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Looking for the best things to do in Antigua, Guatemala? We’ve got you covered!
Antigua is incredibly charming and full of outdoor adventure; there’s a reason it draws in so many travelers! We fell in love with this city and have been back multiple times. Antigua has something for everyone, whether you want to climb a volcano or take a relaxing cooking class.
If you’re trying to plan your perfect travel itinerary, keep reading! I put together the top 10 things to do in Antigua, including a variety of activities. Hopefully, you can squeeze in more than just one of Antigua’s best activities—trust me, you’ll want to do them all!
Don’t Miss Out On Our Top Choice!
The tour we loved the most and suggest booking ASAP is this one!
Our personal FAVORITE thing to do in Antigua is this overnight hike of the Acatenango Volcano. This is a total bucket-list activity where you can see the Fuego Volcano erupt. It completely lives up to the hype!
Things to do in Antigua
1. Acatenango Volcano hike
- Duration: 2 days
- Time: 7 am
- Highlights: Camp overnight on Acatenango Volcano, watch eruptions from nearby Fuego, and summit at sunrise for sweeping views
- Inclusions: Dinner, lunch, bilingual professional guide, transport by private vehicle to and from the Antigua office, free rental gear (warm clothes, headtorch, liner), pre-trip meeting at 3 pm the day before, two breakfasts
- Rating: 4.6 stars (check 340+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
Hiking up Acatenango Volcano is at the top of our Antigua must-do list, and this overnight hiking tour is hands-down the best way to experience it. It’s an adventure we’ll never forget and one of those stories you’ll be excited to share with friends and family the moment you’re back.
To clear up any confusion, Acatenango is actually a dormant volcano and hasn’t erupted since 1972. The real spectacle comes from neighboring Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in Central America. From Acatenango’s summit at 3,976 meters (13,044 feet), you’ll have a front-row seat to eruptions every 15–30 minutes — smoke plumes during the day and glowing lava bursts after dark.
Splitting the trek across two days is the most enjoyable way to tackle the elevation gain, and that’s exactly how this tour is designed. After being picked up in Antigua, you’ll begin the gradual climb toward base camp, reaching it in time to watch the sun dip behind the mountains as Fuego continues to erupt in the distance. The tour includes hearty meals, a sleeping bag and mattress, and shared lodging at base camp, so you can settle in and soak up the experience.
Before sunrise, you’ll make the final push to the summit, where the views are nothing short of unforgettable. After breakfast back at camp, you’ll descend the volcano and return to Antigua by midday.
It’s a challenging two days, but absolutely worth it — an iconic Guatemala adventure you simply shouldn’t miss.
This tour is popular—secure your spot here so you don’t miss out!
2. Join a walking tour of the city
- Duration: 3 hours
- Time: 9 am, 10 am, 2 pm, and 3 pm
- Highlights: Explore Antigua’s cobblestone streets with a local guide, visit landmarks like La Merced Church and the Santa Catalina Arch, learn about Mayan jade and colonial history
- Inclusions: Licensed bilingual tour guide, small-group walking tour
- Rating: 4.7 stars (check 670+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
Antigua is a small city, and it’s quite easy to walk, not to mention the many hiking trails through the mountains and volcanoes surrounding the city. However, if you enjoy learning about the history of the place you are visiting and literally leaving your footprints on it, I recommend joining a walking tour.
A local guide will take you on this three-hour walking tour of the city, visiting the main landmarks and telling you all about Antigua’s history. We passed by the Santa Catalina Arch, the stunning Iglesia de La Merced, a jade factory, and more! You will learn about all the volcanoes and earthquakes throughout the city’s history and all the major events since the city’s birth in the 16th Century. We were surprised at how much we learned on this tour!
This tour is the best way to get your bearings in Antigua. Our guide gave us a list of the best restaurants and bars in town and also recommended the Acatenango Overnight hike (see activity #1), which we were hesitant to take, but it ended up being one of the best experiences of our lives.
Book this tour with over 670 glowing reviews here!
3. Go on a food tour
- Duration: 3 hours
- Time: 12 pm and 4:15 pm
- Highlights: Taste your way through Antigua with 10+ local dishes, meet chefs and restaurant owners, explore top eateries with a local guide
- Inclusions: Small-group tour, 9+ tastings, bottled water, small gift to take home
- Rating: 4.8 stars (check 130+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
For us, food is the heart of any city, so we couldn’t leave Antigua, Guatemala, without taking a food tour. Knowing their flavors, textures, and influences helped us better understand the place and its people. And to be completely honest, their gastronomy was a surprise to us (a good one)!
