Lake Atitlan, Guatemala Travel Guide
- Alliey Kutynec
- Apr 25, 2022
- 5 min read
Lake Atitlan has been growing and becoming a travellers must-see destination when coming to Guatemala. It is located just a few hours out of the capital city and just a great place to explore from nature reserves, hiking, coffee plantations, mayan culture and local markets. Before visiting the lake I had talked about it with a few travellers who have already been, each person comes to the lake for different reasons such as heading to a retreat, Spanish school and home stay, or volunteer opportunities. I knew coming to the lake would offer a lot of opportunity and it would never be boring.
As I was sitting in enjoying a caramel latte, a lady from another table looked at me and said "this lake is a magical place, it does these things where it never wants you to leave".
I knew right there that this was going to be an amazing place to explore.
How I ended up here:
We had met a Canadian Family in our travels through Mexico, they had invited us to come hangout and volunteer for their project they are building to help the local community. We had stayed almost 90 days, and got to know the local market lady, our favourite restaurants and cafes and also our local juice lady. It was a great journey to be able to cross paths and be surrounded by like minded people, and experience a great opportunity to help the locals of San Juan.
This is what we experienced and recommend for travels around Lake Atitlan:
San Pedro La Laguna
This town is located on the far west side of the lake, it is known for nightlife and a backpacker destination. There is plenty of accommodation available from all price ranges, and restaurants scattered around town. The market is in the heart of town located next the church and the chicken bus station. Big market days are on Wednesday's and Sundays from 9am- 12pm; this is where you'll find all your vegetable, fruits, cooking spices, souvenirs and household items. On the downtown Main Street you'll find the ATM's, coffee shops, restaurants, travel agencies and your laundry services.
Recommended Cafes:
Tornado Cafe
This is my favourite place in San Pedro for coffee! We found it by going through the back alleys, back roads and it led us to this hidden gem. The coffee shop has a mini court yard in the back with lots of plants and flowers that give you a green house vibe. It is very quiet most of the time; a great place to read a book or do some online work. Alex is the owner of the cafe; he is very nice, loves to sit down and have a convo and if your'e lucky brings out his guitar for a little jam sesh. They are open all day from 7:30 - 9:30 pm, and they also do excursion tours around the lake and shuttles to other Guatemala destinations.
This is another hidden instagram worthy place to visit, if your down for a walk around the out skirts of town it is located just south west. It is a tiny cafe with a few tables and chairs, but has lots to chose for on the menu including food.
This cafe is on your way to the Santiago Dock, It is on the south west side of town. It has a pool, breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Although It can be very windy, it a nice place to sit down and have a coffee on that side of town.
Recommended Restaurants:
They have two locations in town on either side, one on the main street dock area and on up by Don Diego and Tornado Coffee on your way to the Santiago dock. They have so much to pick from on the menu, vegan and vegetarian options.
Recommended Stays:
This is an 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom and a fully stocked kitchen airbnb style community stay. It is owned by a Canadian family that live in San Juan. They host a community night on Wednesdays and Friday evenings with locals and travellers that they have met in the area. It is well located on the edge of San Pedro, just a couple steps away from the downtown dock area and an easy tuk tuk to the next town San Juan. Only costs 5Q.
Hikes
Each town around the lake has a nice nature hike whether its walking along the lake, up a volcano or through the forest. San Pedro sits at the bottom of 'San Pedro Volcan'.
Recommended Hikes :
This hike is on the all trails website. It can be done in 6 hours in one day or doing an overnight hike with tenting on the top. There are plenty of travel agencies that offer this hike, but I would recommend taking a tuk tuk to the trail head, and paying the fee there. It has just been confirmed that is safe to climb this volcano without a guide. The fee ranges 50-150Q each. Make sure you leave valuables at the hotel; it is known that there are locals robbing tourists on this hike.
Travel Agencies
San Pedro has plenty of travel agencies to pick from, they are located down town by the dock and has all the destinations you are looking for. Everybody is very nice and ready to help you for your tour needs.
