Mark’s travel tips
A suggested itinerary for getting around. Built with proposed travel plans in mind. Prices are ranges (about Q7.7 = $1), not quotes.
📍 Guate Gals — our shared Google Maps list · add anything you find to it.
Suggested itinerary — stop by stop
1
✈️ Land at GUA → sleep in Guatemala City
20–35 min
Uber ~Q25–50, official airport taxi ~Q75–95 from the desk inside arrivals, or a hotel shuttle pre-arranged with your flight details.
🔗 Uber at GUA · 🔗 GUA airport transfers · 🔗 Hyatt Centric · 🔗 Real InterContinental
2
🚐 Guatemala City → Antigua
45 min–2 hrs
Shared shuttle $15–18 per person, door-to-door, leaves when it fills. Private transfer ~$40–90 per vehicle — split 4 ways, about the same as 4 shuttle seats, on our schedule. Don't forget to pre-book this one for evening landings.
3
🚐 Antigua → Lake Atitlán
2.5–3.5 hrs
Shared shuttle $20–25 per person, hotel pickup, about 4 departures a day — worth booking a day ahead. Private from ~$135 per vehicle. Most shuttles end in Panajachel even when sold as “to San Pedro,” so confirm the drop-off. Motion-sickness meds before, not after.
4
🚤 Hop the lake by boat
Every ~20–30 min from ~6am
Public boats (Q25 per person, cash) run every ~20–30 min from ~6am to Santa Cruz, San Marcos, San Juan, San Pedro, and stops between (10–60 min). Small bills only — captains rarely have change — and phones in a dry bag, spray is real. ⚠️ Last public boat ~4:30–5pm; miss it and it's an overnight or a Q300–500 private boat. Jaibalito and Santa Cruz are boat-only villages, daylight in and out.
5
🏡 The Palopó side goes by road
10–15 min from Panajachel
Casa Palopó's side of the lake is reached by car or tuk-tuk (the three-wheeled mototaxis used as taxis all over Guatemala), not by the public boats, which are infrequent on that side. Arrange the pickup through the hotel / host.
6
✈️ Back to GUA — mind the 6am flight
3–4 hrs from the lake · 1–2 hrs from Antigua
Suggested for a ~6am departure: sleep in Guatemala City (Zona 10) the night before — not at the lake, not in Antigua. Rush hour can add an hour to any road leg.
Once we're there
Antigua — walk it
- Small, flat center: most sights and restaurants are a 5–15 min walk. Cobblestones are rough on spinner wheels and ankles — flat shoes, backpack or duffel.
- Short hops by tuk-tuk: don't forget to agree the price first. Uber isn't an official Antigua service inside town.
- At night stick to the lit streets around Parque Central; further or later, tuk-tuk or hotel taxi.
Guatemala City — by car
- Zona 10 is our base. Uber or hotel taxi between places — getting between zones is best by car, especially at night.
- Traffic is the schedule: 20 min at 9pm can be an hour at rush hour.
Panajachel & the lake villages
- Calle Santander is walkable; tuk-tuks cover short rides, and about Q10 per person between neighboring villages.
- No Uber at the lake — organize tomorrow's ride or boat today. Villages are steep, with stairs from the dock.
Worth skipping
- Chicken buses (camionetas): crowded, no luggage space, 2–3 changes to the lake — most guides suggest skipping them.
- Renting a car: a booked driver is usually easier than city traffic, cobblestones, and mountain roads.
- GUA → lake after dark: 3–4 hrs of mountain road, then no boats — sleeping first tends to work better.
Before we go
01Cash & cards
Fast math, two ways: anchor on Q100 ≈ $13, or divide any price by 8 — close enough either way. Small quetzal bills daily — boats, tuk-tuks, and markets are cash-only. Cards work at hotels and nicer restaurants (Amex often doesn't). At the lake, get cash in Panajachel; ATMs in smaller villages are rare and sometimes empty. Tipping: ~10% is standard, and restaurants often add it to the bill as propina — check before adding more. Tuk-tuks and boats: no tip expected, just round up.
02Pack
Plugs are US-style — no adapters needed. Layers for ~55°F evenings, flat shoes for cobblestones, a dry bag for the boats, motion-sickness meds for the mountain road.
03Water, altitude & weather
Restaurant ice is usually purified and fine; skip ice from street stalls. Both Antigua and the lake sit around 5,000 ft — noticeable on stairs on day one. February: ~75°F days, ~55°F nights, layers for evening, A/C sparse. Earplugs help — roosters, bells, fireworks. Dates & events: 🔗 February calendar.
04Booking checklist
Suggested pre-bookings: three rides — landing-night pickup, Antigua → lake, and the flight-day return. Don't forget to tell the US government we're coming: 🔗 Enroll in STEP.
📞 If something goes wrong: tourist help is ASISTUR — dial 1500 (free, bilingual, 24/7). Emergencies: police 110.
Guatemala slang & hand symbols
Guatemalan slang — mostly for recognizing, a few safe to use. More: 🔗 Guatemalan slang (Babbel).
Chapín / chapina — a Guatemalan; the proud word Guatemalans use for themselves. Safe to use. 🔊
¡Qué chilero! — cool! The safest slang to actually say — reliably gets a smile. 🔊
¡Aguas! — watch out! If you hear it shouted, move first, ask after. 🔊
¡Puchica! — oh shoot! / wow! Mild enough to use anywhere. 🔊
Vos — “you” between people who know and trust each other (¿Qué onda, vos? = what's up?). With strangers, drivers, and elders, use usted. 🔊
Va · cabal — OK, got it · exactly. Constant in bookings, prices, and directions. 🔊
Pisto — money, cash — if pisto is needed, a card won't do. 🔊
Clavo — a problem. Qué clavo = what a mess, usually why a plan just changed. 🔊
Camioneta — the chicken bus. 🔊
Cerote — recognize it, don't say it: “dude” between close friends, an insult from an outsider. 🔊
👄 Pointing with lips / chin — directions are often given by pursing the lips or tilting the chin toward the thing. Follow their chin, not their hands. Finger-pointing at people is rude — use an open hand.
🤙 “Come here” is palm-down — beckoning is palm-down, fingers scooping in. Looks like “go away” to us — means the opposite.
🤏 Thumb rubbed against fingertips — money: cash, pay, or “that's expensive.” The gesture of price negotiations.
👍👌 Thumbs-up / “OK” — older etiquette guides list both as rude in traditional settings. Words and an open hand are safer with elders and in Maya communities.
🤝 Greetings — handshake and mucho gusto first; women and close friends may add one cheek air kiss. Don't initiate, follow their lead — and don't touch anyone's head, considered sacred in Maya culture.
Get in the mood
📚 Books
- I, Rigoberta Menchú — the Nobel laureate's memoir of Maya life and the civil war years.
- The Art of Political Murder — Francisco Goldman's true-crime investigation into a bishop's murder.
- Bitter Fruit — the 1954 coup, the classic account (audiobook too).
🎧 Podcasts
- Stuff You Missed in History Class — "The 1954 Guatemalan Coup," two parts.
- Truce — "The American Coup in Guatemala," with Bitter Fruit's co-author.
🎵 Music
- Gaby Moreno — Guatemala's Grammy-winning singer-songwriter.
- Marimba — the national instrument; look for Marimba Chapinlandia, and "Luna de Xelajú," the unofficial second anthem. National Marimba Day is Feb 20 — inside the Feb 19–24 and Feb 20–25 windows.