3Q's: Panajachel-Airport shuttle/Utatlan/Pacaya Tour

Hi attempt to answer 3 for you as I'm here looking now.
The tours seem to cost from $5 to $10 US plus Q40 for park entry.
So many people have warned me not to go with La Ruta Maya in the square. Probably because they use the term, run by lonely planet, to suck people in.

My spanish school has organised a trip. I'm going with them. They are $10 but at least it should be ok they have a bigger reputation to worry about. The school i'm studying at is Ixchel. So far i'm quite happy with them.

As for other shuttles, its so much easier to turn up and book on the fly.

Pana to Guate shuttles... you can't be sure. They advertise direct. But all shuttles are now armed with cell phones and if they get a call and have space they will divert to Antigua...which can add up to 45 min. to the trip. Happened to me last trip.

When I looked into the Pana - Guat shuttles in August they quoted very different prices for direct shuttles than for ones that detoured to Antigua, more expensive for direct. If you have plenty of time it would be okay but if your flight is early you may have to stay closer to the airport (Antigua or GC) the last night. Here's a site that will give you an idea of the prices: Transport Guatemala - Servicios Turisticos Atitlán.

I haven't been to Utatlán but I'd ask in town about safety as I've seen a few warnings in guide books. Should be easy to find a taxi or shuttle in Quiché to take you there. To get to Quiché from Chichi, ask where the colectivos and buses head there. The colectivos leave just a block or 2 from the plaza and leave as soon as they fill up, as often as every 20-30 minutes, depending on the day and time. To get back to Pana you'd take a bus or colectivo from Quiché to Los Encuentros and another from there to Pana; sometimes they stop in Sololá and you have to get off and find another one for the short ride into Panajachel.

We found that different agencies in Antigua set up Pacaya tours ranging from $7 to $15 or more. Most of them go through the same agency and pocket the difference. We chose to go in the afternoon and enjoyed it overall but it's not for sissies - long hike down in the dark was pretty grueling and actually scary at times; it was 10:30 pm when we arrived back in Antigua. The other disadvantage of the afternoon/night version is it's much more apt to rain later in the day. I did like seeing the lava in the dark, though.

Keep us posted!

Pacaya: We booked our trip to Pacaya on the first day we were there so didn't look around much. But we paid $8 (plus park entry) and had a private shuttle with a guide for our shuttle load. Other trips use bigger buses and have one guide for 20 people instead of 10, and can then drop the price a little. The guides don't speak much english, so if you really want an english speaking guide, pick a higher end tour and insist on a good english speaking guide. Usually someone in the group speaks enough spanish to get you by though, if you're adventurous.

We booked with the travel agency next to the Yellow House hotel in the northern end of Antigua, but every other door in Antigua is a travel agent and they all book Pacaya trips.

The standard trips leave at 6am and 2pm. I would recommend the 6am (less rain/fog potential and you don't have to come down in the dark). It is a hard enough trip without adding rain and dark to it!

They do have horses, for about $10 additional you can rent a horse to make the climb with a kid to hold the bridle. A couple of my friends did this who would not have otherwise been able to do all the walking.

It is strenuous but 4 of us fairly healthy oldsters in our 50's and 60's made it without too much groaning.