Recommended Agencies:
This agency is one of the most popular in San Pedro. They are super nice and there prices are alright
This is a local company located in San Pedro. Their prices are decent. They offer local tours around Lake Atitlan such as Coffee Plantations.
Getting Here & Away
When I was looking for a travel guide for Lake Atitlan, I couldn't find the local bus schedules and nothing was clear on transportation to and from the lake. One of my favourite ways to transport is by local buses and collectivo's. They are always cheaper and much more of an adventure. Here is various of different ways to get here and from the lake with more of a clear description:
Recommended Transport:
Tuk Tuk - Around San Pedro
San Pedro has their own tuk tuk's which are red with blue top cover, they cost only 5q pp anywhere around town. The locals that drive these will sometimes make you pay the "gringo" price which is 10q pp. The tuk tuk only go to the centre of San Juan.
Tuk Tuk - To San Juan
Sometimes in San Pedro you will see red tuk tuk's with a green cover, which is a San Juan tuk tuk. They are located by the centre (the square) and will take you to anywhere in San Juan for 5q pp. Be careful for the "gringo" prices.
Tuk Tuk - To San Pablo Via San Marcos
If your headed to San Marcos and you don't want to take the boat, they are located at the edge of San Pedro by the gate coming in from San Juan. The cost is 10q pp and takes you any where in San Pablo and to San Marcos.
Boat - Around the Lake (San Juan, San Marcos, Santiago, Panajachel & ect.)
San Pedro has three docks, one located on the far end (Santiago Dock), one downtown and one on the edge of town. The locals are super friendly and will help you where ever you need to go. If headed to San Juan, it only costs 5q, San Marcos is 10q, Panajachel is 25q and Santiago is around 20q. The boat leaves every 15 - 30 min depending on where you are going and stops going at 5:30pm before sun down. Must thing to do: visit the towns around the lake.
Chicken Bus - To & From Guatemala City
One of my favourite ways to get around Latin America. The experience is unreal and very adventurous, it opens your eyes to culture and how locals get around.
From Guatemala City (from 2am to 2pm) there is a couple of buses that go direct to San Pedro La Laguna (the front of the bus has the destinations), or you can take the bus that has Guate - Xela or any bus headed towards the Lake such as Chichiastenango; ask the bus driver to drop you off either in Panajachel and take the boat across or the highway turn off down to San Pablo/San Pedro and catch the bus going down which comes every 45min to an hour (40q pp).
Direct from Guate-San Pedro La Laguna should cost 60Q but price varies if your a tourist.
*note: if getting dropped off on the side of the highway to go down the lake, the last bus passes at 9pm, if this happens ask a local truck passing by
From San Pedro Square; take either the Guatemala City bus that will take you directly there (60q pp), or you can take the Xela up to the highway drop off and grab a bus headed to Guatemala City (40q pp). Leaves on the hour from 8am - 2pm.
Chicken Bus - To & From Xela
If heading to Xela, you can grab any of the buses that leave on the hour at the square. They leave on the hour, either heading to Guate, Chichi or Xela (Quetzeltango). It should cost from around 60Q - 80Q to get to Xela depending on how many bus transfers.
Shuttles - To anywhere in Guatemala
Downtown San Pedro has all your travel agencies, the most popular is Mayan Travel Agency. They seem to have the most available. I would recommend hitting up Tornado Excursions; locally owned and family run. They have a welcoming service.
Some Tips
There is nothing better then some local tips on saving money or watching out for scams.
Laundry
It is super expensive to do laundry in San Pedro. To wash our whole bag of clothes would roughly cost us 75q each, which is around 12.5 cad and would cost 150q for a garbage bag full of clothes. It cost 5q a pound which Is a lot.
Note: if you have a budget, and you don't want to spend that on laundry, take a tuk tuk to San Juan and they do a garbage bag for around 50q.
Walking at Night
Walking at night can be scary especially alone. Don't worry about the locals doing anything just worry about the homeless dogs, they seem to be really evil when it turns dark and might attack you in a gang of dogs.
