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Experience the colorful Kite Festival on your Guatemala Tour

Dia de Los Muertos Kite Festival

Example 7 Day Tour
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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!
Maya childrenThe city of Antigua is nestled between two volcanosView the process of turning wool into colorful garmentsBystanders watch the Kite Festival of GuatemalaClose up of the churchlocal weaver in Santiago de AtitlanThe Kite FestivalPainters in San Juan la Laguna. Lake Atitlan, GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaA beautiful day around Lake Atitlan, GuatemalaLocal people at a market GuatemalaCathedral and Volcano in Antigua, GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in Guatemala Santigo de Atitlan- MaximonEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaEnjoy the Kite Festival in GuatemalaSheree outside of Restaurant 7 & 7Sunset at Lake AtitlanBystanders watch the Kite Festival of GuatemalaExperience the colorful Kite Festival on your Guatemala Tour
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
Places Visited
Activity Level: Relaxed
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
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Full Itinerary

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Day 1: Guatemala City Airport | Antigua

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.

Day 3: Antigua | Comalapa | Iximche | Panajachel

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.

Day 4: Lake Atitlan | Villages Tour

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.

Day 6: Antigua | Sumpango - Antigua

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.

Accommodations

Antigua - Hotels

Panajachel - Hotels

Dates & Prices

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Per person starting at
$1,391 2-3 travelers

Notes

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*The tour itinerary may need to be modified in order to visit each market.
Included
  • 5 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches
  • 6 Nights Accommodations
  • 5 Days Locally Hosted Guide Service
  • Accommodations as listed
  • Ground transportation as listed
  • Activities as listed
  • Meals as listed
  • Access to a 24-7 Emergency line while traveling
Excluded
  • Gratuities
  • Travel Insurance
  • Personal Expenses
  • Flight costs (please request a quote)
  • Additional excursions during free time
  • Fuel and transportation surcharges (when applicable)

Map

When to Go

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Nov
Dec
Good to ideal period to travel, and many people choose to visit at this time.
Typically not offered during this period because of weather conditions.

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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

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