This past summer, Scott and I found ourselves with a chance to take a long weekend away, just the two of us. Meaning, we decided it had been FAR too long since we had taken a vacation just ourselves, and my super accommodating parents excitedly agreed to handle the kids for a few days. For anyone keeping track, it had actually been over FOUR years since we took a trip for just the two of us – our inadverdant babymoon in Greece (found out J was on the way a few weeks before leaving).
Guatemala was a relatively quick, direct flight from Houston, about 3 hours, and we found a good deal on airfare. It didn’t hurt that pictures of the Lake Atitlan region were absolutely gorgeous. We arranged to drop the kiddos off at my mom’s house on a Wednesday night, and spent the night at a hotel near the airport to meet our early morning flight on Thursday. One thing we have learned after so much travel with kids is that we, the adults, have very few real needs when traveling. We managed to pack everything in just a carry on – amazing! Such a freeing feeling to breeze through the airport with minimal luggage. We had just received our Global Entry, so that was the icing on the cake – waltzing through the TSA Pre-check line. We enjoyed some celebratory child-free vacation cocktails in the United lounge and then took off for Guatemala City! (Traveling in style in first class thanks to perks of Scott’s work travel through the year!)
Day 1
As soon as we landed in Guatemala City, we ordered an Uber to go straight to our Airbnb on Lake Atitlan. The traffic leaving Guatemala City was intense, and then rain started once we got close to the lake. Airport to rental house, the drive took 4.5 hours. Maaaaan we were exhausted by the time we arrived. We knew the drive we be considerable, but when we researched estimated drive times, I don’t think anything considered traffic in GC or the winding road to get down to the lake in bad weather. We thought the drive would be 3 hours, so this was a big adjustment to our expectations. At least the drive was scenic, especially once we started to catch glimpses of the lake. We considered hiring a driver for this trip, but we read that an Uber would be affordable and that this was a common drive for tourists just getting into Guatemala. That turned out to be correct; our driver didn’t bat an eye at the far distance of our destination, and the total cost of the trip was under $100. I can’t even imagine the cost of a 4+ hour drive back home! Even just a 30 minute ride from our suburb into downtown Houston can easily be half that price. We did briefly look into renting a car also but found out that parking would likely be a problem everywhere we went, so we nixed that idea immediately. For someone with more flexibility and looking for a budget option, public buses also run between the towns and cities – called chicken buses. These would be very cheap but would take significantly more travel time.
Our destination at Lake Atitlan was a house that we rented just outside of Panajachel, which was an absolute dream. The view was breathtaking, the accommodations was top-notch, and the home owner provided the number of an English-speaking tuk-tuk driver to call whenever we wanted to head into town. The spacious condo had a huge balcony overlooking the lake and another patio next to the condo had a private hot tub for our enjoyment. Thanks to the higher altitude, even though it was August, the weather was very mild, even chilly when the sun went down. Perfect hot tub conditions, which we took advantage of a couple times.
Our first day at Lake Atitlan consisted of relaxing at the house, and then drinks and dinner in Panajachel. Even though the afternoon’s rainstorm had tapered into a drizzly night, the town was busy. We bar-hopped for a bit, grabbed some food off of one of the main roads and relaxed as we people-watched through the evening. Watching the end of the day routine in another country was a reminder that no matter where you live, kids are happy to head home from school, dinner needs to be brought home, errands need to be run, and reuniting with your significant other after a long day of work is always a source of joy. We capped off the night with a dip in our house’s hot tub. Such a peaceful end to a busy day – watching the moonlight over the lake as we unwound from our long day of travel.
Day 2
Our initial views of Lake Atitlan were a bit hazy thanks to the afternoon rain the previous day, but waking up this morning was a completely different story. No haze, blue skies, and drop dead gorgeous views of the whole lake. We admired the view for as long as we could until the need for some of the famous Guatemalan coffee kicked in, and we decided to walk into town for breakfast.
