Experience El Dia de los Muertos in the village of Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. Witness the festivities as giant brightly-colored kites are launched into the air. Your guide teaches you about the history of the Maya culture and how they honor their ancestors once a year through this celebration. Enjoy a guided tour of Lake Atitlan including visits to artisan cooperatives, market visits, and a tour of lovely colonial Antigua. Experience this festival and a main highlights Guatemala tour all in one vacation!
Highlights
Wander through a bustling market of crafts, crops, and artwork
Visit a women's textile cooperative and learn about the weaving process
Tour the city of Antigua and admire its gilded cathedrals
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos and watch the kite release
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Arrive to Guatemala and transfer to nearby colonial Antigua for the evening.
Day 2: Antigua City Tour
1 Breakfast
Volcan Fuego rises to the roof of the world above the streets of Antigua below. Once the capital of Guatemala and all Central America, Antigua resembles a living ruin. Mammoth churches and palaces tell the story of Antigua's past glory, and restored facades speak of a bright future. This morning you tour the city and admire Antigua's gilded cathedrals. The afternoon is yours to rent mountain bikes or explore the countryside, visit a coffee finca or macadamia nut plantation, or just people watch in the main plaza.
This morning rise and drive about an hour before arriving to San Juan de Comalapa. Enjoy the bustle of the lively market less-visited by tourists. Vendors set out their handicrafts, vegetables, and animals to sell. Explore the market and see the most noted display of art in the town, a collaborative mural painting by local artists on the cemetery wall depicting major events in Guatemala's history. Explore the town and try the bread in one of the local panaderias before you leave.
Next travel to the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan, a deep caldera lake flanked by three majestic volcanoes. Settle into your hotel in lakeside Panajachel and wander the town to explore before dark.
This morning after admiring the placid waters of the lake, set out on a passenger boat across the azure-blue waters of the lake to local villages along the shores. Scholars tell us that the ancient Maya disappeared mysteriously a thousand years ago, but anyone who has intimately explored this fascinating region knows that the Maya continue to thrive in the highlands of Guatemala. Villagers in Santiago Atitlan still adhere to the traditional lifestyle of the Tz'utuhil Maya and you can see many people cloaked in brightly-colored, hand-woven clothing. Along Santiago's main street are art galleries filled with oil paintings depicting busy market scenes and typical life in the highlands. You may also visit Maximòn and leave an offering to this curious and revered deity.
Visit also San Juan La Laguna, home to a number of artisan cooperatives. Here you can visit the women's textile cooperative to see hand weaving and the natural dye process used to make their famous petates, woven mats made from lake reeds. Also you can visit the homes of some of their celebrated naif painters. Return to Panajachel at the end of your day.
Day 5: Panajachel | Chichicastenango | Antigua
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch
Today rise early to visit the famous market of Chichicastenango. This beautiful town, surrounded by valleys and shadowed by mountains, has many shamanistic and ceremonial overtones. Its large market brings villagers from throughout the region, who often arrive the night before and sleep on blankets in the market square. Rising early, they set out their colorful fruits, vegetables, and handicrafts. The market disperses in the early afternoon and you return to Antigua for the evening.
Today the country celebrates Dia de los Muertos, or All Saints Day. Originally celebrated amongst indigenous cultures in Mexico, the holiday has since merged with the Catholic All Saints Day in many Latin American nations to become what it is today. Family and friends use this day to honor and pray for loved ones and remember their memory.
Today you visit the nearby town of Sacatepequez in the highlands which is well known for its brilliant kite displays. Watch as the locals put the last remaining touches on their hand-made kites. Observe the celebrations as you watch locals honor their ancestors this day in the cemetery and in town. Witness the final release of all the kites in the air and see which ones fly the longest. Awards are often given to noted kites, such as the most colorful and longest flying. Return in the evening to Antigua.
Day 7: Antigua | Guatemala Airport
1 Breakfast
Return to the Guatemala City airport for your international flight home.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$1,3912-3 travelers
Notes
Select a Date
*The tour itinerary may need to be modified in order to visit each market.
Initial deposit is $400 plus cost of internal airfare, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure by Bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Meyer Smolen
TrustScore 4.8 | 176 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 176 reviews on
9 hours ago
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
4 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.