Most visitors to Guatemala start their travels in the colonial town of Antigua and continue on to Lake Atitlan, a sacred lake that’s renowned for the 11 traditional Mayan towns that encircle its shores. However, given the lack of public transit in the country, it can be a bit confusing to get between these two incredible destinations.
My husband, Justin, and I have visited Guatemala twice and made this journey both times. Here’s everything you need to know about getting from Antigua to Lake Atitlan, to make your Guatemala trip as smooth as possible.
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How to get from Antigua to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Although Antigua is only 75 kilometers from Panajachel, the largest city in Lake Atitlan, it usually takes about a two and a half hour drive to get between the two, due to the narrow and windy mountain roads.
There are a variety of different ways to get from Antigua to Lake Atitlan. Let’s get into it!
Shared shuttle
In my opinion, the best value option for getting from Antigua to Lake Atitlan is a shared shuttle, which usually costs between $20-30 USD per person.
Typically, these shuttles will pick you up at pretty much any hotel in downtown Antigua and transport you to either a hotel in Panajachel or the city’s docks. From here, you can take a lancha (i.e., paid water taxis that operate daily from 6:00 AM to around 5:30 PM) to the other towns on the shores of Lake Atitlan, like San Pedro or Jaibalito, home to the Instagram-famous La Casa del Mundo.
This is exactly how Justin and I got from Antigua to Lake Atitlan both times that we visited and had a flawless experience on both occasions. On our first trip, we traveled in a large bus with about 20 or so other travelers and, on the other occasion, even though we booked a group tour, we lucked out and had a private driver!
Here are some shared shuttle options:
Private shuttle
Alternatively, if you don’t want to share a shuttle with others, are traveling at weird hours, or are short on time to squeeze everything into your Guatemala itinerary, you can also hire a private shuttle.
The driver usually provides door-to-door service, picking you up in Antigua (or, in some instances, even Guatemala City) and then heading directly to Panajachel, to drop you off at your hotel or the city’s dock.
Many of these companies provide a discount based on how many travelers are in your shuttle, so you can usually get a better rate if you’re traveling in a larger group.
Here are some private shuttle options:
- Private shuttle from either Guatemala City or Antigua to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan
- Private shuttle from Antigua (or Guatemala City Airport) to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan
- Private taxi from Antigua to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan
Rideshare
Another option that you can try is rideshare services, like Uber.
It usually costs somewhere around $90-110 USD total for a one-way trip from Antigua to Panajachel in Lake Atitlan. Accordingly, this can be a great way to save money if you’re traveling in a larger group and can split the cost amongst all of the passengers.
We used Uber while we were in Guatemala and, generally, found it easy to find drivers to get around Antigua or Guatemala City. However, we definitely struggled with finding drivers that were willing to go longer distances, like the drive to Lake Atitlan.
Accordingly, I’d personally only recommend this option if you’re traveling in a larger group, are on a tighter budget, AND have quite a lot of flexibility in time, in case it takes a while to find an Uber.
We’ve had experiences where we’ve wound up being “stuck” in certain places in Guatemala, because we’ve relied on rideshare services and were unable to find a driver, so I generally think booking a shared shuttle ahead of time is a better solution for most travelers.
Rental car
You can absolutely get a rental car in Guatemala, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it, especially for driving from Antigua to Lake Atitlan.
First of all, the drivers here are EXTREMELY aggressive and unpredictable, and the roads are curvy, narrow, and not well-maintained.
Plus, it’s MUCH easier to get around Lake Atitlan by the public lanchas, as opposed to driving on the long and narrow roads that lead to the towns on its shorelines. Accordingly, most travelers that hire a car will wind up having to leave their car in Panajachel and pay for secure storage while they’re exploring Lake Atitlan, like this lot.
We’ve traveled around Guatemala for about eight weeks between our two trips here and have had an extremely easy time getting around the country without a rental car, by tourist shuttles or other public transport options, like the lanchas on Lake Atitlan.
Chicken bus
You may have heard of chicken buses, which are essentially souped up school buses that have been repurposed as local public transport options around Guatemala.
Some travelers like using chicken buses, as they’re usually quite cheap (prices vary depending on routes, but, on average, you can expect to spend a little under $1 USD per ride) and a more local experience than your average tourist shuttle.
You can absolutely get from Antigua to Panajachel by chicken bus, but I really wouldn’t recommend it, unless you’re REALLY just in it for the adventure of it all.
While you may save around $10-15 USD per person on the trip, you’ll have to transfer chicken buses several different times and it will usually take you about twice as long to get there. In my opinion, it’s just not worth it, given how cheap the alternative shared shuttle option is.
If you do want to travel from Antigua to Lake Atitlan by chicken bus, here are the basic steps you’ll follow:
- Head to the main bus terminal in Antigua and board a bus heading to Chimaltenango
- At Chimaltenango, get off and transfer to a bus heading west toward Los Encuentros
- Once you reach Los Encuentros, transfer again to a bus that is headed to Panajachel
As you might imagine, I’d definitely recommend taking the chicken buses, only if you speak conversational Spanish. While most people who work in tourism in Guatemala speak pretty basic English, that’s usually not true for chicken bus drivers.
The chicken bus typically lets you off on the outskirts of Panajachel. From there, it’s about a 25 minute walk into the heart of the town or to the docks that will take you to the other towns in Lake Atitlan.
I hope you have a better idea of how to get from Antigua to Lake Atitlan, two of our favorite places in Guatemala! Do you have any questions about the journey? Let us know in the comments below!
