Around 5:30pm on our third night, my wife and I were kneeling next to a crack in a lava rock, feeding marshmallows into it on wooden skewers and waiting for an active volcano to toast our dessert. That's when I figured out this wasn't going to be a normal look-at-the-pretty-church kind of vacation. To be fair, we looked at plenty of pretty churches too.
We spent five days in Antigua, Guatemala, the old colonial capital, which sits in a valley surrounded by three volcanoes about 45 minutes from Guatemala City. Here's how it went, day by day, plus what I'd tell a friend before they go. If you're putting together a longer Guatemala trip, I've also written about the surf town of El Paredon and the Lake Atitlán towns of San Juan la Laguna and San Marcos la Laguna.
The short version: 5 days and 4 nights based in Antigua's La Merced neighborhood, day trips to Pacaya Volcano and Hobbitenango, zero rental cars, and a lot of cobblestones.
Getting there and where we stayed
Antigua doesn't have its own airport. You fly into La Aurora in Guatemala City, and from there it's about 45 minutes by shuttle or car through the hills if traffic cooperates. At rush hour, Living in Guatemala says to plan on 1.5 to 2 hours, and Friday afternoons are the worst (checked October 2026). We stayed at the Nico Hotel, a few blocks from the main square. It was quiet enough to sleep, close enough to walk everywhere, and the La Merced church is close by, which is about as photogenic a corner as the city has. The hotel was cute, the bed was comfortable, and the staff were delightful. They even include a free breakfast! It's small and simple, which suited us fine since we were saving room for everything else Antigua had to eat.
Day 1: Landing and chasing golden hour at La Merced
We got in with just enough daylight to drop our bags and go find something to look at, and La Merced came through. The church is an almost absurdly ornate mustard-yellow building covered in white stucco garlands, with saints in little alcoves. It's the wedding-cake look Antigua is famous for, and in the early evening light it looks like it's lit from the inside.
Right out front there's one of those big "YO ♥ ANTIGUA" letter signs, with giant folk-art puppet heads (gigantes) in traditional dress standing next to it. Yes, it's touristy. We still kept ending up back at this same corner for the rest of the trip.
Day 2: Wandering the colonial core
Day two had no real plan, which in Antigua is the correct plan. We went back to La Merced in the morning with the real camera for detail shots (the little saint statues in their niches, the vine-and-grape relief carved into the columns) and then let the streets pull us around for the rest of the day.
A few stops from that wander:
We ducked into a courtyard somewhere for lunch and got completely distracted by a bleeding-heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) dripping white and red flowers over a wooden trellis. I didn't expect it, and then I couldn't stop photographing it.
Around mid-afternoon we found a dim little cocktail bar with a leaf-covered ceiling, strung lanterns, and blue lights under the shelves. It doesn't advertise itself from the street, and it was a perfect place to sit out the hottest part of the day.
We ended the night at Antigua Cerveza's El Bosque taproom, set back in the trees on the edge of town, sitting around a proper bonfire with local craft beer until it got fully dark. If you need one evening off from churches and ruins, go here.
Day 3: Convent ruins in the morning, an active volcano at sunset
This was the big day. We started early, walking through the ruins of what we're pretty sure was La Recolección, one of the convents flattened by the 1773 earthquake that ended up pushing the capital to Guatemala City. Antigua has several of these roofless, half-collapsed churches, but La Recolección is on another scale. Whole sections of vaulted ceiling lie at angles, brick shows through cracked white plaster, and weeds grow out of the tops of walls three stories up. Under a grey sky it felt less like a tourist site and more like something we'd stumbled onto by accident.
In the afternoon we did the thing you have to do near Antigua: the Pacaya Volcano hike. A van picks you up and drives about 45 minutes south to the trailhead near San Vicente Pacaya. The trail starts with a view back over the valley toward Guatemala City and Lake Amatitlán, climbs through pine forest, and then dumps you out onto an actual field of hardened lava rock.
The marshmallow thing is real. Guides find a crack in the rock that's still hot from geothermal activity, and you roast marshmallows on skewers right in the stone. It's a little absurd and completely worth it. On the way down, right as the light was going gold, a volcano (Agua, most likely, based on where we were standing) came into view with a scarf of cloud wrapped around its summit. That was one of those "okay, this is why we travel" moments.
Bring closed-toe shoes for this one. The lava rock is sharp and the footing gets loose near the top.
