Guatemala In Depth

Travel Just 4U's representative in Guatemala will meet you at the airport upon arrival in Guatemala City. They will be holding a sign with your name after you leave the secure area with your bags. 

They will escort you to your private transfer to Antigua (approximately 1 hour drive), assist you on check-in at your hotel and present you with a detailed itinerary for your experiences in Guatemala. This is your chance to run through specific pick up times and logistics for your tours in the country. If you have any questions regarding your itinerary, ask them now.

Just 200m from Antigua’s Central Park, Villa Meson in Exclusive Condominium offers city views, free private parking and a charming central courtyard filled with plants. Each stylish room includes free Wi-Fi.

Rooms at the Mesón de María feature elegant colonial-style décor and cable TV. All rooms have a safe, a telephone and a private bathroom with a hairdryer and free toiletries.

A free continental breakfast is served daily at Villa Meson in Exclusive Condominium. Room service is available from a local restaurant located opposite the hotel, which international restaurants can be found in the surrounding streets. Staff at the 24-hour reception can provide information about the city. Antigua Cathedral and a craft market can be found within a 5-minute walk. 

After breakfast you will be able to enjoy a private guided walking tour of Antigua. You will visit some breath taking colonial monuments and find out why this city was the bustling center of the region for the Spaniards. 

The town is protected by the surrounding eternal guards, the Volcanoes of Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. Antigua was founded in 1543, as the third capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala and partially destroyed by in 1773 by the Santa Marta Earthquakes. 

Starting at central plaza the guide will give you a general idea about the colonization, Guatemala’s history & contemporary issues. View the outside main buildings (Palacio de Capitanes, City Hall, and El Portal), visit backstage of the Cathedral & Cathedral ruins & the San Francisco church.

you will have lunch at a local restuarant and then will transfer via tuk tuk to San Miguel Escobar town. Here you'll be able experience a day in the life of a farmer. After a short hike up Agua volcano to see the coffee fields, you will be invited into the farmer's house to learn about and utilize the machinery used to process coffee.

 You will roast coffee in the traditional way over a fire and share a cup of coffee with the farmer and his family before returning to your Antigua hotel.

This morning you will be met at your hotel after breakfast for a private transfer to Pacaya volcano.

Located just outside the capital of Guatemala City, Pacaya Volcano rises to 2,552m and is one of three active volcanoes in Guatemala. After a period of dormancy, it's been active since 1965, sometimes more dramatically than at other times! 

It is about an hour drive from Antigua to the Pacaya National Park and the trailhead in the small village of San Francisco de Sales. The roughly 2 mile trail is relatively steep but well maintained and climbs steadily through farmland and pine forest before arriving on an exposed ridge offering a panoramic view of Pacaya's smoking black cone, miles of old blackened lava flows and the volcanoes to the north around Antigua and Lake Atitlan. 

The hike continues onto the barren moonscape of the lava flows where you'll be able to roast marshmallows over hot spots for a smores ala Guatemala! We'll enjoy a picnic lunch with a view of the crater from afar before returning to your hotel.

For the duration of your private tour within Guatemala you will have a private vehicle and a driver to accompany you for the duration of your Guatemala adventure. You will then have local guides for each local activity. While your local guides do speak English, the level may be slightly more basic than city based guides you will encounter on other guided tours. 

This is an amazing opportunity to interact with a local Guatemalan who will be incredibly proud to show you their country on this unique road trip

After breakfast, you will meet your private driver who will be with you for the rest of your trip. They will transfer you to Chichicastenango which will take approximately 3 hours. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you to visit the Chichicastenango market. 

Market days are held every Sunday and Thursday and draw not only the K'iche' Maya of the surrounding region, but vendors from all over Guatemala, representing many of Guatemala's linguistic groups such as Mam, Ixil, Kaqchikel among others. You will also be able to visit the church, which is important and iconic monument for the indigenous and Mayan history and witness special ceremonies.

Lunch is included at a real Mayan home, then continue your transfer for approximately 1 hour to Lake Atitlan where you will check in and have the evening at leisure. 

This charming hacienda-style hotel is a former working coffee farm situated on the shores of Lake Atitlan, with a picture perfect view of volcanoes San Pedro, Toliman and Atitlan. It has an outdoor pool, hot tub, and a botanical garden.

Highlighting numerous unique Guatemalan traditions with its colorful and vibrant interior, each room is individually decorated with hand-woven fabrics and carpets, handcrafted furniture, paintings and tile floors. All rooms have private balconies and breathtaking views of the lake.

