Why we chose to stay at San Juan, Lake Atitlán

Trip date December 2025 1GBP = 10.12 Guatemalan Quetzal April 2026

Lake Atitlán is a stunning volcano-lined caldera lake in Guatemala's highlands, just a couple of hours away from both Xela and Antigua. Around the lake are various different towns and villages to stay in and honestly, we found it pretty difficult to chose which one would be right for us.

Our consideration was between

• Panajachel - the lake's main tourist hub and where the majority of buses leave from

• San Pedro - a lively backpacker area known for nightlife, tours and hostels

• San Marco - an area known for hippies, yoga and its laidback vibes

• San Juan - a quieter arty town with easy access to both San Pedro and San Marcos.

  
  

  There were other options; private lakeside hotels and even smaller villages, but we disregarded them wanting a few more dining and transport options that they had readily available.

In the end we went with San Juan; the hostel was affordable, there were plenty of places to eat, and luckily for us we could get there on a direct bus from Xela. Getting the bus, however, wasn't quiet as easy as we'd hoped. From all the scouring of the internet I'd done in preparation, the same information kept popping up: the bus from Xela to San Juan left from Terminal Minerva (Zone 3, Xela).

Once we'd walked the 30 minutes there, lugging 15kg of luggage on our backs, one helpful colectivo driver let us know we were misinformed and the bus actually went from Terminal Xela. As the crow flies this is barely 300m, but that entire distance was through a small covered market with alleys barely wide enough for a unladen person to push through let alone us and our mammoth backpacks. As we emerged into daylight on the other side, a helpful bus attendant rushed us to the bus we needed, shouting down to keep it in place until we got on. We had arrived with barely seconds to spare. There were other buses we could have got, but we would have had to change buses three times rather than one straight shot!

Our bus was one of the colourfully painted "Chicken buses" that are common local transport in Central America. Music blared out of tinny speakers and strips of multicoloured LEDs flashed along to the rhythm of whichever song was played. Our fare was 50Q per person, and we managed to keep our bags inside with us. Locals had most of their goods strapped to the roof and the attendant would climb up as the bus hurtled down the mountainside, sorting out bundles and getting ready to drop them off at people's stops. He spooked us a couple of times, swinging through the buses back door while we traveled at speed. The bus was far from comfortable, with us often sharing the tiny bench seats three aside, but the journey flew by. We knew we were close when the amazing vista of the lake could be glimpsed though the trees, as the bus continued to speed around the hairpin bends leading further down the mountainside.

On first impressions San Juan was a cute "instagramable" town, with colourfully painted streets, textile shops and cafes selling locally produced coffee and chocolate. It was also much busier than we had expected, bigger too. It wasn't a bad thing by any means, more tourism brings more choices in dining and things to do after all, it just wasn't as quaint as we had imagined. What surprised me the most was the boat dock, rather than one jetty there were three and boats seemed to constantly be coming and going from dawn until dusk.

The views over the lake, however, were stunning. Our hotel, although lower down towards the lake than most, still had plenty of buildings built up in front of it. There was one small spot where we could glimpse the lake, and we made our way there as dawn was breaking to take some pictures in the soft hazy light.

Not content with this small view, we walked to the outskirts of town to Kaqasiiwaan viewpoint - the best viewpoint we could get without climbing the entire mountain (though that is an option for those with a guide and energy). From the streets leading to the viewpoint, we could see the large cross at its peak. From our vantage it definitely looked very high, but we were sure the promised views were worth the effort to get up.

30Q and 15 minutes later we were at the viewpoint. It was a steep but mercifully short walk to the top. Man made steps had been built into the mountainside, providing an easy route that snaked its way up to the summit. There was more than we'd imagined at the top, small eateries and bars, a questionable statue of Jesus, a very colourfully painted platform to admire the views from and of course, a very large white cross.

Despite only being half way up the mountainside, the views were phenomenal. The powder blue of the sky was reflected in the vast surface of the lake, small ripples from the wind marred its surface giving it texture. The nearby mountainside was clear but the layers of volcanos and mountain slowly faded, loosing colour as the distance grew, seeming to float in the sky along the horizon. We sat for a while, just soaking in the view. We also took lots of photos and as I can't decide on my favourite...

