Grand Guatemala with Copan

On arrival in Guatemala City, you will be met by your bilingual driver to transfer to Antigua (approx. 1 hr). Overnight at a lovely colonial hotel in Antigua, which will be your home for the next three nights.
Antigua, Guatemala is one of the most idyllic destinations in the world, with painstakingly restored Spanish colonial architecture, manicured parks, stylish hotels, superb international cuisine and a horizon shaped by three spectacular volcanoes. Walking along cobblestone streets, visitors find high-end art galleries, fascinating museums, luxurious shops with international treasures and traditional markets packed to the rafters with locally made textiles and woodcrafts. With its architecture, culture and unique setting, Antigua, Guatemala, quite simply, is the most charming city in all the Americas.

Meals: Dinner

This morning, you’ll be met at your hotel to begin a half day walking tour of Antigua. Enjoy the architectural and historical highlights of this colonial city with a behind-the-scenes look at some of the many churches, convents and cathedrals such as the Iglesia San Francisco, the Cathedral, Central Park, and La Merced Church. The town enjoys a unique and impressive setting, nestling beneath three towering volcanoes and surrounded by lush evergreen forests. The remainder of the afternoon is at your leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

Today you can choose to climb the Pacaya Volcano or embark on a full day textile tour.

Option One:
The Pacaya tour starts with a morning transfer (approx. 1 hr) to the foothills of the active Pacaya Volcano. You then begin a fairly strenuous hike through a wonderful pine forests up to the more tricky volcanic ash section and finally to the sulfur smoking cone. On occasions you can even see small eruptions and lava flow depending on the activity of the volcano. From the summit you can enjoy great views of the northern volcanoes, the pacific lowlands and all the way to El Salvador. Half way down, stop to enjoy a picnic lunch with the impressive volcano in close sight. Back at the base of the volcano, your support vehicle awaits to transfer you back to Antigua.

