Guatemala packs three completely different landscapes into one week — the baroque church ruins and cobbled plazas of colonial Antigua, the volcano-ringed Maya villages of Lake Atitlán, and the jungle-swallowed temples of Tikal deep in the Petén lowlands — linked by highland shuttle and a short domestic flight, with real hotels, guides, and transfers to book before you go.
Day 1
Arrive in Guatemala City & Settle Into Antigua
Land at La Aurora International Airport and head straight for Antigua Guatemala, the 16th-century colonial capital ringed by three volcanoes — your base for the first three nights.
🚕 Private Transfer — La Aurora Airport (GUA) to Antigua
~45–60 minutes · Fixed rate from $45 USD per vehicle, up to 3 people
A pre-booked driver meets you at arrivals with a name board for the climb up into the highlands to Antigua, avoiding the need to negotiate a taxi fare after an international flight.
Atitrans · +502 7832-3371 · atitrans.net
🛎️ Overnight — Hotel Casa Santo Domingo
From $190–230 USD / night, for 2 people
A former 16th-century Dominican convent turned 5-star hotel, its ruined chapel and cloisters now gardens, fountains, and on-site museums — three blocks from Antigua’s cobbled center.
Hotel Casa Santo Domingo · +502 7820-1220 · casasantodomingo.com.gt
🍽️ Dinner in Antigua
Est. $20–35 USD / person
On your own — the streets around the central plaza are dense with Guatemalan and pan-Latin restaurants a short walk from the hotel.
Day 2
Antigua’s Colonial Streets & Pacaya Volcano at Sunset
A morning tracing the ruins and plazas that earned Antigua its UNESCO listing, then an afternoon climb up an active volcano for sunset over the highlands.
🚶 Antigua Walking Tour with Elizabeth Bell
~2.5 hours · From $25 USD / person
A historian-led walk through Antigua’s baroque church ruins, the Santa Catalina Arch, and the central plaza, run by the same guide company that has led Antigua’s walking tours since the 1990s.
Antigua Tours by Elizabeth Bell · +502 7832-5821 · antiguatours.net
🌋 Pacaya Volcano Sunset Hike
~4–5 hours round-trip · From $30 USD / person
A guided hike up one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes, finishing on cooled lava fields as the sun drops behind Agua and Fuego — roasting marshmallows over volcanic heat vents is a standard stop.
OX Expeditions · +502 5364-5385 · oxexpeditions.com
🍽️ Dinner in Antigua
Est. $25–40 USD / person
On your own — ask the hotel for a table on a rooftop terrace with a volcano view for your second night.
Day 3
Coffee Finca Tour & Transfer to Lake Atitlán
A morning among the coffee terraces just outside Antigua, then a highland shuttle down to Lake Atitlán, the volcano-ringed crater lake Aldous Huxley called the most beautiful in the world.
☕ Filadelfia Coffee Resort & Tours
~2 hours · From $28 USD / person
A working coffee finca tour from bean to cup, walking the shaded terraces below Volcán de Agua before a tasting on the estate’s veranda.
Filadelfia Coffee Resort & Tours · +502 7728-0800 · filadelfiaresort.com
🚐 Shuttle — Antigua to Panajachel (Lake Atitlán)
~3 hours · From $20 USD / person, shared shuttle
A scenic climb over the highlands and down to the lakeshore, with the first view of Atitlán’s three volcanoes opening up at the Sololá overlook.
Atitrans · +502 7832-3371 · atitrans.net
🛎️ Overnight — Hotel Atitlán
From $130–160 USD / night, for 2 people
A lakefront hotel a short walk from Panajachel’s center, set in botanical gardens with volcano views from nearly every room and its own private dock.
Hotel Atitlán · +502 7762-1441 · hotelatitlan.com
Day 4
Lake Atitlán’s Volcano-Ringed Villages by Boat
A full day on the water, hopping between Maya villages around the lakeshore — a weaving cooperative, a Tz’utujil town still steeped in Maximón tradition, and time to browse San Pedro’s lakefront.
