ANTIGUA
Antigua is certainly a city of charm and history, with blazing volcanos towering in the distance. A well preserved UNESCO world heritage site, which also has an impressively modern food and cafe scene. Climbing Volcán Acatenango was amongst the most memorable experiences of my travels, and spending two weeks in Antigua genuinely flew by. A must see in Guatemala and a place that you can comfortably base yourself out of. It’s no wonder that it’s a popular destination for outdoor activity enthusiasts, digital nomads, backpackers, yogis, and retirees. There is no shortage of activities while also being a decent place to let life pass you by.
Where To Stay:
Antigua is small so you’ll never be too far from the center. During the day, the town is very safe, and even at night, there are security cameras on the street corners. Maybe due to COVID though, I found the town to be a bit dark and desolate after sunset. So if you’re traveling alone, I would recommend staying in accommodation that is close to the central plaza.
- Hostel Recommendation: Adra Hostel
- Other highly Rated Hostels: Maya Papaya, Ojala, Casi Casa
- The Selina in Antigua is nice but a bit further from the center. Selina does have a shuttle to other destinations in Guatemala. Compare their prices with Uber before booking, especially if you have people to split the price with
- Hotel Splurge: Casa Santo Domingo. This hotel is gorgeous. Even if you don’t stay, it may be worth having lunch their just to see the property
- There are many boutique hotels throughout town, accommodating to most budgets
- Airbnb: I met a lot of people who went this route and enjoyed it
- Host Families: Many of the Spanish schools also offer home stays
Where To EAt:
Food in Antigua is great. There’s a big emphasis on healthy and locally grown food. Restaurants tend to have beautiful and relaxing terraces, gardens, decor etc. Prices tend to trend a bit high for Latin American standards, but well worth it in my opinion.
Cafes:
- El Portal: I normally avoid restaurants in main squares – but this place was special. I went almost every night to order cheesecake and a tea, while studying Spanish and chatting with the waiters. A nightly ritual that I genuinely miss
- Amanacer Juice Bar: Good for smoothies and healthy dishes
- Union Cafe: Healthy and fresh food
- Fat Cat: Coffee shop
Restaurants:
- SabeRico: one of my favorite garden set restaurants for breakfast or lunch
- La Casa de las Sopas: The house of the soups – self explanatory. It’s cheap and it’s soup and it’s delicious
- Por Qué No? Cafe: Small spot on the corner good for dinner and wine
- Pitaya: Great for brunch
- Cafe Boheme: French food with a terrace. A nice place to enjoy some wine as well
- Como Como: great food and atmosphere
- Sobre mesa: I didn’t make it here unfortunately but it has great reviews
- El Viejo: Typical breakfast
- Caoba Farm: A restaurant on a farm where they grow their own ingredients (pictured below). I really loved this place
What To do:
Volcán Acatenango: There are a few agencies you can go with, I chose to go with Tropicana hostel and this was my experience. Overall, I would recommend booking with them mostly because they have one of the best, if not the best view at basecamp, which is why you’re really there
- I wouldn’t say the tour guides were particularly great, they weren’t bad but the goal was safety, this isn’t really an educational tour
- Most of the guides grow up with this volcano in their backyard. They basically run up without breaking a sweat and sometimes carrying ridiculously heavy bags – it’s truly impressive. despite doing these tours 3-4 times per week, most don’t speak a lick of English. They also assume that 99% of people on the tour do not speak Spanish, so interaction with the group was a bit lacking
- It’s a big group, many from Israel, so though we made some friends, it’s just something to be prepared for as it’s sometimes hard to integrate with large groups of people traveling together, especially when they are speaking Hebrew
- Bring snacks and plenty of water. We weren’t prepared that we had to donate a liter of water at the top to cook the food, due to lack of paying attention to directions
- Tropicana allows you to rent clothes (3 garments for free and you can pay extra for a backpack and/or more clothes). You can also buy clothing at the market. I bought a hat, gloves, and socks for very cheap. The market in Antigua is interesting and this gave us a fun mission
- It wasn’t too cold at night but sunrise at the top was frigidddd. Wear layers
- There’s an optional hike to Fuego which is the active volcano that you can see from Acatenango. It’s apparently very challenging but you get really close to the lava. There is an extra charge for this hike as well
- Bring cash to rent/buy a walking stick. It’s necessary
Cerro de la Cruz: Small hike up the hill in town. A nice place to go at sunset with a view of the town and volcano
Visit a Farm:
- Caoba Farms: Check the hours because they close early. This was one of my favorite places. It’s a short walk from the city center, farm, market, and restaurant
- Valhalla Macadamia Nut Farm: Slightly outside the city, you can Uber. They are famous for their macadamia pancakes and macadamia oil massages
Learn Spanish: Guatemala is known for being a great place to learn Spanish. Partly due to having well organized, affordable schools. as well as using pretty neutral Spanish without too much slang unlike our friends in Argentina or Chile
Mountain biking: Another activity offered in the area surrounding Antigue. As mentioned before in this blog, bikes and I don’t always get along so I skipped this activity. If it’s your thing though, there are apparently some great trails and tours offered
