Guatemala Trip Reviews

We loved Voltan Adventures! The company is owned and staffed by a local family, many of whom we met, and all were wonderful. Our family of four booked two tours with them at Lake Atitlan: one a boat tour of the lake with stops in San Juan and Santiago; and the other a significant hike up the mountain behind Santa Cruz La Laguna to a village, with a fun ride down through the interesting scenery of San Jose, Solola and back to Pana. They customized every part of the trips to our specific interests.

Our guide, Isaias, is a young, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable person who speaks perfect English and who could not have been more enjoyable. He introduced us to many authentic experiences that were not “touristy” but were quite genuine, including some remarkable interactions with local citizens made possible by the fact that he is from the area. We really enjoyed being with him. We also liked that he took us to the cooperatives in San Juan that were run by local artisans selling their goods for fair prices, not tourist traps.

Voltan Adventures seems to really care that their clients have a great experience. They tend to your comfort, tailor the tours to your specific interests, and are first-rate professionals and also really nice people. We booked other tours in Guatemala with other agencies and had good experiences, but the Voltan Adventures team really stood out as the best. They conduct tours all over Guatemala and also in Honduras and Nicaragua that we hope to take on a future trip, so they are not just local to the lake.

Visited 2 weeks ago

“A Wonderful and Memorable Adventure!”

“Visiting the Ixil Highlands of Guatemala”

Since we traveled with Pedro of Voltan Adventures once last year (to Rio Dulce), he know that we like off-the-beaten-path cultural experiences. His recommendation of four days in the Ixil region of the Guatemalan highlands definitely fit our interests. At the last minute, Pedro needed to substitute his brother Isaias as our guide – which turned out not to be a problem as he was every bit as knowledgeable as Pedro himself. A highlight of all of our group of three was the weekly market at Chajul, which was filled with women in their bright red traje, selling local produce. Other interesting stops included lunch with a local family in Acul, a visit with the old gentleman who makes the famous black salt of Nebaj, a hike into the hills near Acul and a visit with a classroom of elementary school children. Overnight at Hacienda San Antonio was memorable, as it was a part of a working dairy farm that makes delicious swiss cheese. Maria, the cook and general go-to person, served all locally made foods that were simple and delicious – including letting us try our hand at the local favorite, b’oxb’ol. The best part of traveling with Voltan Adventures is that they listen to your interests and are always on the lookout for an experience that you might like. We’re looking forward to another adventure next year.

“Off the beaten track Guatemala”

Pedro and his team planned an outstanding 4 day trip for us to the Ixchel region. Our driver was excellent, which is important since the road system has many surprises. Our guide Isaias was very knowledgeable and accommodating to changes and ideas as we traveled. Our days were packed with interactions with the local people and helped us gain some understanding and appreciation for what is behind all those colorful people you see at the markets. It was a pleasant surprise to learn Isaias was a credentialed birder so we had the benefit of his expertise while hiking some trails. I highly recommend Voltan if you want to really understand the history and culture of this fascinating region.

“Une belle rencontre”

Nous étions au Guatemala a Santa cruz pour plusieurs jours et grâce a Pedro et son organisation ce fut un dix jours bien agréable. Il nous a donné l’opportunité de faire la rencontre avec cette belle région tout en nous y interprétant sa belle nature. Heureusement Pedro parle français, ce qui a grandement contribuer a améliorer nôtre niveau de communication….Toujours souriant et prêt a nous aider, nous faire découvrir de nouvelles aventure adapter èa nos besoin. Je vous conseils grandement de passer voir PEDRO Merci de nous 4 stef, greg mireille et guy

Visited March 29, 2017

“Excellent!”

“Just what we wanted.....”

“Birding with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide”

“Fantastic guides”

I found out about Tours Atitlan just a few days before our scheduled trip to Guatemala and contacted Pedro with a ton of questions about day trips and tours near Lake Atitlan. he was very responsive and offered a range of activities to suit our interests. We booked two trips with the company and we were completely satisfied with every detail, from the moment we were met by our guides, their local knowledge, friendliness, to the last goodbye. I recommend Tours Atitlan without reservation and I’ll definitely book with them again.

Visited February 26, 2017

“Voltan Adventures - Lake Atitlan - Complete Services: Transportation, Hotel, and Tours”

My good friend and I visited Lake Atitlan in front of a mission construction trip we were meeting up with. I contacted Tours Adventure Atitlan to assist us with all of our logistics (transportation, hotel, and tours). They did not let us down on any of these services! In fact, they were above and beyond on all. From the start the driver at the airport was there to greet us and to take us to our hotel, which was located near the airport in Guatemala City. The hotel there was in a safe location, was like a B&B with a lovely breakfast and a nice room. A driver than transported us to Lake Atitlan. He was on time, safe, friendly, and knowledgeable. He took us to meet our guide, Dina, who we would spend the next two days with. We really enjoyed Dina and learned so much from her! She took us on hikes on the Mayan highland trail, to the Sololá Market, on a boat tour visiting villages (San Juan La Laguna was our favorite) We were introduced to people who shared their talents (weaving, painting, coffee making, medicinal herbs, clothing, etc). She showed us great view areas of the lake, and shared cultural information. It is a lot to take in and learn, and so very interesting. We stayed at the Arca de Noe in Santa Cruz La Laguna. The accommodations are slightly rustic, but we knew this on booking and were very happy there. The view cannot be beat! We enjoyed sitting on our porch overlooking the lake and taking in the scenery. Very rewarding. We were later comfortably transported to Antigua where we would meet up with our team. I will definitely use their services again, they did a fantastic job on all elements of our trip!

Visited February 11, 2017