I’m not exaggerating when I say Guatemala has become one of my top favorite destinations so far (and I’ve been to about 15 countries!). Maybe it’s because I was unexpectedly taken aback by all the natural beauty and culture, or perhaps it’s how I accomplished the most intense hike I’ve ever done and am still in awe of my own mental and physical strength that get me through. It could also be because the best trips tend to happen when it’s mostly spontaneous and barely prepared, and this 5-day escape was definitely decided on a whim.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a planner, and when it comes to travel, I go full on project manager mode — complete with Excel sheets, detailed flight info and itinerary docs, and research just about everything and anything about the place so we don’t miss a single opportunity to take it all in. I like to be prepared, okay. But in this instance, I chose to take the back seat in all the planning. Aside from the fact that I was adamant on doing the Volcán Acetenango hike, I let my friends take the wheel. It wasn’t that I preferred to be an inactive participant in planning for a trip I ultimately convinced my friends to go on with me, but it was because the intention was a little different.

Every year, when the leaves start to change colors and the air becomes crisp, I go through an internal shift in mood and mental motivation. I’ve come to accept my seasonal depression long ago but it is something I actively prepare for and try to get ahead of so that I don’t sink into an inescapable spiral for the wintery months. I knew I wanted to go someplace warm and someplace simple and easy, in terms of travel time. We landed on Guatemala because I had a couple of friends go and tell me how much they loved it. It also helped that the flights were less than $300! So if you’re considering Guatemala in the near future, I highly recommend. I haven’t stopped talking about it since I’ve been back, and I’ve told just about everyone to go right away before it becomes another trending hotspot.

Anyways, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these but I’ve received a lot of inquiries about sharing our 5-day itinerary so here’s as much information in detail about what we did during our brief trip.

5-Day Itinerary

Day 1: antigua

We arrived at La Aurora Airport at about 7am in Guatemala City. From there, we took a van right away to drive about an hour towards the quaint, charming town of Antigua (this was booked through the hostel we stayed at). You’ll know once you get there because if it’s not the van trying it’s hardest to drive over cobblestone roads, it’ll definitely be the vibrant one-story buildings surrounded by distant mountains peaking through the clouds.

Stay: Since we were only staying in Antigua for a night, we decided to keep it low-budget by staying at a hostel over a hotel or AirBnB. We booked the Maya Papaya hostel from Hostelworld, which is known as one of the best hostels in Guatemala by many travel sites. With free breakfast every morning and beautiful amenities, we only wished we could’ve spent at least one more day to take full advantage of the place, and connect with the other travelers. Highly recommend this spot for a super brief stay!
Things to do: Everything is within a 10 to 15 minute walk so for those of us less accustomed to cobblestone driving, opt for walking instead. That way you get to see all the little shops and eateries that you most likely wouldn’t have noticed from a moving vehicle. The one thing we noticed was that there is barely any signage or obstructive displays, which allowed for the vibrant allure of the town to be the main focus. Whether it’s intentional or not, I loved that we weren’t constantly being disrupted by overt displays of capitalism.
- Since we only had a day, we simply walked around — had a nice, hearty meal at a local cafe, indulged in budget-friendly self-care such as massages and pedicures, and visited some markets to get early souvenir shopping done.
- We booked a cooking class where we got to make a traditional Guatemalan dish called pepián, a thick chicken stew made of local ingredients, and a cozy sweet beverage called atole. What fascinated me most about this wholesome experience was learning so much about the Mayan culture’s cooking practices that are rooted in natural ingredients and sustainability. While everything seemed simple enough to replicate at home, it was how these ideas came about with such flavorful results. They sent us the recipes afterwards so I’m definitely going to try to make these again in my tiny NY apartment!
- Before calling it an early night (given our 7am hike meetup time), we wanted to hit up at least one bar to close out the evening. There are plenty of cocktail bars and speakeasies but one spot came highly recommended and happened to be a few blocks away. The spot is called Ulew, where the cocktail bar is actually hidden within the brewery. We made the mistake of sitting upstairs on the rooftop before realizing the speakeasy was very much a hidden door situation. But once you find it (through heavy velvet curtains), you find yourself in a dimly lit indoor brick room that is adorned with random trinkets tucked into crevices. Even the coasters were made as though they were DIY children’s projects of random pieces found around the house. Very whimsical but definitely lends itself to the mysterious ambiance. What’s even more mysterious is that there is no menu. You present your flavor profile and preferences to the bartender who will then come up with a custom cocktail for you on the spot. Honestly, felt like he was performing magic with the way the cocktails fit exactly what each of us were looking for.