Day 4: Hobbitenango, then chocolate
We'd seen Hobbitenango on Instagram and went back and forth on it before the trip, because a Lord of the Rings-themed hillside park about 8km northeast of Antigua could go either way. It was worth it. The drive is about 30 minutes up a winding road to a ridge at roughly 7,800 feet, and the view from up there is wild. On a clear day you can see Agua, Fuego, Acatenango, and Pacaya all at once, plus the whole Panchoy Valley below. The hobbit holes and rope bridges are objectively silly, and we had a great time anyway.
Before Hobbitenango we'd stopped into La Merced again. It was decorated for something that day, with sheer orange and white fabric draped from the vaulted ceiling all the way down to the golden altar, and it looked nothing like it had on our first evening.
Later that afternoon we wandered over to the San Francisco church and Hermano Pedro area on the south side of the historic center. There's a great little corner bakery there, Panadería Hermano Pedro, and it's a good reminder that Antigua isn't just a museum piece. People live here and buy their bread here. We finished with hot chocolate and a square of dark chocolate at a little chocolate workshop nearby, which seemed like the right way to end a day that started with hobbit holes.
Day 5: A slow morning, then Cerro de la Cruz
On our last full day we didn't rush. We had coffee in the garden at the McDonald's on 4a Calle Poniente, easily the fanciest McDonald's I've ever been to, sitting under a huge monstera plant with nowhere in particular to be. Sometimes the best travel photo is a McDonald's McCafé cup and a ridiculous parrot-print shirt in good morning light.
Late morning we walked up to Cerro de la Cruz, the hilltop lookout on the north edge of the city. This is the postcard view: Antigua's grid of terracotta roofs with Volcán de Agua rising behind it. There's a big pair of bronze wings near the overlook for photos. We'd seen wing installations like it elsewhere and couldn't resist.
We spent our last couple of hours in a courtyard garden we stumbled into behind an unmarked door, full of palms and ferns, with water trickling out of a carved ram's head into a stone fountain worn soft with age. I have no idea if it was a restaurant, a hotel, or a museum, and it didn't matter. It was quiet and green and a little hidden, which is what Antigua does best once you get past the main square.
Practical tips for visiting Antigua
Antigua's dry season runs roughly November through April, so our late April trip was right at the tail end of it. Expect warm days, cool evenings, and a decent chance of clear volcano views.
Antigua sits around 5,000 feet, and the Pacaya trailhead adds more elevation on top of that. It's nothing extreme, but pace yourself on the hike if you're not used to altitude.
The currency is the quetzal (GTQ). Cards work in most restaurants and hotels in town, but bring small bills for tips, tuk-tuks, and market stalls.
The historic center is easy to walk, and there are cobblestones everywhere, so pack shoes you don't mind beating up.
Book Pacaya through a reputable tour operator instead of showing up on your own. The tour includes the guide, transport, and (usually) the marshmallows. The park entrance fee usually isn't included. Operators like Turisteando list it at Q100 for foreigners, and Living in Guatemala says to bring cash for it (both checked October 2026).
FAQ
How many days do you need in Antigua, Guatemala?
Three days covers the highlights. Five, like we did, gives you room for a volcano hike and a day trip without feeling rushed.
Is the Pacaya Volcano hike hard?
It's moderate: a couple of hours of steady uphill walking on dirt and then loose volcanic rock. Reasonably fit hikers will be fine. Just wear real shoes.
Is Hobbitenango worth the trip from Antigua?
Yes, mostly for the views. On a clear day you can see four volcanoes from the ridge. Go in the morning for the clearest skies. The park runs its own round-trip shuttle from its office at 3a Avenida Norte 20A in Antigua, and the last stretch up the hill is a 4x4 ride from the parking lot. Prices depend on who you ask: Living in Guatemala read $8 per adult for entry plus $8 for the shuttle off the park's site in September 2026, while Backpackers Wanderlust lists Q50 entry with the 4x4 included. Check with the office before you go.
Is Antigua, Guatemala safe for tourists?
The historic center is busy and generally considered safe for visitors who take normal precautions. Like anywhere, check current travel advisories before you go.
Is it safe to walk up Cerro de la Cruz?
Go in daylight. We went late morning. The viewpoint is free and it's a 15 to 30 minute walk uphill from the central plaza. Living in Guatemala says tourist police (POLITUR) are on the path during daylight, roughly 7am to 6pm, and suggests a group or a guide if you're going up for sunrise.