Antigua Guatemala Travel Guide

La Antigua Guatemala was the colonial Spanish capital of Central America. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is perhaps Guatemala's most popular tourist destination.

There is no direct commercial air service to Antigua. The nearest airport isLa Aurora International Airport(GUAIATA) in Guatemala City, which is 45 minutes to an hour from Antigua by car.

Antigua is very compact and easy to walk around, with a layout that follows the typical Spanish colonial design of a main plaza surrounded by governmental and Catholic church buildings. Most of the sites of interest to visitors are contained in an 8x8 block area less than a kilometer across, which you can walk across in 15 minutes. Be careful: the sidewalks are narrow and not always in good repair, you may have to walk in the street with traffic whizzing by you, and at night it's worth being cau

Due to the presence of the "Tourist Police", Antigua is much safer than any other city in Guatemala: you're very unlikely to be mugged or robbed here, at least during the daytime. (At night, things get a bit more questionable.) However, the flipside of that is once you leave the city center, you're mostly on your own, so it's inadvisable under those circumstances to engage in risky behavior such as displaying valuables conspicuously. If you plan to visit sites outside the center of town like the

Homestays with Antiguan families can be arranged through language schools or directly with the family in question. Because the families are prepaid, you can switch your school at any time and try a different school. Your shuttle from the airport is also prepaid if arranged through a school, so if your driver asks for Q40 or Q80 in tips, just smile, and give him Q10 or Q15 at most (a 20% tip), more if your luggage was lugged up a steep hill and dozens of steps.