch
We didn’t do much shopping but the stalls at El Carmen market were recommended and had a better vibe than some of the larger stores.
We were in Antigua on a Sunday, and while not planned, I would definitely recommend it. It felt like everyone was just out and about enjoying the day. We saw families and couples everywhere which definitely added to the experience.
Also of note, we had dinner at La Fonda de la Calle Real and I would definitely eat there again. I had an amazing dinner of grilled veggies and my friends all had seafood.
Lake Atitlan is a common day trip or tour from Antigua. It was easy to do on our own. I booked a shared shuttle with GuateGo for $25 pp one-way. It is advertised as a 3-hour trip. On our way there, there was nobody else on the shuttle and it only took 2 ½ hours. The afternoon return shuttle was chaos and took closer to 4 hours. In retrospect, since we had a flight later that evening, I should have saved myself the stress and booked a private van. Once arriving in Panjachel, the public boat was easy. It costs 10-25Q for each leg depending on the length of the trip. I do recommend you follow along on a map as it makes unplanned stops.
After lots of research I settled on San Juan and am so glad we did. It was a lovely town to explore. We enjoyed the main street, visited some women’s co-ops and hiked to the top of Mirador de la Cruz for the views. We had breakfast at Maria’s (run by 3 generations of Maria’s) and both the food and view were outstanding. I also had the best hot chocolate EVER (I’m serious – EVER) at Café San Juan!
Around the lake villages, tuk-tuks should run around 10Q.
We had time for a super quick stop in San Pedro on the way back. It was much busier and less charming. Ventan Al Lago did have super views for lunch.
Next Trip:
-I wanted to do the sunrise Pacaya volcano hike and will definitely do it next trip.
-And on my next trip I’ll try really hard to take 3 days to see Copa Ruins just over the border in Honduras.
-But there is also a good chance, I might find a long weekend and just return to Antigua for a night before heading to the lake for a couple of nights.
Transportation:
Customs and Immigration in Guatemala City was fast and easy.
There are no ATMs in the arrivals terminal. There are two places for currency exchange, or you can find an ATM in the departures terminal (just upstairs about 3 minutes from where you exit when arriving).
There is very little food in the departures area of the airport (Subway and Chicken) and none once through security. Liquids are allowed through security for a domestic flight.
TAG airlines were a great deal and have frequent flights from Guatemala City and Flores. However, be aware they have very strict baggage limitations ($3 a pound over 20lbs) and lots of fees for both no-shows and cancelations.
GuateGo is a great option for private and shared shuttles around the region.
This was my first time using Avianca Airlines. And while they are a partner of United, it is not a seamless partnership. The price was right, so I would fly them again, but I couldn’t book a seat in advance, a paper boarding pass was required, online check-in was a pain, and it was actually a two-stop flight (my flight went onward to Costa Rica – I didn’t know that was still a thing).
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