On your trip to Guatemala, Lake Atitlán is not to be missed! Lake Atitlán is a lake formed inside a volcanic crater, created more than 80,000 years ago. Today, the scenic lake is surrounded by three major stratovolcanoes: Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro. These volcanoes are also known as “The Three Giants”. There are small towns that dot the shores of the lake, all rich with Mayan heritage. All but a few of these towns are connected by road, but getting around by boat is the best (and fastest) way to see them. Here how to spend one day on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala!
One-day tour from Antigua
My trip to Guatemala was a quick one. Therefore, I had to make the most out of the limited time I had on the ground! I was based in Antigua Guatemala, which is about a 2-hour drive away from Lake Atitlán. While I wished I would have had a few days to spend on Lake Atitlán, I booked a one-day tour through Viator. Here is an exact link to the tour: Lake Atitlan One Day Tour from Antigua.
Read More: How to Spend One Day in Antigua Guatemala
For me, the tour was just okay. The highlights were visiting three different towns on the lake, having round-trip transportation from Antigua included, and spending the day with a private guide who was incredibly sweet and knowledgeable. What I didn’t enjoy was how structured each stop was. We were encouraged to stay with the group and attend pre-arranged workshops and demonstrations. Some were interesting, but others I skipped so I could explore on my own. If you’re a traveler who likes having everything planned out, this tour would be a great fit. If you prefer more freedom to wander, I’d suggest asking your guide whether you can skip a few workshops and rejoin the group later. Our guide was completely fine with me and a few other solo travelers doing that. Thankfully it ended up working out really well!
Panajachel
Panajachel (also known as “Pana”) is the largest town on Lake Atitlán. The shuttle from Antigua dropped us off in the center of town. We were immediately captured by views of Volcán San Pedro across the lake! Before meeting our guides and the rest of the group, we waited at El Chaparral, a restaurant near the shores of the lake where we could have coffee and breakfast. The views were spectacular, but I didn’t love being told where to eat and spend money. In hindsight, I would have rather used this time to explore Pana a bit on my own. But since we hadn’t yet met up with the group, I didn’t realize it was an option. Shortly after, we met our guide, boarded our private speedboat, and made our way across the lake to our first stop!
San Pedro La Laguna
After a twenty minute ride across the lake, we arrived at our first (and shortest) stop of the day: San Pedro La Laguna. San Pedro is a small town on the west side of Lake Atitlán. Taking a few minutes to walk along the shores of the lake was the perfect intro to the day. There were families playing in the water, boats coming in and out, and locals going about their daily lives. Plus, the views looking around the lake were breathtaking!
We then made the short walk to a brief chocolate making demonstration at La Casa del Cacao y Miel. While I definitely would have rather had the time to explore the town on my own, the workshop was interesting and I enjoyed my time! We learned about the entire process: from cacao bean to chocolate bar! We then got to taste roasted cacao, cacao tea, and different chocolate drinks. After, we took another short stroll along the lake back to the boat to our next town!
San Juan La Laguna
Next up was the star of the day: San Juan La Laguna! San Juan is located right next to San Pedro, and it only took a couple of minutes to arrive by boat. Immediately after docking, I could tell this was the place to be! The main street that runs from the docks up into town is Calle de las Artes (Street of the Arts), but is more commonly known as Umbrella Street! Bright, colorful umbrellas cover this street that is lined with local vendors, restaurants, and coffee shops. Other umbrella streets that I’ve visited have been only a block or so long. San Juan’s umbrella street puts all of the others to shame! It’s an uphill walk into town, but there are tuktuks available for the ride up for only a few Quetzales.
We first visited Iglesia Católica San Juan La Laguna, the main Catholic Church in town. This church was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1700’s, but the original front facade survived the quake and is incredibly beautiful, and interesting to see the contrast between the original and new builds! Next up was a quick textile workshop at Casa Flor Ixcaco Weaving Cooperative. The workshop was interesting to watch, and I actually ended up snagging a few handmade souvenirs from their shop on the way out.
Exploring San Juan on our own
After the textile workshop is when me and a few other solo travelers broke away from our guide for some independent exploring. We absolutely loved wandering the colorful town and snapping photos of the street art. Calle de Café (coffee street), was a great one to explore. The street was lined with lights, decor, and, you guessed it: coffee shops! However, the absolute star of the day was just on the backside of the church on La Calle de los Sombreros (Sombrero street)! Sombrero Street was just as colorful as Umbrella Street. The road itself was painted with bright patters, street art covered the buildings, and adorable mini sombreros were strung overhead. More shops lined the street where you could snag an authentic souvenir!
We then had to make our way back down Umbrella Street to meet back up with the group. It was a great time to take a slow stroll down the street (rather than being rushed with a group) to truly take in the atmosphere. We made a quick stop for iced coffees and then snagged chocolate covered strawberry skewers to snack on. I absolutely loved this short (but sweet!) time in San Juan and left wanting so much more!
Santiago Atitlán
Our final stop for the day was in Santiago Atitlán, a town on the south of Lake Atitlán. Santiago was the town that I felt we got the most “local” experience of the day. The group first stopped at a restaurant on the docks for lunch, but the other solo travelers and I broke apart to explore a bit on our own. We strolled up Mercado de Artesanía, the main street that went from the docks up into town. Another street lined with local vendors, and tons of variety. We snagged our own lunch, and then met the group back up near the docks to join them for a tour through town.
The tour organized tuktuks to drive us through town. This ended up being an additional cost, which I didn’t love. Even though it was only a few quetzales, we had no choice but to pay it if we wanted to stay with the group. Our first stop was to a spectacular viewpoint, located here. The straight-on views of Volcán San Pedro were unmatched. This was a real highlight of Santiago, and the day as a whole! Next up was to visit Maximón, a Mayan deity and folk saint. It’s difficult to understand the significance of Maximón, but he is a very important cultural and religious figure. You can read more about Maximón here.
Our final stop in Santiago was at Saint James the Apostle Church. The grounds of this church were stunning, and included a large open courtyard- all original to when it was built in the 16th century. I loved walking the grounds and seeing the inside decorated in bright purple for Lent. We then boarded our tuktuks back to our boat to wrap up the day.
Back to Antigua
After a jam-packed day exploring Lake Atitlán, we made our way back to Pana to catch our shuttle to Antigua. This ride back was a low point, as we were packed as tightly as possible into a van with minimal AC. The winding roads out of Pana made me very car sick, and the constant stopping and accelerating over the speed bumps didn’t help. Thankfully we took a rest stop about an hour and a half in, and the fresh air helped get me back to Antigua without throwing up. Overall, I enjoyed the time on Lake Atitlán exploring all the towns and learning about the history. My time was very limited so a tour was the best way to do it for me, but I would highly recommend spending at least a few days on the lake and exploring on your own, if you are able!
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