I just returned from an awesome trip to Guatemala for the first time! I found a great deal on flights so me and a friend decided to make it a trip to Antigua, Guatemala for 5 days.
We arrived early enough to get settled, eat a bit of lunch, and rest. We already had a street food tour booked for the evening so that was fun to start our visit with. It ended up being a private tour because we were the only ones in the group! We went to a small town outside of the city where there was an assortment of food stands and we got to try several different types of local Guatemalan food.
This is a public wash area where the ladies can bring their laundry.
For day 2 our hotel had a great breakfast with several options that were very tasty.
We also went into a market full of handmade goods.
We got to see the St. Catherine Arch. This arch was used for a way to let nuns move in privacy from their convent to the other side of the street.
In one section of the city are several American chains like Taco Bell, McDonalds, Subway, Little Ceasars, and here is Starbucks. We walked thru it briefly and there were beautiful paintings inside!
After lunch our next tour was a fat tire bike tour of places around the city! We were the only ones on it so it was a great private excursion once again. First we stopped at a coffee plantation to see how they cultivate coffee from start to finish, then we got to see how they process the harvested coffee beans then roast them.
From there we went to a small streetside shop were we got to sample all of these different drinks. That was interesting!
For day 3 we were SUPPOSED to do the big activity of the trip--an overnight hike up volcanoes Acatenango with side hike to Fuego and a sunrise summit. However we learned from our other trip guides that Fuego had started violently erupting the night before and they were having to evacuate the towns in the path of the lava and close roads for safety. It was still unsafe the morning we were due to go so our trip got canceled. This meant we had no hotel, and no activities!
I scrambled last minute but was able to secure us a last minute room for the night at our next hotel up the road that I already had booked for our last two nights. They were so nice and worked with me very well to squeeze us in! We didn't have to check out from the first hotel until 1pm so since we decided to check out the inside of an old convent at the La Merced church by us. We got to go up to the rooftop and got an amazing view of the city with the volcano Agua in the background.
Next we walked over to a big local market to see everything they had available.
After the market we wondered down to the gringo section of the city to see inside the McDonald's. The outside of the stores are very simple and unassuming, but once you go in it opens up to a huge restaurant with the food counter on one side and the McCafe coffee counter on the other. Past that was a beautiful courtyard with tables and fountains!
After that we went back to the central park and they had the fountain running so we sat and watched that in the shade for awhile.
After grabbing some lunch we headed back to our hotel to pack up and check out, then walked around the corner to our next hotel who was kind enough to let us check in 3 hours early!
Since we now had the rest of the day free we booked a last minute excursion to explore around outside the city on a UTV! The downside was that it was raining the whole time so we got SOAKED but hey that was part of the experience haha. I didn't get any pics during the excursions because of the rain unfortunately.
At the end we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. By that time we were getting chilly from being wet so we both ordered a local soup called pepian. It was delicious!! Just what we needed. I actually looked up a recipe and plan to try and make it.
The view during lunch
For day 4 we enjoyed a delicious fresh buffet breakfast at our new hotel the Yellow House Hostel and sat on the patio sipping our coffee. They had lots of beautiful flowers and lounge areas, plus you can't beat the views of the volcanoes!
We didn't have anything planned until late afternoon, so this morning we walked over to the ruins of Convento de la Recolección, a church and convent that was built in early 1700s but destroyed by earthquakes a few decades later.
A little further down the road was an old cemetery San Lazaro that we walked thru and went inside the chapel also.
By then we were ready for lunch! We tried a new place with a rooftop restaurant and I tried some delicious chili rellenos.
Now on to my FAVORITE excursion of the trip! With a small group we each drove ATVs up the hillside for several activities. We got super lucky because the rain moved out after just a few drops so this time we did not get soaked.
Our first stop was Cerro de la Cruz, or Hill of the Cross. We had amazing views of the city and volcano Agua.
Next up was a stop I HIGHLY recommend...Hobbitenango! Some background--"tenango" means place of, so this means "place of the Hobbits". It was built by local fans of the Hobbit and LOTR right into the mountainside. It's a variety of eco park/themed resort with trails, activities, hotel rooms, and food stands. All with absolutely breathtaking views of the valley and volcanoes. At each scenic point is a worker to help take a photo of you!
They had this awesome swing there that they harnessed you into, then yeeted you into the clouds above the valley! It was scary but so fun!
They also had archery as well
After all this crazy fun our group all ate a restaurant (I got chicken quesadillas) then we rode our ATVs back to the starting point and we were done. The weather was still fabulous when we got back to our neighborhood so we decided to check out the street vendors that were all out in front of La Merced. And even though I had just eaten dinner.....I still got more food because I had to try a pupusa!
For our last excursion of the trip we went on adventure to hike the volcano Pacaya outside of the city. It was about an hour drive to the park and we met our guide there who patiently took us up the very steep but blessedly short trail to the viewpoint. We did not got to the summit of this one. It last erupted in 2021, so there were several lava fields that we walked thru.
After another long drive we returned to Antigua and began the hunt for dinner! For our last dinner in town we ate at a quiet restaurant with the biggest menu ever. I picked birria tacos and they were delish!
We got packed up and enjoyed one last delicious breakfast the next morning before getting picked up for the airport at 8:30am.
Our flight didn't leave till almost 1pm, so we had some time to kill after getting thru security. We walked around the airport a bit, and grabbed some food while sitting at our gate.
Our flight to Atlanta was great but there were many storms around the eastern US that delayed several flights. The plane we needed was delayed from Washington, thus delaying our connection home by about an hour. We finally landed in Buffalo around 12:30am very tired! I walked in my door around 2am happy to be back in my bed, and of course looking forward to the next adventure.