Day 2: Volcano Acetenango pt. i

Phewwww, are y’all ready for this one? Because I’m going to try my best to depict everything about this hiking experience, but let me just say, it is one of the craziest travel experiences (and one of my favorites!) I’ve ever done. But it’s also the most rewarding in pushing your mental and physical fortitude. There is just something about feeling so humbled by the world’s most beautiful places, and I needed this to remind me of who I am and what I’m capable of…

First off, we booked with Wicho & Charlie only because it was recommended by someone who went on the hike before. You can really only hike the volcano with a tour since it is an overnight hike. Almost all tours will come with tent/cabin accommodations atop the first mountain that will vary depending on how much you’re willing to spend. They do provide lunch, dinner, and breakfast for the next morning before the hike back down. They also provide a lot of hiking gear — the basics will be free (water bottles, jackets, sweaters, beanies, headlamps, sweatpants, gloves) but any additional items such as poles and backpacks will cost a bit. Highly recommending purchasing poles, especially when coming down!

Things to wear/bring:
- Good hiking shoes! I’m not a fan of the big, chunky ones, especially because I wanted something light on my feet while hiking up. Instead, I purchased the Salomon Speedcross trailing sneakers since they’re super functional for uneven terrains and comfortable to wear.
- Pack snacks. We took a break about every 20 minutes and keeping yourself nourished and energized is imperative. Something light like trail mix to get you through but nothing heavy because 1) you don’t want to carry it and 2) you probably don’t want to hit the bathroom every time.
- They provide water bottles to fill up at the tour agency so don’t feel obliged to bring your own (check your tour’s website!)
- Layers. While the beginning of the hike will be quite warm in temperature if it’s sunny out, the higher you go, the colder it’ll become. Our tour agency provided free sweaters and sweatpants for free, which I recommended getting at least 2-3 layers for the overnight part. I started out with a sports bra, Uniqlo HeatTech long sleeve, and leggings. I tied a sweater around my waist, which I ended up throwing over as we got closer to the top.

Things to know: You are fighting against high altitudes, varying weather climates, and steep inclines! While my friends and I are pretty healthy gals who work out fairly often, we were still struggling. It is difficult and I promise you, you will be doubting your strength every step of the way, but the experience, getting to the top, and enduring the struggle with so many other foreign travelers makes it all worthwhile in a way that is hard to articulate. It is definitely worth it if you’re the adventurous type, but just some things I feel obliged to warn you about:
- It gets very cold at the top of the mountain where you’re staying overnight before waking up at 3:30am for the sunrise hike to the summit. We borrowed about 3 additional layers (sweaters and jackets) to wear atop our own clothing. We even piled on blankets and sleeping bags that were provided in the cabin. I even slept with my beanie on!
- Unfortunately, there is no shower but there is an outdoor toilet situation. But because it’s so cold, honestly, you’re not going to be concerned about showering. It sounds gross but when you’ve been in fight-or-flight mode all day, the last thing you’re thinking about is whether you smell but I guess that’s where the cold is beneficial haha. We did brush our teeth over the mountain and rinsed with bottled water.
- Bring cash! As with all tourist excursions, there is always opportunity to purchase extra accommodations to ease your journey. For us, that meant paying porters to carry our heavy backpacks (each had four 2L water bottles) and paying to be driven up in a van for one extremely difficult portion of the hike that would’ve taken us at least an hour. It all depends on your own abilities but it’s helpful to have cash as a safety net.

