Highlights of Guatemala

Day 1: Guatemala City and Antigua

• You are met and transferred to your hotel, the stylish Posada del Angel.

Posada del Angel

Day 2: Antigua

• Half-day walking tour of Antigua with a guide.
• Explore the highlights of the colonial city, including the San Francisco Church, the ruins of the Cathedral, Central Park and La Merced Church.
• Alternatively, visit "As Green As It Gets" (AGAIG), a charity working to support small independent coffee producers and promote environmentally responsible agriculture in Guatemala. (Coffee season is November to March.)
• The afternoon is at your leisure.

Day 3: Flores and Aguateca

• Transfer to Guatemala City Airport, where you board the morning flight to Flores, Petén.
• A trip to Aguateca is a full-day adventure combining nature and archaeology. We drive to the river port town of Sayaxché. On arrival, we board a boat for the one-hour trip downstream to the ruins of Aguateca, capital of the dynasty founded in A.D. 645 by a prince from Tikal.
• After a full day of adventures, you are transferred back to your hotel, La Lancha.

Day 4: Tikal National Park

• Today, we visit the magical Mayan ruins of Tikal in Tikal National Park, declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. The metropolis was occupied during the period between 800 B.C. and A.D. 900, but the earliest architecture originates from the fourth century B.C.

Day 5: Guatemala City, Iximché and Lake Atitlán

• Fly to Guatemala City, where you meet your driver.
• Take a guided tour of the famous Mayan capital city of Iximché, founded in A.D. 1470 and inhabited for more than 50 years.
• Lunch in a local restaurant before continuing on to Lake Atitlán, surrounded by volcanoes on three sides and considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.
• Overnight at Casa Palopó, with breathtaking views of the lake.

Day 6: Lake Atitlán

• Explore San Juan La Laguna village. Visit the local textile cooperative to see the back strap loom in use and learn how natural dyes are still employed.
• Cruise to Santiago village, the largest on the lake, for lunch.
• Your guide will find the house where the Maya god Maximón is living and have a ceremony performed if you wish.

Casa Palopó

Day 7: Chichicastenango and Antigua

• Meet your driver in the hotel lobby for the scenic drive to the highland town of Chichicastenango.
• In Chichicastenango, at Central America's largest native market, you are guided through the exhilarating mix of colors, sounds and smells. Many locals wear traditional costumes and are accompanied by street musicians as they bargain in the market.
• Visit the famous St. Tomás Church where local Maya people come to perform traditional rituals.
• Return to Antigua for an overnight stay at the Posada del Angel.

Day 8: Depart Guatemala City

• This morning, your driver transfers you to the Guatemala City Airport, where you board your flight home.