Antigua was the perfect first chapter of our Guatemala trip, blending colorful colonial streets, historic churches, lush courtyards, excellent restaurants, and memorable coffee and chocolate experiences into one incredibly walkable city. We explored the historic center, visited La Merced and the Santa Catalina Arch, toured Caoba Farms, made chocolate at ChocoMuseo, and enjoyed some of our favorite meals of the trip. Rainy-season clouds completely hid the volcanoes during our stay, but Antigua still had plenty to offer with its atmospheric streets, cozy cafés, hands-on experiences, fantastic restaurants, and easy access to adventures like Pacaya Volcano and Hobbitenango.
🗓️ Itinerary
Antigua is one of Guatemala’s most popular destinations thanks to its UNESCO-listed historic center, colorful colonial architecture, and easy access to Pacaya Volcano and Hobbitenango. Based on our June 10-13, 2026 stay, this guide shares how we spent three rainy-season days in Antigua, including our favorite restaurants, tours, city highlights, where we stayed, backup plans, and nearby day trips.
📋 Fill out customs form before GUA arrival (one per head of household)
🛬 Day 1 – Arrival in Guatemala City → Transfer to Antigua (June 10)
- ✈️ 1:10 PM – Arrive at La Aurora International Airport (GUA)
- 💰 Get GTQ cash from ATM on left before customs or on level 1 of parking garage. Decline conversion if it offers to charge you in USD. Always choose to be charged in quetzales.
- 🍽️ 2:00 PM – Clear customs (40-90m)
- 🚐 3:00 PM – Private transfer from GUA to Antigua (~1-1.5h, 🎟️ BOOK Martha’s Relaxicab)
- 🏨 4:45 PM – Check in to Villa Tornelli Airbnb in Antigua (3 PM earliest)
- 🌮 6:00 PM – Dinner at 27 Adentro (🎟️ RESERVE, pay $4/person deposit, 🌾4.5 FMGF, open until 9 PM, Guatemalan fusion, 13m walk)
- 🛒 Grocery run for food, snacks, water, booze at shopping center Plaza Telares
- 🌋 Hang out at villa
⛪️ Day 2 – Antigua Exploration (June 11)
- ☕ 8:00 AM – Breakfast @ Fernando’s Kaffee (🌾5 FMGF – GF crepes/pancakes, coffee roastery & chocolate factory)
- ⛪ 9:00 AM – City walk (1-2h) – original planned route
- 🌁 Cerro de la Cruz (23m walk to top, skipped due to no volcano visibility)
- ⛪️ La Merced
- 🏛️ Arco de Santa Catalina
- 🌳 Central Park
- ⛪️ San Francisco (skipped due to time)
- 😺 Optional: Antigua Cat Cafe for coffee, tea (time permitting)
- 🌾 11:00 AM – Tour at Caoba Farms (🎟️ BOOK, 1-1.5h)
- 🌱 12:00 PM – Lunch at Caoba Farms (🎟️ RESERVE, 🌾4 FMGF; organic café with GF-friendly brunch & beautiful farm setting)
- 🍫 3:00 PM – Workshop at ChocoMuseo (🎟️ BOOK, 2h)
- 🎂 6:00 PM – Birthday Dinner @ Los Tres Tiempos (🎟️ RESERVE via OpenTable, typically rooftop views; traditional Guatemalan food, GF-friendly, sing Happy Birthday & provide cake)
- 🍹 Optional: Rooftop cocktails at Café Sky (🌾4 FMGF, 🌧️ weather permitting)
- 🌋 Hang out at villa
🌋 Day 3-4 – Pacaya Volcano Hike + Hobbitenango (Jun 12-13)
- 🏨 Check out of Villa Tornelli
- 🥾 6:00 AM – Hike to Pacaya Volcano (🎟️ BOOK 6h private guided tour through Voyageur Tours)
- 🌮 12:30 PM – Lunch at Fridas (🎟️ RESERVE, 🌾3.5 FMGF, 4m walk from Hobbitenango Office)
- 🚐 2:00 PM – Transfer to Hobbitenango (~30m drive, 🎟️ BOOK Hobbitenango transfer)
👉 See our blogs: Pacaya Volcano Hike Guide and Staying Overnight at Hobbitenango.