Day 3: Volcano Acetenango pt. iI (and drive to lake atitlan)

While up on the mountain at our camp site in the foggy and cold night, it was hard not to keep our eyes open and take in the entire evening landscape before us — the glowing dots from afar indicating how high up we were compared to civilization below, the surrounding mountains around us where we could see the tops without craning our necks up, and the moving little lights trailing on the side of the volcano across us as we cheered on the hikers brave enough to endure the optional Volcán Fuego. Our bodies wanted to bundle up in our cabins and slumber for the night but we did stay up a bit to watch the volcano erupt a few more times across from us — which in the times that it did, it was the most beautiful thing to see sparks of deep red sprinkling from the peak of the volcano. And stars, well, it was everything for some of us who don’t get that sort of sight in the city. After a long, physical and mental roller coaster of the day, we knocked out at around 8pm, right after we were fed spaghetti for dinner and stayed warm with cozy hot chocolate made by our tour guide.

*The view at the top of Volcán Acetenango*

We woke up at around 3:30am to head out for the final leg of the hike to the summit by sunrise. At first, we started out pretty strong after some rest but it wasn’t long before our bodies remembered the struggle all over again. What got us through is what I didn’t expect would turn out so emotional — you are hiking with dozens and dozens of other hikers, older and younger, enduring this physical feat with you. In the pitch darkness, as we got closer and closer to the top where all you see when you look out are the top of clouds, you see a trail of headlamps trudging forth as one. To me, that was the beautiful equalizer of humanity: we all wanted the same goal and witness nature as herself. From different parts of the world and of different walks of life, we were connected in supporting each other to get to the top together.

I won’t go into anymore about the hike but I will say that if you’re considering it, do it! As long as you’re aware that it is not for the faint of the heart but the views and the sense of accomplishment (and enduring it with my friends) made it all worth while to me.

We arrived back to Antigua by 1pm and already booked a shuttle ahead of time to drive us to Panajachel, one of the towns by Lake Atitlan. From there we would take a boat to our AirBnB in Santa Cruz. The drive to Lake Atitlan is about 3 hours, and we took a break halfway through. By the time we got to Panajachel, we took a boat to San Marcos to treat ourselves to massages — a little post-hike reward hehe.

Overall, it was a long travel day for our third day!

Day 4: Lake atitlan (santa cruz, san marcos & san pedro)

This is the AirBnB we stayed at in Santa Cruz. Each town has its own vibe and offers different activities and excursions. We chose to stay in Santa Cruz because it was less tourist-y but still close enough to the other towns by boat to enjoy. The AirBnB was perfect for us since it was secluded so it felt like we had the whole estate to ourselves. What we didn’t realize was that because these towns are still developing, you will find worn-down pathways and little-to-no lights at night (we used our phone lights to find our way!).

*A bit of cliff jumping at Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve*

Things to do:
- With the views we woke up to, we couldn’t help but take our time — meditating, journaling, taking photos of everything. It really felt like we were waking up to paradise; it was completely surreal. We then made our way to brunch at Cafe Sabor Cruceno in Santa Cruz via TukTuk (cash only!). This cafe is women-owned and run by a culinary arts program that trains local indigenous youth in food preparation and service. Not only was the food simply phenomenal and tasted so fresh, we had the best views of the entire lake from high up!
- We then made our way to San Marcos to pick up some provisions (fresh coconuts and rum!) before spending the rest of the day at Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve to swim in the lake. It’s a bit hidden so make sure you follow your Google Maps as closely as you can because there is no set path. This spot is known for a bit of cliff jumping at varying heights. Everyone finds their own little spot amongst the rocks to post up, and then you can swim in the most refreshing waters with the entire lake & mountain landscape as a natural backdrop. There is no way for me describe how absolutely beautiful and perfect it all was, I just wanted to stay there forever!
- Before the sun completely set, we walked towards the main area where all the markets were located to look around and find some souvenirs. It felt very much like Tulum in this area but worth checking out if you wanted to pick up some trinkets.
- And of course, we had to have a night out and we heard San Pedro was the spot for nightlife. For drinks and dancing, head to Bar Sublime — tons of fun and lots of salsa dancing! Though, just keep in mind that everything closes early and this was really the only lively bar in the neighborhood at that time. Also keep in mind that public boats don’t run after 7pm so you’re stuck with getting a private boat that will cost about 5x as much (basically NY Uber prices!). We had to ask the bartender to connect us with one of his friends who owned a boat.

