After breakfast, travel through several communities surrounding Antigua with a local guide. The day brings together early colonial history, agriculture, textiles, and everyday life before returning to Antigua for an afternoon walk through the historic center.

San Juan del Obispo
Begin in this village on the lower slopes of Agua Volcano. Learn about its early colonial history and its connection with Bishop Francisco Marroquín, while taking in views across the Antigua Valley.

San Pedro Las Huertas
Continue to the central plaza and its historic public washbasins, which remain part of the community landscape. The visit offers a closer look at a town that developed alongside Antigua rather than as part of its historic center.

Ciudad Vieja
Visit the site of Guatemala’s former capital and learn about the events of 1541 that led to the relocation of the colonial capital to present-day Antigua.

Local Agriculture and Textiles
Stop at a small organic macadamia farm to learn about cultivation and local production. Later, visit the Chokojol Juyu Women’s Cooperative, where members demonstrate traditional textile techniques, including thread preparation and backstrap-loom weaving.

Enjoy a local lunch before continuing to San Antonio Aguas Calientes, a town known for its textile traditions and skilled weavers.

Afternoon Walking Tour of Antigua

Return to Antigua for a guided walk through the historic center. Visit selected churches, ruins, plazas, markets, galleries, and other places that help explain the city’s development and its role in Guatemala’s history.

The exact visits can be adjusted according to opening hours, local arrangements, and the interests of the travelers.

Overnight in Antigua Guatemala

Begin the day in the countryside near Antigua with a small-scale coffee experience on the slopes of Agua Volcano.

Coffee Growing and Local Production

Walk through the growing area with local hosts and learn how coffee is cultivated, harvested, processed, and prepared. When the season allows, the visit may include activities connected with the harvest.

Back at the community house, see traditional methods used to prepare the beans and enjoy freshly brewed local coffee. Lunch is served with the hosts before continuing the day.

El Pilar Nature Reserve

In the afternoon, visit El Pilar Nature Reserve, on the outskirts of Antigua. Walk through forest trails with a guide while looking for birds and learning about the vegetation and habitats found on the slopes above the Antigua Valley.

The visit finishes near the hummingbird feeders, where several species may be observed at close range. Bird activity varies naturally by season, weather, and time of day.

Return to Antigua in the afternoon.

Overnight in Antigua Guatemala

After breakfast, travel into the western highlands to Chichicastenango. This day is scheduled to coincide with one of the town’s principal market days, Thursday or Sunday.

Chichicastenango Market

Explore the market with a local guide as vendors from Chichicastenango and surrounding communities sell textiles, produce, flowers, household goods, crafts, and other everyday products.

Visit Santo Tomás Church, where Catholic observance and Maya religious practices can be seen within the same historic setting. Your guide will provide context for the town’s K’iche’ traditions, market life, and religious history.

There is also time to meet local artisans and look more closely at the textiles and crafts produced in the highlands.

Transfer to Lake Atitlán

After the visit, continue by private vehicle to Panajachel, on the shores of Lake Atitlán.

Settle into your hotel and enjoy the remainder of the afternoon or evening at leisure, with views across the lake toward the surrounding volcanoes.

Overnight in Panajachel

After breakfast, board a private boat for a full day exploring two Tz’utujil communities on Lake Atitlán: San Juan La Laguna and Santiago Atitlán.

San Juan La Laguna

Begin in San Juan La Laguna, known for its art, weaving, and community-based tourism projects. INGUAT’s current Sololá guide highlights the town’s galleries, artisan associations, and Tz’utujil cultural initiatives.

Visit selected workshops and associations to learn about textile production, natural dyes, painting, and other local crafts. Depending on the arrangements for your visit, the morning may also include a culinary experience with local hosts, focusing on ingredients and dishes prepared in the community.

Santiago Atitlán

Continue by boat to Santiago Atitlán, one of the principal Tz’utujil towns on the lake.

Visit the Church of Santiago Apóstol and, when appropriate, the current location of Maximón, a figure with an important place in local religious practice. The visit is interpreted with care and according to local arrangements, since this is a living spiritual tradition rather than a staged attraction. INGUAT identifies Maximón and Santiago Atitlán as important parts of the cultural landscape around Lake Atitlán.

