Pacaya Volcano is one of the most active—and most popular—in all of Guatemala. Stationed some 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level, this destination is an ideal spot for travelers who want an easy hike, epic views, and some memorable stories. This tour allows you the comfort and ease of pre-arranged transportation to ensure you get the most out of your hike.

Transportation to Pacaya Volcano from Antigua
See one of Guatemala's most active volcanoes
Hike to the top with a professional local guide
Take in the views from the top of the volcano

What's Included

Trail Guide in both languages Spanish-English (Basic English)
Hotel pickup (selected hotels only)
Collective transportation Antigua-Volcano-Antigua

Entrance fee Q100.00 per person
Food and drinks
Gratuities
Horse ride (Q200.00-Q300.00 round trip)

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Ticket Redemption Point

Volcán Pacaya, 99JW+FPX, San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala

Pickup details

- This tour is for people with good physical condition. We strongly advice people with heart problems or breathing limitations like asthma, NOT TO DO THIS TOUR. - We can pick up in any centrally located Antigua Hotels, Air BnB and family homestays. - We DON'T pick up in the villages around like hotels or Air BnB in Santa Ana, San Bartolomé Becerra, Ciudad Vieja, San Juan del Obisto, Santa Inés or Santo Domingo del Cerro, Antika or San Pedro el Panorama. - You are purchasing a collective service, this means several people will join the tour. This means that the van will experience some delays caused by travellers that are not ready in time, or gave a wrong address. Please be Patient. - Please sen us your hotel name or home address to confirm the reservation.

What To Expect

Kick off your hiking excursion with pickup directly from your Antigua hotel and transfer with your small group to the meeting point Pacaya Volcano National Park, about an hour away. Take a few minutes to use the restroom and stretch your legs at the park entrance, then set off on foot or on horseback (extra charge) with your guide.

Follow the scenic trail up the mountain slopes, pausing to take in the views before reaching the high-altitude plateau overlooking the volcanic crater. Spend some time exploring the plateau and roasting marshmallows over the heat vents that dot the lava field before beginning the descent back to the park entrance for the return transfer to Antigua.

Pacaya Volcano

3 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Minimum age is 8 years
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Take note that Rainy Season is from May to October, more chance of rain in the afternoons
The hike it runs even if it's raining.
Wear hiking boots with good traction and toe protection, pants, jacket (rain coat and waterproof clothing in rainy season)
Only cash of quetzals is accepted to pay the admission fee
If you want to rent a horse, bring cash of quetzals
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Kathy_Z

The experience was super good, our guide Eduardo was very attentive and explained everything to us in detail and clarified our doubts. Very good tour, we recommend it, and of course we ate pizza with David!!! se los recomiendo

Reviews

4.5

293 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

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Showing 1-10 of 293 reviews

Worth the view!

Jackie_M, Apr 2024

Tour guide was super chill and kind. He knows the area really well and is proud of his culture/country. He is very welcoming and optimistic. The hike was harder than I expected bc it was uphill but still doable. You have the option to rent a horse. I didn’t get a horse but many people do. The journey was worth the views. You get a better chance of quality pics if you go in the morning.

Great experience

Andrea_C, Apr 2024

I truly enjoyed my experience. The guide was very informative. I hiked all the way up and my mother rode the horse. It was a bit challenging. I would say that this is an intermediate level hike.

The only cool thing about...

Maria_V, Apr 2024

The only cool thing about it was the Lava Store I would say and how you can see all 3 of the other volcanoes. The hike was challenging but doable if you’re determined. The tour guide only shared one fact throughout the whole tour and on our way down completely left us on our own! Very disengaged. I expected to hear more about the volcano(es), more history and facts.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hi Maria! Thank you very much for your comment. We really sorry to hear that the tour was not what you expected. We will continue working to train our guides so all of them can provide an excellent service to the customers on each tour. You comment help us to improve our services.

Friendly and supportive staff

Anthony_C, Apr 2024

Excellent tour guides that explained the historical significance of the area we were hiking. They were very attentive to people who were struggling with the hike and made sure no one was left behind

Good climb but a language challenge

Gary_H, Apr 2024

The hike up the volcano was a fair gradient, gaining good height quickly, until reaching our destination. The views were slightly obscured, due to cloud , but experiencing the texture of volcanic rock and cooking marshmallows was the highlight. On the downside, the guide didn’t say too much in English, but said lots in Spanish. Although he was pleasant he could have provided the same information in English.

An experience no matter the weather!

David_S, Apr 2024

We went on the afternoon hike, with pickup at Antigua. The shuttle service was right on time and provided very good driving. It took a little over an hour to get to Pacaya. The only downside was the clouds. But this is Mother Nature we’re talking about and is in no way a fault of this hike your experience. Carlos was a GREAT tour guide. Even though it was not a great aerial view, he always made it entertaining. The roasting of the marshmallows was fun and running down the volcano with the rock ash with Carlos made it more enjoyable and an experience. We had a great group and can’t complain too much. Except the HORSES! They get in your way and are extremely annoying and crap a lot. Try to get ahead of them if you can! The hike is pretty hard and should be considered prior to paying for this trip. You can always use their Uber (horse) but didn’t seem that our people with the horses liked it all that much. Started to pour on us, thank God for raincoats, but it made it even more fun!

