Lake Atitlán Cruise: Day Tour with Transport from Guatemala City
4.2
65 Ratings
Lago de Atitlan
Embark on a breathtaking cruise on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala's most stunning lake. Explore the picturesque Tzutujil village of Santiago de Atitlán and indulge in local handicrafts and cuisine in Panajachel.
Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Lago de Atitlan - Discover the magnificence of Guatemala’s Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlan) on this relaxing sightseeing cruise! Depart from your hotel in Guatemala City and spend time on the water with your expert local guide, enjoying the lake’s gorgeous volcanic surroundings! Board your boat and head out on the water, marveling at the beautiful landscape.
  • Volcan San Pedro - The three volcanoes - Volcan San Pedro, Volcan Atitlan and Volcan Toliman - all soar above 9,000 feet (3,000 meters) and create a dramatic vista that adds to the lake’s natural beauty.
  • Volcan Atitlan - Enjoy panoramic views from your boat.
  • Volcano Toliman - Enjoy panoramic views from your boat.
  • Santiago Atitlan - Cruise across the lake to Santiago de Atitlan, a colorful lakeside village. Go ashore here to see the village and observe how the local Tzutujil Maya people live. Walk down the main street lined with shops selling everything from oil paintings to woven baskets, visit the confraternity of the local saint named Maximon or RiLaj Mam, visited by different people of different ethnicities who come to ask health and prosperity in their lives, then re-board your boat for the cruise back to Panajachel.
  • Panajachel - When you reach Panajachel, spend some time in town exploring Santander Street, the town’s main strip, filled with shops, craft stands and restaurants. Enjoy a delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant (own expense) and browse through the various shops and craft stalls before being transported back to your Guatemala City hotel.
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Professional guide
  • Boat sightseeing tour
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Spend a day on Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlan), one of Guatemala’s most beautiful lakes, on this sightseeing cruise with transportation from Guatemala City. This relaxing 8-hour excursion allows you to experience the exceptional beauty of Lago de Atitlán, a large lake with three volcanos on its southern shore. Starting in the town of Panajachel, cruise across the lake and admire its stunning scenery as you travel across the lake to the Tzutujil village of Santiago de Atitlán. Then return to Panajachel, where you’ll have time in town to browse Santander Street’s handicraft stalls, shops and restaurants.

Location
Lago de Atitlan
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(65 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Robert_h
Apr 10, 2024
All around great trip - Long ride, but beautiful. Davis was terrific. Lake Atitlan was wonderful and had a great lunch overlooking the Lake.
Review provided by Viator
Vanessamt4530sn
Mar 25, 2024
Best time! - Our guide was Davis! He was absolutely amazing! It was a long drive from the city to the lake but he always reminded us that he will gladly stop for restroom and food breaks. He knew a lot about the history and volcanos. He gave us plenty of time to explore throughout the whole trip. He was super friendly and knowledgeable. 10/10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nickps8046rh
Mar 16, 2024
Great time on lake Atitalan - The views were amazing. Eduardo Lee and his father were our guides. They were great, made the trip very safe and transportation in the vehicle and boat were awesome. Highly recommended to use these two. We also stopped at two local restaurants they suggested for breakfast and lunch along the way along with many cultural stop in San Juan. Thanks again
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Selene_d
Mar 4, 2024
Beautiful views and amazing guy - We had an amazing time. I traveled with my father and we both loved the beauty of the lago Atitlan, it is very unique and beautiful. The boat ride was amazing, and our guide Gustavo was the best! He was extremely friendly, helpful, and went above and beyond to make sure we were having a great time and providing information as we went. The only thing is that it is a very LONG drive. On our way back, the traffic to get into Guatemala city was crazy, we left around 3 and arrived to Guatemala around 7.. just something to be mindful of. Other than that, would definitely recommend
Review provided by Viator
Felix
Jan 30, 2024
atitlan day trip - Mirko was my driver/guide. He has a thorough knowledge of the history and customs of the mayan people and took the time to explain in detail. incredible experience if you appreciate the wonders of nature and understanding of other cultures.