Option Two:
Those choosing the textile tour will be met at the hotel by the private guide, at 9:00 am. Tour around Antigua with a focus on learning about the wonderful and complex Guatemalan Mayan textiles and folk art. You will visit markets, museums and specialized shops so that you can learn about the history and techniques surrounding Guatemalan textiles and folk art as well as the differences in colors, styles and symbolism from each area of Guatemala. This tour is flexible and if you have specific sights that you wish to see please notify your guide. In the afternoon, you will meet your vehicle to take you out to the villages of San Antonio, Aguas Calientes, and Santa Maria to meet with local families and weavers to learn about the textiles and traditions of their villages.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning’s transfer is about three hours to Lake Atitlan, which is surrounded by three imposing volcanoes.  Visit the famous Maya archaeology site of Iximche for a tour of this fascinating site. Towards the back of the site is a lesser known yet extremely important Maya spiritual, ceremony site. Here you will meet a local Shaman who will perform an authentic Maya ceremony in a local Maya language. After the ceremony enjoy a traditional lunch in a local restaurant before continuing on to Lake Atitlan. Stop for a short visit to the colorful market at Solola along the way. On market day, this town is bursting with life and local Maya people from all around the area flock to the market to buy and sell their wares for the week ahead. Everyone is dressed in the brightly colored local textiles and even the men here wear the traditional costume of the area. This is a fabulous and authentic market to visit that will give you a wonderful insight into Maya life in the Solola district of Guatemala. Stay overnight at hotel in Atitlan.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Take a scenic boat ride across Lake Atitlan to visit the villages of San Juan La Laguna and Santiago. Lake Atitlan is a natural marvel like no other, 50 square miles of deep, crystal blue water surrounded by three lofty volcanoes. Formed by a volcanic cataclysm 100,000 years ago, the lake shimmers in a mountain valley, overlooked by a dozen quaint villages, whose residents proudly wear traditional dress that distinguishes each town from the next. Savor the intoxicating tranquility of this unique natural wonder. Visit the women’s textile cooperative to see hand weaving and the natural dye process. Also visit the studios and homes of the celebrated naïf painters. From here, you will continue to the village of Santiago where you will have lunch in a local hotel. Tour the village visiting the Maya God “Maximon” and learn about the textiles, spiritualism and beliefs of the T’zutujil Maya. Lunch at Santiago. Return to the hotel in Atitlan for your overnight stay.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, transfer about an hour to the famous market at Chichicastenango, a highlands village famous for its traditional open-air market, boasting a fantastic range of beautiful and inexpensive traditional crafts. Along the way, you will pass through the central highland region and see the local Mayan people in their traditional dress going about their daily lives, working in the fields, collecting firewood, traveling between markets, and selling their wares.
Upon arrival at Chichicastenango, your guide will take you to explore this famous market: both the local areas of the fruit and vegetables and everyday items, as well as the craft area where you can find endless variety of beautiful textile, wooden and ceramic crafts. Vendors from all over Guatemala, representing many of Guatemala's linguistic groups such as Mam, Ixil, Kaqchikel and others, sell their products in a riotous cacophony of color, dialects, costumes, smoke, and smells. You can also visit the famous St Tomás Church where local Mayan people come to perform rituals within the Catholic church, demonstrating the interesting way the two faiths have combined in recent times. Lunch at Maya Inn. Transfer back to Antigua for a final night in this beautiful city.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer across the border into Honduras after breakfast. Arrive around lunch time and have lunch at the hotel. You will be met at the hotel reception at 5 pm and transferred to David Sedat's house in Copan. Enjoy a welcome cocktail and "boquita." Enjoy an amazing presentation of some of David's work for the University of Pennsylvania Museum at Copan which covers the discoveries of the royal tombs that most visitors to Copan have never known. Proceeds from this unique and fascinating activity go directly to David's ongoing work in Copan. Lunch at the Marina Copan. Overnight at a local hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast you are picked up from the hotel and transferred to the archaeology site at Copan. Enjoy a guided tour of this beautiful site, which is famous for its intricately carved stelea and amazing hieroglyphic stairway as well as its comprehensive museum. Return to Copan and visit the Bird Park for lunch. Walk in the lush, shady river valley location of the Copan Bird Park where you will get a local guide to accompany you and see and interact with a number of beautiful tropical birds that have been rescued from locales all over Honduras. When you’re ready, transfer back to the hotel for your overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer across Guatemala through the central desert region to the lush tropical area at Rio Dulce. Visit the beautiful, small Mayan Temple site at Quirigua along the way. Once at Rio Dulce you will board a boat for a short trip to your riverside hotel in the Garifuna town of Livingston. Overnight at a local hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

Morning walking tour of Livingston. After lunch cruise down river to the Rio Dulce and per chance see the elusive Manatee. Once back at Rio Dulce transfer to the Flores/El Remate area. Overnight at a comfortable hotel where you will stay for the next three nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, transfer to the Ixpanpajul Nature Park in the rain forest near the town of Flores. At the park, you can choose between a canopy walk way trail or an exciting zip line adventure through the canopy. On either trip, you will be able to appreciate the local flora and fauna and hopefully see a variety of tropical wildlife. When ready, transfer back to the hotel or take some time to explore the pretty island town of Flores.
After lunch, transfer with the driver and guide to Yaxha National Park where you can enjoy a private guided tour of this lesser visited, atmospheric site. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the howler and spider monkeys as well as many colorful tropical birds and other mammals in this area which is rich with wildlife. Sunset drinks will be enjoyed at the end of the tour on top of the main temple with views over the surrounding rain forest and nearby Lake Yaxha. Hike back through the jungle with torches as it starts to turn dark, perhaps spotting some nocturnal wildlife along the way. Later, return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, start to explore the amazing Mayan Temple site at Tikal, where ghosts of the Maya haunt the awe-inspiring huge temple ruins that rise above the jungle canopy. Monkeys and tropical birds are abundant in the surrounding rainforest. At its peak some 1,500 years ago, Tikal was home to an estimated 100,000 Maya and it was one of the most important urban centers of its time. This is evident in the more than 3,000 structures extending over six square miles. Lunch will be at a restaurant within the Tikal National Park. After this tour, transfer back to the hotel for your final night.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning your guide will transfer you to the airport in Flores with plenty of time to catch your flight to Guatemala City and onward.

Meals: Breakfast