Day 5: Lake atitlan (jaibilito & Panajachel)

There’s something about the slow and simple living by the lake that reminded us to take our time. Despite the fact that we only had 5 days to see it all, it was easy to slip into a peaceful flow of movement. We didn’t feel rushed nor a sense of urgency like we would at home. Instead, we decided things depending on how we felt as we woke up and went from there.

Things to do:
- Recommended by a friend, you can purchase a day pass to La Casa Del Mundo in Jaibilito, which is a luxury hotel that was once a home build by an American-Guatemalan couple. There are only 19 rooms in this hotel that’s usually booked out a year in advance but with a day pass, you can still enjoy the entire place because there is so much to explore here. We had lunch overlooking the lake then sunbathed by the dock. Only thing to prepare for are the steep stairs! The hotel had a very European design & aesthetic that was different from what we’ve seen in the area so it felt like we had made another trip just by being there.
- As much as we wanted to check out as many of the lake towns, we just didn’t have time. We decided to spend our last night in Panajachel since it is also known for some nightlife. The main street is packed with restaurants and local shops to check out, which we very much took our time exploring each one. Lots of textiles and souvenirs to purchase! We spotted a street cart that smelled heavenly where women were grilling meats and vegetables. We just knew we needed to try some street food as our last supper, and it definitely disappoint. I think it was my favorite meal of the entire trip, the tacos were so so good!
- We ended the night at Simoneta Mixology Cantina cocktail bar — a hole-in-the-corner spot with scribbled walls and mismatched wooden furniture, but still had amazing drinks.

other things to know

Just a couple of things that I wish we had known prior but honestly, what makes trips memorable is when you kind of just have to learn on the spot and live like a local quickly:

Public boats don’t come as frequently (even less so than subways for this city-biased girl) so make sure you check times or ask surrounding locals ahead of time. It should only be 25Q per person but sometimes, they will try to scam you so rather than asking, just give them the money with assertiveness.
When public boats aren’t readily available, especially late at night, there are private boats. However, beware that they will jack up the price, depending on who the captain of the boat is, and what time it is. If it is late at night, they won’t just be loaded up at the dock so you’re going to have to strategize asking locals and hope they know someone with a boat (we asked the bartender!)
The towns are still developing so it will get very dark at night! The pathways are not as defined and there are no signs so yes, use your phone light and pay attention to your surroundings. We only had a drawn map provided by our AirBnB host so we were struggling!
There are hills everywhere! While things are technically walkable, the hills don’t make it easy so consider using TukTuks to get around.
They do accept tips!
English is not a common language for Guatemalans so either brush up on that Spanish or download Google translator to have readily available haha
Please invest in local businesses and activities. We noticed there were a lot of yoga classes & retreats at Lake Atitlan run by foreigners that were priced a bit high so something to consider since it is a very bohemian place.

Other than all of that, I am still so in love with Guatemala. I know I will be back (not for the hike, though!) and I hope more people get to experience how beautiful everything is there.

I know for me, this was the trip I needed ahead of seasonal depression during the winter months in NY. During one morning meditation there, I just let my emotions run and cried. I’m not sure for what and why, but I knew that all those pent up emotions were finally being released because my body felt calm and at peace in this place. And that’s enough for me to hold a special place in my heart.

[ Guatemala ] When You Want to Feel Alive Again