Day One: Arrival & Antigua
Based upon the time your flight arrives at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, your professional guide will be waiting for you at your final customs exit. Following a quick meet and greet, you will ride to Antigua, get settled into your private accommodations. After a time of acclimation and rest from a long travel day, you will be taken to one of our favorite restaurants in the city to experience their mouth-watering cuisine and the incredible ambience that they offer! If you choose, your guide will drop you off at your accommodations after dinner. If you desire to explore the nightlife of Antigua, you will be free to do so.
Day Two: Guatemalan History & Culture
At the pre-arranged time that you choose, your professional guide will take you to the best viewpoint, overlooking the city of Antigua. After a short walk down, you will begin your day with an Antigua Walking Tour where you will receive a completely comprehensive education on Guatemalan culture, history, folklore, and much more on this two hour tour. You will be walked through Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, led by a professional guide, to learn of and visit some of the city’s colonial architecture, churches, ruins, cuisine, rich textiles, local people groups, personalities and so much more. Each step will take you deeper into the secrets of this ancient city, helping you to discover and understand the complexities of Guatemalan society via its history, customs, culture, and a number of other things that may leave you scratching your head.
After lunch at the restaurant of your choice, you will be transported just outside of town to meet one of the most experienced jade artisans in Guatemala. You will be welcomed into the home of he and his family to learn all about his trade, jade, its history in Guatemalan culture, and then you will spend time choosing, shaping, and polishing a stone that is yours to keep. What you may find most amazing about this experience is the time with their family, learning each other’s stories and connecting with one another as you work.
Following your Jade Workshop, you will be returned to your accommodations to rest and freshen up before dinner at a restaurant that offers an artistic and tasty interpretation on international cuisine from a prized chef. Oh, and their desserts may leave you drooling with a curiosity that beckons you to the kitchen to give it a try yourself. After dinner, your guide will drop you off at your accommodations if you so choose. If you desire to further explore the nightlife of Antigua, you will be free to do so.
Day Three: Colonial Antigua & Local Trade
Day three will be the grand finale of your relaxing time in Antigua with a Guatemala Coffee Farm Tour, time to explore the best local artisan markets, and dinner at our favorite restaurant in Antigua!
Following your breakfast, you will be transported to a local Guatemalan coffee farm to experience a day in the life of a local Guatemalan coffee farmer. After a short hike up Volcán Agua to explore and learn about the coffee fields, you will be invited into the farmer's house to experience and utilize the machinery used to process coffee. The best part comes at the end when you get to roast coffee in the traditional Guatemalan way, over the fire, and share a fresh cup of coffee with the farmer and their family.
After lunch at the restaurant of your choice, you will be guided to the most famous artisan markets in Antigua to satisfy your appetite for souvenirs and gifts. And believe us when we tell you, Antigua has a great variety of high quality souvenirs for everyone alike!
Just before dinner, you will take time to freshen up to experience our favorite culinary establishment in the city, one that offers dishes that might leave you drooling for more. The chef is a self-made genius in the kitchen who has published a number of books. Just wait, you won’t leave disappointed. Following dinner, you may want to explore Antigua's nightlife, but if not, your guide will escort you to your accommodations.
Day Four: Farewell Antigua, Hello Lake Atitlán
After breakfast, you will take off for Iximché, a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site that was once the capital of the late Maya Kaqchikel kingdom. There, you will explore the over 500 year old pyramid-temples, palaces, and ballcourts to uncover some of the mysteries of the Maya empire that may leave you scratching your head.
Following your departure from Iximché, you will be transported about an hour and a half to Lake Atitlán to get settled into your accommodations. Depending on the location of your accommodations, you may eat lunch at a restaurant of your choice either before or after arriving.
You will then have the opportunity to either rest a bit and get acclimated to the relaxing pace of Lake Atitlán or you may want to walk down and dip your toes in the crystal clear blue waters of Central America’s deepest lake. Lake Atitlán is also renowned as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world that is surrounded by a number of different cultures of Maya.
After your amazing afternoon, you will then take time to clean up before being transported to the highest rated restaurant in Panajachel that offers top-notch service and a delightful selection of authentic cuisine. After dinner, your guide will ensure that you are transported safely back to your accommodations. If you desire to explore the nightlife, you will be free to do so.
Day Five: Breathtaking Views & Tribal Experiences
At the arranged time you choose, your professional guide will meet you to begin your day with an easy and relaxing hike that offers some of the best views of Lake Atitlán. You will first be transported to your beginning location in a boat taxi, then you will be free to take your leisurely hike at your own pace, stopping for as many photos or awe-struck moments as you please. It’s guaranteed that you will love it!
Following your hike, you will have the opportunity to enjoy lunch at a special place overlooking the water. This is the perfect time to kick your feet back and soak it all in, as you will be on top of the world.
After your relaxing lunch, you will take a short boat taxi to a nearby town to experience the entire craft process of tribal weaving and will learn about its significance in the local Maya cultures. You might even get to help dye the threads in their natural ways or finish a piece with the local Maya. One thing we guarantee is that you will see tribal weaving at its most pure and pride-filled form.
To finish your evening in the most immaculate style, after cleaning up, you will be taken just off the water, high into a mountain town to a place that has been claimed by many as the restaurant with “the best view and the most creative and tasty food in Guatemala.” What's better is that this restaurant employs students from an acclaimed culinary school and all its proceeds go to support the local community. There you will experience an in-depth education and hands-on experience with one of Guatemala’s proudest creations: chocolate. You will learn about its origin and history while you are making your own bar of chocolate, starting from the bean, with your very own private chef. All the while, you will be looking out from the most beautiful viewpoint of Lake Atitlán. After you spoil your dinner with chocolate, you will take a seat and experience their fine dining at the same restaurant, what we claim is the best tasting cause in Guatemala. One thing guaranteed is that you will leave with a full stomach and a happy heart.
Day Six: Maya Chichicastenango & Colonial Antigua
At the arranged time, your professional guide will ensure that you are checked out of your accommodations and transported from at the proper time to your taxi where you will journey through the highlands of western Guatemala to the small indigenous Maya town of Chichicastenango. It is there that you will spend time at the largest and most well-known artisan market in Central America. The Chichicastenango Market can be best explained as an “explosion of color and creativity.” You might even get the chance to see a ceremony at the Saint Thomas Church, a Catholic church where both Mayan rituals and Catholic traditions are mixed and practiced daily by the locals.
From Chichicastenango, you will be transported back to Antigua for your final night in Guatemala. Since you are already familiar with Antigua, depending on your time of arrival and check-in status at your accommodations, you might have time to explore the city and visit that place that caught your eye at the beginning of your tour.
No matter what, you will finish your tour with a bang at a historical restaurant that provides a romantic atmosphere and a wonderful selection of award-winning international cuisine. You might even want to stay a little longer, just to cherish the sheer beauty of your final night to soak it all in and reflect on your time in Guatemala. After dinner, your guide will ensure that you are transported safely back to your accommodations, but if you desire to explore the nightlife, you will be free to do so.
Day Seven: Final Taste & Departure
Depending on the departure time of your flight, you might have the opportunity to relax and enjoy your last few hours in Antigua. If so, you will have time to purchase any last-minute souvenirs from local artisans and/or take those photos that you may have missed. At the appointed time, you will be picked up by your private taxi, escorted directly to the La Aurora International Airport, and dropped off three to four hours prior to your departure for an ample amount of time to purchase any last-minute souvenirs, check your bags, go through security and customs, and arrive at your gate for a safe flight home.
