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It’s a cold and snowy day outside my office, which made me think it was perfect timing to share one of the most beautiful cities in Central America. Antigua, Guatemala is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of colonial history and is definitely worthy of your bucket list. The small city is surrounded by volcanos, with near perfect temperatures and a historic past. Built in the 16th century, there are multiple original buildings to explore- this stunning city has kept all of it’s colonial charm. There’s cobblestone streets and surprises around every corner. You can easily walk around filling your day with seeing ruins, museums, galleries, churches, markets, street vendors, and unique shops.
My husband and I spent time in Antigua 11 years ago- we had no itinerary then, we just woke up and started exploring. We had a wonderful trip full of delicious food and relaxing visits to museums. This trip we had two children, ages 8 and 6 in tow. This changes the type of holiday immensely, but I can’t say I enjoyed it less. We had one week to explore the city of Antigua and were able to squeeze a huge amount of family friendly activities into our time there. I’ve made a list of our favourites, as ranked by our daughters in order of their preference.
Located right near the famous arch, there’s a tour for kids and adults alike. We spent two hours learning about the process of how the cocoa goes from bean to bar. The children enjoyed it immensely and we all learned a lot too. We ground our own beans, made several different types of hot chocolate (including the original bitter coco the Mayans invented), and finished up with making our own chocolates. We each took home a rather large bag of chocolate, and tasted many different types of truffles. It was the highlight of our vacation for the girls, and they placed it on the top of their list of things to do in Antigua..jpg)
2.) Antigua’s Central Park
Every town in Central America has their own Central Park. These parks are the hub of the city, the place where locals gather to visit, and where children meet their friends to play. Antigua’s Central Park is the perfect example. There are street vendors selling local food, musicians playing their flutes, pigeons hoping to be fed, and artisans promoting their goods. For about 25 cents you can buy a bag of bird food and feed the pigeons- something my girls loved. The atmosphere is lovely and at night the park is lit up with fairy lights. Grab lunch, sit on a bench and people watch all afternoon.
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3.) Ruinas
I wish I took note of how many ruins there are to explore in Antigua. Dozens would be my guess. Every time you turn a corner you’re face to face with a 400 year old Monastery or other amazing buildings. They are simply breathtaking. They are also very hands-on for kids- they can explore crypts, the ancient bedrooms, the old hallways…. and at some ruins climbing is allowed and there’s room to run around and play. We loved taking out our map and trying to put together exactly how every room was used. Our favourite ruin was the monastery of San Fransico, just for the sheer size and the beauty of the grounds.
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4.) Go to MacDonald’s
Now is when you can really tell my kids helped write this list. But seriously, this is the prettiest fast food restaurant I’ve ever been too. It’s open air eating in a beautiful courtyard complete with fountains, trees and a view of the volcano. There’s also an air-conditioned typical “play land” if your kids need some time to just play. This MacDonald’s has unique local favourites too- we tried a hot coconut pie and a mango milkshake! Both were very yummy. Because of the UNESCO controls, the building has no massive signage on the outside, it’s a non-assuming simple doorway hidden on a side street. It’s the perfect place to grab a drink and use the free wifi. And rumour has it that it is the nicest MacDonald’s on the planet.
Now if we had endless money we would have stayed the hotel Casa Santo Domingo. In fact, we tried to book it for just one night of our Antigua experience, but the hotel was full for a convention. It is by far the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen. Santa Domingo is 16th century monastery, converted into a hotel. And it’s stunning. There are also museums and galleries throughout the buildings. They are free for hotel guests, and a minimal cost to visit as an outside visitor. The museum is full of ancient artifacts that will simply take your breath away. Now you’re probably wondering how it got so high up on my kid’s list- well there’s a crypt with mummies. There’s also the monastery burial site that has skeletons, which apparently were fascinating for Violet….as for Maeve, she was a bit more timid.