Their Mayan and Spanish influences make Guatemalan food very rich. But knowing what to order (especially in a different language) can be a bit challenging. They do have a wide variety of unknown ingredients, especially for us non-Latinos. That’s why we decided to take this Antigua Foodie Tour.
While it’s not particularly cheap, it is absolutely worth it! This is almost like a private food tour as they only accept small groups, and you get to eat in different restaurants. We got to sample about 10 different dishes – so we were stuffed by the end! But it was so fun going to the local restaurants and meeting the owners, whose whole life revolves around this incredible food.
The tour lasts about 3 hours and includes water, but no sodas or alcoholic beverages. You will also get a super tasty dessert by the end! The tour takes off from a central meeting point in the town square. Be sure to come hungry!
Reserve this tour now and pay later when you book it here!
4. Hike Pacaya Volcano
- Duration: 6 hours
- Time: 6 am and 2 pm
- Highlights: Hike Guatemala’s active Pacaya Volcano with a local guide, enjoy panoramic views and lava fields, roast marshmallows over volcanic vents
- Inclusions: Trail guide in Spanish and English, shared transportation round-trip from Antigua
- Rating: 4.5 stars (check 470+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
We really love to hike and see amazing views from every place we visit. If you enjoy hikes too, Antigua is the right place to come. There are some pretty great trails to the volcanoes surrounding the city, and the one most people take is the hike to Pacaya Volcano.
We did this 6-hour adventure tour, which includes transportation to and from your hotel as well as an expert guide who speaks English and knows so much about the volcano.
Keep in mind that you’ll be walking for several hours over warm soil, so be sure to bring the right footwear. Otherwise, you won’t be able to enjoy this adventure. Once you are at the top, there’s actually a spot to roast marshmallows with volcanic heat, which was a wild and fun experience.
While hiking a volcano sure sounds daunting, we thought this hike was pretty average. Not overly challenging, but not too easy either. You can opt to rent a horse if you need some assistance too, and you’ll be required to pay the entrance fee upon arrival, so bring some cash!
Check out the hundreds of positive reviews and book this volcano hike here!
5. Sunset ATV tour
- Duration: 4–5 hours
- Time: 2:15 pm
- Highlights: Ride ATVs to Antigua’s best viewpoints, visit Cerro de la Cruz, explore the hilltop eco-park Hobbitenango, enjoy a mountain sunset with optional food and drinks
- Inclusions: Local guide, fuel surcharge, local taxes, use of helmet, small-group tour
- Rating: 4.9 stars (check 470+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
ATVing is one of our favorite things to do when we travel, and if we find a tour, we never hesitate to take it. This Antigua ATV Sunset Tour will take you into the mountains, stopping by some great lookout points and ending up in Hobbitenango to catch the sunset.
The road isn’t hard at all, and even if you’ve never driven an ATV, you’ll be able to finish the tour without any trouble. We had two guides, and both were very professional and friendly. They shared a lot of information about the volcanoes and the history of the city, something we always enjoy when we are traveling.
I loved the views of the city from abov,e with that magnificent volcano always in the background! We took the best pictures of the entire trip on this tour.
This tour is popular – book it in advance here and get FREE cancellation options.
Why We Book Tours with Viator
Viator is a trusted online booking system for tours around the world! We almost always book our tours using Viator for a couple of reasons:
- Free cancellation on most tours – Most of the tours on Viator allow you to cancel and get a full refund up to 24 hours in advance. This is handy in case plans change, or if booking an outdoor activity, the weather forecast is looking grim.
- Reserve now and pay later – You can secure your spot on some of the most popular tours well in advance and not pay until closer to the day of the tour.
- Lowest price guarantee – If you happen to find the same tour at a lower price elsewhere, Viator will refund you the price difference.
- Pay in your chosen currency – Avoid costly international transaction fees by choosing to pay in your home currency.
- Peace of mind – When booking with tour operators you find in person on the street or in small booking offices, you are often promised one thing and given another. This online platform holds tour operators accountable with a written description of inclusions as well as the opportunity for customers to leave reviews.
Check out the Viator website here! Or, for more info, read our detailed review about Viator here.