⛵ Private Lancha Charter — Panajachel Public Dock
~6 hours · From $70 USD per boat, up to 6 people
A private boatman chartered through the Panajachel boatmen’s cooperative at the public dock runs the full village circuit at your own pace, rather than the fixed public-lancha routes.
🧵 Casa Flor Ixcaco Weaving Cooperative, San Juan La Laguna
~1 hour · From $8 USD / person
A women-run cooperative demonstrating natural plant-based dyeing and backstrap-loom weaving, with textiles for sale made on site — San Juan is the lake’s best village for Maya textile traditions.
Casa Flor Ixcaco, San Juan La Laguna
🎭 Santiago Atitlán & the Maximón Shrine
~2 hours · Local guide fee/donation ~$10 USD per group
The largest Tz’utujil Maya town on the lake, reached only by boat or a long road detour, where a local guide leads you to that year’s house shrine of Maximón, the folk saint central to local religious life.
Day 5
Fly to Petén & Transfer to Tikal
A travel day linking the highlands to the jungle lowlands — a shuttle back to Guatemala City, a short flight north to Flores, and a transfer to a lodge inside Tikal National Park itself.
🚐 Shuttle — Panajachel to Guatemala City (GUA)
~3–3.5 hours · From $25 USD / person, shared shuttle
The return climb over the highlands to the capital, timed to connect with afternoon flights north to Petén.
Atitrans · +502 7832-3371 · atitrans.net
✈️ Flight — Guatemala City (GUA) to Flores (FRS)
~50 minutes · From $130 USD / person, one-way
A short domestic hop over the Petén jungle to Mundo Maya International Airport, the gateway to Tikal.
TAG Airlines · +502 2380-9494 · tag.com.gt
🛎️ Overnight — Jungle Lodge Tikal
From $140–170 USD / night, for 2 people
One of only three lodges inside Tikal National Park, a short walk from the ruins themselves through jungle grounds where howler monkeys and coatis are regular company.
Jungle Lodge Tikal · +502 2476-8775 · junglelodgetikal.com
Day 6
Sunrise Over Tikal, Transfer to Flores
A pre-dawn climb to watch the jungle canopy wake up from a Mayan temple, a guided walk through the plazas and pyramids of one of the Maya world’s greatest cities, then an easy afternoon on Flores island.
🎟️ Tikal National Park Entrance
Per person · Approx. Q150 (~$20 USD) day fee + Q100 (~$13 USD) sunrise supplement
Guatemala’s national park fee, payable at the gate; the sunrise supplement permits entry before the standard 6:00am opening.
🌄 Tikal Sunrise Tour with Martsam Travel
~6 hours · From $75 USD / person
A guide leads you in before dawn to a temple platform above the canopy for sunrise, then walks the Great Plaza, Temple I and Temple II, and the Lost World complex as the site’s howler and spider monkeys stir.
Martsam Travel · +502 7867-5093 · martsam.com
🛎️ Transfer & Overnight — La Casona del Lago, Flores
~1 hour transfer · From $110–140 USD / night, for 2 people
A lakefront hotel on Lake Petén Itzá a few minutes from Flores’ cobbled island town, a relaxed close to the day after an early start.
San Juan Travel (transfer) · +502 7867-5637 · sanjuantravelguatemala.com
Day 7
Depart from Flores
Last stretch of the trip — a short transfer to the airport for the flight back to Guatemala City and an international connection home.
🚕 Private Transfer — Flores Hotel to Mundo Maya Airport (FRS)
~15 minutes · From $10 USD / person
A quick hop across the causeway from Flores island to the airport — allow at least two hours before a domestic flight.
San Juan Travel · +502 7867-5637 · sanjuantravelguatemala.com
✈️ Flight — Flores (FRS) to Guatemala City (GUA)
~55 minutes · From $130 USD / person, one-way
Connects to same-day international departures from La Aurora — build in a minimum two-hour buffer for the international check-in.
TAG Airlines · +502 2380-9494 · tag.com.gt
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