Guatemala Flight Watch
Everything you need to know about getting to Lake Atitlán for our January retreat
Updated August 31, 2026
If you’ve started looking at flights to Guatemala and thought, Wait... how exactly am I getting to Lake Atitlán? I can help you navigate!
I’m currently in Guatemala on a little pre-retreat scouting trip, and one of the things I wanted to experience firsthand was the journey from Guatemala City → Antigua → Lake Atitlán before bringing our group here in January.
And now that I have, I can say this:
It’s much easier than it looks.
There are several good ways to get here, some surprisingly reasonable fares, and you do not need to coordinate your flights with the rest of the group.
All of your ground transportation costs in Guatemala, from the airport (or Antigua, if you choose to stay there) to our villa on Lake Atitlán and back again, are covered by me when arranged through Kan Tours. Once you book your flights and send me your itinerary, I’ll coordinate the transportation and cover the costs.
I’ll be keeping this page updated as I watch flights between now and January, but here’s what I’m seeing right now.
THE QUICK VERSION
Our retreat runs January 23–30, 2027.
Friday or Saturday arrival is ideal, but if the best flight for you arrives on Sunday, Sunday is absolutely doable too.
An added bonus: traffic between Guatemala City, Antigua and Lake Atitlán tends to be much more manageable on weekends, making Saturday and Sunday particularly good days to travel to the lake.
We’ll have our group orientation Sunday morning, but if your flight gets you in later, no worries. The villa is happy to give you a shortened orientation when you arrive so you’ll have everything you need.
You can fly into Guatemala City (GUA) on:
Friday, January 22
Come a day early and spend Friday night in Antigua before heading to the lake on Saturday.
For what it’s worth, this is what I’m doing! I’ll be landing in Guatemala City on Friday and heading to Antigua for the night. If you’re there too, please come meet me for dinner!
On Saturday, I’ll arrange a private shuttle from Antigua to Lake Atitlán around noon for anyone who wants to travel together, followed by a short boat ride to our villa.
Saturday, January 23
If your flight arrives early enough, you can head directly toward Lake Atitlán that afternoon.
If you arrive later in the day, spending the night in Antigua could be a lovely option, and you can continue to the lake the next morning. Once you send me your flight itinerary, I can help you decide which option makes the most sense.
If you arrive very late, I’d recommend simply staying near the airport at Hotel Barceló Guatemala City for the night. Think of this as an easy, comfortable overnight before continuing to the lake the next morning. I’ll arrange your Kan Tours pickup from there.
Sunday, January 24
If Sunday gives you a significantly better flight or itinerary, don’t rule it out!
A Sunday morning or afternoon arrival is absolutely doable. We’ll have our group orientation Sunday morning, but if you arrive afterward, no worries. The villa is happy to give you a shortened orientation once you arrive so you’ll have everything you need and can settle right in.
Departures
Saturday, January 30 is our official departure day. There are no scheduled activities or classes that morning, so everyone is free to depart whenever works best for their travel plans.
Breakfast will be available packed to-go for anyone leaving early, or you can enjoy breakfast at the villa between 8:30–9:30am. Check-out is at 11:00am.
For reference, I have a 10:20am flight on Saturday, January 30 from Guatemala City and am planning to leave the villa around sunrise that morning. It’s an early start, but completely doable.
You can also spend Saturday night in Antigua and fly home on Sunday, January 31 if you’d prefer a more leisurely departure.
Any additional hotel nights and optional private air travel are not included.
FLIGHTS I’M WATCHING
These aren’t the only options available. They’re simply some of the best combinations of price + schedule I’m finding right now from the airports most of us are likely to use.
✈️ FROM STS | Sonoma County
This may be the easiest option for those of us coming from Sonoma County because you can start and end the entire journey right at STS.