Review provided by Viator
Keeyanaw2024
May 1, 2024
Great Tour of Lake Atitlan! - We truly enjoy our lake Atitlan tour with Gustavo. He was a great guide! He was informative. The boat ride was absolutely beautiful! I would definitely recommend this service to anyone that wants to experience the culture and see beautiful view of the lake and surrounding volcanos
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sioneyrafaelsalazara
Jan 19, 2024
Good experience. - The experience was very good but we would have liked to visit some other town on the lake to learn more since we lost time at the exit dams from Guatemala City.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessica
Mar 2, 2024
Not worth the price - The traffic was terrible which seems to be a common occurrence - if this is the case why isn’t the tour starting at an earlier time in order to avoid spending the majority of tour time in traffic. We ended up rushing through the stops and in the last one we were only there for a few minutes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ebalaz
Apr 3, 2024
Horrible tour and waste of money - This was such a horrible “tour” I wish I could give it 0 stars. After being picked up, I discovered that the driver of the van did not speak English and while the tour guide Gustavo did, he still addressed the group in Spanish because apparently the rest of the people already on the van were bilingual. I had to interrupt Gustavo to tell him that I didn’t speak Spanish and that this was supposed to be an English speaking tour. After that, Gustavo never really addressed the group as a whole again as I would have expected him to do on our way to Lake Atitlan. I have taken several tours all over the world and every tour guide I have had before Gustavo would sit at the front of the van or bus and explain the history of where we were going and something about the country itself. Gustavo simply sat in the van silent like he was on vacation himself. My 3 friends and I were the last to be picked up and although Gustavo had notified me the night before of the pick-up time, he was 30 minutes late. After getting a late start, we hit some traffic leaving the city that caused us to be even further behind schedule. After the traffic cleared and knowing that we were now behind schedule, instead of continuing on to Lake Atitlan, Gustavo had us stop for breakfast for 1 hour. This was not mentioned in the tour’s itinerary and was a ridiculous waste of time in light of the fact that we were already running very late. I could only guess that Gustavo was hungry and was going to get a free meal at the restaurant. In any event and after breakfast, we hit more traffic making us fall even further behind schedule but again, instead of talking to us and enlightening us on where we were and where we were going as any decent tour guide would do, Gustavo went to the back of the van to an empty seat and took a nap. We pretty much drove in silence all the way to Panajachel . When we got off the van, Gustavo led us to the waiting boat that looked like it was 50 years old and informed us that we didn’t have time to tour the lake or go across it to Santiago de Atitlan but would be visiting another village instead, that is, San Antonio Palopo. Basically, this meant that the tour that I took my 3 friends on and paid for was not anything close to what was described in the itinerary for this tour. At that village, we visited a store for shopping and walked up to a church. It was ridiculous. I did not have to pay over $100 per person to see and do what we did at this village. Again, Gustavo did not tell us anything about the village, its people or the church. After spending about an hour at this village, we returned by boat to Panajachel where we were told we would have 1 ½ hours for dinner. This was insane. We paid to tour Lake Atitlan and now we were instead going to spend another 1 ½ hours to eat after already spending an hour for breakfast. Any decent tour guide would have addressed the group and inquired as to what we wanted to do in light of the fact that we were running behind schedule and ask us whether we preferred to spend another 1 ½ hours eating or stick to the itinerary and tour the lake and visit Santiago de Atitlan as described in the printed itinerary. I am confident that my fellow travelers would have opted for a tour of the lake as promised instead of taking the time for another meal as everyone seemed to be upset by this change in plans. After we had our dinner, Gustavo informed us we could have an additional ½ hour to explore Panajachel but according to the itinerary described on your website, we were to “stroll down Santander Street in Panajachel with our local guide.” Another description in the website’s itinerary that was never delivered. I blame the tour guide for the decisions he made. He obviously only cared about himself and never for a moment had our best interests at heart. The tour that I paid good money for was a waste as nothing that was described in the itinerary was delivered. Additionally, I was embarrassed in front of my friends because I had picked this horrible tour. I have been a huge fan of Tripadvisor for several years and I cannot emphasize enough how horrible this tour was and how disappointed my friends and I were.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Diamondt236
Feb 28, 2024
Head the warnings in the reviews! - We had several issues throughout the day with our tour guide. We do feel like our experience didn’t get fulfilled because he wasn’t able to provide a proper tour or answer basic history questions. We also watched him undermine several local women intelligence when he was forced to ask for directions. My highest point of concern was having to beg to use the restroom on the way home and after waiting over half and hour for him to stop he suggested that I use the restroom on the side of the highway. Overall there was a lack of time management, planning and respect. Edit: When I did try to speak to tour operator Loren about the issue I was only bombarded by messages from our guide saying he did the job as planned. I don’t care if we get the refund but I would warn others that their idea of planning is poor.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
minimum 2 guests
-
up to 9 guests
2 Adult
June 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today