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Guatemala
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Sacatepéquez Department
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Antigua Guatemala
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Tours & Activities
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Chichicastenango and Panajachel Day Trip from Antigua
1 day
Full Day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Discover the towns of Panajachel and Chichicastenango on this 9-hour day trip from Antigua. After pickup from your Antigua hotel, your tour begins as you head northwest to Chichicastenango. You'll feel like you've stepped back in time as you walk through the town’s narrow cobblestone streets and past its red-tiled roofs. In the main town plaza, visit the famous Chichicastenango open-air market, filled with locally made products like ceramic pots, wood carvings and handmade goods, as well as fruits and vegetables. Browse the local wares and pick up a souvenir or two to take home!
While you’re in the plaza, visit the Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Santo Tomas), located on the east side of the plaza. Dating back to 1540, the church is often home to Mayan rituals. Then, visit Calvary Church, a smaller version of Iglesia Santo Tomas located on the west side of the plaza.
After exploring Chichicastenango for a few hours, continue your day trip to Panajachel, a small town located on the northeast shore of Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlan). Known as a hub for traveling across Lago de Atitlán, Panajachel is a quaint, charming town where you'll stop for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant (own expense) before heading over to visit the town’s main thoroughfare, Santander Street. Walk along the street with your guide and observe town life going on at the locally made handicraft stalls, other shops and restaurants. Admire beautiful views of Lago de Atitlán from the shores of Panajachel before heading back to Antigua.
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While you’re in the plaza, visit the Iglesia de Santo Tomas (Church of Santo Tomas), located on the east side of the plaza. Dating back to 1540, the church is often home to Mayan rituals. Then, visit Calvary Church, a smaller version of Iglesia Santo Tomas located on the west side of the plaza.
After exploring Chichicastenango for a few hours, continue your day trip to Panajachel, a small town located on the northeast shore of Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlan). Known as a hub for traveling across Lago de Atitlán, Panajachel is a quaint, charming town where you'll stop for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant (own expense) before heading over to visit the town’s main thoroughfare, Santander Street. Walk along the street with your guide and observe town life going on at the locally made handicraft stalls, other shops and restaurants. Admire beautiful views of Lago de Atitlán from the shores of Panajachel before heading back to Antigua.
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
Not included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
70%
Reviews
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This tour was ideal to pack in a lot of sites into our much too short visit to Guatemala. We were initially concerned about the long drives, but the guide was extremely knowledgeable and made the tour interesting throughout the entire time in the car (and outside of it!). We spent a good amount of time in the market and the guide made it a learning and cultural experience rather than just shopping. He also did a great job of making sure we had enough time to see everything. The time in Panajachel was a bit short, but that was expected given the time limitations.
I loved walking through the markets of Chichicastenango I felt we had the perfect amount of a guided tour and then free time to shop. Driving to Panajachel was lovely, and we ate lunch near the lake. I would have preferred an earlier meal and time at the lake instead of just viewing it. But it was still a lovely day and one I recommend!
This tour was amazing!
This day trip was a nice experice. Mike the tour guide was great. The visit to the market was impressive to me, all the colors, people, the cementery. The view to the lake.
This trip was wonderful, the driver was the best one we could have! He told us a lot of the history about Guatemala. He was an expert on driving besides it is a difficult road. The only thing we miss was our walk through Santander Street, we just went to it by car and that was it! We wonder why?
This tour from Guatemalan adventure is ok. Market and Lake are a long drive from Antigua. Market I believe is almost 3 hrs and lake is around 1 - 1:30 hr from the Market and drive back from lake is around 3 hrs. Roads are windy and you might get sick driving up and down the hills. Traffic jams can be expected too. Market itself is nice and colorful. You can find lot of stuff to buy and you can negotiate the prices too. Our guide Ramirez I believe was a nice guy and very informative and kept us engaged throughout the trip. Lake is beatuiful surrounded by volcanoes but you wont have much time to spend at the lake. We had lunch near a lake side resturarant and spent around 15-20 mins and headed back. We couldn't find good place to walk around lake. More of resturants where we were stopped and it was dirty to walk.
We really enjoyed this tour the driver gave us lots of information about the region and the markets and plenty of time to explore and have lunch at our leisure, recommended.
It's a beautiful lake to visit. I recommend to visit during off season because you can enjoy a walk by the lake peacefully. But if you're members of younger crowds, perhaps July - August visit fits you better.
Our guide Michelangelo was VERY knowledgeable and an absolute delight to spend the day with. He took great care of us, taught us a lot about the area, and left us wanting to book a longer stay at Lake Atitlan.