Discovery getaways – Guatemala

Meals included: Breakfast at the hotel and lunch with a Maya family
Accommodation: Hotel (Panajachel – 2nd night)     

Lake Atitlán is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, as writer Aldous Huxley once said. Set at 1 500 m (4 900 ft) in the tropical zone, it lies within an ancient caldera surrounded by three towering volcanoes of over 3 000 m (9 840 ft).
A scenic boat crossing from north to south takes you between these majestic volcanic peaks to a quiet bay where, early in the morning, fishermen glide across the water in their traditional wooden boats.
In Santiago Atitlán, you’ll admire the intricate, colorful clothing of the Tz’utujil Maya. Women wear richly embroidered huipiles and long red headwraps known as tocoyales, while men sport white embroidered pants decorated with colorful birds. You’ll also visit Maximón, a contemporary Maya deity venerated in a small chapel maintained by his brotherhood. The rituals—filled with flowers, incense, candles, and offerings of alcohol—are a striking mix of ancient and modern devotion.
Continuing by boat, you’ll sail beneath the imposing slopes of San Pedro Volcano toward San Juan La Laguna, one of the loveliest villages on the lake. Here, women’s cooperatives preserve ancestral textile and dyeing traditions using local plants. You’ll share a traditional lunch with a Maya family, organized by a local ecotourism association.

Boat ride back to Panajachel on the northern shore.
Second overnight stay in Panajachel.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel (Guatemala City)

Morning departure for the highland village of Chichicastenango, steeped in Maya traditions. It was here that the Popol Vuh—one of the few surviving pre-Columbian texts and the sacred book of the Quiché Maya—was rediscovered.
Today, the town is best known for its incredibly colorful markets and fascinating scenes of religious syncretism that unfold daily in and around its 16th-century colonial church. The church was built on the foundations of an ancient Maya temple; its stairway has 18 steps, one for each month of the Maya solar calendar.
As you wander through the narrow streets, you’ll experience one of the most famous handicraft markets in the region—a vibrant explosion of color and life. Vendors sell textiles, masks, incense, fruit, silverwork, and carved wooden figures. Among the most prized items are embroidered huipiles (women’s blouses) and traditional dancer masks.
Just a ten-minute walk from the center lies the town’s colorful cemetery, where you may witness Maya families performing ancestral ceremonies to honor their ancestors. Nearby, the Pascual Abaj hill serves as a sacred site for rituals that blend ancient Maya beliefs with Catholic elements.

In the afternoon, transfer across the highlands via the Pan-American Highway, surrounded by dramatic volcanic landscapes.

     Overnight in a hotel located in Zone 10 of the capital.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel (Livingston)
Self-guided visit

Morning departure for Guatemala’s Caribbean region, leaving behind the volcanoes and high plateaus of the southwest. Traveling toward the lowlands, you’ll follow the Sierra de las Minas and the Motagua fault and river—geological reminders of the powerful tectonic forces that shaped Central America. Along the way, the landscape changes to dry forest filled with towering cactus and calabash trees.     

Stop to explore the archaeological site of Quiriguá, home to the tallest stelae ever found in the Maya world. Set within a pocket of tropical forest surrounded by vast banana plantations, this UNESCO World Heritage site is also rich in wildlife—you may spot toucans, parrots, and tropical trees draped in vines. During your visit, you’ll also get a glimpse of the banana cultivation systems that once shaped much of Guatemala’s 20th-century history. In the afternoon, continue to Puerto Barrios, the country’s former Atlantic port, where a local boatman will take you along the coast to the remote Caribbean village of Livingston. Isolated from the rest of the country, Livingston is home to the Garifuna, a people of Afro-Caribbean and indigenous descent who live along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Their culture—rich in music, dance, and language—was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.      

Overnight stay in the village of Livingston.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: Lodge (Tikal National Park) 

After breakfast, enjoy a motorboat excursion along the calm waters of the Río Dulce, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. With its dramatic gorges and thick jungle, the river’s banks are home to several protected natural reserves: towering cliffs, bird islands, and mangroves where pirates once hid to attack treasure-laden ships bound for Spain. Monkeys, anteaters, toucans, coatis, iguanas, manatees, pelicans, egrets, and herons all inhabit this rich natural environment. Halfway through the trip, visit the Maya village association Ak Tenamit to learn about the rainforest ecosystem and the traditional crafts of the Kekchi Maya community, accessible via a small tributary of the river. The Río Dulce, gateway to the Caribbean and the country’s largest river, connects the Caribbean Sea to Lake Izabal—the largest lake in Guatemala (590 km² / 228 sq mi). Together, the river and the lake form one of the main waterways of eastern Guatemala, channeling rainfall from the highlands all the way to the Atlantic. At the end of the excursion, enjoy a self-guided visit of the small San Felipe fortress, built by the Spanish to protect their lakeside warehouses from pirates and privateers. Today, the picturesque fort stands as one of the region’s most iconic landmarks.

In the afternoon, continue north through the Petén region to reach Tikal National Park. The last area of the country to be resettled, Petén was once one of the most important centers of Maya civilization. Recent lidar research has revealed that several million Mayas lived in this fragile environment for nearly 18 centuries.

Overnight in a lodge inside the national park, just steps from the archaeological site—an ideal location to soak up the magic of Tikal. At dawn and dusk, coatis, ocellated turkeys, and agoutis often wander near the lodges, making for easy wildlife observation.

Note: It is possible to enter the archaeological site for sunset or sunrise. Please contact us for details.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel (Guatemala City)
Guided visit in English included: Archaeological site and Tikal National Park
Flight Flores – Guatemala City included

Explore Tikal with a English-speaking specialist guide. Tikal National Park is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage sites listed for both its cultural and natural value—celebrated for its extraordinary biodiversity and its archaeological significance. This former ceremonial center, inhabited mainly from the 9th century BC to the 9th century AD, lies at the heart of a 576 km² (222 sq mi) tropical forest reserve.            ²   

With its towering pyramids—the Temple IV alone rises over 70 m (230 ft)—Tikal is the most impressive Maya site in Guatemala, and perhaps in the entire Maya world. During the pre-Columbian period, the political, economic, and cultural influence of this vast metropolis extended as far as the Mexican highlands. Your guide will also help you discover the park’s diverse fauna and flora: monkeys, anteaters, more than 300 bird species, as well as deer and coatis inhabit these protected ecosystems. Over 200 species of tropical trees have been identified within the reserve.
In the mid-afternoon, transfer to Flores Airport for the short flight (45 minutes) to Guatemala City.

Overnight in a hotel located in Zone 10 of the capital.     

Meals included: Breakfast

Short transfer to Guatemala City Airport for your international departure (check-in three hours before the flight). Depending on your flight schedule, you may visit the city’s main museums (upon request). In that case, we recommend choosing flights departing in the mid- or late afternoon.