What a fabulous company! I spent nine days at Lake Atitlan and Antigua, Guatemala, with Tours Atitlan. My top priority was safety, as I traveled alone as a single woman. Let me add as well that I do not speak Spanish.

This company has a dedicated team full of enthusiast people. They are punctual, knowledgeable, speak English and Spanish, have safe vehicles and drivers both on land and water (this is important and if you have been before you will understand this and if you have not been, you will understand when you do see)!!!… My safety was never in question. My adventure was amazing. Guatemala is a beautiful country well worth exploring. The people are kind and genuine.

Pedro put a package together for me with short notice as I was waiting to ensure my mother’s recovery after surgery was stable. I expressed things that I was interested in and left the schedule to him. He did an amazing job and wasn’t just a person on the phone or someone whom we wrote back and forth over the internet. Pedro actually came and spoke with me a few times through my vacation to ensure things were going well. I as well met Domingo who had worked with Pedro to put my package together. Both very kind and professional. My main tour guide was Isaias. He is a young man from Santa Cruz La Laguna who has schooled for his Tourist License and schooled in history. His enthusiasm for his country and tourism is immense and heartwarming. He has a wealth of information and a good morning smile every single day! He spent the time on two of my tours, the one day with a Mayan family and the hike up the Pacaya volcano translating for me. Tours Atitlan and the Mayan family I spent the day with surprised me with a birthday cake on the day I joined their wonderful family. This was very heartwarming. On the night before my last day at the lake they quickly put together a morning kayak trip to see the sunrise and it was spectacular. Next was on to a city tour with Sergio in Antigua and he is as well very informative. He gave me the confidence to explore Antigua further on my own. The other parts of Guatemala I explored with my package were the Iximche Maya site. This was the first day I met Isaias and I was very impressed how he brought the site to life. Right there one could see how educated in history he is. I went with him to Chichicastenango and in a market full of many people felt very safe. We went as well to Fuentes Georgina to the hot springs. It is a commercialized hot springs as many are but the view is worth it. I can still close my eyes and picture the amazing beauty of the area. We also went by boat and explored the artisan community of San Juan and the village of San Pedro. Both very interesting and by exploring them, you get a feel of where the boats are going through the day. Pedro included a free day in my itinerary which I would not have thought of and am very glad that he did. I spent the morning with Diago trying to learn a bit of Spanish which they arranged for me. Diago is a very patient young man. In that same day, I took a boat to Panachel and back and felt very comfortable doing so. I stayed at the Arca de Noe when I was at Lake Atitlan, and it was a wonderful choice. The view was amazing from my room as I believe it would be in any that they have. I would call my room a cottage by Canadian standards, very nice and very well maintained…did I mention the view!!! If you are searching for a hotel at the lake, keep in mind that a lot of the hotels are not on an actual dock where they tie up the boat and stop. This means that at some you will need to exit off the boat without it actually docking. The Arca de Noe and the one beside are the two hotels that are beside the dock at Santa Cruz La Laguna. From there you can reach all of the other villages!! Being that I am unfortunately a smoker, the hotel I had in Antigua gave me a terrace to smoke but unfortunately as well, the doorway to do that was right next to another guest’s room. When I expressed to Pedro that I was not comfortable annoying another guest for the next few days, as I am an early riser, within a matter of hours, Pedro arranged different accommodation for me and transfer to it. I tried at one point to keep the cost of my trip down and did it in the worst way. Instead of taking private transportation with Tours Atitlan to Antigua, I went in a communal van. The driver was rude and that same day Antigua got a freak rain storm that lasted a few hours and flooded the streets. Fortunately, the driver took me to my hotel, but everyone else in the van had to leave from there as well, as the driver said he wasn’t going any further. In that instance, I realized the difference between a professional tour company and one that is not.
I cannot express enough how well organized Tours Atitlan is, how genuine and caring they are, and after walking the streets of Antigua and seeing five plus tour companies on every street and spending time to chat with some, I realized quickly that I had made the best decision for my dream vacation. From the moment I arrived at the airport in Guatemala City, to the moment I was transported back to the airport and everything in between that was run through this company was punctual, professional and done with such care.
I would highly recommend this company.