Guatemalan Gastronomic Experience

You will check in at your hotel in Guatemala City. This city is the largest and most developed in Central America, with high buildings in its hotel and executive zone, where you will be staying. We will rest this day at the hotel, as the next day we will move to Atitlán where we'll begin the programmed activities.

We will let you know the hotel details before your arrival. Depending on the availability, we will reserve your accommodation at a high quality hotel in the city.

We will begin our journey by travelling to Panajachel, Atitlán. Here we will find Lake Atitlán, considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It reaches a total of 130 square kilometres of water body, and is surrounded by 3 volcanoes, as well as several Mayan (indigenous) villages, each with its unique personality and different senses of living. Being surrounded by 12 different villages is one of the reasons why you can find a lot of culture in the area, as well as a wide variety of different ecological activities. Upon arrival, we will have our welcome lunch and in the afternoon we will move on to San Marcos, a beautiful little town known for its yoga and vegan practices. Here, after a short walk, we will arrive at Tzankujil Park, where if you wish, you can jump from a 7-meter-high wooden platform into the crystal-clear waters of the lake. Do not forget to bring your swimming suit.

At 9 am we will meet with our local friend Anita in San Pedro Atitlán, who will share the Mayan culture with us over lunch. Anita will take us to the markets and show us how she buys her ingredients (she will guide us on how to buy them ourselves so that you can really have the full experience). Then you will start your first cooking workshop. After, we will take a short trip to San Juan Atitlán. The rest of the day will be free so you can enjoy what the town of Panajachel and its markets have to offer.

In the morning we will take our bus to Tecpán Guatemala, known among its visitors and local for its agriculture, livestock and delicious gastronomy. There you will have lunch at El Rincón Suizo, a restaurant that won the national award for Best Restaurant last year. After lunch, you will participate in a Cheese Tour at Finca Pasajinak, where you will learn about the local cheese processing and taste a variety of delicious Guatemalan cheeses. Finally, we will continue our trip to Antigua Guatemala. After arriving at the hotel, the rest of the night will be free so you can start getting to know this beautiful colonial city.

Commonly known as one of the most beautiful colonial cities, Antigua Guatemala has been the main attraction for travellers of all ages. The city is full of cobblestone streets, colourful facades and beautiful buildings, where you can find the influence of various architectural trends such as Renaissance and Baroque, among others. Antigua is also surrounded by 3 volcanoes, which provide its visitors with amazing landscapes. Here you can also find a lot of culture, a lot of commerce and a variety of restaurants and nightlife experiences, making it still the most visited place in the region. UNESCO declared Antigua Guatemala a cultural heritage site in 1979.

In the morning we will have a tour of the city, where you will learn about the ruins, temples, culture and traditions of the area, as well as enjoy a delicious local lunch. In the afternoon we will go to La Tortilla Cooking School where you will have your second Guatemalan Cooking Workshop of this tour, in which the culinary instructors will share with you their experience in the country's multifaceted gastronomic culture, while you learn how to prepare a new and delicious local dish: Pepián. In this workshop you will also learn how the Mayan culture and the Spanish colonial influence blend in perfect harmony through food. The rest of the night will be free for you to continue enjoying Antigua Guatemala.

In the morning we will meet at our hotel to start our Villages Tour, in which you will visit the most relevant villages surrounding Antigua Guatemala. We will visit San Juan El Obispo —famous for its agriculture, especially the production of medlars and artisan wines—; San Antonio Aguas Calientes —where we will enter the handicrafts market and if you wish you can buy souvenirs of your trip—; Ciudad Vieja —the city that was destroyed by the activity of the Agua volcano in 1541—.

Then we will visit Valhalla Macadamia Farm. There you will learn about the cultivation and processing of macadamia trees and the varied products derived from them. You will have lunch in their own restaurant, which offers a variety of delicious dishes made of local ingredients and macadamia.

Then we will visit the facilities of Cervecería 14, a local artisan brewery. There you will participate in a tour of the facilities and will be given a sample of the different craft-beers they brew. They also have a restaurant if you would like to eat snacks and continue enjoying the local craft beers, as well as other tasty prepared drinks.

