Lake Atitlan One Day Tour from Antigua
Description
Uncover the beautiful Mayan towns around Lake Atitlan, the most magnificent spectacle ever saw. With indigenousn women in multicolored outfits, fishermen in rustic crafts and the beauty of the three surrounding volcanos: San Pedro, Toliman & Atitlan. Santiago Atitlan, the town more visited for their beautiful Guipil (blouse) and its old catholic church with Mayan and Spanish culture combination. To finalize the last town to visit is San Juan la Laguna, a unique town with cooperatives of natural dyes, painting's art and medicinal plants.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Here is where the tour starts. At your arrival you will have around 45mins to have breakfast (Not included). After that, you walk to the dock to take the boat. Panajachel, also known as "Pana", is a charming city located on the shore of Lake Atitlan. Is the most important center of the area, reason why it concentrates the majority of hotels, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment centers and shops. Ideal for shopping for handicrafts and contributing to local tourism.
First town to visit. San Juan la Laguna, a quaint town onf the west shore of the lake, there are serveral cooperatives: from beekeepers, coffee growers to backstrap loom weavers, who work using natural dyes. Using ancestral techniques, they extract dyes from tree bark, vegetables, coconut shells and so on to paint of colors their products.
Second town to visit San Pedro la Laguna, spreading onto a peninsula at the base of the volcano of the same name. It is as famous as Panajachel, it is the favorite place of many foreign tourists, who are fascinated by the tranquility of the environment.
Third town to visit: Santiago Atitlan it is a place with a lot of natural beauty and color, due the handicrafts that are made there as well as for the costume of its inhabitants. The residents wear their regional costume and the women wear colorful huipiles (blouses) woven in white cotton with geometric designs and small birds. Multicolored embroidered at the waist, and the cortes (skirts) consist of a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist; A ribbon called tocoyal is also used, which is approximately 20 meters long and is wrapped around the head. In this beautiful town is the Church of Santiago Apóstol, it was built in 1547. It is one of the oldest churches in Guatemala and in it you can appreciate the syncretism especially in the main altarpiece. There is also a Mayan idol called "Maximón" of unknown origin.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
- We can pick up in any centrally located Antigua Hotels, AirBnB and family homestays. - We don't pick up in the surrounding villages such as San Pedro las Huertas, San Juan del Obispo, Santa Ana, El Hato, San Cristobal el Alto, San Cristobal el Bajo, San Bartolomé Becerra. - Note that the tour departs from Antigua Guatemala, if you are staying in Guatemala City and you want to join the tour we can coordinate to pick you up by private transportation from Guatemala and drive you to Antigua to catch our bus. (Additional cost) You are purchasing a shared service, it means several people will join the tour. The van will experience some delays caused by travellers that are not ready in time, or gave a wrong address. Please be Patient.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking (the meals aren't included but if you have any special requirement we can help you to choose a good restaurant according to your needs)
- The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
- IMPORTANT: If do the weather conditions there is no access to any of the towns listed in the tour, we will suggest you other town options to visit and keep the three towns in your tour
- Return time to Antigua around 18:30-19:00hrs. All will depend on traffic and the group.
- If you want to enjoy more time the lake and want to spend a night there, we can gladly coordinate the transportation back to Antigua next day without extra cost. PLEASE let us know when you book that you need to return next day. You can choose the shared transportation leaving from Panajachel at 12:00pm or 16hrs. - ACCOMMODATION IS ON YOUR OWN. -
- The duration of the tour is approximately 14hrs, this tour is ideal if you don't have much time to visit the country.
Reviews(322)
Elena was excellent super informative , beautiful villages the experience was amazing , with do it again
I would say this tour was a very educational one. Learning about Guatemala and the Mayan culture was great. One of the best tours I ever had. 100% recommended.
Very good experience, excellent guide
Pick up location was changed last minute and no notice so was standing at the wrong cafe waiting for shuttle.
Thank you for your feedback, and we're sorry to hear about the confusion regarding the meeting point. For all of our tours, we send a confirmation message with the latest pickup details approximately one day before departure. On rare occasions, meeting points may need to be adjusted due to circumstances beyond our control, such as road closures, local celebrations, or traffic restrictions. We always encourage our guests to check their email (including their spam or junk folder) for these updates. If a confirmation message has not been received, we kindly ask guests to contact us before the tour so we can promptly confirm all the details. We're glad we were ultimately able to accommodate the pickup and appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
I had a great experience on this tour with our wonderful guide Susi. I was able to learn a lot about the small towns in Lake Atitlan without needing figure out the logistics. I appreciated that we went beyond the tourist areas and learned about the people of this area on a deeper level. The tour company coordinated both hotel pick and hotel drop-off as a part of this tour package - a completely seamless experience for me as the customer.
Great way to visit Lake Atitlan when you have a limited timeframe. Everything from the shuttle, tour guide, and boat trips went smoothly. María was a wonderful guide and we learned a lot about the area.
Good and recommended experience; they were very clear in indicating the details of the trip to us. The guides Helena and Verónica did an incredible job.
This was truly one of the highlights of my trip to Guatemala. From beginning to end, everything was thoughtfully organized, and I felt completely taken care of. Elena and Pedro created such a special experience, and our guide, Elena shared so much about the history, culture, traditions, and daily life around Lake Atitlán, and her patience, kindness, and love for the area made everyone feel welcome. Visiting the villages by boat was unforgettable. Each one had its own unique character, and Elena helped us understand what made them so special. The scenery was breathtaking, and I came away with a much deeper appreciation for the people and culture of Guatemala. If you’re considering a tour of Lake Atitlán, I can’t recommend this group enough. It was an experience I’ll remember for a very long time.
The good: the lake is very beautiful, our excellent guides Elena and Verónica, the visit to the bees and the textile cooperative in San Juan, with the talented Amanda. The peaceful return trip. The bad: the outbound trip - bus without seatbelts, a "daring" driver (several of us arrived very nauseous), the incomprehensible visit to the shaman, the brief stop in San Rafael. The areas for improvement: less emphasis on shopping, more on enjoying the lake and learning about the history of those who inhabit it.
The lake and the four towns around it that we visited are fantastic! Incredible views, very interesting geography, history, and culture. The pickup was timely. Our guides, Elena and Verónica were simply superb. Couldn't be better: friendly, knowledgeable, informative, helpful.
