MAYA · ANTIGUA · VOLCANOES
Guatemala Holidays
Mayan Ruins, Volcanoes & Highland Lakes
WHAT TO SEE
Guatemala highlights
Tikal
Climb Temple IV at Tikal and look out over the jungle canopy at sunrise
Antigua
Walk the cobblestoned streets and ruined convents of colonial Antigua Guatemala
Volcán de Fuego
Watch Volcan Fuego erupt at night from a camp on neighbouring Acatenango
Lake Atitlán
Take a water taxi across Lake Atitlan to traditional Maya villages and textile markets
The Santa Catalina Arch
Photograph the Arco de Santa Catalina with Volcan de Agua framed behind it
Sunrise at Indian Nose
Hike Indian Nose at dawn for a panoramic sunrise over the lake and three volcanoes
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When to go
The best time to visit Guatemala
November to April
The dry season and the best time for most of Guatemala. Clear skies, 20 to 25°C in the highlands and better roads.
May to October
The wet season. Afternoon showers, but mornings are usually clear, prices drop and the land turns green.
All year
Lake Atitlán is pleasant in every month. Tikal is hot and humid all year, and driest from December to April.
Where to go
The best places to visit in Guatemala
Guatemala is Central America at its most authentic. The country has more Mayan ruins than almost anywhere else, a colonial city that stopped in time after an earthquake 250 years ago, and a volcanic lake so beautiful that Aldous Huxley once said it surpassed Lake Como. It is also one of the most culturally alive places in the Americas. More than half the population is indigenous Maya, and traditional dress, markets, and ceremonies are part of daily life, not tourist performances. The landscape is dramatic: 37 volcanoes (three of them active), cloud forests, jungle-covered lowlands, and Pacific and Caribbean coastlines. Guatemala is not always easy travel, and that is part of what makes it so rewarding. The infrastructure is basic in places, but the people are welcoming and the experiences feel genuinely undiscovered.
Holidays to Guatemala from the UK, built around your dates. We book your flights with the trip, so the whole holiday is ATOL protected. Our Mayan Highlands and Tikal holiday takes twelve days from colonial Antigua and the Acatenango volcano to Lake Atitlán, the Chichicastenango market, the pools of Semuc Champey and sunrise at Tikal, from £2,399 per person with flights from London. If you would like it slower, more comfortable or combined with Belize, tell us what you have in mind and we will build it with you.
COLONIAL TIME CAPSULE
A city frozen in time
Antigua Guatemala is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas. It was the capital of Spain's Central American territories from 1543 until the devastating earthquake of 1773, rather than rebuild, the Spanish moved the capital to present-day Guatemala City and left Antigua as a time capsule. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of cobbled streets, ruined convents and Baroque facades framed by three volcanoes.
The Arco de Santa Catalina, a yellow arch with Volcán de Agua visible through it, is one of the most photographed sights in Central America. The roofless Cathedral is open to the sky, its moss-covered walls genuinely haunting, while Convento de las Capuchinas and Casa Santo Domingo have become museums and gardens.
The town is small enough to walk in a day, but its restaurants, rooftop cafés and craft markets reward a slower stay, and it makes the obvious, comfortable base for climbing a volcano or two.
ANCIENT MAYA
Temples above the canopy
Tikal is the largest excavated Maya city and one of the most powerful city-states of the ancient world, set deep in the Petén jungle of northern Guatemala amid forest alive with howler monkeys, toucans and coatis. At its 8th-century peak it held around 100,000 people across more than sixteen square kilometres.
The ruins are immense. Temple IV, over 70 metres tall, looks out across the canopy with the crowns of other temples breaking through the trees; the Great Plaza is flanked by facing pyramids and lined with carved stelae recording the city's history. More than 3,000 structures stand here, only a fraction fully excavated, and a sunrise tour lets you watch the forest wake around them.
Most visitors base themselves in Flores, a small island town on Lake Petén Itzá with a charming, laid-back old quarter a short flight from Guatemala City.
HIGHLAND LAKE
Three volcanoes, a dozen villages
Lake Atitlán fills a volcanic caldera in the western highlands, ringed by three volcanoes and a dozen small towns, deep blue water, misty mornings and light that shifts all day. Aldous Huxley thought it surpassed Lake Como, and each lakeside village has kept its own distinct character.
