Guatemala Highlights

7 Nights / 8 Days

1N Antigua Guatemala / 2N Lake Atitlan / 2N Antigua Guatemala /
1N Peten / 1N Guatemala City

This itinerary of 8 days is recommended for people visiting the United States and/or Canada as an extended holiday to Central America with friends and family. 

ITINERARY

DAY 01: ARRIVE IN GUATEMALA CITY/GUATEMALA CITY – ANTIGUA GUATEMALA

Arrive in Guatemala City. Your driver and guide will greet you at La Aurora International Airport and will transfer you to Antigua Guatemala.

Overnight in Antigua Guatemala.

DAY 02: CHICHICASTENANGO MARKET – LAKE ATITLAN

DAY 03: LAKE ATITLAN

After breakfast, in the morning, you will take a scenic boat ride across Lake Atitlan (30 min) to the village of San Juan La Laguna where you can visit the women’s textile cooperative to see hand weaving and the natural dye process.  Visit the studios / homes of the celebrated naïf painters and then, continue to the village of Santiago. After lunch (Not Included), you will continue your tour to the village visiting the Maya God Maximon and learn about the textiles, spiritualism and beliefs of the Tzutujil Maya. (B)

Overnight in Lake Atitlan.

DAY 04: KAYAKING – SAN BUENAVENTURA – ANTIGUA GUATEMALA

After breakfast, in the morning, you will enjoy 2 hours of kayaking on the Lake Atitlan visiting Santa Catarina and San Antonio Palopo. After this tour, transfer from Lake Atitlan to Antigua Guatemala. On route, visit San Buenaventura which is a natural reserve in Lake Atitlán dedicated to preserve the flora and fauna of the lake and the environmental education. Enjoy the canopy and wildlife trails it has to offer from the most adventurous people to those who only are seeking for a pacific and natural environment. (B)

Overnight in Lake Atitlan.

DAY 05: COFFEE FARM – VILLAGE TOUR

After breakfast, you will enjoy a tour through the villages around Antigua Guatemala; where you will learn their history through ruined buildings, live culture and the incomparable view. You will start with the visit to Lo Azotea coffee farm; learn about the whole process of the coffee from the plant to a cup of coffee, you will also visit the ancient Mayan Music instruments. Then, you will continue your tour and visit San Juan El Obispo, artisanal chocolate factory, San Pedro Las Huertas with its church and family jade factory, Ciudad Vieja – home of Guatemala’s former second capital, which was buried by an earthquake-triggered mudslide in 1541, experimental Organic Macadamia Farm, and Santiago Zamora women´s cooperative. The Santiago Zamora cooperative is a women´s association that specially focuses on showing to tourists their local daily activities at home. Learn how to do a cup of coffee from the seed to the cup. Dance to the local music with the women. At the end, enjoy a nice local food “pepian” which is prepared with pork, beef or chicken. (BL)

Overnight in Antigua Guatemala.

DAY 06: ANTIGUA GUATEMALA TOUR – FLIGHT TO TIKAL NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, visit the ruins and museums that are combined with the old cobbled streets that keep the stories and legends of those colonial times. At 1530 hrs, transfer to Guatemala City airport. At 1820 hrs, take a flight from Guatemala City to Flores, Petén. At 1920 hrs, meet and greet at the airport, then transfer to Tikal National Park. Accommodation at a hotel inside the park. (B)

Overnight in Petén.

DAY 07: TIKAL NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, you will be taken to Tikal National Park, where you will begin the guided tour going through the most important city in the Mayan world which is a mixture of nature and archaeology. Abundant wildlife, the Mayan forest, millennial temples, silent witnesses of the birth and splendour as well as of the collapse of one of the most important civilizations in the planet, all this is in your visit to Tikal, The City of the Voices. Return to Flores airport in the afternoon. At 1930 hrs, take a flight from Flores to Guatemala City. At 2030 hrs, meet and greet at the airport and transfer to your hotel in the city. (BL)

Overnight in Guatemala City.

DAY 08: DEPARTURE DAY

After breakfast, transfer to the airport on time to catch your international flight back home. (B)

INFORMATION:

INCLUSIONS:

• 3*/ 4*/ 5* Accommodation as per itinerary (subject to availability) at the time of booking or similar.
• Includes 7 Breakfasts and 2 Lunches, meals as per itinerary (B= breakfast, L= lunch, D= dinner).
• Services of Local Representative
• All private ground transportation in minivans with A/C
• English speaking tour guides for the tours and for the transfer in
• Entrance fees and activities to mentioned places
• Private boat trip for Lake Atitlan tour
• Local flight round trip Guatemala – Flores – Guatemala via Avianca
• Hotel taxes

Highlights:

1. Chichicastenango Market, sacred hill of Pascual Abaj and the Cemetery
2. Lake Atitlan, village of San Juan La Laguna, studios or homes of the celebrated naïf painters and Maya God Maximon
3. Kayaking on Lake Atitlan and San Buenaventura natural reserve
4. Lo Azotea coffee farm, ancient Mayan Music instruments, San Juan El Obispo village, artisanal chocolate factory, San Pedro Las Huertas village with its church and family jade factory, experimental Organic Macadamia Farm and Santiago Zamora women´s cooperative
5. Tikal National Park

COST: On Request

EXCLUSIONS:

• All flights, excess baggage fees, airport departure taxes and other relevant taxes
• Optional activities and excursions
• All meals and drinks not specified in inclusions
• Drinks, tips, laundry, bottled drinking water and other personal expenses
• Medical, Travel and Baggage Insurance
• Holiday Surcharge
• Porterage at airport and hotels
• Items of a personal nature (i.e. internet, curio, laundry, beverages, etc.) unless specifically quoted for above
• Passport and Visa fees
• Optional Tours
• Anything not specifically quoted in the inclusions
• Extra charges per payment with credit card
• Tour leader
• Departure airport taxes (USD 3 per person each route)
• Travel insurance
• Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage
• Personal expenses like telephone calls, laundry, etc
• Tips to guides and drivers
• Difference in price of hotel accommodation on holidays
• International flights

NOTES:

1. Rates are subject to availability and to further terms and conditions.
2. All prices are correct at the time of printing. Compact travels reserves the right to alter the published price of any tour due to increasing tariffs, costs and entry fees or fluctuation of exchange rates, such amounts shall be determined at the sole discretion of Compact Travels.
3. No reservations have been made and accommodation is subject to availability. In case of non-availability, alternate accommodation will be recommended.
4. All outdoor activities are weather permitting.
5. Rates are not valid for Holy Week (March 20 – 26th), Christmas and New Year.
6. Smoking is not allowed in the vehicles. Comfort stops will be made en route.
7. All distances and travelling times are approximate.
8. Peak Season Surcharge may be applicable during Xmas, New Year or during any special events.
9. Compact Travels Terms & Conditions Apply.
10. Effective November 15, 2015, Swachh Bharat cess in addition to the Service tax will be applicable on all currencies (payable in INR).
    
11. All Payments to be made in INR, USD or EUR as per rate of exchange at the time of booking.
    
12. Any payments automatically mean adherence to the terms & conditions of Compact Travels.