Guatemalan Family Adventure

Today we can enjoy a morning cultural walking tour of Antigua. We will visit ruins, churches and the museums of the city. The stories and legends of colonial times are still part of everyday culture and we will visit: La Merced Church, Convent Las Capuchinas, Saint Joseph Cathedral, Central Park, the local craft market & Chocolate Museum. In the afternoon, we will head to a Chocolate Workshop to learn all about the origins of chocolate. We will roast and grind nature’s delight with traditional stone tools and make our own chocolate straight from the Cacao bean. After the demonstration, we will leave with our own handmade chocolates, customized the way you like them, the perfect gift for friends and family back home!  

The Pacaya volcano is one of three active volcanos in Guatemala, standing at 2,552 metres elevation. The hike is a relatively easy ascent and offers spectacular views of the whole volcanic chain. If you prefer, you may hire a horse at the entrance to the park for the ascent. We will head along a trail through a pine forest to the volcanic ash and finally reach the cone of the volcano. From the top, you can enjoy excellent views of the volcanoes. After enjoying our volcano adventure tour, we will descend to the foothills and hand back to the hotel.

Today we will head to the market town of Chichicastenango, where the Mayan and Catholic traditions come together in glorious and colourful fashion! The scent of incense and the people's mysticism offers a unique atmosphere found only in Guatemala. The combinations of tastes, smells and colours combine uniquely here and we will head for a traditional lunch with a local Mayan family for the full, cultural experience. We will then head to Lake Atitlan for the evening.

Today, we will visit San Juan La Laguna, where we can see the women’s textile cooperative for hand weaving and natural dye processing of the textiles. We will also visit the homes of the famous naïf painters before we continue to Santiago Village. We will then head to see the famous Maya deity, Maximon and learn about the textiles, spiritualism and beliefs of the T’zutujil Maya. Each year a different family houses the saint of the town, taking care of their cigarette smoking God. In the afternoon, we will have the unique opportunity to be an artist and paint our own Maya design on a white canvas with the local artists' help. The perfect fun activity for all the family and the most original souvenir to take back home!

Today, we will enjoy another day on Lake Atitlan, with a Kayaking excursion on the lake. We will then head to an incredible butterfly farm to see the colourful endemic species of Guatemala and be amazed at the different species that live here. There is an optional zipline adventure for those who are feeling brave enough! After a day of activities, we will head back to the hotel for the evening.

Today we will leave the serene Atitlan for Guatemala City. We will visit Popol Vuh and The Ixchel Museum or The National Archaeology Museum, depending on the day, We will also take a trip to the historical centre. In the early evening, we will take a flight to Flores on the Caribbean Coast of Guatemala and the home of the Mayan temple of Tikal.

After breakfast, we will head off to a private reserve on the Quexil lagoon where we can feed the native monkeys with fresh fruit and vegetables. We will head out on the lagoon for a boat trip to Monkey Island. Here we can appreciate these magical animals as they come down from the treetops in their search for food. They may approach us if we are patient enough and they are playful and friendly when we remain calm. We will then continue on to The Ixpanpajul Park. You will have two optional activities, either the Sky Walk, walking across amazing suspension bridges and the twisting paths full of lush green jungle vegetation where we will have direct contact with nature. OR you can fly through the rainforest tree canopies like Tarzan on a zipline adventure for a different perspective of the jungle. We will head back to the hotel for the afternoon and our final evening of the tour.

After breakfast, we will head off to a private reserve on the Quexil lagoon where we can feed the native monkeys with fresh fruit and vegetables. We will head out on the lagoon for a boat trip to the Monkey Island. Here we can appreciate these magical animals as they come down from the treetops in their search food. They may approach us if we are patient enough and they are playful and friendly when we remain calm. We will then continue on to The Ixpanpajul Park, where you will have two optional activities, either the Sky Walk, walking across amazing suspension bridges and the twisting paths full of lush green jungle vegetation where we will have direct contact with nature. OR you can fly through the rainforest tree canopies like Tarzan, on a zipline adventure for a different perspective of the jungle. We will head back to the hotel for the afternoon and our final evening of the tour.

Today is the final day of the tour. After breakfast, we will head back to the airport for our flight back to Guatemala City for our international flight back home or on to your next exciting destination!