The “perfect” Guatemala one month itinerary

Guatemala is an incredible country which you could spend months and months exploring. However due to some time constraints we spent 30 wonderful days here. In this post I will detail everywhere we visited, what we did and where we stayed.


Flores- 2 nights

Accommodation– Hostal 1 (Private room which was fairly basic but did the job)

What we did– We spent our first day visiting the Mayan ruins of Tikal which was incredible. Our second day we went to Jorges rope swing which is a lovey chill out spot just across the lake from Flores where (of course) you can jump in off a rope swing.


Antigua- 4 nights

Accommodation– Hostal Antigueño (one of my favourite hostels in Central America with an amazing common area and a great dorm)

What we did– Many people head here to climb Volcan Acetenango which we had planned to do but Fuego wasn’t erupting so didn’t bother. Aside from that trek there was plenty to do here in Antigua. We visited a coffee plantation (La Azotea), wandered the beautiful colonial streets, hiked in the surrounding area, visited the many amazing coffee shops and tried great street food.


El Paredón- 5 nights

Accommodation– Playa de la Fuente (great little hostel with good dorms and an amazing free breakfast!!)

What we did– The main thing to do here is surf, so that is what we did. We spent most days either surfing or chilling out on the lovely black sand beach. There are also some good cafes and bars to visit, however it is a very small village so if you don’t like the beach then I wouldn’t recommend.


Xela (Quetzeltenango)- 4 nights

Accommodation– C and M exclusive suites (Good little private room in a great location)

What we did– Unfortunately we had some great hikes panned while we were here (the main reason to visit in my opinion) but I got injured while surfing in El Paredón so couldn’t walk basically the whole time we were here. We did visit a traditional Mayan hot chocolate shop and the main square is lovely to watch the world go by. Since we didn’t do too much I’ll recommend the walk we were going to do which was Santa Maria volcano where you can get views of Santiaguito (currently erupting).


San Juan (Lake Atitlan)- 3 nights

Accommodation– 4 Elementos Hostel (decent hostel with a lovely owner)

What we did– With my foot feeling better we managed to explore the beauty of Lake Atitlan from here. We completed the Mayan Nose hike for sunrise which was amazing, visited San Marcos and did a tortilla making class.


San Pedro (Lake Atitlan)- 7 nights

Accommodation– Ana’s Homestay (Included in our 1 week of Spanish lessons)

What we did– Took Spanish lessons with the Cooperativa Spanish School, 1 on 1 lessons 3 hours a day for 5 days. The rest of the time we generally spent exploring the lovely streets of San Pedro as well as frequenting the coffee shops to practice our Spanish. On our day off at the end of the week we hiked up San Pedro volcano which granted us with some breathtaking views.


Antigua- 2 nights

Accommodation– Taura House (great budget hostel with a good common area and good dorms)

What we did– We came back to Antigua to climb Acetenango volcano but unfortunately we were both ill so had to just chill at the hostel and recover.


Guatemala City (La Aurora airport)- 1 night

Accommodation– Hostal Guatefriends (good hostel very close to airport and offer free breakfast and shuttle service to airport)

What we did– Chilled out, nothing to do here really just a good place to stay if you have an early flight out of Guatemala.

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