Antigua is a beautiful city with cobblestone streets, colorful houses, and incredible volcano views located about an hour outside of Guatemala City. We had the pleasure of spending a month there in January 2019, and we had a great time discovering all that Antigua had to offer.
Here are our must-do activities if you’re visiting Antigua:
Hike a Volcano
Hiking one of the many volcanoes is easily one of the most popular activities to do in Antigua, and definitely a must on our list! We did a day hike of Pacaya volcano with OX Experiences and it was awesome. We spent the day hiking up the volcano, roasting marshmallows at the base of the volcano, eating lunch while watching fresh lava explode higher up the volcano, and then hiking back down to the base, all while taking in the beautiful views of the valley surrounding Pacaya.
Another popular hike that we didn’t get the chance to do is Acatenango! You can do an overnight hike and camp at the top of the mountain and get stunning views of the active volcano, Fuego.
Take a Tour of a Coffee Plantation
Guatemala produces a ton of the coffee that we drink in North America, and Antigua is a great place to learn about how coffee is produced. We took a tour with a local company called De La Gente, where we were able to walk up to see their coffee plants, learn about how coffee is produced, and then drink some fresh coffee. We each went home with a bag of coffee, and it was amazing to be able to support a small, local coffee producer.
Spend a Saturday at Caoba Farms
Caoba Farms is on the outskirts of Antigua (about 25-30 minutes walking from the centro), and is an amazing farm where they grow local produce. They have a beautiful outdoor restaurant with a ton of great food and live music. On Saturdays, they have music all day, and they also have a local farmers market happening. Caoba Farms was recommended to us by a friend and it become a regular Saturday activity for us! If you’re not there on a Saturday, check their Facebook page for other activities and events happening during the week.
Walk Around the Centro
This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but Antigua has a gorgeous historic center, with cobble-stoned streets, old buildings, and beautiful volcano views. If you don’t have time for a walking tour, we highly recommend just taking a walk around the center and exploring all the little pockets of beauty there.
Enjoy a Drink or Coffee on a Rooftop Patio
There are a ton of rooftop bars in Antigua! Our favorites were the Antigua Brewing Company and Bella Vista Coffee. Antigua Brewing Company has a great selection of local beers and amazing views of Volcan del Agua. Bella Visa Coffee has awesome coffee and great wifi, and both these locations are awesome places to spend a sunset in Antigua to enjoy the beautiful views.
Take an Avocado Tour
As lovers of all things avocado (but especially guacamole), we were super excited to learn that Antigua offers an avocado tour called El Tour del Aguacuate. This was easily one of our favorite things we did during our entire time in Antigua! We took a bus about 30 minutes outside of the city to a small avocado farm, where we learned about how avocados grow and are harvested. We also got to learn how the local people traditionally eat avocado and enjoy an avocado smoothie and some guacamole on fresh tortillas. We have a whole new appreciation for the avocados we eat from this tour, and this was one of the most educational tour experiences we’ve ever had!
Eat Great Food!
We were really surprised by how good the food scene was in Antigua, considering how small the city is. We found everything from local Guatemalan food, to healthy eats, to Mexican, to Asian and everything we tried was awesome. Check out this blog post for our favorite eats in Antigua!
Have you been to Antigua? What are your favorite things to do there? Share in the comments below!
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