Wanting to assure ourselves we had made the right choice in lake-side towns, we set off to explore the others we had considered: San Pedro and San Marcos. We started with San Pedro. As weren't doing a round trip, we paid our 15Q per person on the lancha (boat), rather than at one of the small desks along the jetties. For a 3 minute boat ride, the price seemed quiet steep.

When we got off the boat and walked up the hill to the high street the vibe was totally different. There was far less little arty boutiques, instead every building seemed to house a restaurant, tour office, hostel or a combination of all three. The architecture was different too, with the multi-story buildings lining the road throwing it into shadow. Apart from in a few spots, the view of the lake was obstructed. So far, I didn't see the appeal.

Once we left the main tourist strip behind and headed inland the place started to feel much more local. The area the other side of town, near to the fishing dock, was far more scenic. There were still scattered hotels and restaurants, but it emitted a calmer atmosphere. Maybe being a very steep hill away from rest of the town will stop it from also being overbuilt in the future.

As San Pedro hosts more tourists, there was a far wider range of places to eat compared to San Juan. Making the most of this, we chose to eat at a very small Japanese eatery called Yakitori de Cava. The menu was simple, the food was delicious and the views over the lake were beautiful. Maybe San Pedro wasn't as bad as I first thought.

While I'm still sure that San Pedro wasn't the right choice for us, I can see why it would be for others. Cheap hostels, a wide variety of cuisine, easy access to tours and nightlife are but a few of the things it offers that are less easy to find elsewhere on the lake. There was also the option for water-sports, although I would personally give it a miss due to most sources claiming the lake's water is not exactly clean with sewerage and bacteria issues.

With the afternoon still ahead of us we hopped on a boat to San Marcos. We told the ticket seller we were planning on returning to San Juan after our visit, managing to negotiate a semi-return for Q25 each, rather than paying for another two 15Q tickets (just keep hold of the yellow ticket for your second leg). The pier for San Marcos was small and led to an alleyway lined with alternatively dressed artists selling their wares. The rest of the town was pretty deserted. As we wandered there were a few restaurants and hotels, but they weren't very obvious, tucked away behind high walls with just a few simple signs.

On google maps we noticed a viewpoint along the lake's edge west of the town, with nothing really going on we decided to check it out. The walk took us down a series of lanes only suitable to foot traffic, the stone walls provided much needed shade as we made our way along. As we arrived we found where all of San Marcos' visitors were located, in lake-side cafes where they could get stunning views to the volcanoes across the water. Ready for a rest, we decided to join them.

Like all other cafes we'd seen in San Marco, the prices were inflated compared to elsewhere on the lake. While 35Q was a bit more than I wanted to pay for a Iced Matcha Latte - it was really good. It was nice to find a scenic spot to relax. Content with the view we had gotten from the cafe, we decided to pass on paying 20Q each for the official viewpoint.

For being the "hippy" town of Lake Atitlán, I was honestly expecting a friendly vibe along with a bit more atmosphere. Perhaps it's different for those staying, maybe the evening is where things come alive, but to me it felt a bit barren. The dreadlocked, linen-wearing denizens we encountered, came across slightly snobbish, and the generally inflated prices seemed a bit gate-keep-y, at least to me. I was disappointed with San Marcos, the views across the lake were the most picturesque but I couldn't help but feel like the town was missing something.

Despite neither San Pedro or San Marcos being exactly our cup of tea, we had enjoyed travelling across the lake to explore each area. It was a fun day out, made better in my opinion by cementing the fact we'd made the right choice (for us).

San Juan was by no means perfect. Most of the restaurants were on the smaller side, so we often missed out on eating at the ones with the best reviews as they were always busy. It could also be intense at times, many tourists visit San Juan as a day-trip destination, so the main street was often heaving. In general, vendors selling art or textiles could be a bit pushy to get us to visit. For all that we enjoyed it. In the evening, the place really cleared out, and while that meant that many restaurants shut their doors at 5pm, it did allow us to explore the colourful streets in more peace.