I'd recommend this trip

Ian_G, Mar 2024

Great trip and great company - but unfortunately we didn't get to see much due to low cloud. 😔 However, it's still worth doing to be so close to a live volcano

An eruption of Experience

Erick_A, Mar 2024

The volcanonits the center piece , but the guides were very informative and knowledgeable of the region and history of the volcano eruptions , my wife and I set out to hike it withouth the help.of the horses , it's a must to donit hiking it, and the pizza made at the top of the volcanos hit the spot after the hike.

A beautiful moderate hike

Tony_T, Mar 2024

Awesome tour guide and options for horses if you get tired. Great Lava store and pizza oven made from lava stone at the top. Highly recommend

Tough hike, but amazing experience!

jdenapol, Mar 2024

It was a good hike! Our guide Monkey was very knowledgeable and shared many pictures from the last eruption. Like others have said, it can be a little tough, but I did not feel pressured to go any faster than I was comfortable with. The drive has a lot of curves, so be ready if you get motion sickness.

Great hike, no crater views like in pictures but still great day.

Jeannine_W, Mar 2024

This was a fun afternoon, we took the 2pm tour and enjoyed the drive and small group. It was not very busy and was a nice hike. The guide was great and my daughter rode a horse with a great guide too. Unfortunately you can no longer ascend to the view of the crater which was dissappointing as most pictures still show this in the ads for tour. But it is still a very nice day.

Strenuous Workout and AMAZING PIZZA on top!

Rebecca_P, Mar 2024

Picked up right on time and communicated in advance - we hopped on a bus to go up the twisty mountain roads (1.5 hour journey) and were met at the bottom of the volcano by some kids and horses for rent to make the trip uphill easier. WARNING: this is a 1.5 hour hike UPHILL. It was NOT easy :) take breaks and don't let the locals push you to move faster.. the faster you move the more tired you become, making it easier to sell you a horse for rent. This is high elevation at 8,000 ft. The hike was SO worth it as there was a "pizza shop" (Pizza de Pacaya de David) on top where you could order a pizza for $20 cooked right on the magma. It was delicious and so much fun!

This only covers shuttle...

Ana_L, Mar 2024

This only covers shuttle transportation. The shuttle is packed to the fullest to the point aisles are unavailable because of foldable seats. You hike up alongside vendors on horses that are constantly asking you to rent a horse. The dust from the horses path is in your face 90% of the path. Nice experience with friends but the way the excursion is set up is not pleasant.

Great hike!

Cortney_P, Mar 2024

The hike up was steep, some points were rocky and others were sandy, but all in all so worth it! The pizza at the top was delicious but was not ready for how much it cost. Bring extra money for that, as there are no other food options up there. Marshmallows were tasty, too!

Wear light Clothes and prepare for a hike!

Leah_U, Mar 2024

This is good way to see Pacaya Volcano. The tour operator were very response about the pick-up. The driver picked me up from my airbnb, and we pick up the other attendees. We drove about an hour to where the start of the volcano was. Our tour guide then hopped into the vehicle and introduced himself. At the beginning before you walk, you’ll have to pay the 100Q entrance fee in cash. We immediately began walking. Beware, if you are not fit - this maybe challenging with the incline of the hill, heat and length of walking which is about (1 - 1.5 hrs). They are horses that follow the group in case you want to ride the horse instead of walking which is an additional 300Q. I will say that once you make it to the top, the view is amazingggg. If you walk the whole way, it is definitely worth the struggle. Luckily I came on a clear day so I was able to see everything. Roasting marshmellows comes with the tour, but you can also make your own pizza at an additional charge. There is pockets of hot areas near at the volcano. Going down from the volcano is way easier than going up! Bring water and snacks. And wear clothes that will get dirty, as it is very dusty and rocky when hiking.

Extraordinary!

Melissa_J, Mar 2024

The hike was definitely challenging. We wound up taking horses about 1/4th of the way up. The trail is almost always at an incline. We were able to walk down on our own without difficulty. It was a really beautiful hike. Our guide was knowledgeable and very friendly. The pizza was delicious! Overall a great experience.

Strenuous Volcano Epic Hike.

Patrick_S, Mar 2024

This was a father-daughter hike up the volcano. I would have loved to receive more commentary from our guide. The hike itself was extremely strenuous, but even my 53 year old dad bod out of shape self made it without question. And, I would highly recommend purchasing a walking stick for 10quetzal at the start (plenty of vendors). Walking on the volcano and the views were epic and worth the physical effort. If you are fat, please think twice before doing this hike.

excellent

Kathy_Z, Mar 2024

Great experience

Rudee_J, Mar 2024

We did the 6am tour and our driver arrived at 605, right on time. There was only 6 people on our tour which was great. The ride there wasn't so bad. Once You arrive the guides and their horses are right at the door like the paparazzi. 5/6 used a horse which was Q300. The guides are with you the whole time. They stop at certain points for pics and explanations. The ride up was beautiful but not for the weak. Once at the top, you are up there for about an hour before head back down. We roasted marshmallows which were free in a fire pit. The pizza is an extra charge. It was a great experience.

Solid hike, great views at the top and during descent

David_M, Mar 2024

Incredible view of Pacaya once you make the clearing. The views on the way down of the surrounding volcanoes through sunset was stunning. To note hike mentioned being in English and Spanish but tour guide could only speak Spanish. Plus not much detail provided by the tour guide during the hike, they are there pretty much just to roast the marshmallows and make sure you stick to the right direction. Overall a good experience.

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