The swimming pool and Jacuzzi overlook the entire lake and the hotel's magnificent wedding, tropical and rose gardens. The Botanical Gardens of Hotel Atitlan are a true garden lover's paradise. Bird-watching is a popular pastime within its botanical gardens. Enjoy a cocktail or a refreshing tea from the selection of tea infusions by the fire in the hotel's bar, and dine in an elegant setting where you will savor regional and international cuisine.

Today you will have a private tour of an indigenous village. Your local guide will meet you at the lobby of your hotel and transfer you via boat to two of the twelve villages that surrounds Lake Atitlan. 

The first village is San Juan as it is famous for its naïf art galleries, town murals and natural dyes textiles. This town is set as an example of organization and tourism destination among the highlands. Its beauty and cooperatives have set it as the perfect village. 

Then, you will jump back into the boat and transfer to Santiago, a village located on the south end, home to Maximon, a pagan saint who drinks moonshine and smoke cigars. Maximon is visited every day by locals, healers and tourists asking for favors. 

Lunch is in included at a local venue, then you will transfer back to your hotel. 

Today you will head towards Gutemala City via Iximche. Your driver will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Iximche archaeological site (approximately 2hrs).

Iximche is a Pre-Columbian Mayan site in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, which was founded by the Kaqchikel Maya in 1470. Between the late 1400s and early 1500s, for about 60 years this was the capital of a group of Mayans called Kaqchikel, for years they were good friends of another Maya tribe called K’iche’. But when they started to have problems, they had to flee to a more secure region. They chose a ridge surrounded by deep ravines, this provided them safety, and that’s how Iximche was founded. The Kaqchikel and the K’iche’ kept having battles for years but the location helped protect the Kaqchikel. 

On arrival, your local guide will show you the layout and main temples and will give you plenty of time to visit this historical site. After the tour, continue your transfer with your driver to Guatemala City which will take approximately 2 hours

Located in the popular Zona Viva district, Clarion Suites Guatemala offers a gym, free parking and stylish air-conditioned suites.

All the suites at this 5-star hotel feature contemporary décor and flat-screen TVs with cable channels. Each spacious suite has a separate bedroom with sofa beds. There is a coffee maker, 3 telephones, a safe and ironing facilities. Bathrooms include hairdryer.

Situated in the lobby, the La Poza restaurant serves an international menu, while the El Catrín bar has service from 12:00pm-12:00am There is an on-site minimarket, conference facilities and a business centre.

Hotel Clarion Suites Guatemala is surrounded by the shops and bars of Zona 10. Plaza España Metro Station is 900 m away, while the Craft Market and La Aurora Zoo are 2 km away. 

Todayyour driver will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Coban. En route, you’ll visit the National Biotope. This transfer will take approximately 5 hours

The "Mario Dary" Biotope is one of the most important protected areas in Guatemala. It was founded by the biologist Mario Dary Rivera in 1977. Its lush attractive jungle consists of more than three thousand hectares of tropical humid vegetation, which provides the perfect habitat to Guatemala's national bird, the Quetzal.

This conservation unit has more than 50 species of trees, some up to 40 meters in height. As far as fauna is concerned, 58 species have been identified, including squirrels, rabbits, foxes, monkeys and snakes.

You’ll walk through the jungle trails of the Biotope and hopefully you’ll be able to see a Quetzal. Afterwards you will continue onto Coban. 

Offering a restaurant and a beautiful garden, La Posada is located in Central Cobán. It features Colonial-style architecture, free parking and free WiFi access is available in public areas.

Each room here will provide you with a TV, a patio and cable channels. Featuring a shower, private bathroom also comes with free toiletries. You can enjoy garden view from the room. Extras include a desk and bed linen.

Hotel La Posada features 24 hour front desk, room service, and baggage storage, to help make your stay more enjoyable. The property also boasts a lounge.

This morning you have an early transfer to the town of Lanquin, where you will change vehicles. A 30 minute ride in 4x4 vehicles is needed to get to Semuc Champey, but it’s totally worth it!

One of the most beautiful wonders of nature in the country. Semuc Champey is formed by what is known as a natural land bridge 500 meters long. This natual land bridge forms the backbone of a series of descending pools and small waterfalls that make up Semuc Champey. 

The water that fills the pools is the product of runoff from the Rio Cahabon. Churning as it plunges into an underground chasm from where it reemerges downstream at the end of this massive limestone overpass. It has a warm and very humid sub-tropical forest characteristics that favor a wide variety of vegetation and tree canopies. A picnic lunch included for today 

Before heading back, you’ll enter the Kamba caves. Enjoy this amazing activity where you’ll be able to swim and jump into water pools. Climb a waterfall with nothing but a rope feeling the water all over your body. 

