My last journey to Central America had been in 2018, and I was anxious to get back, so at the start of 2022 when I had $400 flight credit that needed to be used ASAP before expiring I had two options, Guatemala, or Bismarc, North Dakota, the choice was easy... Although I do have plans for North Dakota in the next few years! But for now... I was on a time crunch and with a small window to fly a small country like Guatemala would be the perfect fit.
Of course like any place I wish I could have stayed longer but at the same time if you have less than a week like I did, Guatemala is a great place for a quick holiday adventure. Here's how I split up my five days there as well as my general travel tips.
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| Earth Lodge Guatemala |
Day 1: Often times coming from the USA on an international flight day 1 may be lost to jet lag or travel time, but the flight was one connection and I landed at 2pm with plenty of time to enjoy the day. A google search of things to do in Guatemala brought up a random thing, "Sleep In A Tree House". This is where I found Earth Lodge! This was a fantastic Ewok like village north of Antigua that I decided had to be part of my stay! They arranged a driver for me and I arrived in time to do some nice nature walks and chill that night at the lodge eating food from the restaurant overlooking the beautiful valley below. I also used this time to read a Spanish Book on the hammock. It was my goal to do a whole book in Spanish in the time there but the relaxation and view took away from the pages a bit.
Day 2:I started the morning with some local breakfast and same breathtaking views...
Then it was time to head to Antigua. I had already heard quite a few good things about this small town before even planning the trip, and it did not disappoint. In the first day I hit The Hotel Casa Domingo (also a multi layer museum), the central park, Cathedral de Santiago, The San Francisco Church, learned to make chocolate from scratch, and of course the Santa Catalina Arch.
Day 3:The Acatenango Volcano hike! This was the main event of the trip and did not disappoint! My tour group picked me up at 7am ish and we headed to pretty much someone's house for breakfast. I work in a city where mountain rescues are extremely common so to not be part of this equation I brought a lot of water, probably too much for my hike, but luckily I was able to sneak away from the group often for random bathroom breaks, but that being said, better to have and not need than to need and not have. We stayed in a camp site the first night watching the adjacent Volcan de Fuego erupt fairly often, a magical and breathtaking spectacle, but also hard to sleep that night with the constant explosions!
Day 4:We woke up at 4am for a sunrise hike, out of the 13 people in my group only five of us made it to the summit, this is not Mount Everst, but not a very easy hike either. But of course well worth it.
- Uber is the standard down there now, great for avoiding the hassle of taxis if you don't have a pre-arranged ride
- I loved Earth Lodge and highly recommend it
- I went with Airbnb for Antigua which was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than almost all hotels. Look for a unit close to the park as that is a great launching location to explore the small town.
- And a small town it is, I had about 2.5 days total in Antigua but in a real time crunch you could enjoy it in one.
- There are cafe's everywhere! Maybe the most I have seen in all my travels, and none disappointed!
- Acatenango is no easy hike, make sure you are fit for it, like I said more than half my group didn't make it to the summit. Wear great shoes, but know they are going to get dirty! Hiking poles highly recommended and warm wear mandatory.
- Night temps and early morning temps are freezing or below, I went to bed with coat, hat, gloves, etc. It's cold!
- Most hikes will break it up into two days and the second day is the harder even though it's shorter, you are climbing on gravel almost the whole time and it feels like every step up you are sliding two steps down but keep strong and going!
- Water, flash light, warm clothes, change of underwear (I kept same dirty clothes on for two days, the clothes didn't bother me but underwear did), appropriate charging devices for camera, I barely took pics the first day just in case to save battery. Then of course snacks and normal things you personally need to hike.
- Have a roof top drink somewhere, I chose Roof Top Antigua but there's a few others throughout the city.
- The Santa Domingo hotel/museum, is big. I spent about an hour there, but you may be able to spend several if you want to enjoy it more. There is an art museum, old tombs, an onsite home made chocolate shop, restaurants, bars, etc. All other spots mentioned can be visited quickly but fun.
- US dollars are accepted but change will be in Quetzales, so plan appropriately.
- Guatemala is a budget traveler's paradise. My 2 day volcano hike was only $90, and that included 2 fully home cooked meals, a to go lunch, and snacks on the return. A beer is maybe a $1, same for a great cappuccino. My high priced dinners were around $15-$20 including alcohol or dessert. And last but not least, my two bedroom Airbnb was only $40 or so a night. Since the flight was free from credit, the whole flight/hotel package was less than one night in Maui where we had recently visited.
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| Good Morning Acatenango! |
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