The closest airport is La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City
We’ll arrange a shared shuttle for everyone arriving on January 29th.
You can sign up for it in the WhatsApp group, which will be created around one month in advance. The shuttle will leave the airport at 13:00. If you arrive after that time, you’ll need to take a private taxi (or maybe there will be one or two people arriving later also, so you can share)
The cost of the shared shuttle will be around 15 euros, depending on the number of people.
If you don’t take the shared shuttle
From La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, you can take an Uber to Panajachel (113 km), where you can then take a boat to San Marcos la Laguna; this is the most direct and scenic way. Of course, you could also drive there directly with an Uber, but the last part from Panajachel takes an extra 2 hours, as the road makes a significant detour, and the boat takes half an hour (see the image below). We will create a WhatsApp group for all attendees approximately one month before the start, allowing you to plan your travel together. We can arrange a trusted taxi for you, the cost will be around 80 euros for a car.
THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET TO PANAJACHEL;
– TAXI; Uber works well and is more reliable than an unknown taxi. It will take 3+ hours, depending on traffic from the airport. You can connect with all the attendees as we’ll create a WhatsApp group a few weeks before the start, so you can fill a taxi together!
– SHUTTLE BUS $ 42, goes 3 x per day, GuateGo.com Takes at least 4h30 with stop
– CHICKEN BUS for sure the cheapest option, if you want to go for the authentic experience, read all about it here: Tripadvisor and Connected Horizons blog article. Takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes, and leaves 8 times per day.
Lanchas are the water taxis that ferry people from town to town on Lake Atitlan. They are the fastest way to get to every other town from Panajachel.
Getting from Panajachel to San Marcos La Laguna
Just say you want to go to San Marcos, and they will help you get in the right lancha. The price should be around 25 Q, don’t pay more than 50 Q.
The boat service runs between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Two launches depart from Panajachel every 30ish minutes.
One will be a direct boat, and the other will stop in each village along the North shore between the two villages (Santa Cruz/San Marcos/San Pedro/Jaibalito/Tzununa). The laucha captains wait until they’ve nearly hit capacity before departing. So, you may end up sitting in a lancha for up to 25 minutes before the boat actually departs.
PUBLIC & PRIVATE LANCHAS
There are two types of lanchas that service: Public and Private. The captains wearing the white polo shirts with orange lines on the shoulders and sleeves, branded with a ship’s wheel logo, will have the most consistent pricing. These captains are part of an association of captains that operate the Public lanchas on Lake Atitlan. It is safe to ride the nonunion boats too, but the prices are less consistent, so ask the price before you hop on!
Tourists will always be charged more than locals; that is how it goes, but it should still cost only a few bucks. It’s only a 100-meter walk from where the taxi can drop you off to the lanchas. It’s one straight street, just follow it down to the lake.
See the full article HERE
When you arrive at the port of San Marcos la Laguna, it’s a 6-minute walk to where the tuk-tuks are (a backpack will be easier than a suitcase here!). You’ll walk the “Hippie Highway”, a little but busy street with many amazing restaurants, shops and bars. Just follow the street until the end; there’s one S-curve, but it’s pretty straightforward. When you arrive at the end, you’ll see a big street where cars and tuk-tuks can drive. There’s the Public Indoor Baseball Court, and Health Food Store San Jose, and to your left, you see the tuk-tuks waiting. We have trusted tuk-tuks that are available to assist you with carrying luggage, if needed. Their numbers are in our group app. You can take any tuk-tuk, but their prices may be less consistent, and they are not allowed to enter the gates.
Eagle’s Nest is indicated from the tuk-tuk drop-off point on how to walk there. It’s around a 4-minute walk.
Casa Jaguar Treehouse, you can be dropped off in front of the gate!
If you stay at the Eartship or Jungle Rootz, come to Starry Mountain, and we will guide you from there.
Starry Mountain Gate. It’s only a 1-minute walk (up..) from where the tuk-tuk can drop you off