Coban, located in the area of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala, is very rich in flora and fauna. Lots of lakes, mountains and waterfalls can be found throughout the road. A perfect place to enjoy eco-tourism, Coban will offer you a big concentration of natural reserves, cave systems and rain forests. 

Coban has earned popularity because of its quality coffee and cardamom. It has a humid and chilly weather, a perfect combination for you to relax and enjoy nature at its best. Also a great place for the adventurers, here you can practice rafting in Rio Cahabon, hiking for all levels, canopy and swimming in the unique natural pools this area treasures.

Silver and textiles are their specialties and you will find lots of local shops where you can appreciate their art. Find the real magic in the towns that surround Coban, together with the beautiful natural reserves that will take your breath away.

Try the typical dish of the region: Kak'ik, a red soup-stew with turkey and "tamalitos", which is corn dough wrapped in dried banana leaves. Deemed as an intangible cultural heritage, this tasty dish full of spices will activate you sense of taste.

Today your driver will collect you from your hotel and start the 5.5 hour drive to Rio Dulce. En route, you will stop at Quirigua archeological site for a tour. Your local guide will meet you at the site and they will show you the layout and main temples. 

The monumental complex of pyramids, terraces, and stairways echoes a time when the city prospered from trade in jade and obsidian under the rule of K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat, between 724 and 785. Quiriguá is best known for its superb sculptures, including sandstone stelae carved with striking anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures. The tallest Maya stela ever discovered was found in Quiriguá. For these reasons, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. 

Once your tour has finished your driver will continue to take to your hotel in Rio Dulce.

Located in Río Dulce, Nana Juana Hotel & Marina features a garden, bar, shared lounge, and free WiFi. Featuring an ATM, this property also welcomes guests with a restaurant and a grill. The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, karaoke and room service.

At the hotel, all rooms include a closet. Complete with a private bathroom, all rooms at Nana Juana Hotel & Marina come with air conditioning, and selected rooms also offer a balcony.

Continental and à la carte breakfast options are available every morning at the accommodation. Nana Juana Hotel & Marina has a terrace and hiking is among the activities that guests can enjoy near the hotel.

After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at the hotel’s marina for a boat tour around Rio Dulce. While navigating the Rio Dulce (meaning sweet river) you will cross through "EL Golfete", the wider area of the river in which the Chocon Machaca park and the floating gardens are located. 

Along the way you will also stop at Ak'Tenamit, a local cooperative that has been able to assist the village in the education and medical services through sustainable methods. Between "El Golfete" and Livingston, there is an impressive canyon with walls of jungle and limestone. 

The boat tour ends at Livingston, the only town in Guatemala in which the Garifunas had settled in the 1800s. It has a unique ambiance that you won't find anywhere else in the country. Laid-back and relaxed, Livingston will remind you more of a Caribbean island than of Latin America. Lunch is included at local venue then you will head back to your hotel in Rio Dulce. 

The Dulce River, or “Sweet” River, is one of the most overlooked places to visit in Guatemala.

Popular Guatemala attractions such as the colonial city of Antigua and the ancient ruins of Tikal get plenty of international press. But the Rio Dulce is one of the lesser explored natural wonders you’ll find scattered about this culturally rich and historically maligned country.

Measuring just 27 miles long, the Dulce River is fairly short. It stretches between Guatemala’s largest lake, Lago Izabal, and the Caribbean Sea, passing through towns like Fronteras and Livingston along the way. The river passes through gorges and tropical forests. The Río Dulce National Park protects around 17,800 acres (7,200 ha) of this area. One of the most dramatic parts is a canyon with hundred-meter rock faces known as La Cueva de la Vaca. The canyon is about a 15-minute boat ride from Lívingston. 

Though petite, the Rio Dulce is a big-time biological marvel, with a diversity of flora and fauna rivaling any other place outside of the Amazon River. It’s also home to several distinct cultures, including multiple indigenous Mayan tribes and the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna people.

Enjoy a morning at leisure in Rio Dulce and around noon your driver will pick you up from your hotel for your private transfer to Flores. This transfer will take approximately 4 hours. 

Flores is a picturesque town on a small island on Lake Peten Itza, Guatemala. Connected to the mainland by a short causeway, Flores island is tiny – you can walk around it in about 20 minutes – and comes complete with some seriously beautiful views. For many, the main reason to visit Flores is its proximity to Tikal, the most famous Mayan ruins in Guatemala, or as a starting point for trips around Petén. But the city itself is a wonder — dense with colonial, red-roofed buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, a historic church and Spanish plaza, and restaurants that are easy to stumble upon walking the city's charming streets. Most will find that this island city is more than just a take-off point, but a memorable attraction in itself.

