Top Panajachel Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

An awesome way to go exploring around Lake Atitlan, this sunset ATV adventure tour takes you up into the mountains around the caldera lake—formed after a volcanic eruption over 1.8-million years ago—before heading down to the shore for a swim. You’ll also explore local villages and colorful towns, learn about the fascinating culture of the region, watch paragliders soar through the skies, and find the best spot for sunset.

Take a journey through the traditions of Mayan spirituality as you experience a 2-hour traditional fire-cleansing ceremony with a guide in the Sacred Caves of Lake Atitlan. Step inside these mystical caves, used by local Mayans for many centuries, to observe the performance of this holy and powerful ritual by a local shaman. Listen as your guide explains the history and traditions behind the ritual and provides insight into the Mayan calendar system. Before you leave, you’ll have time to admire the gorgeous views of the lake down below.

Watch the sunrise light up Lake Atitlan and the Volcanic Ring of Fire from one of the highest points at Lake Atitlan: Indian Nose. After pickup from your Panajachel lodging and a 90-minute drive through the highlands, take an easy 30-minute hike to the summit of Indian Nose, followed by a trip to Sacred Hunters Cave. This tour includes round-trip transportation from your hotel as well as all entrance fees and a professional guide.

Once famously described as "too much of a good thing," Lake Atitlan's stunning beauty and broad diversity of towns can make it difficult for visitors to decide how best to see its attractions. This tour lets you see it all while connecting with the landscape and the local people in ways that few visitors get to do. After taking a boat from Panajachel to the small Mayan village of Tzununa, hop on a bike for a ride through the countryside, stopping to visit weaving cooperatives, coffee plantations, art galleries, and some of the best viewpoints on the Lake.

Each town and village surrounding Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan boasts its own unique culture and traditions, but many travelers miss out on experiencing the lakeside region’s diverse heritage. Get an insider’s introduction to three towns—San Juan La Laguna, San Pedro, and Santiago Atitlan—during this small-group cultural tour by boat. Full-day experiences focus on Mayan ancestral practices, including chocolate-making, fabric dying, and the production of natural medicines.

Step back in time to the ancient world of the Maya during this 6-hour exploration of the Iximche ruins near Lake Atitlan. Explore this 1,000-year-old city’s wealth of ball courts, pyramid-temples, royal palaces and the on-site museum. You’ll also learn about the history of this iconic archaeological site up through the Spanish colonial era, and discover details about the Mayan calendar, astrological studies and the attitudes of the present day Mayan people towards their ancestors. Your trip includes entrance fees, a guide and a choice between shared and private round-trip hotel transport.

Sit alongside local women and learn the art of Maya beading with this hands-on workshop in Santa Cruz la Laguna. Not only is this socially responsible tour a great way to learn about the Maya cultures found on Lake Atitlan, but it also directly benefits local communities. Upgrade to include lunch at Lake Atitlan’s top restaurant—also run by a social enterprise—or a community-led tour of the village.

Whether you’re an admirer of avian or if you just love a walk through lush forests, this walking tour around the trails of Lake Atitlan is a great option for low-impact travel. You’ll either meet your guide in Santiago or receive pickup from Panajachel via boat and begin a hike up the Rey Tepepul Trail. This forested trail features river and wildlife views, as well as opportunities to see locals tending to their farms.

Led by local women, this cultural tour of Santa Cruz la Laguna offers a fascinating insight into Maya life on Lake Atitlan and how the ancient traditions can still be seen in modern Guatemala. Arriving in Santa Cruz by boat, you'll meet the women at the dock and walk up to the town, where you'll visit a home for a cooking class, learn about local handicrafts, and relax with a steam bath in a traditional adobe temazcal.

Explore the small town village life and gorgeous scenery of Lake Atitlan during this 5-hour hiking excursion from Santa Cruz la Laguna to San Marcos. During the course of your trip you’ll observe local villagers tending to coffee and corn crops in area farm fields and pass through small Mayan hamlets like San Marcos, Tzununná and Jaibalito. Best of all your hike offers a chance to enjoy the gorgeous scenery of Lake Atitlan and its nearby volcanoes. This Lake Atitlan hiking adventure also covers one-way transfer to the start point, hotel pickup, guide and entrance fees.