💡 Tips
- 👟 Wear comfortable shoes: Antigua’s cobblestone streets are beautiful but very uneven, so supportive shoes matter more than style.
- 🌧️ Plan for rainy weather: Cafés, ChocoMuseo, restaurants, museums, and covered experiences make Antigua easy to enjoy even when outdoor plans change.
- 🌋 Treat volcano views as a bonus: Antigua is famous for its volcano backdrops, but clouds can hide them completely, especially during rainy season.
- ☕ Start with coffee and breakfast: Antigua has excellent cafés like Fernando’s, and a relaxed morning works well before exploring on foot.
- ⛪ Group the walkable highlights: La Merced, the Santa Catalina Arch, Central Park, and nearby ruins fit easily into one city walk.
- 🍽️ Reserve dinners for larger groups: Reservations make seating easier and give you a better chance to arrange birthday desserts or other celebrations.
- 🛒 Stock up before leaving Antigua: It’s a convenient place to buy groceries, snacks, water, and supplies before Hobbitenango or Lake Atitlán.
- 🚐 Use Antigua as a base for nearby experiences: Pacaya, farms, coffee tours, and chocolate workshops are easy to reach from the city.
- 🧳 Confirm luggage plans in writing: If you have activities after checkout, verify storage before arrival and have a backup plan.
🏛️ Historic Center
Antigua’s historic center is incredibly walkable and one of the most charming colonial cities we’ve visited. Colorful streets, beautifully preserved colonial architecture, charming cafés, historic ruins, and decorative chicken buses make it easy to spend an entire day wandering without a strict plan. Even with rainy-season weather, the city had a magical atmosphere that quickly made it one of our favorite places in Guatemala.
🎥 Antigua Rainy Season Highlights
🪞 Arco de Santa Catalina
The Arco de Santa Catalina is Antigua’s most recognizable landmark and an iconic photo stop. We visited several times throughout our stay, and although clouds often hid Volcán de Agua behind the arch, we were rewarded with beautiful reflections on the wet cobblestone streets after the rain. During our visit we even stumbled upon a quinceañera celebration, which added even more color and energy to the experience.
🔄 Click and drag to look around.
⛪ La Merced
La Merced was one of our favorite churches in Antigua thanks to its bright yellow Baroque façade and lively atmosphere. The plaza outside also makes a wonderful place to sit, take a picture with the Yo ❤️ Antigua sign, and admire one of the city’s most beautiful buildings.
🐦⬛ Central Park
Central Park is the lively heart of Antigua and one of the best places to pause between sightseeing stops. The central Fountain of the Sirens and beautiful yellow-toned colonial archways make the square especially photogenic, while the constant flurry of pigeons makes interacting with them feel a little like a tropical version of New York’s Central Park. The park is bordered by landmarks with ChocoMuseo just across the street.
🍫 ChocoMuseo Bean-to-Bar Workshop
ChocoMuseo was one of the most fun and interactive experiences we had in Antigua, thanks in large part to our energetic instructor, who kept the class lively and engaging from start to finish. We began by pouring prepared chocolate into molds, adding our favorite toppings, and creating custom bars to take home. Then we learned about cacao’s history in Guatemala while roasting, cracking, and grinding cacao beans by hand and with a small hand-cranked grinder. We used the cacao to prepare and taste several drinks, including cacao tea, a spiced Maya-style hot chocolate, and a sweeter European-style version, which made it fun to see how chocolate evolved across cultures. ChocoMuseo also provided a cake for my milestone birthday trip, making an already sweet experience even more memorable.
🌱 Caoba Farms Tour & Lunch
Our tour of Caoba Farms was one of the more relaxing experiences in Antigua. We learned about their sustainable farming practices while wandering through beautiful gardens, and the animals, especially the resident cat, quickly became one of the highlights. quickly became one of the highlights for us. We stayed afterward for lunch, which was fresh but fairly underwhelming compared with some of the other meals we had in Antigua. Even so, the peaceful setting made it a worthwhile stop, especially if you enjoy gardens and farm-to-table concepts.