The rest of the night will be free for you to continue enjoying the nightlife in Antigua Guatemala.

On our seventh day you will participate in a Coffee Tour at the Philadelphia Coffee Resort. Here you will learn about the cultivation and processing of Antigua's coffee beans, as well as their benefits and properties. We will finish the tour at the Coffee Tasting Laboratory where you will taste one of Antigua's most award-winning coffees, the R. Dalton Genuine Antigua. You will then participate in a professional tasting workshop where you will learn to distinguish the fragrance, aroma, flavour, acidity and aftertaste of coffee. You will leave the Coffee Tasting Laboratory with a certificate of completion.

In the afternoon we will go to Chocomuseum where you will participate in a chocolate workshop, in which you will learn how to produce your own personalised Guatemalan chocolate bars. You will also learn everything about the process of making chocolate from scratch, the origin of chocolate and its history in the Guatemalan gastronomy.

The rest of the afternoon and evening will be free to enjoy your time as you prefer.

After breakfast, we will go to the Central Park of Antigua Guatemala (known as Plaza Mayor) where a bus will pick us up to go to a farm in the outskirts of Antigua Guatemala, where you will participate in the Avocado Tour. This is the first avocado tour in the region, and here you will learn everything about the process of growing this delicious fruit, as well as enjoy being surrounded by a paradise of avocado trees while learning to prepare your own guacamole. This tour will end with a tasty avocado shake.

You will have free time in Antigua starting at noon, and at 4:30pm we will start our last third and last Guatemalan Cooking Workshop. In this workshop you will learn how to cook the delicious Chiles Rellenos, one of the most traditional dishes in the whole country. For dessert, you will prepare Chocolate Mole with Plantains.

The rest of the night will be free.

You will be able to enjoy this day as you wish, we have taken into account the desire of our visitors who want to know the beautiful city of Antigua Guatemala at their own pace. We will always be available to help and assist you on this day if you need it. Discover the wonders that Antigua Guatemala has to offer. Walk its cobblestone streets, visit the local trading posts, enjoy the colonial terraces accompanied by a delicious regional coffee and a sweet dessert. Relax on the benches in the central plaza or walk down the Santa Catalina Arch Street, full local and tourist movement.

At 8pm you'll visit El Refectorio restaurant located in the 5-star Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. This restaurant is run by the recognised Guatemalan chef Mario Campollo, and here you will try his Tasting Menu in which you will be delighted with the diverse dishes of fusion cuisine that mix ingredients from different countries and regions. The rest of the night will be free.

On this day we say goodbye to Antigua Guatemala and take our bus to the Caribbean side of Guatemala: the Izabal Department, which is known for its tropical climate, great beauty and natural diversity, and of course, its cuisine. Here you will be able to explore the Río Dulce area, surrounded by beautiful Lake Izabal, the largest lake in the country. You will arrive at your hotel during the early afternoon and have the rest of the day free so you can relax in the hot Caribbean climate and enjoy a refreshing swim in the lake or in the pool of your hotel.

On this day we will take a boat-tour across Rio Dulce, Lake Izabal and the Golfete, so you can surround yourself with the exotic and diverse wildlife of the area that delights its visitors. In the middle of our boat tour we will make a stop in the town of Livingston. This beautiful town offers a mix of colours, flavours and many rhythms, and it consists mostly of Garifuna population. You will have the opportunity to appreciate a distinct and unique culture, which is almost impossible to find in other regions of the country.

Here you will have your last great gastronomic experience of this tour: the Tapado de Mariscos, which was awarded the prize for Best Regional Dish at the International Gastronomic Tourism Fair in 2019. The Tapado de Mariscos, Livingston's most traditional dish, is a delicious soup made with coconut milk, green plantains, vegetables and a great variety of seafood such as crab, shrimp, fish, oysters, and clams —definitely an explosion of flavour worth experiencing—.

During the afternoon we'll take a relaxing boat ride back to our hotel, and the rest of the day will be free so you can unwind while enjoying the incredible tropical climate of Izabal. We also invite you to ask about the wide variety of water and ecological activities that you can participate in around the area.

After breakfast, we will take our bus back to your hotel in Guatemala City, where you will spend the night.

This is where your trip ends.