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Summary
The full day trip takes you from one end of the lake to the other. Travel by private boat to the villages of San Juan and Santiago, with time to explore each village. Easy walking involved, the trip takes approximately 5-6 hours, and includes English-speaking guide.

Itinerary
The day begins in Santa Cruz where you depart for the west end of the lake. You get to see the villages of El Jaibalito, Tzununa, San Marcos, and San Pablo as we make our way along the north shore.

Your first stop is San Juan, the “swiss village” of Lake Atitlán. You will spend approximately two hours on a guided walking tour where you visit art galleries, two woman's weaving cooperatives, a medicinal and curative plant garden, a coffee finca tour, or you can learn about fishing and paddle a traditional cayuka (canoe).


Several famous painters are from San Juan and we visit their galleries to see them at work. Women Weavers and Nuestra Artesania includes demonstrations showing how the beautiful fabrics are made; from harvesting the cotton, spinning it into yarn, dieing the yarn, and then creating one of a kind fabrics with the back strap loom.


The Qomaneel center is a medicinal and curative herb garden operated by the midwives of San Juan. You are guided through the garden and given samples of each plant along with a description of its curative powers. All natural soaps, teas, and shampoos are made on the premises. There is also a reforestation project to see, or you can try your hand at paddling a cayuka (canoe).
There are no entrance fees at the cooperatives. Your gift purchases or donations are how these centers function.

Your second stop is Santiago. The bay of Santiago is a photographer’s dream. We take a tour along the shore of the bay before we start our walking tour. Your first stop is a visitor center that offers insight into the life of the tzutujile Maya. There are interpretive displays on the history of the traje (traditional clothing), spiritual beliefs and Maximon. We have lunch before we tour the local church and visit Maximon., which the Mayan visit to ask for healthy crops, to help cure illness, to find love, or to cast a spell on a neighbor. Be sure to buy some candles, cigarettes, or liquor to make your own offering!!! A small fee is required for admittance.
You return to the boat for a relaxing ride back to Santa Cruz.
$50 / 400Q per person full day or $30 / 240Q per person for half day.
Meals & refreshments not included.

Donations or gift purchases are encouraged at the cooperatives.

www.sanjuanlalaguna.org
www.weavingwomensanjuan.org



You will be met at your hotel by our boat driver and enjoy the ride to the village of San Pedro. Our tour starts with a short ride to the visitor center, where the actual climb starts. With 3 -4 hours of climbing through fields and cloud forest we reach the top of the volcano at almost 3000 meters. Enjoy magnificent views over the lake and its mountains and volcanoes while having your well-deserved lunch. After lunch we descend back to the visitor center.
$80 / 640Q per person. Meals & refreshments and transportation included.


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The last undiscovered jewel of the Americas. Words cannot describe this land of breathtaking natural beauty, Mayan heritage and colonial history.

Imagine an amazing Guatemala vacation, where you will experience volcanoes, caldera lakes, many different ecosystems, picturesque Spanish colonial villages, mystical Mayan archaeology, and a Mayan lifestyle that is still alive and proud.

Mentioned four times in the #1 Bestseller, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.