6. Take a cooking class
- Duration: 3–4 hours
- Time: 10 am and 4 pm
- Highlights: Cook traditional Guatemalan dishes with local chefs in Jocotenango, choose from classic recipes, and enjoy your meal on a rooftop with volcano views or in a colonial dining room
- Inclusions: Lunch, snacks, bottled water, beverages, restroom on board, private transportation, small-group tour
- Rating: 5 stars (check 360+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
If you took the food tour mentioned earlier and loved everything you tried, take your experience to the next level! This authentic Guatemala cooking class was so much fun and a great way to dive into Guatemalan culture.
You don’t hear much about Guatemalan food, but I assure you it’s delicious. You will notice right away the Mayan heritage (like in some Mexican food), and their ways of seasoning different meats will remind you of Spanish food. We learned all about it from our teacher, who was exceptionally hospitable and a skilled chef.
Our class lasted for 4 hours, in which we picked our dishes from a menu and started cooking. We loved having the option of what we could cook, so we could make our favorite dishes. This also easily caters to vegetarians!
After we prepared our meal, we sat on the rooftop terrace and overlooked the city as we dined! It was an experience to remember. We thought this tour was a great deal as it included transportation, our cooking ingredients, snacks, alcoholic drinks, our local chef, and a yummy meal at the end.
Check availability and reserve this cooking class here.
Related Read: Need help planning your trip? Check out our epic 3-day itinerary full of everything you need to make the most out of your time in Antigua!
7. Learn how to make chocolate at the ChocoMuseo
- Duration: 2 hours
- Time: 11 am and 3 pm
- Highlights: Learn to make chocolate from bean to bar in a hands-on workshop at Antigua’s ChocoMuseo, taste traditional cacao drinks, create your own handmade chocolates to take home
- Inclusions: Chocolate drink tasting, all materials to make your own chocolates, 120 g of your handmade chocolate
- Rating: 4.8 stars (check 330+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
Chocolate is such a big deal in Guatemala that you wouldn’t want to miss the chance to learn how to make it. Head to the ChocoMuseum to learn all about the history of chocolate in Guatemala, and also dive into the workshop!
This Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Workshop lets you experience the entire chocolate-making process from start to finish, with plenty of hands-on fun along the way. You’ll even take home a chocolate bar made entirely by you. The included chocolate drinks are a definite highlight—and trust us, they’re incredible.
There is also a cute little marketplace where you can buy all kinds of crafts and chocolate with pretty exotic ingredients like chile. Located near Parque Central, this is a nice place to spend a couple of hours one afternoon with your friends and family, especially if you are a chocolate lover!
Check out the 200+ 5-star reviews and secure your spot here!
8. Head to Lake Atitlan
- Duration: 10 hours
- Time: 6 am
- Highlights: Travel from Antigua to Lake Atitlán, enjoy scenic highland viewpoints, take a group boat tour to the Mayan villages of San Juan, San Pedro, and Santiago
- Inclusions: Guide, private transportation, boat Transportation, small-group tour
- Rating: 4.9 stars (check 200+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
If you’re looking for a captivating, alluring, and breathtaking place to visit while in Antigua, Guatemala, then Lake Atitlan is where you should be heading. This is a body of water inside a volcanic crater, and it’s surrounded by green mountains.
This is one of the most beautiful places in Guatemala, located about 2.5 hours from Antigua. Just looking at one picture will be enough for you to add this to your itinerary and plan all the things you want to do in Lake Atitlan!
If you just have one day to explore Lake Atitlan, I recommend taking this private full-day tour from Antigua. While I hope you get more time to explore this beautiful area, one day will suffice if you’re on a time crunch!
The guide will pick you up from your hotel in Antigua and hit the road toward the lake. Luckily, they break up the journey by stopping at scenic viewpoints and local markets along the way, so the drive doesn’t feel as long as it is!
Once you get there, you’ll be taken on a boat tour around the lake. There are some seriously cute villages and tourist towns around the lake, so I love that you get a chance to explore Panajachel, San Juan, San Pedro, and Santiago. That’s a lot in one day!
The cost of this tour varies by group size, with rates dropping as more people join. It includes a guide, transportation, and the boat ride, but not food, so be sure to bring some cash. You’ll likely want a bit extra anyway, since there are plenty of beautiful handicrafts and souvenirs along the way.
Book this tour in advance to secure your spot, before it sells out!