Around $517 round trip
Alaska + Avianca | 1 stop in LAX
Outbound
STS 6:30am → GUA 8:20pm
Return
GUA 8:15am → STS 6:31pm
I’m currently seeing fares around $517 round trip for several date combinations:
Fri 1/22 → Sat 1/30
Sat 1/23 → Sat 1/30
Sat 1/23 → Sun 1/31
Healdsburg folks, it’s a longer travel day, but there is something very appealing about starting and ending right here in Santa Rosa.
✈️ FROM SFO | San Francisco
⭐ NONSTOP OPTION
Avianca | NONSTOP
Fri 1/22 → Sun 1/31
Around $862 round trip
Outbound
SFO 1:00am → GUA 8:20am
Return
GUA 7:30pm → SFO 11:40pm
If your priority is flying nonstop, this is the SFO option I’d look at first. The Friday morning arrival gives you plenty of time to head to Antigua, enjoy a night there, and then travel to the lake on Saturday.
The Sunday return also gives you a leisurely final Saturday rather than needing to leave the villa early that morning.
One thing to keep an eye on: Avianca may still add additional nonstop SFO → GUA flights for January, potentially with more convenient departure times and fares. I’ll continue watching this route and update this page if better nonstop options appear.
⭐ BETTER VALUE
Alaska | 1 stop in LAX
Sat 1/23 → Sat 1/30
Around $625 round trip
Outbound
SFO 1:14pm → GUA 11:57pm
Return
GUA 10:20am → SFO 5:10pm
This is a good option if you’d rather save a little on airfare and travel Saturday-to-Saturday.
Because this flight arrives close to midnight on Saturday, I would not recommend trying to continue to Lake Atitlán that night. Instead, spend Saturday night near the Guatemala City airport, get some sleep, and head to the lake Sunday morning.
✈️ FROM LAX | Los Angeles
LAX currently has some of the best nonstop options to Guatemala City, with great schedules and fares that are hard to beat.
⭐ BEST VALUE | Around $370 round trip
Volaris | NONSTOP
Sat 1/23 → Sat 1/30
Outbound
LAX 8:01am → GUA 2:42pm
Return
GUA 2:12pm → LAX 5:20pm
This is probably my favorite flight combination right now. It’s nonstop in both directions, the fare is fantastic, and you arrive in Guatemala Saturday afternoon, making it a good candidate for continuing directly toward Lake Atitlán that day.
⭐ COME A DAY EARLY | Around $371 round trip
Volaris | NONSTOP
Fri 1/22 → Sat 1/30
Essentially the same great nonstop itinerary, but departing LAX on Friday instead. This would be my pick if you’d like to spend Friday night in Antigua before heading to the lake on Saturday.
This is what I’m doing on the way over! I’ll be flying out of LAX and spending Friday night in Antigua. If you choose this option too, please come meet me for dinner!
On Saturday, I’ll arrange a private shuttle around noon for anyone traveling with me from Antigua to the lake.
Coming from Sonoma County or the Bay Area?
Don’t let the LAX departure deter you from these fares. I’m coming from Sonoma County and still choosing this route myself.
Getting to and from LAX can be figured out separately, and even booked later. There are options from both STS and SFO, or you could travel down the night before and stay near LAX.
If you find one of these great nonstop LAX → GUA fares, I’d be comfortable locking in the Guatemala flight first and sorting out the California portion later.
SO... WHICH ONE WOULD I CHOOSE?
If you live in Sonoma County, I’d first look at STS. Around $517 round trip is pretty darn reasonable for the convenience of starting and ending close to home.
If you can easily get to LAX, however, those nonstop flights are hard to beat. Around $370 round trip nonstop is an excellent fare. In fact, this is the route I’m choosing myself. I’m booking the Guatemala portion from LAX and dealing with getting to and from LAX separately.
And SFO gives us another good option if the schedules from STS or LAX don’t work for you, including the option to fly nonstop.
There is no single “retreat flight” everyone needs to take.
Choose the airport, dates and itinerary that make the most sense for you.
✈️ COMING FROM OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA?