After a relatively easy 20 minute walk, we grabbed breakfast at a local diner style restaurant in Pana. The food was amazing, and we were so impressed with the bargain prices. Then souvenir shopping took priority and we made our way down the road with the main shopping stalls, Calle Santander. I was specifically on the lookout for a small leather bag (leather items are a local specialty), and I wanted to find some toys to bring back for the kids. Remember when shopping at the stalls here to haggle on prices. Everything is negotiable, and negotiation is expected when the asking prices are set. For example, we talked the price for my leather purse down to half of the original price. It was a successful morning with purchases for us and items to bring back for the kids. We grabbed a tuk-tuk back to the house to drop off our haul and regroup for our next outing.
Once we packed back up, we ventured down to the Pana docks to catch a boat to the town San Marcos. We weren’t really sure what type of boat we wanted to ride; there are options for ferries (lots of people, lots of stops along the lake), group boats, and private boats. As soon as the tuk-tuk driver dropped us off at the docks, a few boat drivers approached us to finagle a deal.. We negotiated with a boat driver for a decent rate for a private boat ride, and he was going to stay at the San Marcos dock until we were ready to head back to Pana. I found this process to be overwhelming, but our tuk-tuk driver helped translate for a bit and Scott made the final decision. A private boat ride honestly felt too luxurious, but the rate was reasonable and we were only in Guate for a few days, so maximizing our time was a priority.
The ride to San Marcos La Laguna was scenic; it was really interesting to see other towns and large mansions along the lakeside. We even could see a couple waterfalls high up in the adjacent mountains. Arriving in San Marcos was also beautiful. This town is significantly more remote than Pana, and the coastline is much more natural. This was actually one of the reasons we decided to stay near Pana; we were worried about accessibility at some of these smaller towns and not being able to go out in the evenings as easily. Our main destination in San Marcos was to the Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve. This was an easy walk from the dock, and there was a platform for cliff jumping. Not every place around the lake is recommended for swimming due to pollution and water contamination, especially around the bigger towns, so we specifically had to seek out a place where we could enjoy some swimming. How could we visit such a gorgeous body of water and not swim in it? We had a BLAST jumping into the lake! Highly recommend for anyone at Lake Atitlan!
Our post-swim lunch at the restaurant Vida was perfection, located along the walk between the nature reserve and the docks. We enjoyed a couple beers to relax after the adrenaline-filled jumps, and we are months later still talking about their back bean hummus. Every town around the lake was known for different things, San Marcos being known for a yogi, hippy vibe. Our quick visit certainly confirmed that atmosphere. The businesses and streets were so quirky, and everyone was very friendly and laid-back. Who wouldn’t be charmed by a disco-themed dog bed spotted in the corner of the restaurant patio?
We caught up with our boat captain at the San Marcos dock and set off back to Pana. The ride was a little more bumpy this time (we heard that the lake gets choppy toward the end of the day), but we made it back just fine. As part of our relaxation plan, we spent the afternoon reading and lounging on the balcony of our house, overlooking the gorgeous lake and watching another round of rain clouds roll in. Once we were ready to head back into town, we called our tuk-tuk driver for a ride. We did a little bit of bar hopping again (shout out to Pana Rock!) and ended up eating dinner at Circus Bar, where there was live music and delicious Italian food. We had a great time, despite the rain, and ended the night relaxing back at the house.
Day 3
Our last morning at Lake Atitlan started out a little rough – we were both dealing with stomach bugs. We had tried our best to avoid the tap water but admittedly forgot when brushing our teeth a couple times. We didn’t really think it would be a big deal, until this day. Our stomachs seemed to settle down by mid-morning, so we grabbed one last meal for breakfast in Pana. Deli Jasmin was a beautiful space and delicious food. A great end to our stay at maybe the most gorgeous lake we had ever seen.
Now on to our next destination, the town of Antigua Guatemala, which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