9. Coffee tour
- Duration: 4 hours
- Time: 9 am and 2 pm
- Highlights: Visit sustainable coffee and macadamia farms near Antigua, sample fresh products, learn how these projects support Indigenous communities
- Inclusions: Professional guide, transport by air-conditioned vehicle, private tour
- Rating: 4.7 stars (check 50+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
Guatemalan coffee is world-renowned, and a coffee tour is a great way to learn more about their agriculture and coffee beans. This Coffee & Macadamia Fincas Tour was not only a great way to learn about the business, but we also got to experience the countryside just outside of Antigua. Spoiler alert: it’s beautiful!
We visited a sustainable coffee plantation and a macadamia nut plantation. These weren’t giant farms, so we loved getting to see the local farm life and how immersed coffee is in Guatemalan culture. We learned about the whole process, from growing the beans to roasting, and also about the long-standing history.
Plus, you’ll get your caffeine fix with a chance to taste the excellent finished product. As a coffee lover myself, this was a really cool activity as I got to try one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had.
This tour included hotel pick-up and a personal guide, who was very knowledgeable and kind. You do have to pay for entrance to the farm, so double-check the cost with the tour before you go!
Reserve this tour now and get flexible payment and cancellation options.
10. Carve your own jade
- Duration: 2 hours
- Time: 9:30 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm
- Highlights: Design, cut, and carve your own jade piece with guidance from expert artisans, learn why jade is central to Guatemalan history and culture, leave with your handcrafted keepsake
- Inclusions: All equipment, choose from a wide range of jade pieces, free guided tour of the Mesoamerican Museum of Jade, small-group workshop
- Rating: 5 stars (check 320+ reviews here)
- Free cancellation: Yes
- Price: Check price here!
This 2-hour jade carving workshop is one of those experiences we genuinely wish we had squeezed into our own trip to Antigua. It kept popping up in our research, and the reviews are just fantastic. The idea of sitting down with a piece of raw Guatemalan jade and transforming it into a pendant or small keepsake just seems so special, and a lot more meaningful than buying a souvenir from a shop.
The workshop is led by expert jade carvers who guide you through the entire process. You’ll begin by choosing your stone from a beautiful selection in different colors and shapes. Then you learn how to design, cut and carve your piece into a necklace, bracelet charm or keychain.
If you love hands-on activities or want a souvenir with real cultural significance, this is a fantastic choice—it’s creative, peaceful, and completely unique to Antigua. If we find ourselves back in the city, this will be at the top of our list!
Reserve this experience now and pay later when you book online here!
Where to Stay in Antigua, Guatemala
Now that you know all the amazing experiences Antigua has to offer, you’re going to want to stay in the city for at least a few days. The good news is that there are plenty of accommodations to choose from.
Whether this is a stop on a larger tour around Central America for you, and you want to save money at a more budget-friendly hotel, or if comfort and style are top of the list, there are some nice hotels in the mid to higher price range, too.
These are a few of our favorite places to stay in Antigua:
Luxury – $$$
Hotel Museo Spa Casa Santo Domingo isn’t only a destination that’s one of the best places to see in Antigua, it’s also one of the best places to stay! It’s a luxurious 5-star experience with a stellar pool, beautiful garden area, spa, and museums all onsite. This former convent feels like you’re staying in a piece of history. The rooms range from $250 to $400USD and include rooms with fireplaces, scenic views, and options for cozy suites.
Check availability and book this stay on Booking.com.
Mid-range – $$
Feel like you’re staying in an art gallery at this stunning boutique hotel. Hotel y Arte Antigua has a great location that’s within walking distance to lots of local restaurants and many of the sights, like Parque Central and Convento Santa Clara. The rooms are big and SO colorful with art and decor. The staff members are really attentive and helpful, too. Rooms here are around $90 USD per night.
Budget – $
Only a 3-minute walk from the famous Santa Catalina Arch, the Selina Antigua is centrally located for easy access to explore the city. There are also bike rentals available here, along with a swimming pool and a nice garden to relax in. If you don’t mind sharing a dorm-style room, you can pay as little as $15 USD per night. If sharing isn’t for you, there are private rooms more in the $60 USD per night range.
Get your room on Booking.com or Hostelworld.com.
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As you plan your getaway to Central America, don’t forget a stop in Antigua, Guatemala. This city has a wonderful historic feel to it that you’ll pick up on the moment you set foot on its streets. Once you’re here, the food, the people, and the incredible experiences (like camping on a volcano!) will leave you with memories to last a lifetime!
If you found this guide helpful, be sure to check out our other Central America blogs. We’ve traveled all over the world and love sharing our tips, favorite places, and best travel stories with people. I’ll leave a few related blogs below to help further your travel planning!
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