North AmericaGuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is thirty-seven volcanoes, a Maya majority in the highlands whose dress and language are lived rather than preserved, and the jungle cities of the Petén, done as a circuit of Antigua, the lake and Tikal with the capital left the same day. Two to three weeks, November to April, tourist shuttles between the four stops, and the Acatenango overnight as the reason many people come at all.
GuatemalaGuatemala in a nutshell
Where to go in Guatemala
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Plan your adventure in Guatemala
Our travel routes through Guatemala
Guatemala is loved by culture seekers and backpackers alike. We recommend several routes through this country, here they are in full!
6 nights1 week, the short version
Antigua Guatemala · Lake Atitlan
Antigua and Lake Atitlán are the two anchors worth a week on their own; adding Tikal only fits by flying to Flores rather than driving.
13 nights2 weeks, the standard circuit
Antigua Guatemala · Lake Atitlan · Semuc Champey
Antigua, Atitlán, Semuc Champey and Flores is close to what our own data shows people actually plan, using day trips for the Acatenango overnight and Tikal instead of added nights, the one difference being that almost nobody sleeps in the capital.
18 nights3 weeks, adding the coast and the Caribbean
Antigua Guatemala · Lake Atitlan · Quetzaltenango
Adding Quetzaltenango's highlands and Livingston's Caribbean coast to the standard circuit is the extra week it takes to see Guatemala beyond the Antigua–Atitlán–Flores loop.
Updated September 2026 · 14 min read · Written by the Stippl editorsWe looked at how travellers actually plan Guatemala on Stippl, across 52,000+ planned stops in Guatemala.
Guatemala is a four-stop circuit, and the four stops take most of the plans. Antigua, the lake, Flores and the capital carry 60.4% of every Guatemalan stop planned on Stippl, and the named things are the Acatenango overnight to watch Fuego erupt on the next peak, Tikal at sunrise with the howler monkeys starting in the dark, boat-hopping the lake's villages by lancha, Chichicastenango market on a Thursday or Sunday, the turquoise pools of Semuc Champey, and Semana Santa in Antigua with sawdust carpets laid for the processions.
Guatemala is one country on a long Central American run, and a dry-season one. The typical trip carrying it visits 5 countries and only 13.3% of those trips are Guatemala alone, 60.5% of them start between November and April, and most stops get two nights, with the lake and Antigua taking three and the capital taking none.
So give the circuit two weeks and three with the coast or the Caribbean, land in the dry season, take the airport shuttle straight to Antigua, book the Acatenango overnight with a guided group, and fly to Flores rather than driving. Skip the capital beyond an airport night, skip the Pacific for a beach holiday, since it is black sand and rip currents, and skip photographing anyone in a highland village without asking, because it is the most-repeated etiquette point in the country.
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Download the appWho Guatemala is for
Adventure travellers
An overnight climb to watch an active volcano erupt below you is not a metaphor here, it is a standard two-day trip from Antigua.
History travellers
Tikal, Yaxhá and a dozen lesser Maya cities in jungle that has not been cleared around them.
Budget travellers
One of the cheapest countries in the Americas, and about €45 a day is comfortable rather than tight.
Textile and craft travellers
Every highland village weaves a distinct huipil, and Chichicastenango is the largest indigenous market in Central America.
Spanish learners
Antigua and Quetzaltenango are two of the cheapest and most established immersion destinations anywhere, with homestays the norm.
Central America overlanders
The typical trip carrying Guatemala on Stippl visits 5 countries, and Flores is the door to Belize and Mexico.
Maybe not for you: anyone in a hurry, because the roads are the constraint and shuttle days are long; and anyone wanting a beach holiday, since the Pacific is black sand and rip currents and the Caribbean is a boat ride away.
The best time to visit Guatemala
The dry season
November to April
Clear skies, cold highland nights, the volcano views at their best and the whole visitor year, with the roads to the Petén at their most reliable.
The wet season
May to October
Afternoon rain most days, the mornings often clear, the highlands green and cheap, and the Petén access roads deteriorating by September.
The canícula
Late July to early August
A short dry spell inside the wet season, when the rain eases for two or three weeks and the summer-holiday visitors come.
Semana Santa
Late March or April
The week Antigua fills for the processions and the carpets, moving with Easter, with the rooms gone months ahead and the prices doubled.
