Guatemala - Land of the Maya (Day of the Dead) — Self-Launched

Land at La Aurora and take an Uber or authorised taxi (~Q100/£10) to Zone 10 or Zone 1. Skip the expensive airport-area hotels and check into a hostel in Zone 1 or 4. Spend the afternoon at Mercado Central and the Reloj de Flores, and eat a cheap set lunch (almuerzo, ~£3) at a comedor. Register your arrival with your embassy if you're travelling on a long trip.

🚌Airport taxi/Uber ~£10

🛏Hostel dorm in Zona 1 or Zona 4 (£10-14)

• →Mercado Central market
• →Historic centre walk (Plaza Mayor, Catedral, Palacio Nacional)

Take a morning shuttle from Guatemala City to Copán Ruinas (approx 6 hours, £25-30 direct shared shuttle; alternatively a chicken bus via Chiquimula and El Florido border is £8-10 but slower). Bring small US dollars or quetzales for the exit/entry formalities. Afternoon is free to wander the cobbled town, coffee farms and the small museum strip.

🚌Shared shuttle ~£27

🛏Family guesthouse in Copán Ruinas (£12-16)

• →Border crossing at El Florido
• →Evening stroll around Copán town centre

Get to the ruins at 8am when they open. Buy the ticket at the gate (approx US$15 for foreigners, plus US$15 for the Las Sepulturas/ tunnels add-on if you want it) and join a licensed local guide at the entrance (US$25-35 split between 2-3 people) or pre-book one via GetYourGuide. See the Hieroglyphic Stairway, Great Plaza and Acropolis, then walk the short trail to Las Sepulturas. Afternoon: Macaw Mountain bird rescue centre (~US$12) or the excellent Sculpture Museum.

🚌Walk (ruins 15 mins from town)

🛏Family guesthouse in Copán Ruinas (£12-16)

• →Guided tour of Copán ruins
• →Great Plaza & Acropolis
• →Las Sepulturas
• →Macaw Mountain rescue centre

Take a shuttle or local bus back across the border toward Puerto Barrios/Quiriguá. Stop at Quiriguá archaeological site (admission ~Q80/£8) to see the giant stelae — you can leave your bag at the visitor centre. Continue by bus to Puerto Barrios, then catch the ferry across the Amatique Bay to Livingston (Q30-50, ~45 mins; boats run until early evening). Note Livingston is only reachable by boat. Settle into a cheap posada and eat tapado (Garifuna coconut seafood stew) on the waterfront.

🚌Bus + ferry ~£18

🛏Guesthouse in Livingston (£12-18)

• →Quiriguá archaeological site
• →Boat transfer to Livingston
• →Waterfront seafood dinner

Walk or take a small boat up the coast to Los Siete Altares waterfalls and natural pools — entrance a few quetzales; swim in the jungle pools. Continue to Playa Blanca for the afternoon (tell your boatman you want pickup later, agree the price first). Back in Livingston, do a self-guided walk of the Garifuna village and, if you're lucky with timing, catch a punta drumming session in the evening. Buy a shared boat back rather than booking a private tour to keep costs down.

🚌Shared boat ~£8

🛏Guesthouse in Livingston (£12-18)

• →Los Siete Altares waterfalls & swimming
• →Playa Blanca beach
• →Livingston village walk
• →Local Garifuna music

Take a lancha or public boat from Livingston along the Rio Dulce to the town of Rio Dulce/Fronteras (Q300-400 for shared boats departing daily mid-morning) — passes Caribbean mangroves, hot springs and the Spanish fortress Castillo de San Felipe. Where possible stop or detour to the Ak Tenamit community project near the Cahabón junction (community visits run by local NGOs; donate directly rather than via a tour). Bus onward to Flores (Q80-100, ~3 hours) and stay in a lakeside guesthouse on Lake Petén Itzá. Sunset from the Flores island promenade.

🚌Shared boat + bus ~£25

🛏Guesthouse on Flores island (£12-16)

• →Rio Dulce boat trip
• →Castillo de San Felipe
• →Ak Tenamit community (optional, direct donation)
• →Flores walking tour & sunset

Catch the 3am or 5am colectivo shuttle from Flores to Tikal (Q120-160 return, ~1 hour) so you're at the gate for opening and can hear the howler monkeys before the tour buses arrive. Buy the 2-day or 1-day ticket at the gate (~Q150/£15) and either self-guide with the free map and interpretive signs, or split a licensed guide (US$60-80 for 2-4 people) at the entrance. Climb Temple IV for the canopy view (weather permitting), explore the Great Plaza and Gran Acrópolis. Return to Flores mid-afternoon (or stay for sunset and take the last shuttle back).

🚌Colectivo shuttle ~£13

🛏Guesthouse on Flores island (£12-16)

• →Tikal ruins (Great Plaza, Temple IV)
• →Maya Biosphere Reserve
• →Sunrise with howler monkeys
• →Licensed guide (shared cost)

Long travel day. Take a bus to Sayaxché (Q40) and connect onward to Cobán (Q120-150, ~5-6 hours total). Break the journey at the Candelaria Caves if you have a vehicle arranged — from the village of Candelaria a local cave guide costs Q100-150pp for a river-cave float/tube trip through the limestone caverns. Arrive Cobán in the afternoon, stay in a cheap hotel near the Parque Central, and try the local coffee and a boxbol (meat wrapped in squash-leaf).