This elegant hotel is located within a tropical estate, on the edge of the Petenchel and Monifata Lagoons. White-tailed deer and peccaries are bred in the grounds, and the hotel features an outdoor pool.

Villa Maya’s air-conditioned rooms have stylish décor and feature a furnished balcony with garden, forest and lagoon views. All come with private bathroom and Wi-Fi is available for a charge.

Villa Maya’s restaurant serves a varied menu of international and regional dishes, and offers a BBQ on Sundays. There is also a bar-cafeteria and room service is available.

The hotel is well located for exploring this exotic area, with its jungles filled with numerous species of bird, monkey and tropical plant. Nature trails, bike and binocular rental and horse riding are just some of the services on offer.

This morning you will have a private tour to the Ixpanpajul Natural Reserve.

On arrival, you’ll walk on six impressive hanging bridges with more than 100 meters long and winding paths full of exuberant vegetation. Crossing the bridges, will give you the opportunity to have direct contact with nature. You’ll be able to also contemplate the magnificent forest and the beauty of Lake Peten Itza. In this part of the forest, the vegetation quickly changes with the elevation.

The Petén forest has beautiful old trees, including endangered species like mahogany and ceiba. Petén is best known for its dense population of birds, and there are over 280 avian species native to the area. On a hike through Petén you might also see monkeys, neon-colored frogs, and furry peccaries. Lunch included at local restaurant. 

After lunch, your driver will transfer to Yaxha Archeological site for a tour of this impressive site. Yaxha is an archaeological site and ancient ceremonial center of Mayan civilization situated in the northeast of Peten. This site is a mixture of archaeology, beautiful landscapes and ecological tourism. With more than 500 structures in the site, including 40 steles, 13 altars and 9 pyramids this site is a must when visiting the area. Your guide will show you the site and main temples. You’ll also be able to watch an amazing sunset on top of a pyramid before heading abck to your hotel.

Today you will have the chance to visit the archaeological site of Uaxactun. Although substantially smaller than Tikal, the ruins at Uaxactún nonetheless offer an interesting look at ancient Mayan culture. Your driver will take you to the site where you will meet your local guide. Your journey starts at the community entrance in which you will learn about their history and the first settlers. 

Uaxactún (known as Sia’an K’aan to the original Mayans) came about during the Middle Preclassic period around 600 BC. The city reached its prime during the Late Preclassic period, sometime between 350 BC and 250 AD. It was during this time that many of its ceremonial plazas were built.

Uaxactún developed a bitter rivalry with Tikal and was eventually conquered by Tikal in 378 AD. At the time, Tikal had formed an alliance with the Central Mexican city-state of Teotihuacán, who had introduced spear-throwing weapons to the people of Tikal. This weapon undoubtedly helped with the takeover of Uaxactún.
The best ruins at Uaxactún are a series of partially restored temples called Group E. The three temples here are built side to side from north to south and function as an astronomical observatory. The temples are precisely structured to align with the sun on certain days of the year—when viewed from the top of another nearby temple (Temple E-VII-Sub), the sun rises behind the north temple on the longest day of the year and behind the southern temple on the shortest day of the year. It’s pretty incredible.

Lunch is included but you can ask your guide to take you to the house of one of the best cooks in Uaxactun and she will share stories about her family and childhood. She even has a small archeological museum at her house! Afterwards, you'll be transferred back to the hotel to have the rest of the afternoon at leisure. 

Today you will have a tour of the famous Tikal. Your local tour guide will meet you at the lobby to transfer you to the Tikal National Park. Your guide will show you the layout of the temples, architecture, history, some theories of why the Mayans disappeared and if you are lucky a few monkeys, parrots, macaws and toucans will be on site. 

Tikal is the city and ceremonial centre of the ancient Maya civilization and the largest urban centre in the southern Maya lowlands, it stood 19 miles (30 km) north of Lake Petén Itzá in what is now the northern part of the region of Petén, Guatemala, in a tropical rainforest. The Tikal ruins are the central attraction of Tikal National Park, which was established in the 1950s and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. 

Tikal was first occupied as a small village in the Middle Formative Period (900–300 BCE); subsequently, in the Late Formative Period (300 BCE–100 CE), it became an important ceremonial centre with the construction of major pyramids and temples. Its heyday, however, came in the Late Classic Period (600–900 CE), with the planning and construction of its great plazas, pyramids, and palaces, the appearance of Maya hieroglyphic writing and complex systems of time-counting, and the flowering of Maya art as seen in monumental sculpture and vase painting.  

After the tour, enjoy lunch at a restaurant in the middle of the jungle. Afterwards, your driver will take you to the airport for your flight to Guatemala City.