- 60.5% of Guatemalan trips on Stippl start between November and April. The dry season is the visitor year, and January is the busiest month by a distance.
- Most stops in Guatemala get 2 nights on Stippl, and 29.6% are a single night. The lake and Antigua run three, Flores two, and the capital as close to zero as a stop can.
- The quietest month here on Stippl is May 5.28% of plans. The first month of the rains, and the cheapest rooms of the year in Antigua.
- Semana Santa fills Antigua months ahead. The processions and the sawdust carpets are the country's biggest event, and the rooms are booked or the week is avoided.
- Guatemala is a long-lead country. Only 12.1% of trips carrying it on Stippl are planned inside a fortnight, because the flights are long and the circuit is a fortnight.
- The Acatenango overnight is a dry-season climb. The camp sits at 3,700 metres, the nights are below freezing, and the cloud in the wet season can hide Fuego entirely.
Add your Guatemala dates and we'll flag the weather per stop
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Festivals, and when to avoid them
Day of the Dead kites
Giant barrilete kites flown over the cemeteries at Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez, an hour from Antigua, to carry messages to the dead. A day trip worth building the first week of November around.
Quema del Diablo
The burning of the devil at six in the evening, with effigies and rubbish set alight in the streets of Antigua and the capital to clear the house before Christmas. An hour of fire and firecrackers, and the smoke as the reason to stand back.
Fiesta de Santo Tomás
Chichicastenango's patron saint week, with the palo volador pole dancers, the processions and the market at its largest. The town's rooms go a month ahead, and the day trip from the lake is the way most people see it.
Semana Santa in Antigua
The largest Holy Week in the Americas, with sawdust carpets laid overnight and destroyed by the processions within hours. Book the rooms months ahead, or avoid the week entirely.
Rabin Ajau
The national indigenous beauty pageant in Cobán, with the folkloric festival around it and the traditional dress of every region on one stage. The reason to be in Alta Verapaz that week, with Semuc Champey the day after.
Independence Day
Parades, torch runs and marching bands in every town, with the schools out and the shops closed. A day the shuttles run late, and the evening the fireworks go up.
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Things to do in Guatemala
Photo by Jeison Higuita via Unsplash
Photo by mana5280 via Unsplash
Photo by Conor Murphy via UnsplashThe Acatenango overnight
Camping on one volcano at 3,700 metres to watch Fuego erupt on the next, through the night, and the headline of every trip to the country.
Tikal at sunrise
The temples above the canopy and the howler monkeys starting up in the dark, with a pre-dawn shuttle from Flores or a night in the park.
Boat-hopping the lake
Lake Atitlán's dozen villages by lancha, each with its own weaving tradition and its own character, in the calm of the morning.
Chichicastenango market
On a Thursday or Sunday, the largest indigenous market in Central America, with the incense on the church steps and the textiles in the lanes.
Semuc Champey
The turquoise limestone pools over an underground river, a long day's road from anywhere and the one place everyone underestimates the drive to.
Semana Santa in Antigua
Sawdust carpets laid in the streets overnight for the processions to walk over and destroy, and the largest Holy Week in the Americas.
What to eat in Guatemala
The national dish: a dark stew thickened with toasted squash and sesame seeds
Masa with pork in red chilli sauce, steamed in banana leaf
A smoky red turkey soup from Alta Verapaz
Stuffed peppers, egg-battered and fried, in tomato broth
Mashed plantain filled with sweet black bean, fried
Small tamales, the everyday snack
Fried tortilla with black bean purée and guacamole
Single-origin Antigua, Huehuetenango and Atitlán
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Guatemalan customs and what not to do
Ask before photographing
Especially in indigenous communities, where it can be taken as disrespectful or spiritually intrusive, and it is the most-repeated etiquette point in the country.
Maya faith is practised openly
Alongside Catholicism, sometimes on the same church steps, and a ceremony is observed quietly and never interrupted.
Dress modestly in the highlands
More so than the climate suggests, and the villages of the lake and the market towns are the places it matters.
Buenas covers the whole day
The greeting is used constantly, on entering a shop, a bus or a comedor, and a visitor who uses it is treated differently.
Punctuality is relaxed
Socially, and expected in business, and the shuttle that leaves late is the social version.