🚌Local buses ~£20

🛏Budget hotel in Cobán (£10-14)

• →Candelaria Caves with local cave guide
• →Cobán town & coffee shops

Shared shuttle or colectivo from Cobán to Lanquín (~2.5 hours, Q60-100) then a pick-up truck taxi to Semuc Champey (Q50 return). Pay the Q130 park entry plus Q50 shuttle-in fee and swim the terraced limestone pools, or hike up to the El Mirador viewpoint (~1 hour, steep and muddy but worth it). Many hostels in Lanquín organise daily group shuttles for ~Q150 which is often easier than DIY — worth it. Return to Cobán for the evening.

🚌Colectivo + shared pickup ~£16

🛏Budget hotel in Cobán (£10-14)

• →Semuc Champey natural pools
• →El Mirador viewpoint hike
• →Lanquín village

Take an early bus from Cobán to Guatemala City (Q130, ~4.5 hours) then connect to Antigua (Q30-40, ~1 hour). Break the journey or book an overnight at Biotopo del Quetzal instead — it's on the Cobán road about 2 hours from Cobán: entry to the cloud forest trail is Q50, and an informal local guide (Q100-200) will usually spot a resplendent quetzal within an hour or two if you go early. Arrive Antigua late afternoon, check into a hostel and explore the cobbled streets at golden hour.

🚌Bus via Guatemala City ~£17

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Antigua (£14-20)

• →Biotopo del Quetzal cloud forest walk
• →Antigua afternoon orientation walk

Take a chicken bus to Chichicastenango (Q40, ~2.5 hours; Thursday and Sunday are the big market days — check your dates). Wander the sprawling highland market, Santo Tomás church and the shamanic shrines, and visit the cemetery on the hill if you're curious. Continue by chicken bus to Panajachel (Q40, ~1.5 hours) and take a public lancha (Q25) to whichever village you've booked — Santa Cruz, San Pedro or San Juan. Buy your festival kite for tomorrow if you're doing Sumpango en route.

🚌Chicken buses + public lancha ~£14

🛏Lakeside guesthouse on Lake Atitlán (£12-18)

• →Chichicastenango market
• →Santo Tomás church & shamanic shrines
• →Chichicastenango cemetery
• →Lake Atitlán boat crossing

Take a public lancha across the lake to Santiago Atitlán (Q25-30, ~25 mins). Visit the home of Maximón, the cigar-smoking local folk saint — you'll be asked for a small offering (Q10-20) and to leave a cigarette or bottle of aguardiente; it's a living tradition, so ask before taking pictures. Explore the Tzutujil weaving cooperatives and the church, and eat a cheap lakeside lunch. Afternoon: swim or kayak from your lakeside hostel (kayak rental ~£5/hour).

🚌Public lanchas ~£6

🛏Lakeside guesthouse on Lake Atitlán (£12-18)

• →Santiago Atitlán
• →Tzutujil villages & weaving cooperatives
• →Shrine of Maximón
• →Kayaking/swimming on the lake

Lancha back to Panajachel, then shuttle or chicken bus to Iximché archaeological site near Tecpán (Q150 approx by shuttle directly; public bus to Tecpán from Chimaltenango is cheaper). Entry to Iximché is ~Q50 and it's compact — the last capital of the Kaqchikel Maya and a good place to do a self-guided loop of the pyramids and plazas in an hour or two, sometimes with a ritual in progress at the altars. Continue to Antigua (Q30) and check into a hostel. Book yourself a GetYourGuide walking tour of Antigua for tomorrow morning or just use the free self-walking route.

🚌Lancha + bus/shuttle to Iximché and Antigua ~£18

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Antigua (£14-20)

• →Iximché archaeological site
• →Antigua orientation walk
• →El Arco de Santa Catalina & Parque Central

Today is the big one. Take a chicken bus or shared colectivo from Antigua to Sumpango (~45 mins, Q20-40; buses run frequently from the main terminal, but leave early — 7-8am — since crowds build rapidly). The Giant Kite Festival (Festival de Barriletes Gigantes) is held on 1 November, with enormous 10-15m kites built by local barrios flying over the cemetery. Entry is free or a small donation; bring cash, water, sunscreen and a hat. Return to Antigua for a final dinner of pepián or kak'ik at a local comedor, then head to the cemetery and the evening processions if you're there on the 1st or 2nd.

🚌Chicken bus to Sumpango ~£4

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Antigua (£14-20)

• →Sumpango Giant Kite Festival
• →Sumpango cemetery & Day of the Dead traditions
• →Antigua final dinner & evening processions

Morning free for last-minute shopping at the Antigua artisan market or a coffee at a rooftop café. Shuttle to La Aurora International Airport (Q100-150 shared shuttle, ~1 hour; leave 3-4 hours before your flight). If your flight is late, spend an hour at the Mercado de Artesanías in Guatemala City or pop into the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Dress.

🚌Shared airport shuttle ~£10

🛏—

• →Antigua artisan market
• →Airport transfer