I had the chance to visit Antigua Guatemala earlier this month with a friend from high school. Here's a guide to everything I did, including the costs!
Flight + Accommodations
Depending on when and where you are flying from, a regular roundtrip ticket to Guatemala City can cost anywhere between $100 - $500. However, I bought my flight with credit card miles earned using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa card. So my flight was free, free, free, free, free!!!!
Roundtrip Ticket = $0
We booked our stay at Hotel Las Farolas for $344 for 4 nights on Expedia (I think it can be cheaper but we went around Santa Semana which is a big holiday). Split between the 2 of us, it was $172 each. I would definitely recommend the hotel - simple, clean rooms, inexpensive, great location, free breakfast, and helpful staff. The only con was that the shower water is really wonky lol. We had to wait like 5 minutes for the shower water to finally get hot so I'd recommend turning it on while you are brushing your teeth, grabbing your clothes, etc. It would also get cold for a few minutes halfway into my shower time and then rewarm itself. Super weird but not a deal-breaker for me personally. I just wouldn't go in expecting a nice, long, hot, relaxing shower. It's definitely a get in and get out process.
Hotel= $172
Day 1 Itinerary
We landed in Guatemala City around noon and walked up to one of the shared shuttle service booths to catch a ride to Antigua Guatemala. We paid $26 ($13 each) for the ride, which can take between 40 minutes and 2 hours depending on traffic. After we checked into the hotel, we stopped by the onsite restaurant to eat a late lunch. I ordered the chicken sandwich, fries, and juice. I believe it was about $13. After that, we walked around for a little bit and then relaxed in the room for the rest of the night.
Transportation: $13
Daily Meals: $13
Day 2 Itinerary
We started our first full day with free pancakes at the hotel and then did some exploring on foot. We visited the Arco de Santa Catalina, Ruinas de Santa Clara, Iglesia de la Merced, and Central Park. For lunch, we decided to try street food from the vendors by Iglesia de la Merced and get ice cream in Central Park. I tried pupusa (really good), rellenitos de frijoles (you'd like it if you like sweet plantain and chocolate), carne de res (just beef, it was pretty bland though), mangos with chamoy and tajin (I like plain mangos better), fresca de crema (my friend liked it), and fresca de pina (pineapple juice, yummm). Headed back through Central Park, we saw them filming some sort of TV game show so we watched for a while. Then ended the night with dinner at Kombu Ramen Shop (so good).
Daily Meals: $20 (Estimate because IDR all the street food costs lol)
Day 3 Itinerary
We decided to wake up at 5 am to take a shuttle to Lake Atitlan to explore the area a bit. We arranged transportation to Panajachel through our hotel and paid $40 per person roundtrip. The hotel packed us a little to-go breakfast as we headed out for our 2.5-hour ride. When we arrived, our shuttle driver passed us off to one person who passed us to another guide for the area. We told the guy that we wanted to take a boat over to the island of San Juan and he told us the public boats would be like $40 and take 1.5 hours or we could take his private boat for $65 for 30 minutes. That is the biggest scam ever and he was definitely hoping we would fall for it. The public boats are $7 roundtrip and take 30 minutes. We walked around the markets and bought a couple of souvenirs before heading back to Antigua around 11 am. If you take a half-day trip to Lake Atitlan, I'd recommend looking for an actual class, excursion, etc. to do because to me, the markets sell pretty much the same stuff as they do everywhere else.
We got back to Antigua in time for our cooking class with La Tortilla Cooking School which I really enjoyed! We booked ahead of time and paid our $50 each when we arrived. Cooking classes are one of my favorite ways to learn more about the culture, try traditional foods, and get to know the locals. We learned how to make pepian, Guatemalan rice, tortillas, and rellenitos de frijoles. Everything was really good and they sent me the recipes if I want to remake them in the future.
We ended the night by going to a speakeasy-style bar called Ulew which was pretty cool. They don't have a menu. Instead, they ask you what kinds of flavors and alcohols you like and basically come up with a cocktail they think you'd like. The drinks were $10 each and I got 2.
Transportation: $47
Cooking Class: $50
Ulew Bar: $20
Day 4 Itinerary
On day 4, we ate our free breakfast at the hotel restaurant before heading to our first activity for the day, a bean-to-bar chocolate-making class at Chocomuseo. The class was $25 and walked us through the entire chocolate-making part from the original fruit to the final candy bar. We learned a lot about how ancient Mayans processed and used the plant and got to replicate parts of the process on our own. We made a candy bar to take with us as a souvenir at the end.
After the class, we went to Blue Medical to get our COVID tests so that we could fly back to the US. I believe the rapid antigen test cost $30. After the tests, I decided to stop by McDonald's because I had seen on TikTok that it had a really pretty courtyard and I also needed something small to hold me over for a while. I ordered chicken nuggets, fries, juice, and an Oreo McFlurry and paid $6.
Jade is a really important mineral in Guatemala so the next activity we planned was a jade carving class at La Casa del Jade. We started with a free tour of the museum then got the chance to carve our own jade necklaces. The class took about 2 hours and costs $49 per person. Before we left, we asked the instructor where we could get good traditional food and he suggested the restaurant, La Fonda de Calle Real. I ordered a typical stuffed pepper meal, which was really good, and a mojito for $17.
Chocolate Making Class: $25
Jade Carving Class: $49
Covid Tests: $30
Daily Meals: $23
Day 5 Itinerary
On our last morning, we ate the free breakfast in the hotel and then arranged a ride with the front desk to the airport. We definitely paid for convenience because I believe it was $50 ($25 each) which is expensive one way. I'd recommend booking a shared shuttle online using a website such as GuateGo or in person if you can find a service provider to save money.
Transportation: $25
Total Price for 5 Days/4 Nights in Antigua Guatemala
The grand total for the trip was *drumroll please* $487! So for a 5 day trip to Guatemala, I spent less than $500 on flights, hotel, errthang! I really enjoyed my time in Antigua Guatemala and would definitely recommend it. My favorite parts of the trip were exploring the historic sites, trying typical food (including street food), and the cooking class. We also got to visit during Semana Santa which was a unique experience in itself, seeing the beautiful decorations and the processions throughout the day. Antigua Guatemala is also easily walkable (everything is close in proximity but bring good walking shoes) which I loved!
If I were to redo this trip, I'd probably switch the half-day trip to Lake Atitlan for a hike up Volcan Pacaya (and make pizza with @pizzapicayadavid on IG). While Lake Atitlan seems nice, trying to squeeze it in resulted in a long journey to do the same thing we could have done in Antigua. It seems like an area that would be great to explore as its own destination with more time.
Have you been to Guatemala before? Which cities did you visit? And if not, are you planning to go? Let me know in the comments!
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