We flew into Guatemala City from Houston, TX via United Airlines. Upon arrival, we exchanged USD for local currency (Quetzal – QTG) at the airport. The currency exchange companies allow you to convert half or less of any unused currency back to your preferred currency at the same rate.

Before arriving, we discussed our private transfer with the Baba Yaga Airbnb host. The hosts graciously helped us to arrange a private car from the airport directly to the property.

The journey from Guatemala City airport to Lake Atitlan takes about 3-4 hours depending on traffic. Our journey took a little longer as we requested the driver to take us to the pharmacy and La Torre grocery store on the way.

We woke up at 3:30 AM to meet our driver and tour guide at 4 AM to depart for our sunrise Indian Nose hike. Our private transfer driver from the day before runs various tours around the lake including this hike so we organized for him to pick us up and be our tour guide.

Our private tour included hotel pickup, round-trip transportation via tuk-tuk, two tour guides, all entry fees, and hot chocolate/coffee at the viewing point. The hike starts in the dark and realistically takes about 45 mins to an hour to arrive at the top.

By 8:30 AM we were back at our Airbnb to relax for a few hours before our 12 PM check-out. Upon checking out we headed to the San Marcos La Laguna public dock (a 10-min walk) to take a public boat to Panajachel.

From the Panajachel dock, our next Airbnb host arranged for a tuk-tuk to meet us. The tuk-tuk driver took us to the La Torre grocery store before heading to the Airbnb property in Santa Catarina Palopo (15-mins away).

We took this day as an opportunity to simply relax, enjoy the views, hang out in the hot tub and make a homemade meal.

We started our day with in-villa massages that the Airbnb host helped us arrange. It was one of the best massages I’ve ever had and I would highly recommend it.

The Airbnb host Emili helped us to arrange a tuk-tuk to get food from Atlantis restaurant for lunch and for our return trip to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for our homemade pasta and chicken dinner.

We would also recommend heading over to Tzampoc Resort to lounge and take photos at their breathtaking infinity pool. The resort has day passes available for purchase for around $25 per person. Our plan was to visit but instead, we opted to just lazily lounge around our villa.

Our Airbnb host assisted us in arranging a private transfer from Santa Catarina Palopo to Antigua, Guatemala. The journey took about 2 hours and cost us $120 USD. We were dropped off directly at our Antigua Hotel, El Convento Boutique hotel.

Shortly after checking in to the hotel we headed to lunch at Fermento before calling an Uber to visit Hobbitenango. The drive to Hobbitenango took about 30-40 minutes.

We only spent a couple of hours at Hobbitenango but for those interested in the restaurant and activities you can definitely spend half a day there. To head back to the hotel we had to take a taxi from the area as Ubers are essentially impossible to get.

Back at the hotel, we chose to order room service for dinner and cap off the night by lounging in the heated jacuzzi that came with our room type.

We would also recommend walking to El Arco de Santa Catalina for a picture at one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city of Antigua.