If you’re joining us from somewhere other than California, the same flexibility applies! Your goal is simply to find the flight into Guatemala City (GUA) that works best for you.
I’d look first for an itinerary arriving Friday, January 22 or Saturday, January 23, but remember that a Sunday arrival is absolutely doable too if that gives you a significantly better flight.
You do not need to connect through SFO or LAX or coordinate your arrival with anyone else in the group. Once you’ve booked your flights, just send me your itinerary and I’ll help you figure out the best plan from there.
WHAT HAPPENS ONCE I LAND?
This is the part you do not need to worry about.
Once you’ve booked your flights, send me your itinerary.
Your ground transportation in Guatemala, from the airport (or Antigua, if you choose to stay there) to our villa on Lake Atitlán and back again, is covered by me when arranged through Kan Tours.
Whether you arrive in Guatemala City and head directly to the lake, spend a night in Antigua first, or need transportation back to the airport after the retreat, I’ll help coordinate those arrangements and cover the cost.
Our villa works with Kan Tours, and after using them myself on this scouting trip, I feel very comfortable having them handle our ground transportation. Their private cars and vans are comfortable, and the drivers we had were professional, friendly and made everything feel easy. Boat transfers are included.
The roads are mostly well paved, and the drive itself is quite comfortable. The only noticeably winding stretch is the last 30 minutes or so as you descend toward Lake Atitlán. And then suddenly, there’s the lake.
So you don’t need to find a driver, coordinate your arrival with other retreat guests, or figure out how to get yourself to the lake.
You get yourself to Guatemala. I’ll take care of your ground transportation from there.
Prefer to fly to Lake Atitlán?
Private air travel is also available for anyone who would prefer to skip the drive. GT Flights offers both helicopter and Cessna flights between Guatemala City (GUA) and Lake Atitlán, as well as flights between Antigua and the lake.
You can choose to fly one way or round trip, so you could fly to the lake and take a private car back, or take ground transportation to the lake and fly back at the end of the retreat.
Private air travel is not included in the retreat and would be booked at your own expense. If you’re interested in this option, I recommend booking directly through GT Flights.
SHOULD I SPEND A NIGHT IN ANTIGUA?
If you have the time, YES.
We took a private car from Guatemala City Airport to Antigua, which took about 1 hour 15 minutes, spent a couple of days exploring, and then continued to Lake Atitlán. From Antigua, it took us about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach the lake.
Antigua is beautiful, vibrant and incredibly easy to explore, with cobblestone streets, gorgeous colonial architecture, fantastic restaurants, beautiful shops and volcanoes rising in the distance.
And yes, you may even catch Volcán de Fuego putting on a show in the distance.
You absolutely do not need to add Antigua to your trip. But if you’re deciding between arriving late Saturday versus coming in Friday and giving yourself a night there, I’d choose Antigua in a heartbeat.
I’ve put together a separate Antigua + Lake Atitlán Scouting Guide with my favorite places to eat, shop and explore from this trip, so you can make as much or as little of the experience as you’d like.
→ READ MY ANTIGUA + LAKE ATITLÁN SCOUTING GUIDE
MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAY
Before coming here, the logistics of getting to Lake Atitlán felt like the one piece I really wanted to understand for myself.
Now that I’ve done the trip myself, I fully get it and can help you navigate all of it!
There are multiple good flight options. We have flexibility around arrival dates. We have trusted private transportation on the ground. And no one needs to coordinate their itinerary perfectly with anyone else.
Most importantly?
This place is absolutely worth coming to.
Lake Atitlán is spectacular. The volcanoes, the water, the villages tucked into the mountains, the boats moving across the lake... and our villa feels like its own little world.
Seeing it all in person has made me even more excited to bring you here.
I cannot wait for you to experience it!
Flight prices shown were found August 29–30, 2026 and are provided as a helpful reference only. Airfares and schedules can change, so please confirm current pricing and details directly with the airline before booking.