GUATEMALA

Arriving in Xela: 

Quetzaltenango (Mayan name Xela) is a providence about 4 hours outside of Guatemala city. The best way to reach Xela from Guatemala City is by way of Alamo bus (You can reach the bus terminal by taxi from the airport). Full disclosure, if we were to do this trip again, we would skip this portion of the itinerary and spend the additional days in either Antigua or Panajchel or add in a few days on the coast.  It was a cute little town, but there just wasn't enough to do to occupy the time or justify spending multiple days there. We chose to visit though because it was nestled in the mountains and it would provide an opportunity to see a very local area opposed to just the tourist hot spots. 

Exploring Xela: 

The thing about Xela is that is has a lovely slow pace to exploring so you can take your time and really appreciate the sites and rich Mayan culture. The best place to start is Parque Central where you will find the Catedral Metropoliana de los Altos along with most of the bars and restaurants in the area. Then you can stroll through the colonial streets, see some of the major buildings like the Theater, and eventually make your way to the cemetery. While you might think it is weird to make a cemetery a must see site, the one here in Xela is large and full of beautiful colors on the tombstones. Unfortunately, while we were there, an event was taking place and they had the cemetery closed to visitors, but you could still walk along the street and see many of the tombs through the fence. 

After a day of strolling through the town, head on back to Parque Central for dinner and to sit and enjoy the lively square where locals gather to hang out and enjoy the evening. Right next to the square, you can find Pasaje Enriquez which is a beautiful building containing a hall of restaurants and bars. It is the perfect spot to enjoy a local meal and a few drinks before calling it a night.  

Antigua is a beautiful colonial city located about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Guatemala City. This former capital city is surrounded by beautiful volcanoes and boasts pastel architecture in the Baroque style that has earned it a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. 

Exploring Antigua:

Unless you plan on doing any excursions (such as an overnight Volcano tour) 2-3 days is perfect for exploring the sites. And since Antigua is a relatively small city, you can easily hit the streets each day and explore everything by foot. The best way to go about it is to start walking block by block to see what you can discover, of course with a stop for some food at the many delicious restaurants throughout. By doing this you will easily be able to see all the sites to the right. 

The only site that is a little further outside of town is the Cerro de la Cruz. If you walk north along 1A Avenida Norte for about 5 minutes out of town, you will come to a place where the road veers right and you will see a walking path to the left, just follow that dirt path to the top and you will find the Cross. Once you hit the path its about 10-15 minutes to the top and the path is a mix of incline and stairs. it is not terribly difficult but it is uphill.   

One activity not to miss, is seeing the volcano erupt at sunset. The nearby active volcano "erupts" and sends plumes of smoke up about every 15 minutes, but in the evening/night if you are lucky, you will be able to see the fiery spurts of red. Find yourself a rooftop bar or restaurant to order a drink and take in the scenery while waiting for the sun to set. 

Note* there are some companies that will provide camping gear and hike you up to the neighboring dormant volcano to camp out over night and see the eruptions up close and personal. Unfortunately, we heard about this too late to incorporate into our itinerary but heard from people first hand that it was an incredible experience. So if you are up for an adventure (the hike is supposed to be strenuous) and you want to camp up on the side of a volcano for a night, then definitely look into booking this before you arrive in Antigua.