Panajachel is the main hub, its market street stacked with textiles; water taxis cross to San Pedro la Laguna, a relaxed travellers' favourite, and to Santiago Atitlán, a traditional Tz'utujil Maya town where many women still weave and wear embroidered huipiles, and where a shrine to the folk saint Maximón receives offerings of cigarettes and rum.
Hike Indian Nose at dawn for a panorama over the lake and all three volcanoes, then fill the days with kayaking, paddleboarding and village-hopping by boat. This is Maya highland culture as daily life, not performance.
BETWEEN PLACES
Fire and water
Three Guatemalas, one trip
Colonial Antigua, the highland lake at Atitlán, and the jungle temples of Tikal feel like three different countries, and Guatemala is compact enough to weave all three into one journey. We'll build the route, pace and hotels around your dates, tailor-made, ATOL protected, with a specialist who has actually been there.
Before you book
Your Guatemala holiday questions
UK citizens do not need a visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your entry date. You may be asked to show proof of onward travel. No vaccinations are compulsory for entry, but Hepatitis A, typhoid, and rabies vaccines are recommended. Check FCDO advice before travelling.
The dry season from November to April is the best time for most of Guatemala. Skies are clear, temperatures are comfortable in the highlands (20 to 25 degrees Celsius), and roads are in better condition. The wet season from May to October brings afternoon rain showers, but mornings are usually clear, prices drop, and the landscape turns lush green. Tikal in the Peten lowlands is hot and humid year-round, with the driest months from December to April. Lake Atitlan is pleasant all year but can be misty in the mornings during the wet season.
The currency is the Guatemalan Quetzal (GTQ). ATMs are available in towns and cities. Credit cards are accepted at hotels and restaurants in tourist areas, but cash is essential for markets, village shops, and smaller towns. US Dollars are sometimes accepted in tourist zones but not universally.
There are no direct flights from the UK to Guatemala. The most common connections route through Madrid (Iberia), Houston (United), or Mexico City (Aeromexico), with a total travel time of 12 to 15 hours including the stopover. Flights arrive at La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City. From the airport, shuttles to Antigua take about an hour and cost around 20 to 30 GBP. Domestic flights to Flores (for Tikal) take about an hour.
Guatemala requires standard tropical travel precautions. Drink bottled water everywhere. Malaria risk is low in the highlands and Antigua but higher in the Peten lowlands around Tikal, where DEET-based repellent and possibly prophylaxis are recommended. Altitude around Lake Atitlan (1,560 metres) can cause mild symptoms in some people. Antigua, Tikal, and Lake Atitlan are well-established tourist areas and safe with normal precautions. Use hotel safes, take registered transport, and avoid travelling between towns after dark. Travel insurance is essential.
Tourist shuttles are the most practical and comfortable option for the main routes (Antigua to Lake Atitlan, Antigua to Guatemala City airport, etc.) and cost 15 to 40 GBP per trip. Domestic flights from Guatemala City to Flores cut a 10-hour bus journey to one hour. On Lake Atitlan, public water taxis connect the lakeside towns for a few quetzales. Colourful chicken buses are slow and crowded. Taxis and Uber work in Guatemala City. Rental cars are possible but road conditions and driving standards vary widely.
Our twelve-day Mayan Highlands and Tikal holiday starts from £2,399 per person, including return flights from London and the guided visits in the itinerary. A tailor-made trip is priced around your dates, your hotels and how many of you are travelling. Easter week in Antigua and Christmas are the busiest and most expensive times to travel.
Ten days covers Antigua, Lake Atitlán and Tikal, the core of most first visits. Twelve days, as on our Mayan Highlands and Tikal holiday, adds the Acatenango volcano trek, the market at Chichicastenango and the pools of Semuc Champey. Two weeks lets you add a few days on the Belize cayes.
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Plan your tailor-made Guatemala trip
Tell us when you want to travel, who with, and roughly what budget you have in mind. A Latin America specialist replies within one working day with a bespoke proposal.
Plan a tailor-made Guatemala trip