I landed in Guatemala City and didn’t think much of it. Like most Central American capitals, there’s not a lot going on, so I grabbed a couple meals, crashed at a hostel called Tequila Sunrise, and moved on to Antigua fast. That’s the standard move here, and I don’t think anyone’s missing too much by skipping the capital.
Hiking Acatenango Volcano From Antigua
Antigua is where the trip actually started. I checked into a hostel called Tropicana on a recommendation and signed up for the Acatenango hike, the overnight one where you camp near the volcano and watch its neighbor, Fuego, erupt throughout the night.
The day before the hike, I made a bad call. Did legs at the gym, then went and ate greasy Chinese food in Antigua. Got food poisoning almost immediately that night, right as the big day was showing up. I’d just gotten out of the military and figured I was still in shape, that this hike would just be a typical Tuesday of work with a hangover in my old job. I wasn’t, and doing an overnight hike with the double dragon wasn’t going to help. Went anyway. Already paid for it, wasn’t backing out.
The hike runs two days. Day one, you climb up to a camp set next to the volcano and rest for a bit. That night, you head back out down the entire ridge line and up toward the Fuego mountain, hoping the weather holds. I got lucky. Clear skies. You end up standing right on the ridge, watching Fuego erupt close enough to feel it and take photos of it happening. The window up there is short, wish we’d had more time, but it’s still one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Sick, exhausted, standing there watching that mountain go off was worth the trip on its own.
After a little bit, we headed down and took the same route back to camp. The next morning there’s an optional add on hike to catch the sunrise. My half of the group stayed up drinking around the fire and slept through it. The other half made it up to the viewpoint and got some solid photos. I didn’t regret missing it really, snatched some great DSLR photos off someone’s camera and got to sleep in at the same time.
Next was the route back down and getting back to the town of Antigua. I won’t lie, the hike did suck a bit, but I think if I hadn’t been sick, it doesn’t deserve the reputation people give it, with some people saying it was the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Nothing technical about it. No scrambling, just a lot of sustained uphill. Baseline fitness and you’re fine if you take it slow.
Antigua itself has some charm, colonial buildings, cobblestone streets, decent restaurants, more nightlife than I expected out of a town that size. I do recommend Riley’s Irish Tavern if it’s still there, solid time.
Pacaya Volcano Hike, the Easier Volcano Near Antigua
The day after, I did Pacaya, a completely different volcano and a much easier hike. Flatter, more of a casual day trip than a physical test. You can rent a horse and ride up instead of walking. I skipped it, mostly because I’m around 200 pounds and felt like the horses were a little too small to be doing that type of work. Once you’re up there, the ground’s noticeably hot, hot enough that people bake pizza directly in the volcanic rock.
We roasted marshmallows in vents in the ground, stuck around for the sunset, and hiked back down. Much more of a chill vibe than Acatenango, and definitely worth doing if you have the time.
El Paredon Beach Town
After Pacaya, the trip loosens up a bit in my memory. Ended up in a beach town called El Paredon for a few days. Was hanging out with some Irish lads at this point so naturally there’s a “bit” of drinking. Not too much to do in that town, I remember mostly chilling on the beach and going to some party in a large hut.
Slowing Down at Lake Atitlán
From El Paredon I made my way to Lake Atitlán, which was a nice reset after two volcano hikes and a stretch of beach drinking. The lake sits surrounded by a ring of volcanoes, and the towns around it each have their own pace, some quieter, some more built up for travelers passing through. I only stayed a couple days, mostly just slowing down before the next leg.
Caving and Tubing at Semuc Champey
Then on to Semuc Champey, which stood out. Stayed at a hostel called Greengos, right in the middle of the jungle. The mosquitoes are relentless out there, you just have to accept that going in, but the showers had unusually good water pressure, which felt great on all the mosquito bites. The activities are what make this leg, tubing down the river, a caving tour where you’re climbing and sliding around inside the caves, some cliff jumping tied into the same cave system, and of course the famous “cascade” waterfalls.
The 54 Hour Bus Ride to Flores
We had a five hour bus booked from Greengos Hostel to Flores, the town before going to Tikal. Turns out there were country wide protests happening, still don’t know what over, and it seemed like everyone locally already knew except us, including the hostel staff who put us on a bus anyway without a word. Every town on the route had the road blocked. No vehicles through, walking only.
We got about an hour along the journey before the first roadblock. After waiting a pretty long time, we realized this could last days so we started hitchhiking in pieces, walking past each blockade and paying for rides to the next checkpoint. Some drivers helped, others scammed us, where a guy on a motorcycle would ride ahead like he was scouting the road, then he would say “there’s another roadblock and we can’t be seen helping you,” so they would drop us where we thought the next checkpoint was around the corner but it was actually miles away. Happened a couple times.
This went on for basically two days. Two guys in our group, Norwegian I think, missed close to two thousand dollars in flights home over the roadblocks. Nobody along the route seemed to care either way.
Flores and the Tikal Ruins
Flores is a small lake town, the jumping off point for Tikal. Stayed at a hostel called Los Amigos, a “boujee” hostel. Town was pretty relaxed, with activities such as a rope swing (Jorge’s rope swing on Google Maps), some kayaking, and good eats around town. Next day was the Tikal tour. The pyramids are pretty interesting, apparently built by “unpaid volunteers” back in the day and “definitely not slaves” according to the guide. There’s a spot up there tied to a scene from the original Star Wars, sat there and watched the sunset, a decent way to close out that stretch.
Leaving Guatemala
After wrapping that up, it was time to leave Guatemala for El Salvador via Guatemala City. We decided another 54 hour bus back to the capital wasn’t worth risking so we all paid extra for a twin prop flight back to Guatemala City. This is where the group split ways. I ending up staying the night and caught a bus to El Salvador the next morning.
Looking back, this trip had it all. A volcano hike that delivered on its own, a multi day detour that still doesn’t feel real, and a route full of stops worth remembering in between. Would I do it the same way again, food poisoning and roadblocks included? Probably not without a couple changes, but it was indeed a highlight type of trip either way.