Walk through the town and its artisan areas before returning to the dock.

Return to Panajachel

Travel back across Lake Atitlán by private boat and return to your hotel in Panajachel.

Overnight in Panajachel

After breakfast, leave Lake Atitlán and travel toward Iximché, near Tecpán Guatemala.

Iximché Archaeological Site

Explore the former Kaqchikel capital with a private guide. Iximché was established in the late 15th century and became the last capital of the Kaqchikel kingdom before the Spanish conquest. It also became the site of the first Spanish capital in Guatemala in 1524.

Walk through its plazas, temples, palaces, and ball courts while learning about the political history of the Kaqchikel people and the events surrounding the arrival of the Spanish.

Iximché also remains an important ceremonial place for Kaqchikel communities today, so the visit should distinguish clearly between the archaeological site and contemporary Maya spiritual practice.

At this point, the Guatemala highlights tour moves from the central highlands to the Maya lowlands of Petén.

Continue to Petén

After the visit, continue to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City for the domestic flight to Flores, Petén.

On arrival, meet your local driver and transfer to your hotel in the Flores or Lake Petén Itzá area.

Overnight in Flores / Petén

After breakfast, travel by private vehicle to Tikal National Park for a full-day guided visit.

Explore Tikal With a Specialist Guide

Walk through the site’s principal ceremonial and residential areas, including the Great Plaza, North Acropolis, Central Acropolis, Mundo Perdido, and selected temples according to the day’s route.

Your guide will explain how Tikal developed as one of the major Maya cities of the Classic period, while also placing the architecture, inscriptions, political history, and archaeological discoveries in context.

Travelers with a stronger interest in Maya history can also explore our Guatemala Archaeology Tours.

Archaeology Within the Forest

Tikal is also a protected tropical forest, so the visit naturally combines archaeology with the surrounding environment.

Howler and spider monkeys, coatis, Ocellated Turkeys, toucans, trogons, and other wildlife may be encountered along the trails, although sightings are never guaranteed.

The park currently opens for regular visits from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with separate arrangements for sunrise and sunset access. These details are confirmed again for the actual travel date.

After the visit, return to your hotel in Petén.

Overnight in Flores / Petén

After breakfast, travel to Yaxhá National Park, part of the Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo protected area in eastern Petén.

Explore Yaxhá

Walk through causeways, plazas, residential groups, and temple complexes with a specialist guide. Yaxhá developed as one of the important Maya cities of the central lowlands, and the site today sits within a protected landscape of forest, wetlands, and lakes. INGUAT describes the wider park as combining major archaeological cities with significant biological diversity and Ramsar-listed wetlands.

Compared with Tikal, Yaxhá offers a different sense of scale and setting. Views toward Yaxhá Lake and Sacnab Lagoon help explain how closely the ancient city was connected with its surrounding landscape.

Lunch and Flight to Guatemala City

After the visit, stop for lunch at a locally owned restaurant in Petén.

Continue to Mundo Maya International Airport for the domestic flight to Guatemala City. On arrival, meet your driver and transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Guatemala City

After breakfast, meet your private driver for the transfer to La Aurora International Airport.

The departure time will be planned according to your international flight schedule, allowing appropriate time for traffic, check-in, and airport procedures.

End of services

Yes. The itinerary is a starting framework. Travel dates, hotel category, pace, activities, and the time spent in each region can be adjusted before the final program is confirmed.

The route includes Antigua Guatemala, Chichicastenango, Lake Atitlán, Iximché, Tikal, and Yaxhá, with domestic flights connecting the highlands with Petén.

Nine days works well for travelers who want to combine the central highlands, Lake Atitlán, and Petén in one focused route. Longer trips allow more time in each region or the addition of other parts of Guatemala.

The activity level is moderate. The itinerary includes walking tours, archaeological sites, boat travel on Lake Atitlán, road transfers, and domestic flights. Daily walking can be adjusted according to the travelers.

Yes. The route can be arranged at Standard, Comfort, or Luxury level. The main differences are usually the selected hotels, room categories, transportation, guides, and additional private arrangements.