Lake Atitlan, or Lago de Atitlan, is world-renowned among backpackers for a reason. Surrounded by volcanoes and lush green hills, the natural beauty of the lake never gets old. One could stay there for months, soaking in the laid-back lifestyle of the tranquil lakeside villages. I even considered extending my Central America backpacking trip just to go back there again. Lake Atitlan is just one of those places that simply sucks you in and makes it hard to leave.

Here’s all you need to know before visiting.

How To Get To Lake Atitlan

There are a few different ways to get to Lake Atitlan, but I’d recommend using a local bus or a shuttle service arranged by your accommodation. Guatemala’s backpacking scene has exploded since I last visited the country. Finding fellow backpackers to split the costs of a shuttle is the most convenient way to go. This will cost about $15-20 USD for the 2-3 hour journey from Antigua. The travel time depends on which part of the lake you’ll be staying in.

Of course, it’s not the cheapest way to get there. If you’ve spent some time in Central America, you might already be familiar with the local buses, or chicken buses, as they’re more commonly referred to. These will cost about $5 and be a bit slower and less comfortable than the tourist shuttles. Keep in mind there are no direct buses that run between Antigua and Lake Atitlan, so two or three transfers might be necessary depending on where you’re staying.

Your route will be from Antigua to Chimaltenango, then transfer onto a bus headed to Los Encuentros, and then to Solala. From there, it’s another half hour to get to Panajachel, which you can do by chicken bus yet again, or grab a taxi. With both backpacks, it’s quite the ordeal, but nothing screams adventure like Central American chicken buses.

Where To Stay in Lake Atitlan

So when you go to stay at Lake Atitlan, you don’t actually stay in a single town. There are several towns by the lake that you can hole up in for a few days or weeks. Each has a little personality of their own.

For example, San Marcos is smelly stoner yoga hippie-ville. It’s basically Portland if it was in Guatemala. Panajachel is where most non-backpackers stay, and I even saw that it was named by some travel magazine as a top destination for honeymooners. Panajachel is definitely the closest to actual civilization that you’ll have around the lake, so I guess that makes sense.

San Pedro is my favorite of the little towns around the lake. I’d say it’s the most balanced of the lakeside towns, with a perfect combination of laid-back lake life whilst being an actual town with markets, restaurants, nightlife, and local people actually living there. Mr. Mullet’s is a Lake Atitlan staple and the place to stay for any backpacker, especially those looking for a good time.

Santa Cruz is very small, and not typically somewhere that backpackers or travelers go to. There are a few hostels, including Free Cerveza which was one of my favorite hostels in Central America. It sounds kind of dumb because of the name, but as the name suggests, you get a free beer for staying there. Santa Cruz isn’t the place to go if you like exploring, but we did go on a neat little hike to some underwhelming waterfalls while we were there. It’s the journey, not the destination, right?

Well anyway, Free Cerveza is a good place to stay at to make friends since you are probably going to end up sharing a tent with a few people. Come dinnertime, everyone sits powwow style around the tables and gets as much beer as they can down in an hour.

Before setting off to trek the volcanoes and jungles of Guatemala, staying connected is an essential. I use Saily eSIM to keep me online during my travels, and it worked great across Guatemala. Figuring out directions, making travel plans with your new hostel friends, ordering a taxi, having an eSIM makes life so much easier when you’re on the road. Data packages for Guatemala start at just $5, and you can use my code “eli5” for an additional 5% off of your first Saily eSIM.

What To Do in Lake Atitlan

Around the lake, there are several volcanos that you can hike. One of the most popular hikes in the area is Nariz del Indio at sunrise. You will have to wake up pretty early. It is a short hike, but the journey to get there from San Pedro is a bit more daunting. You’ll likely be in the back of a pickup truck driven by someone who doesn’t care whether or not you’re still in the back of the truck by the time you get to the starting point of the hike. You’re waking up at 3 AM, but trust me, you won’t be able to sleep a wink on the way there or the way back.

The hike is entirely uphill and in the dark. Bring a flashlight or be prepared to trip over rocks or the stray dog that is guaranteed to follow you. In our case, we had this mean-looking boxer that ended up cornering our entire group on the second story of the shelter at the top because it wouldn’t stop biting our feet.

The view is incredible, and I only wish we could have stayed longer and also not had a dog attacking us the entire time. Nariz del Indio is definitely one of the more popular hikes for a reason. If you get good weather, you can see the sun rise over the volcanoes and get a breathtaking view of the lake. I didn’t realize how big Atitlan was until I got up there. The way back down via truck was also stunning in the daylight. It felt like we were in a jeep headed towards Jurassic Park or something.

San Pedro is where I stayed for the majority of my time in Lake Atitlan, and it is probably where you should stay too. San Marcos only had one hostel and it also wasn’t exactly as poppin’ as San Pedro. San Pedro had a surprising amount of quirky little stores, restaurants, and hostels, but like not enough to make it seem overwhelmed by tourists.

I’d compare it a little bit to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, but ten times more difficult to navigate. Even the tuk-tuk drivers couldn’t find my hostel, Casa Felipe. Great spot to chill, in comparison to the more party-oriented hostels all over San Pedro. you’ll know which ones I’m talking about once you get there. Hostel Fe and Mr. Mullets are the ones I can remember. I walked by Hostel Fe and saw drunk people doing backflips into the lake, if that gives you an idea of what you’re in for.

There’s a few bars in San Pedro, but despite the party-town reputation that preceded it, San Pedro was pretty quiet. The bars all closed around midnight or 1AM which sucked. The worst part was that everything else in San Pedro closed before then. Hungry for a late night snack? Too bad.

Despite this, San Pedro was such a great place to hang out during the day. You could chill by the lake, kayak all over the place, go swimming, and eat at a bunch of great, cheap restaurants with stunning views. You could even get a tattoo if you get bored enough, and I almost did. San Pedro is definitely the place to be around Lake Atitlan.

The other real alternative is Panajachel which bears more semblance to actual civilization. Whereas San Pedro seemed rickety and dilapidated as a whole, Panajachel seemed more put together. San Pedro was all over the place, with hills and narrow alleyways making it relatively difficult to navigate. Panajachel had actual roads, normal buildings, and is more tourist-friendly. I didn’t spend much time there, but I could already feel the vibe that older tourists were the typical crowd there. Panajachel’s streets were lined with souvenir stalls, whereas the only ones I really remember in San Pedro were a few people selling jewelry and a sweet old lady selling banana bread. That banana bread was fire, by the way.

I have a problem with ranting and going off on tangents, so I’ll just try to sum up everything I said real quick. If you’re a backpacker, stay in San Pedro. If you want more civilization, go to Panajachel. You don’t have to stay in every town you go to because boats are quick and often between each town. You could probably do every town in a day if you really wanted to, but Lake Atitlan is definitely a place to kick back, chill, and pretend to be a hippie for a few days. Go kayaking, go hiking, and eat really cheap tacos. Make some friends, throw back some cervezas, and party all night (until like midnight). That’s about it.

If this post helped you out, show some love and support for the blog and help keep my adventures going by buying me a beer! My adventures are entirely self-funded, so any show of support is greatly appreciated, and allows me to keep writing helpful travel guides and creating travel content to help you all travel the world on a budget.

More on Guatemala

• The Best Destinations to Visit in Guatemala
• The Backpacker’s Guide to Antigua
• The Backpacker’s Guide to Flores Island