Visitors can enter and browse the exhibits of the ChocoMuseo for free. Exhibits are designed to be self-guided, though there are staff on hand to show you around and further explain the displays. For a more hands-on experience, opt for a chocolate workshop, during which you can make your own chocolate bar, as well as preparing and sampling Maya-style cacao drinks. If you’re on a tight time schedule or are traveling with children, you may want to opt for a shorter chocolate workshop instead.
The ChocoMuseo also hosts regular cooking classes that showcase Guatemalan cuisine. Learn how to make typical Guatemalan dishes such as pepián (traditional Guatemalan chicken stew). Some food-oriented tours of Antigua combine market visits and food tastings with a trip to the museum.
ChocoMuseo is situated on Avenida 5a, about a block north of Antigua Central Park (Parque Central). The best way to get there is on foot: walking from Antigua’s bus terminal take 10–15 minutes.
The ChocoMuseo Antigua is open daily from morning until well into the evening. Workshops take place several times daily. To avoid the biggest crowds, come right at opening or during the hour before closing.
Expand your culinary knowledge of Guatemala with visits to local farms. While you won’t find any nearby cacao plantations—cacao thrives in the lowlands—you can visit several highland farms within easy driving distance of Antigua, including Valhalla Experimental Station, a family-owned macadamia plantation; Caoba Farms, a local enterprise producing a variety of organic produce; and Finca Filadelfia Coffee Plantation and Finca Los Nietos—both working coffee farms.