Adventures from Elle

Known as the Land of Eternal Spring thanks to its mild year-round climate, Guatemala is an exciting travel destination for thrill-seekers and history lovers. This Central American country is home to 37 volcanoes, one of the world’s most beautiful lakes and ancient ruins like Tikal, one of the largest Mayan cities ever uncovered. Antigua, Guatemala’s 500-year-old colonial city, is perfectly preserved in time with ancient architecture, cobblestone streets and courtyards. Guatemala has a lot to offer; one week isn’t enough time to see everything but you can visit quite a few spots if you plan properly. With that said, here’s how I spent 7 days in Guatemala and how much everything costed.

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My 7-Day Guatemala Itinerary

One week isn’t enough time to see everything Guatemala has to offer, but it will certainly scratch the surface. Here’s my itinerary which covers the best of Guatemala in 7 days.

• Day 1: Arrive in Guatemala City, travel to Antigua, explore the city on foot
• Day 2: Walk to Cerro de la Cruz, explore the city on foot some more
• Day 3: Hike from Acatenango trailhead to base camp
• Day 4: Hike to Acatenango peak, return to Antigua
• Day 5: Day trip to Lake Atitlan and its surrounding Maya villages
• Day 6: Visit Hobbitenango, National Museum of Guatemalan Art (MUNAG), Antigua Brewing Company for craft beer
• Day 7: Return flight home

You can take a guided walking tour to explore the best of Antigua, or wander at your own pace. The city is small with neat cobblestone roads arranged in a grid, so it’s easy to see all its interesting sites in a day or two. Places of interest include: the Santa Catalina Arch, La Merced Church, San Jose Cathedral, Convent of the Capuchins, Central Park and its mermaid fountain, the artisanal markets, Casa Santo Domingo and Jade Museum. Stop by Starbucks Antigua with its delightful courtyard, voted as the second most beautiful Starbucks in the world. Also, make the 25-minute stroll to Cerro de la Cruz for a beautiful view of the city and its three surrounding volcanoes: Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. In fact, once it’s clear enough, you can see Fuego spewing ash and smoke into the air every 15 to 30 minutes. Even better, Cerro de la Cruz is FREE and has picnic spaces, benches, restrooms and a playground for children.

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Pro Tip: Book travel insurance before your trip.

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I deliberately left my first two days in Antigua light so I could acclimate at 5,029 feet (1533m) above sea level, in preparation for my Acatenango hike. That hike was the hardest I’ve done to date as it features a 5,000 feet (1500m) elevation gain to reach the Peak at 0°C with thin air, so the risk of altitude sickness was high. Hiking to Acatenango was an unforgettable adventure but requires great physical shape, and takes two days– not great for travelers short on time. As such, consider these other trip ideas from Antigua:

• Pacaya Volcano, a less strenuous alternative to Acatenango
• Chichicastenango for its vibrant markets

If I had three more days in Guatemala, I would’ve spent a day exploring the capital Guatemala City and visited Tikal, one of the largest Mayan cities ever uncovered. It is located on the opposite end of the country and requires a domestic flight. But, I’m quite pleased with what I got up to in just one week. If you’d like, combine or substitute your visit to Hobbitenango for Altamira, another theme park in the hills surrounding Antigua with slightly different offerings.

My Guatemala Budget

Now, to the part you’ve all been waiting for– what one week in Guatemala costed!

If you read my Tulum itinerary & budget article, you’ll notice I spent less time but more money in Tulum, compared to Antigua. That’s because Guatemala is quite affordable to visit, and it’s not even the cheapest Latin American country. It costed US$134 to fly with Volaris from Cancun to Guatemala’s largest airport, La Aurora International Airport. I stayed at the Casa Mia Hotel which costed US$67 per night for two, and includes breakfast. This small boutique hotel is located inside a refurbished centuries-old building, so it came with a lot of quirks– but that added to the charm. Casa Mia felt like staying in a castle (see courtyard in cover photo), the breakfast options were excellent, and I appreciated the souvenir keychains at checkout. There are cheaper places to stay at in Antigua like hostels, but we value comfort and privacy. Casa Mia was a good mid-range option for us.

Now, let’s talk food. The cost of food in Antigua Guatemala is quite cheap; the average meal per person at local restaurants costs about US$8. Street food would be even cheaper. Most places we visited were within a 15-minute walking radius of the hotel, and our excursions to Acatenango, Hobbitenango and Lake Atitlan all included transport so we didn’t have any additional transportation costs. As such, a practical daily budget for Antigua, Guatemala is US$80 per day. I saved on excursions by partnering with GetYourGuide for my trip to Acatenango though, hence the asterisk next to activities. If you’re a travel content creator with over 3,000 Instagram or TikTok followers, I recommend signing up for free trips in exchange for content. They’ve now sponsored six excursions for me, with over US$500 in savings.

Wrap Up

Just like that, my Guatemalan and Mexican trip recap has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed reading these articles even half as much as I enjoyed writing them. These places made great impact on me; writing these posts help me to immortalize the details which will eventually fade from memory. Leave a comment to share your thoughts. And, if you’ve never used GetYourGuide, download the app then enter ADVENTURESFROMELLE5 to save 5% off your first excursion. 🙂

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:

• Peru Itinerary & Budget
• Tulum Itinerary & Budget
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• How to Save Money For Travel
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