Timing

A first-timer's visit to the highlands should include three or four days at Lake Atitlán, with a one-day visit to the market in Chichicastenango, which needs to be a Thursday or Sunday. Other destinations can add days or weeks onto that time. A visit here combines nicely with Antigua or Guatemala City (two or three hours from Lake Atitlán, respectively), or the Pacific lowlands (an hour from the lake or Quetzaltenango).