Bus and Shuttle Travel

Large Greyhound-style buses (pullmans in local parlance) connect Guatemala City with Panajachel, Quetzaltenango, and Huehuetenango. Beyond that, the infamous cramped "chicken buses" form the backbone of the transportation network here. If you're on a truly bare-bones, adventure budget, pickup trucks are also a time-honored mode of transport. (You ride in back.) Most visitors opt for the comfort of scheduled minivan tourist shuttles to get from the capital and Antigua to Panajachel, Chichicastenango, and Quetzaltenango.

Atitrans and Turansa have shuttle minivans that travel from Antigua to towns in the Western Highlands. You can also catch a public bus at the terminal, which is cheaper but much less comfortable. There are one or two direct buses to Panajachel and Quetzaltenango each day, as well as five or six bound for Chichicastenango.

Shuttle Contacts

Atitrans. 7762–2246.

Turansa. 7879–9370.