ATM
San Pedro has lots of arms scattered around town, the atm fee is fairly high around the lake (45q withdraw fee) and the max is 4000q a day. Would recommend coming to the lake with cash.
San Juan La Laguna
San Juan is super special, it doesn't have a tourist/backpacker vibe what so ever. It has a a mayan culture experience, there is chocolate factories, mayan souvenirs stores and great Guatemalan street food. Towards the dock you will find the roads painted the San Juan colours, hanging hat lights above and souvenir stores that have the local print from outfits to pillows.
Cafes, Restaurants, & Stays
San Juan has lots of local cafes and restaurants and very few accommodation. When spending time in this town I loved to visit these gems. They add a special touch to San Juan.
Our friends raved to us about how great Marias coffee was and we had jump on the bangwagon. Her coffee is very good and made with love. They had built a friendship with Maria and learned about her story on how Las Marias started. The cafe is built on stilts, faces the lake with windows that open that let in a lake side breeze. The view is great. Not only is the coffee great but the menu has breakfast, lunch and dinner options and they are freshly made with local ingredients. Click on the link to find her location as she is hard to find.
This cafe is located down by the dock on the left hand side. It is pretty big and hard to miss. They know how to make a great ice latte on a hot day. They also have a breakfast and lunch menu. Nice place to stop if by the dock area.
This hotel is very clean and easily to find in San Juan. It is just a block away from the main road. It has a restaurant that has a good menu.
Hikes
San Juan has the most popular hike Indian Nose and the Mirador.
*Note: if staying in San Pedro and not booking with a tour agency you can connect with a tuk tuk driver to pick you up early and take you directly to the hike trail head as walking from San Pedro is not permitted.
This hike is located on the edge of San Juan coming from San Pablo. It is on the same trail up to the Mirador that overlooks the lake. Lots of tour agencies from San Pedro comes up here for the sunrise tour but they don't actually hike up to the top, you pay 150q to get a shuttle to the top. If you like to hike and want to hike up, it costs 50q pp to climb to the desired nose (top). The hike isn't hard and it is very safe to do it as smaller group.
This is one of the most popular must things to do in San Juan, as you look up the the Indian Nose you will see the Mirador. It is best to head up here to watch the sunrise before the Mirador opens so you don't have to pay the fee. After it opens they charge a fee to overlook the lake on the Mirador.
Volunteering
There if plenty of volunteering around the lake on workaways, and the local Facebook page.
In 'how I ended up here' section; I had mentioned I had met an Canadian family that has started a organisation to help reduce plastic, uses of plastic and had started a kids club for local community. Their goal is to help kids understand and process of using plastic and where it goes, but also exploring the reuses of it into making beautiful art. They spend one hour every Saturday with the kids club and pick up the garbage on the local beach near. If looking for a place to volunteer, please visit their website and contact Owen. They are always looking for volunteers to help with kids club and to spread the word of the organisation.
San Marcos La Laguna
This town is known for the Vegan/vegetarian culture, the spiritual wanders and the yoga retreats. it also has a wonderful view of volcano San Pedro, and has the best sunsets. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits and has about 5 different health food stores for clean eating. You can get a locally fresh juice just off the dock and explore all the hippy vibe shops with natural made cosmetics and baked foods. It is a very special place on the lake.
I didn't spend more then the day here, but there is plenty of restaurants, and accommodation.
Recommended things to do:
Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve
This place has a diving and jumping platform, it faces volcano San Pedro and has a chill area to hang out for the day. There is a fee of 15Q pp.
Santiago Atitlan
Most people head here for the day or stay at a nice airbnb on the lake side, the town is pretty big and has lots to see. You can either take the chicken bus here from San Pedro or take the boat across. The boat ride is very beautiful it follows the lake shore around volcano San Pedro, you will see hidden air bnbs that are only accessible by boat. When you get off the boat there is your local souvenir market, they sell clothes in Santiago colour such as hoodies, pant suits and shirts. As you head up the hill there is local restaurants, cafes and stores, if you are there on a Sunday; there is big market that fills the streets with local fruit, vegetable stands, and Pacas. There is plenty of tuktuks that will offer you tours of the town for a few hours for 100Q and it takes you the the church, a monument and the market.