Bargain only in the market
The market price is a conversation and the set-lunch price is not, and confusing the two is the visitor's mistake.
Do
- Ask before every photograph of a person, and accept the no
- Take the Acatenango climb with a guided group
- Use the airport shuttle to Antigua and skip the capital
- Carry quetzales in cash outside Antigua and the capital
Don't
- Photograph a Maya ceremony or a church interior in use
- Walk a volcano trail alone
- Take a street taxi from the airport
- Step on a Semana Santa carpet before the procession has
What a Guatemala trip costs
Budget
€22–35
A dorm bed, comedor set lunches, chicken buses and the free or cheap sights.
Mid-range
€52–86
A private room, guided day tours including the volcano overnight, restaurant dinners and tourist shuttles.
High-end
€130+
Boutique Antigua, private transfers and guided Tikal with a driver.
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Quetzales, shuttles and getting around
Entry & visa
Ninety days, no visa
EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports get ninety days on arrival under the Central America agreement, shared with El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Money
Quetzales, in cash
Cards work in Antigua and the capital, cash pays everywhere else, and the ATMs in the villages and on the lake run dry at weekends.
Connectivity
A Tigo or Claro SIM
Bought at any kiosk for a few euros with a passport, with 6 GB for about €6, and the signal fine everywhere but the deep Petén.
Getting around
Tourist shuttles, and one flight
The shuttles link the four stops and the chicken buses do the rest for a fraction, and the Flores flight turns a ten-hour road day into an hour.
Health
Repellent in the Petén
Malaria and dengue exist in the lowlands, the highlands are clear, and the altitude on Acatenango is the thing to respect.
Water
Never from the tap
Bottled or filtered everywhere, and the ice in Antigua's restaurants is made from purified water.
Tipping
Ten percent, and the guides
Ten percent in restaurants, and about €5 to €10 a person a day for a trek guide, handed over at the end.
Power & plugs
Types A and B, 120 V
The North American plug, so European travellers need an adapter and most chargers cope with the voltage.
Language
Spanish, and twenty-two Maya languages
Spanish everywhere and English in the tourist trade, with K'iche', Kaqchikel and Tz'utujil the first languages of the highlands.
Spanish worth knowing
Nobody expects you to speak the language, which is exactly why a handful of words goes so far.
BWEH-nas
Hello, at any hour, and used constantly · Buenas
GRA-syas
Thank you · Gracias
por fa-VOR
Please · Por favor
KWAN-to KWES-ta
How much is it? · ¿Cuánto cuesta?
la KWEN-ta, por fa-VOR
The bill, please · La cuenta, por favor
per-MEE-so
Excuse me, to get past · Permiso
pwe-do to-MAR oo-na FO-to
May I take a photo? · ¿Puedo tomar una foto?
ma-TYOSH
Thank you, in Kaqchikel around Antigua and the lake · Matyox
SAH-la
Good, fine, in K'iche' · Utz
OO-na LAN-cha a
A boat to … · Una lancha a …
Guatemala questions, answered
Two weeks for the standard circuit and three to add the coast or the Caribbean, and the roads rather than the distances decide. Most stops in Guatemala get 2 nights on Stippl, with Antigua and the lake at three and the capital at none.
Almost nobody stays. Guatemala City's stops on Stippl are more often no night at all than any other stop in the country, the airport shuttle to Antigua takes an hour, and a night makes sense only for an awkward flight or the MUNAE.
November to April, and the plans agree: 60.5% of Guatemalan trips on Stippl start in that window. Put the Acatenango night into Stippl for the dry season, then ask people in subreddits like r/guatemala which week Fuego was busiest.
The tourist circuit is manageable with normal care. The capital is where the risk concentrates, with express kidnappings tied to street taxis from the airport, and the volcano trails are walked in guided groups because robberies have happened on them.
Very little. One of the cheapest countries in the Americas, with a dorm bed, comedor lunches and chicken buses at the budget end and a comfortable day well under what a European city costs, and the flight to Flores and the volcano overnight the two things worth paying for.
On a longer run: the typical trip carrying Guatemala on Stippl visits 5 countries, and only 13.3% of those trips are Guatemala alone. Flores is the door to Belize and Mexico, and the Pacific border to El Salvador.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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