🔄 Click and drag to look around.
🍽️ Restaurants
🍹 27 Adentro
27 Adentro was everyone’s favorite dinner in Antigua. Although rainy weather kept us from dining on the rooftop, the lush greenery inside created a beautiful, intimate atmosphere. I ordered the traditional parrillada de churrasco, pechuga de pollo y longaniza chapina, with beef, exceptionally tender chicken, Guatemalan sausage, grilled corn, avocado, chirmol, and corn tortillas. We also enjoyed an excellent chicken pepián and loved the inventive cocktails, especially the Indita Rosa de Jamaica and introduction to Quezalteca. To finish the evening, the staff brought me tiramisu with a birthday candle, which became my favorite dessert of the entire trip. Between the food, service, and atmosphere, 27 Adentro delivered one of our most memorable meals in Guatemala.
🍤 Los Tres Tiempos
Los Tres Tiempos became one of our favorite restaurants of the trip. Rain kept us from sitting on the rooftop, but the lush vegetation throughout the interior made the dining room feel beautiful and atmospheric. The menu featured elevated Guatemalan dishes with plenty of gluten-free options, and my shrimp was excellent. To celebrate my milestone birthday trip, the staff also brought out a “Feliz Cumpleaños” flan cake, which was a thoughtful and delicious surprise. Between the food, service, and gorgeous setting, it became one of our most memorable meals in Antigua.
🔄 Click and drag to look around.
☕ Fernando’s Kaffee
Fernando’s Kaffee was a fabulous breakfast spot in Antigua with excellent gluten-free crêpes and coffee. Meeting Misha, the resident cat, was an added bonus that made us want to come back. The attached coffee roastery and chocolate factory made it even more fun to browse while waiting for breakfast.
🌮 Fridas
Fridas was a colorful, lively stop for a quick lunch just steps from the Arco de Santa Catalina, making it especially convenient while exploring central Antigua. They handled gluten-free needs well and even kindly stored all our luggage after our original plans fell through, turning a stressful situation into a much easier afternoon.
🏡 Villa Tornelli
Villa Tornelli Airbnb was a fantastic home base for exploring Antigua. Everything in the historic center was within walking distance, yet the property still felt like a peaceful retreat. The pool, hot tub, sauna, and spacious balcony were wonderful amenities for our group. The balcony hanging chair made the perfect spot for my sister and me to recreate a favorite photo from our Costa Rica trip, proving some travel traditions are worth repeating. Rainy-season clouds hid the surrounding volcanoes for most of our stay, but they finally appeared just before checkout, giving us one last spectacular view. Overall, it was an excellent stay and a property we would happily recommend for larger groups.
📞 Transfer, Tour & Guide Info
Most people in Guatemala use WhatsApp to arrange tours and transfers. Below is the contact information, pricing, and booking details for the Antigua services we used during our 2026 Guatemala trip.
- 🚐 All Private Transfers : Martha’s Relaxicab, WhatsApp +502 3073-0413
- GUA Airport to Antigua: Q1200 van + tip
- Hobbitenango to Casa Floresta: Q1500 van + Q700 boat + tip, picked up from Hobbitenango parking lot where the Hobbitenango truck drops you; prepaid 1h 45m stop time
- 🚐 Hobbitenango Transfer: Official Hobbitenango shuttle from the Antigua office, shuttles leave at 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, and 4 PM and are included for overnight guests; includes transfer to the Hobbitenango truck up / down which leaves every ~10 minutes and should be used to get up due to steep/narrow road
- 🌾 Caoba Farms Tour + Lunch: caobacafe@caobafarms.com, WhatsApp +502 7832-9201
Tour: Q75/person; book in advance
Lunch: reservation recommended; gluten-free can be accommodated - 🍫 Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Workshop in ChocoMuseo Antigua: $25/person, book in advance
- 🌋 Pacaya Volcano Hike via Voyageur Tours: $60/person, private guided 6-hour Pacaya hike with round-trip transportation and luggage storage
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