7 day backpacking trip.

Hello all!

So I have 7-8 days to backpack Guatemala (not much time I know) so I'm trying to narrow the itinerary down to a few things. I definitely want to see Antigua, Lake Atitlan, and Tikal. If able I'd also like to see Semuc Champey or Pacaya. Not sure if this is doable so I may be able to only do Tikal, Antigua, and Lake Atitlan. Any advice on itinerary and how to break the trip up/# of days to spend in each spot would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Are you flying into Guatemala City? What's your budget per day not including flights?
If your starting in GC that's a lot of ground to cover, you can fly to Flores from GC, you'll need/want at least 2 nights in Tikal, IMO.
Don't think you have time for Semuc.

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes we are flying into Guac City. Our daily budget will about $50 total, plus or minus. We are willing to splurge if need be. Not sure I'd want to splurge on a round trip flight from Guac City to Tikal. Maybe a one way and just take a bus back.

If you remove Tikal, not saying its not worth it, but its very out of the way with such a limited amount of time and its not a easy place to get to, maybe a future trip visit Tikal from Cancun MX & the Yucatan?

Otherwise, 7 days is a nice amount of time to take in the colonial charm of Antigua, the gorgeous scenery and lakeside villages and towns of Atitlan, and possibly the Xela area, or the Highlands north.

Semuc area is not easy to get too either, and is best incorporated in a trip to Flores/Tikal with some days at Semuc/Copan/Lanquin area....via shuttles....

So you need to decide, but if it was me, and I was in the country for 3 weeks, I would make it easy on yourself, and enjoy Antigua 1-2 nights, Atitlan 2-4 nights, and maybe one other side trip...

Otherwise, to go to lake Atitlan for just 2 nights is not going to be fun and relaxing and enjoyable of at least 3..we spent a week there, and could of stayed another week no problem....

You could fly from GC to Flores, shuttle to Tikal, do 1 nights, shuttle back, and fly back to GC, again, Flores is nice to enjoy a night, and Tikal deserves 2 full days IMO...but thats me.

Good Luck..

For a more laid back trip I'd stick with just Antigua and Lake Atitlán, mostly the latter. If you want to race around a bit, Tikal is wonderful. You could take a night bus 1 way or the other to save daylight time for exploring and save the cost of round trip flights.

Semuc Champey would pretty much require 3 full days - 1 to get there, 1 to enjoy it, and 1 to get back. Really bad trip math for such a quick trip.

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So...based on all the advice...I should eliminate Tikal from the trip if we want to really enjoy ourselves and not feel rushed in each place or spend so much time moving around. If I did limit the places I go to Antigua and Lake Atitlan, is there anything close by such as Pacaya that I could include instead of Tikal? I'd really like to do some hiking while there, especially a volcano.

There are loads of hiking options between villages on the lake and up San Pedro volcano (not active, tough hike) and other peaks, like Indian Nose (a favorite). Pacaya is probably the most popular options nearer Antigua and you'd certainly have time for that. You could also consider hiring a private driver to take you between Antigua and Atitlán so you can easily stop at the Iximché Maya site. It's not on the same scale as Tikal but is lovely and historically significant.

That is a great idea! So I could go to Pacaya straight from Antigua and then from Pacaya go to Lake Atitlan. And possibly stop on the way to see the site. Would I be able to leave Antigua early morning, arrive at Pacaya, do the climb, then leave Pacaya and head to Lake Atitlan all in one day?

If you do the early Pacaya tour, you should be back in Antigua by 1 or 1:30 but ask to be sure before you set up your private driver so you'll know when to meet him/her. The trip from Antigua to Panajachel with a stop at Iximché should be ~4 hours, maybe more. If you're not planning on staying in Pana, I would try to arrive at the dock by 5:30 in order to cross before dark (although there might still be options later, depending where you're heading).

It's also possible you could arrange the whole day with 1 private driver/agency, but I think that would cost more than doing the tour and meeting up with your driver in Antigua.

I read that the afternoon 2 pm climb of Pacaya is better than the morning because you get to see the sunset as well as the glow of lava. So I figured I would arrange a private climb with a company which would also include a private drive to and from ($150-$200 total). It could still be done in a day, but we wouldn't get back to Antigua until after 6 pm. Stay the rest of the night in Antigua then head toward Lake Atitlan early morning round 8 am. Arrange a private cab to there, with a stop at Iximche, and get to Pana round noon or 1 pm. I'm sure a private cab would be around $40, maybe more with a stop at Iximche. Thoughts?

And yes we were planning on staying in Pana one night but if you don't think it's worth it, it would free up an extra night to spend elsewhere (San Marcos or San Pedro)

Group tours of Pacaya from Antigua are $7-20, usually, whether you leave in the morning or afternoon, private tours would obviously be more. I would figure $100-125 for the Antigua > Iximché > Pana bit.

PS The downsides of the afternoon Pacaya hike are that clouds are more likely to obscure the views and mainly because you will have to walk back down through volcanic scree in the dark, not that pleasant imo. If you arrive mid day in Panajachel I would probably choose to just head where you want to stay on the lake to avoid another unpack/pack/move on. If you arrive late in the day there are worse places to spend the night. Happy trails!

In addition, the later in the day usually means rougher lake crossings, as winds pick up in the afternoon, usually...just so you know. Agree, Pana has a nice setting for a evening to chill, relax, dine, drink and crash.

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