Private Journeys

Easter in Guatemala: Semana Santa

8 days from £2,080pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Guatemala

Places visited

Overview & Highlights

This short holiday in Guatemala, a deeply traditional Mayan country with a stupendous variety of landscapes, is based around the epic Easter celebrations in Antigua. Also visit indian markets and the jungle-swathed Mayan ruins at Tikal.

In just a week, you are invited to enjoy a holiday which not only embraces the pageantry of the world-famous Easter celebrations in Antigua, but manages to squeeze in the country’s main highlights.

You’ll be amazed by the variety in such a small geographical area: volcanoes, smoking or stifled by vegetation, glass-clear shimmering lakes, treeless grasslands and valleys choked with orchards and kitchen gardens.

Across all this the wonderful culture, a blend of Mayan, and Spanish colonial; pre-Columbian religion and ritual blended with Christianity – see it in the market at Chichicastenango, the pocket-sized rural communities on the fringe of Lake Atitlán, the long abandoned jungle-stifled Mayan temples and pyramids at Tikal. Imagine being able to do as much as this in 7 days at home...

Walking tour of Antigua
Easter processions in Antigua
Boat excursion to Santiago de Atitlán and San Antonio Palapó
Chichicastenango market
Guided tour of Tikal ruins

THE UK’S NO. 1 SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL TO LATIN AMERICA

Millie Davies

Travel Expert

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Outline itinerary

Day 1

Arrive in Guatemala City, transfer to your hotel in Antigua.

Day 2

Walking tour of colonial Antigua.

Day 3

Attend the Easter processions in Antigua.

Day 4

Visit Iximché ruins en route to Lake Atitlán.

Day 5

Guided tour of Chichicastenango market.

Day 6

Boat trip across Lake Atitlán to Santiago.

Day 7

Explore Tikal ruins on a guided tour.

Day 8

Transfer to the airport for international flight.

View full itinerary

Things to do

We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.

Walking tour of Antigua

Visit Solola highland market

GUA11_Tikal_shutterstock_92508058_freewithcredit

Visit Tikal, ruined Mayan city

gua06-visit-chichicastenengo-free-inguat

Visit Chichicastenango market

Accommodation

Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.

Guatemala / Lake Atitlan and villages

Villa Santa Catarina

Guatemala / Tikal

Villa Maya

Guatemala / Antigua and the highlands

Villa Colonial

Itinerary Essentials

What our clients say

A well thought out tour with a good balance of culture, scenery and larger towns. The tour leader was excellent and the local guides were friendly and knowledgeable with great enthusiasm for their subjects. Good value for money and would have no problem with recommending JLA and will almost certainly use the company again.
SW, Broxbourne
Nov 2017
Difficult to say as it was a trip of contrasts - two cities and some beautiful landscapes. I achieved two ambitions which was to visit the Torres del Paine National Park and to see the Perito Moreno glacier. Torres del Paine was glorious and Perito Moreno was breathtaking. All internal transfers were seamless and check in and check out of hotels were easy. The small group made the holiday feel almost personalised.
TW, Hook
Feb 2020
“Having previously travelled to Patagonia on a Classic tour we knew what the standards are and didn't consider anyone else. Our confidence was fully justified.”
IJB, Birmingham
Aug 2013
The boat trip,down the river, the waterfall and above all the trip,through the mango swamps and seeing the flamingos it was magical. However the archeological trips to the different pyramids were also amazing.
It was overall an excellent experience.
IR, Malta
Apr 2016
Seeing South America (Chile and Argentina) with JLA was great....a fun group and it was a wonderful way to see the best sights in some astonishing places. The people we met were great, food was excellent and some of the views!
PR, Cardiff
Jan 2020
"Walking up to and then seeing Machu Picchu for the first time, visiting the floating Islands on Lake Titicaca , All of the Galapagos Islands visited but in particular swimming with a sea lion and seeing a Galapagos penquin up close and personal!"
NHH, West Byfleet
Nov 2012

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Our expert's view

Millie Davies - Travel Expert

Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

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Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert
Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.
Sophie Barber - Travel Expert
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.
Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert
A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.
Sally Dodge - Travel Expert
A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.
Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert
Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.
Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert
Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.