Full Day Tour: Chichicastenango Maya Market and Lake Atitlan from Guatemala City
Description
At Chichicastenango Maya Market you will witness ancient Indian rituals at the Santo Tomas Church,also enjoy the picturesque outdoor market where locals from the region gather to buy and sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, animals, textiles and handicrafts.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will be picked up at your hotel in Guatemala City and transfer to Chichicastenango, sometimes your transfer will be via Antigua Guatemala below a brief summary of what to expect on your way.
Upon our arrival at the market we will start our walking tour inside the market. It is the center of the city and at the heart of commercial life of "maxeños" (name given to the indigenous people of Chichicastenango, derived from Max which means Tomás in the Quiché language). The merchants descend every Thursday and Sunday to the central square to sell their products in this impressive indigenous market that has changed very little over the centuries. We will observe the colorful handicrafts and handmade by local inhabitants of the región also you can see various merchandise, such as clay crafts, typical textiles, fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood, flowers and the regional costumes of the place. We are also going to visit Santo Tomás Church, built in 1540 on the basis of a pre-Hispanic archaeological temple. This church is a splendid example of colonial architecture, as the Mayan and Latin influence mixes both inside and outside of the church over time. After exploring the market you can enjoy a delicious lunch (not included, but you can add it on optionals for additional cost)
At the end of the walk, you will be transfer to Panajachel and continue visiting this town which is located on Lake Atitlan. We will visit Calle Santander and enjoy a spectacular view of the lake which is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Three spectacular volcanoes, Tolimán, Atitlán and San Pedro form the natural framework of the lake itself. Time to take pictures. *On holy week we do not visit Atitlán.
At the end of our tour we return to Guatemala City via Antigua Guatemala.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum of 2 passengers (adults) is required for the tour to run. If the minimum size is not reached, the tour is subject to cancellation and all tickets are refunded or rescheduled.
- Tours include bilingual guide (English and Spanish).
- It is recommended that you bring walking shoes, hat, sunglasses, and a camera.
- Please contact us if you need a guide in any other language. French, German and Italian in private services, subject to additional costs and guide availability.
- For groups of 10 persons or more, please contact the local provider to arrange.
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required (if you select option with lunch included)
- To find pictures of our experiences, search us on Instagram as @graylinetoursgt
- On Holy week April 8th, we only visit the chichicastenango Market, we do not visit Atitlan lake due to traffic reasons.
- If you are lodging in Zone 1, our only pick-up point is at the Hotel Panamerican.
- If you are lodging in an airbnb please move to the nearest hotel lobby and please let us know of its name.
Reviews(24)
The guide picked us up at the agreed time. Hence everything out of the ordinary. I stop pouring gas twice and puffing tires before leaving Antigua. Later, he got out and continued a very friendly driver, but who drove very recklessly, accelerated, braked sharply (my mom is an older adult). The corners I took at high speed. I arrived in very bad shape in Atitlan, other people the same. In Chichicastenango we had no guide, it was solved by the driver. Another passenger had no lunch considered despite being cancelled. At Atitlan, he didn’t take us to the viewpoint and didn’t know where he should take us. I couldn't leave Chichicastenango. In Parramos he had to change tire again from there he took us to the house of the guide (who in the morning had received us) who took us back to Guatemala City in a van!! In Panajachel we had to take a tuc tuc to visit the viewpoint of the heart. It was the worst tour of my life, same opinion of my fellow travelers. It is worth mentioning that the tour was purchased with guide and driver and with several scheduled activities. I do not recommend Gray line at all.
If you are looking to be 4 hours sitting on a bus to visit 20 minutes chichicastenango and 15 minutes atitlan, let the tour arrive half an hour late, be aware of the map because the guides lost us all in the market, have breakfast on the moving bus, that is if you have two hours to eat where the guides wanted, and then run back because they did not organize anything... THIS TOUR IS FOR YOU.
Estimada Silvia Lamentamos la molestia que haya causado esta experiencia hacia su persona, el camino hacia chichicastenango toma 3 horas de ida y 3 horas de vuelta sin embargo el trafico que pueda haber en ruta es una situacion ajena a nosotros
Yet another bad experience with Gray Line Guatemala! It seems their "Modus Operandi" is to cancel on tourists. How do you do business like that?! I received an email from Trip Advisor and a WhatsApp message from the Operator around 7:30pm the night before the Tour, indicating the Tour was cancelled due to poor weather conditions for the activity! Really? Fortunately I was able to book a last minute tour for the same locations: Chichicastenango & Lake Atitlán with another operator! The day couldn't have been better, nice and sunny, with clear skies!!!!! So Gray Line Guatemala, I definitely do not recommend your for nothing! It is better to be truthfull; if there was no quorum, that could have been understood, but to tell me it's cancelled due to weather conditions and there were no such conditions, it no acceptable. Beware before booking!
Dear Gisela Thank you for your comments unfortunately the weather or the activity of the volcano is something out of our hands, we really sorry about the last minute cancellation but we take care about our team members and passengers.
Our travel guide Juan was very informative and awesome! We enjoyed learning about the history and people of Guatemala
DO NOT BOOK! My husband and I were so excited to be going to the Market and Atitlan and they cancelled last minute. They messaged me a couple days prior to confirm pick up and when I responded there was absolutely no reply back. I called and messaged privately. When we got back to our place, we noticed they have cancelled our trip last minute. Very very disappointed.
Nice panoramic view of Atitlan Lake. The Maya market is good. Lunch is excellent. The driver also spoke in English for us although I joined a Spanish-speaking tour.
The views you see in Atitlan are unforgettable, kind of the feeling you get at the Grand Canyon, majestic. The only problem I see is that after a 3 hour ride to the lake, they give you an hour to walk around, the hour is spent ordering and eating your food before returning.
Horrible experience! I booked my tour with them for Sunday. I landed Saturday afternoon and was set for Sunday. I emailed them my confirmation location and phone number per their request on their policy. I had the hotel call for me, but the phone went straight to voicemail. I left a text message for them, but No one got back to me. I assumed they would just pick me up Sunday 6:30am. I get a cancellation at 10:01pm on Saturday that they were canceling on me. 8hrs and 29 minutes before the tour. They didn’t even call or email me why they canceled. I could have booked other tours, if I had know that they were going to cancel on me. Now it is too late and I cannot go to the chichicastenango market because they are only opened Sunday and Thursday. I leave Wednesday. I wasted my time with this company. Do not book them!
I based my ratings on three things: Customer Service, Experience with the Activity, and Cost. Customer Service: Stellar communication (5 stars) Experience with the Activity: I was the only English speaker and the guide did his best to provide me with information on the trip, but seemed to provide more to the Spanish speakers. I shared the same experience as some of the reviews here (the time at the lake was very short). Also, we had to make a stop in Antigua which ate up about 2 hours (to and from Guatemala City), so it was unnecessarily added time. Time at the market was nice and we got to stop at the church. (2.5 stars) Cost: For two people, I paid $160 USD, which is a little steep for Guatemala. (2 stars) Overall: If I could do this again, I would reconsider and take an Uber or taxi to the market and then Uber again to the lake. I recommend anyone who is more interested in the lake to avoid this tour as it spent approximately 1 -1.5 hours here with about 20-30 minutes of alone time. In sum, the tour accomplishes everything it says but at a steep cost and added stops in Antigua.
Urbano picked us up at the hotel and brought us back home. We picked up Celestino our tour guide at Antigua. They were both friendly and knowledgeable. You do spend apt of time in the car as it is far away, however it was worth the drive.
Dear Gina Thank you for having booked with us and for takes the time to share your experience with us!!
