Pacaya Volcano Hike (half-day)
Description
This tour provides a unique, up-close experience on the slopes of an active volcano! The two hour climb will surely leave you a bit breathless, but the views are worth it. You will be able to clamber over volcanic rock, roast marshmallows in heat vents, and potentially see erupting ash and lava. For those looking for a less-active experience, you can rent a horse on site from the horse handlers. (We are not affiliated with the horses). Please note that Pacaya is an ACTIVE volcano, and due to safety regulations, you cannot walk up to the summit. Pacaya spews hot ash, rock, and lava, and travelers visit at their own risk. This is the easiest volcano climb in Guatemala that gets you up close and personal with an active volcano, however, it is still a two-hour uphill hike. You must provide your pick-up address at the time of booking, including hotel name. Please wear closed-toe shoes, bring sun and rain protection, and bring local currency to pay the entry fee (Q100 for foreigners)
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will arrive at the base of Pacaya Volcano after a 1.5 hour ride from Antigua. After paying your Q100 National Park entrance fee (please bring exact change), you start the two-hour climb. Pacaya is an active volcano and you may see short lava flows or hear her belch some ash and rock, however, due to safety concerns, you will not be allowed to go directly to the summit as Pacaya has been more active lately. (This is a regulation that your guides must legally enforce.) After a short break, you'll head back down the mountain for the trip back to Antigua. If you prefer, you can negotiate and rent a horse to ride up and/or down the volcano. The hike takes approximately two hours uphill. Please wear closed-toe shoes, bring sun and rain protection, and as it is cold at higher elevations, bring a warm sweater. You will need bottled water and perhaps a snack. Return to Antigua at approximately 1pm for morning departures, and at approximately 8pm for afternoon departures.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We pick up from all addresses in the historic center of Antigua. You MUST be ready 15 minutes before scheduled departure time, as we may pick up others before and/or after you. Please be patient as the collective bus may take some time to get all passengers. Provide your hotel name and address upon booking.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- This tour is roundtrip from Antigua, Guatemala. We will pick up at hotels, and drop off at central park.
Reviews(16)
Great tour! The views were beautiful. Everything was organized
Hi There. We Thank you for Taking the time to review our service, we are glad to hear you enjoyed your tour and look forward to keep assisting all our travelers the best way, we are here for you if you ever need us again!!
Very good guide. Dogs name was Teo.
Hi there Thank you for booking with us, Any other thing that you might need we are here to help
This was advertised as getting close to pacaya volcano. We were asked to be ready at barehuus hostel by 1:45 pm for 2 pm departure. Unfortunately we were not picked up until 2:45 and didn't leave antigua until 3:15 pm. It was close to 4:20 by the time we got to trailhead. In between our druver stopped by at a place for 15 mins to see if anyone wanted mules though no one was interested. It started getting dark by the time we started hike. So our guide cut short our hike, took us thru a shortcut to get to some location and it was dark by the time we got there. It was impossible to continue without headlamps. Overall it was a very poorly planned hike with emphasis on what additional services they can sell us than giving us full hike experience. Apparently bus, guides are separate entities with their own interests. Due south tours should focus more on quality hike experience than outsourcing everything. None in our group were happy with the way hike was done. I won't recommend this. I am sure pacaya hike would have been great. Just our experience with this operator was terrible.
Hi Bhaska, Sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience. This is a shared tour operated by a third party, so everyone who books a shared tour to Pacaya goes on the same bus, no matter what travel agency they booked with. That means the buses can be full, and pickups might take a while if other passengers are not ready or there is traffic leaving town, and during the holiday season, there tends to be a lot more traffic. The provider does not make additional money whether you rent a horse - that service is offered to travelers who may not have the physical fitness level to complete the hike on foot, but is paid directly to the horse handlers who manage the horses. Sunset in December is around 6pm, so I'm not sure why it felt so dark by 420pm - perhaps it was cloudy that day. We will definitely suggest to our travelers to bring a light with them, and we genuinely appreciate your feedback. To avoid the waiting time and 'upsell' you mentioned, we'd recommend a private tour for anyone that reads this and feels it is off-putting. If you're on a tight budget, this is an excellent option.
Nice experience with beautiful views along the way of the three volcanoes of the area (Volcán del Agua, del Fuego and Acatenango). The group was about 24 people with two accompanying guides along the way. The guides were very nice. The ascent path of 3.5 km is done in 1.5h and the descent by the same place in about 1h. The road is simple and well marked. The summit is not reached but you have beautiful views of the crater. Fumaroles may be observed occasionally emerging from the crater. Sometimes you can observe the activity of volcano of Fire that is active. At the top of the volcano, clouds of treats are offered to warm up in the heat of the volcano and eat them. The return journey from Antigua with the bus is made heavy by heavy traffic
Gracias por su reseña! Estamos muy feliz para ver que usted disfruto la subida a Pacaya!
Beautiful people and very wonderful as your guides! I recommend highly to book this group, I can’t wait to do it again.
Thank you for your review!
Had a wonderful time on this hike. The trek up can be challenging if you’re not acclimated to the altitude (take your altitude pills well beforehand if you are used to lower altitudes). Also, don’t be a hero - request a horse if it proves to be too difficult but the views at the top are worth it. They have a wonderful staff and guide. The roasting of the marshmallows in the hot rocks on the way down was a great touch. Highly recommend.
We're thrilled you enjoyed the hike despite the altitude challenges! Thanks for sharing those great tips for future travelers, especially about the horses and marshmallow break. We'll pass along your compliments to our guides. Hope to welcome you back for another adventure!
We hiked during the afternoon tour and it was absolutely amazing!! The guides are so friendly as well! But the views were absolutely stunning! I highly suggest hiking during the afternoon, as you will be able to see the sunset and it is AMAZING!
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re so happy to hear that you had such a great time on the afternoon hike. The sunset views are truly unforgettable, and it’s great to know you enjoyed both the hike and the friendly guides.
Great communication with them before the trip. The bus was on time and driver was reliable. Nice guides also, making sure that everyone was happy and climbing at their own pace. I would recommend it
This trip was great! So much fun to hike the volcano and then roast marshmallows at the end! I would do this again! It was also a lovely drive to see the local culture!
Thanks for letting us know how we did Frankie, and we're glad you had a nice time!
I loved the Tour it was amazing and I loved the people and the people I went along with the tourist was amazing and she did an amazing job she pointed out things and this was my first volcano
Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to review the Pacaya trip. We're happy you had a great first time volcano hike, and we hope you continue to love Guatemala!