Note: Most people speak english, Tz' utuzjil and Spanish.
Things to do
Santiago has plenty of things to do to fill your time, there is paddle board rentals, kayak and hiking trails if into nature. Also there is quite a few coffee shops and shopping. The view of the volcanos from Santiago is stunning whether its below or up high, it is a great place to relax and take some photos.
Recommended to do:
This hike is on all trails and highly recommend to do. If doing it as small group or individual make sure you check with the locals to see if its safe to do so as there is crime on the top of the volcano that demand money.
This hike is 11 km and takes about 6 hours to complete. Also with this hike I would recommend checking with locals to see if its safe to hike without a tour guide.
Bird & Nature Tours
There is local agencies around Santiago that have the option of doing bird tours. As it's more of lush part of the lake there is lots of birds including the national bir the Quetzal.
How to get here & away
Locals are super helpful when your looking for your next destination. They are very motivate for their community to make a buck. They will find you the best agency or shuttle to your destination. Don't be afraid to ask them.
Chicken Bus - Via Guatemala City
There is a bus that heads to the capital, it costs (40Q) and takes around 4 hours.
It leaves every half hour from 3am - 6am and on the hour until 3pm. The bus station is located up by the church and plaza.
Shuttle - Via El Pardon
Tourist shuttles head to the beach during the weekdays and cost 150Q
Boat - Via Panajachel
There are plenty of boats that head this way for 25Q only takes 30min direct.
Boat - Via San Pedro La Laguna
Not as many boats head to San Pedro as Panajachel, but they do leave every 15min- 3o min. It should only cost 25Q pp.
Panajachel
"Pana" is what the locals call It. This town has the best view for sunsets and the view of the volcanos on the lake. The population of the lake is around 15,000 which is the largest community around the lake. The main road has a market that follow on both sides of it, there is local restaurants, cafes, travel agencies and crafts. There is plenty of wall paintings and murals, the fruit tress add a special touch to it and makes it instagram worthy.
I had spend only a few hours here, but I did personally find that It can be very crowded and busy. I found that the towns were more enjoyable around the lake.
Recommended things to do:
This cafe is located on the Main Street on Panajachel. It is Korean owned and has a wonderful coffee menu. Stop here and enjoy a nice vanilla iced latte or any of your coffee needs.
We had spent the afternoon here, and it was wonderful to connect with nature. They have a butterfly sanctuary and a couple of travels that lead to a waterfall and suspension bridges. It costs roughly 50Q pp to get in; it is so worth it. Take a taxi, tuk tuk or collectivo to get here.
How to get here & away
Note* there is two docks; one that goes to Santiago and one that heads around the lake to San Pedro, San Marcos, Santa Cruz, and San Juan.
Boat via Santiago
This boat goes direct and costs 25Q.
It is located at the public beach and leaves every half hour.
Boat Via San Pedro, San Marcos, San Juan, and Others
There is a direct boat that heads to San Pedro for 25Q and takes around 25 min. If your wanting the full experience, time or headed to another town it will take up to an hour depending on the distsance and will be cheaper depending how close from Panajachel. They leave every 15 - 30 min depending.
Chicken Bus - To & From
If coming from a destination in Guatemala on a chicken bus, tell he bus driver where you are going they will help you get to Panajachel. They will drop you off in the centre, where the chicken buses are parked and taxis.
If headed away from Panajachel they will be parked at the Centro and get on a bus that's headed the same direction as where your going and tell the bus driver the destination.
Shuttles - To & From
Most shuttle companies will drop you off either at the centre of town, at the dock or at your accommodation.
If staying on the lake, in San Pedro or San Marcos they will have a scheduled shuttle to pick you up at the dock when coming from across the lake. Most shuttle companies prefer to pick you up in Panajachel then San Pedro, but there is options of shuttle there.
Check out my photos below
Thanks for checking out my blog and my experiences in Lake Atitlan.
Cheers,
Alliey
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