6.) Try the Local Food
We loved indulging in ice cream at least once a day (so many different flavours- the pineapple creme was to die for!), enjoyed eating pupusas as often as we could find them, loved snacking on handmade tortillas and experiencing giant cotton candy off street vendors’ carts. Antigua is full of amazing food for very reasonable prices.
7.) Use a Tuk Tuk to get around
Abundant and cheap, the preferred way of getting around the cobblestone streets of Antigua was on a Tuk Tuk. We tired the girls out, walking on average 7 miles a day- so taking a tuk tuk was absolutely necessary after dinner. We also took a tuk tuk when we were trying to find certain landmarks or restaurants we had heard about- saving us time trying to navigate it on our own. They usually cost around 20Q per trip, so definitely inexpensive and very fun for the littles. Our most expensive trip was outside Antigua to the Macadamia nut farm, which ran us $7 and took around 15 minutes.
8.) Vahalla Macadamia Nut Farm
Another highlight of our trip was the visit to this farm. Ran by expats, it’s a beautiful spot to spend an hour or so. They will give you a free guided tour and it’s very “hands on” for the kids with lots of “helping”. The nut sorting machine was hit. At the end of the complimentary tour you get to sample their macadamias and enjoy a free facial using their nut-based products. It was heavenly. While we were getting our facials, our guide gave the girls a bucket and asked them to fill it up with fallen nuts in exchange for some chocolate dipped macadamias. The eagerly agreed to the work and ended up getting a bit dirty on the farm! I wouldn’t miss a stop at their restaurant either- the chocolate brownie with macadamia nut butter was amazing!
9.) Experience the Markets
There’s several markets around Antigua, with the largest being right behind the bus station. You can find all the typical Guatemalan souvenirs here, plus more. Everything is negotiable and be prepared to haggle, they want you to! If you’re looking to shop in the local market, full of food and typical household products, it’s also located near by the bus station. You’ll see everything from fruits and candy to clothing and slabs of meat. It’s big and loud and colourful. It’s an enjoyable experience to walk through and immerse yourself in the culture. On Sunday you’ll find mini markets set up around the city, with paintings, jewelry and all the trinkets you could ever want.
10.) Hike Pacaya Volcano
We booked a sunset volcano hike tour with a local guide shop in the city. We knew that is was considered a “moderately difficult hike” but kids really wanted to see Lava, even if it was going to be a little hard. Well it turns out it is a pretty difficult hike- particularly with the elevation change. I’m in pretty good shape and I found it a bit strenuous.. Maeve did not enjoy it one bit, there were definitely tears on this hike. The path is uneven, steep and quite dusty. The locals do try to sell you on taking a horse up- and many people in our group did end up on one by the end (but not us, I’m way to cheap for that!). In the end, we made it to the top but by then the clouds had moved over us and we were in complete fog- therefore no grand views of the crater like we had hoped. And there was no lava to be found. Oh the disappointment! We were able to roast marshmallows in a steam vent, but I had some pretty sad kids who were looking forward to lava and a “real volcano”. We did talk to some other tourists a few days later, and they had an amazing experience with lava and sweeping views, so it was just the luck of the draw for us. I think it could be an awesome experience- but be prepared for a difficult hike with kids.
All in all, we had a wonderful trip to Antigua. We stayed at the beautiful Casa San Larazo , which was just outside the main centre of town. My girls love swimming and it was one of the few hotels that included a full breakfast (a must for me when we travel with kids!) and a large pool. It was perfect to be able to enjoy a quick dip in the pool after a long day on our feet. The hotel and grounds were just stunning, the breakfast was tasty and the service was wonderful. I wish it had been closer to the central park, but the location was quiet. I loved our stay here so much.
Guatamala is such an incredible country to explore. Antigua is very safe for tourists and families, the locals are kind and eager to help. We had big plans to see the neighbouring Lake Atitlán, some ancient Mayan Ruins and the coastline with black sand beaches, but we found ourselves so busy just exploring the town. I’d go back in a heartbeat!