Immerse yourself in the ancient rituals and colorful culture of the Mayans during this 7-hour trip to Chichicastenango and its famous market. Discover the wealth of handicrafts, produce, herbal medicines and more for sale at this traditional indigenous market. Then spend time exploring the town’s museums, cemetery, colorful murals and Mayan heritage, including a chance to observe a Fire Cleansing Ceremony performed by a local shaman. Your trip also covers round-trip hotel transport from Panjachel.

Enjoy and discover the colorful market day of Chichicastenango! This is an unique experience that you will see how is the local people live and doing their activities in the market days. The real Mayan culture is still live. Also since their typical dress till the Mayan language that they speak.

Learn all about Mayan and Cristian culture on this private tour to three different villages on Lake Atitlan, with round-trip transport from Panajachel to keep things running smoothly. Your guide organizes all the logistics, including lunch, so you just need to enjoy learning about past and present culture on your day out. Learn about local textiles, the importance of color, and why chocolate was so important for making friends with the gods.

Step inside the Maya community of Santa Cruz with this NGO visit. Check out a successful non-profit vocational training center with classes in cooking, beading, sewing, and carpentry. Visit a classroom, café, and store run by the organization. Explore the village of Santa Cruz, home to one of the oldest churches in Guatemala, and end your tour with lunch at the NGO-run rooftop café overlooking the waters of Lake Atitlan.

Not far from Antigua, Lake Atitlan is one of the deepest lakes in Central America and home to Mayan tribes. The villages surrounding the lake are each known for a handicraft, food, or tradition, and you’ll have the opportunity to explore them on two wheels. This motorcycle tour takes you from Panajachel around to Santiago, all while stopping at different villages and viewpoints around the lake.

Adventure lovers, this exciting tour will grant you a glimpse at Guatemala’s many towns along Lake Atitlan. You’ll start with a private boat ride from Panajachel to Jaibalito where you’ll then hike to Tzununa. Hop aboard a bicycle and cruise through four more villages, including San Juan and San Pablo. In San Pedro, you’ll hop in a kayak and paddle through Lake Atitlan before returning to Panajachel.

Learn all about Mayan culture on this guided tour to Mayan villages that you arrive at by boat. Your guide organizes logistics, including transport and lunch, so there’s no need for you to organize this separately. Your guide introduces you to villagers you might not meet on your own, who teach you about local textiles, chocolate processing, medicinal herbs and plants, and much more.

Whether you consider yourself a connoisseur of coffee or you simply enjoy a fresh cup no matter where it’s from, you’ll love this coffee tour around Lake Atitlan. Wake up in ready for a cup and hop aboard a shared water taxi. Sail around Guatemala’s lake, stopping in Mayan villages for sips of locally grown and roasted coffee. Learn how to taste the different notes and flavors in each cup, all while discussing the process from bean to brew.

Veer from the well-trodden tourist path and discover traditional Mayan culture on a full-day tour from Antigua. Round-trip transportation from your hotel spares you the white-knuckled stress of riding on a public bus. Together with your guide, visit three Mayan villages and learn about the unique way of life from the people who live there. The excursion also includes some of Guatemala’s natural beauty, with a boat ride around Lake Atitlan.

Enjoy a leisurely, laid-back, 3-hour cycling trip amidst the idyllic mountain villages near Panjachel. Spend most of your trip pedaling downhill, soaking up scenic views of Lake Atitlan, quiet rural roads and the tiny indigenous towns of Godinez and San Andres Semetabaj. With more than 98% of your cycling trip on downhill terrain, it’s a chill, easy, way to see a lot of scenery with minimal effort. Your ride includes a guide, bike and transport to the cycling start point.

Enjoy and discover the colorful market days of Sololá on Tuesday and Thursday! This is a good spot and very important  colourful market close fo Panajachel. That will be a good experience for you will see how is the local people live and doing their activities in the market days

This is a 16-kilometer bike ride where you will encounter ups and downs in one, along the way. Our guide will make stops at points or in viewpoints so that they can enjoy the lake at different points. The towns that are visited are Santa Catalina and San Antonio in these towns will also stop at different points to visit women weavers, colonial churches, factory Ceramic

Immerse yourself in the ancient Mayan heritage and fascinating traditions of Guatemala during this 6-hour day trip to the villages of San Antonio and Santa Catarina. Explore the indigenous artisan traditions of the towns near Lake Atitlan as you tour local textile and craft cooperatives and then visit a ceramics studio. Then participate in Mayan rituals as you learn about the Protection Fire Ceremony and take part in an optional hike along the lake’s edge. Your trip also includes a guide and round-trip hotel transport from Panjachel and Santa Catarina.