Help us add information for Lake Atitlan!
Share your travel knowledge in the comment section below.
What we would like to know:
- what is the bus terminal or stop like
- what is the schedule and which bus did you take
- how was the bus ride
- any other tips to help others
If you have photos to share, please email them to centrocoasting@gmail.com.
Let’s help each other have fun and easy travels in Guatemala.
Thank you, from the centrocoasting team 🙂
Hi everybody!
We stayed a couple of days at Lake Atitlán. We traveled there and back from Antigua and here is short info about the connections.
What we did:
Antigua to San Pedro, Shuttle, leaving 8:30, Q70, 3h
San Pedro to Panachajel, Ferry, leaving every 20m (from 6am+), Q25, direct 20m, indirect 1h
Panachajel to Antigua (change in Chimaltenango), chicken bus at 14:30, Q35 (30+5), 3,5h
*prices per person
Tips:
It is also possible to travel by chicken buses to San Pedro (or to Panachajel + ferry to SP), but the price is eventually almost the same as you can see above (around Q70) just for shuttles you have to bit bargain and there are fixed schedules. The added value is the ferry!
Ferry – there are leaving every 20m from the main port in San Pedro. If you travel to Panachajel you can decide between direct and indirect one. The price to Pana is in both cases the same (Q25). If you want to have an inexpensive “lake tour” take the indirect one (as we did)!
Shuttles – wherever you ask (in Antigua, San Pedro or Panachajel) they will offer you the shuttle. Eventually, you found out that the schedule is everywhere the same but the price varies. The cheapest what we found was Antigua – Panachajel for Q60, Antigua – San Pedro for Q70, but you can try to bargain and maybe get a better price.
What are the other routes (we did not travel these routes, only understood that they exist, therefore we cannot say for the price and trip duration):
1, If there is no direct chicken bus from Panachajel to Chimaltenango (or vice versa), this could be the option:
Panachajel – Solola
Solola – Los Encuentros
Los Encuentros – Chimaltenango
2, From Chimaltenango there are chicken buses to (and probably many others):
– Antigua
– Guatemala City
– Quetzaltenango (Xela)
3, From Antigua there are chicken buses to (and probably many others):
– Escuintla
– Guatemala City
– Quetzaltenango (Xela)
Do not worry to ask locals, they were usually kind and helpful. We did not bargain for the chicken bus price, but it seemed to us that the locals are paying the same.
Safe travels!