Hello,
I am planning to travel to Guatemala in July. I am studying at the Spanish Academy Antiguena in Antigua.. I have been doing some research on these forums and it seems that many people have switched their locations to study in other places during their trips - such as going to San Pedro La Laguna. While I am in Antigua I had planned on travelling to other locations throughout the country on the weekends since I will be in class on the weekdays.In your opinion, is staying a month in Antigua too long? Should I spend half the time in another location such as San Pedro La Laguna ?

Thanks

A month would be too long for me in Antigua. It's really beautiful and there are interesting villages and places to visit in the area, but it's not a great immersion environment unless you have a will of steel because of the dozens and Spanish schools, thousands of visitors, and English speaking infrastructure. It seems almost more like Europe than Central America to me. I had a good experience at that school; request the Cesar Sactic family if you want an interesting, interactive homestay.

I'm a huge fan of the Cooperativa school in San Pedro so I head back every summer; I'll be there mid July again. Splitting your time between the 2 makes sense to me so you get to have a Lake Atitlán base for exploring, too. The homestays tend to be more humble there but are more like family stays than most homestay options in Antigua.
www.cooperativeschoolsanpedro.com

Loads of photos, blogs, and travelogues below. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help and when you contact either of those schools, please tell them Stacey says hi and misses them! Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

Depends on what you're looking for. For me, 1 week in Antigua was plenty. Its a busy, busy place with lots and lots of gringos.

The whole atmosphere for learning in San Pedro is very different. It is more of an immersion experience than Antigua, where everyone speaks English and the school has absolutely zero atmosphere. Also, the camaraderie among students in San Pedro was a far better experience. The school I attended there, Cooperativa, has a lot of activities that put students together. Kayaking, hiking El Nariz, salsa dance, very different than Antiguena.

Ahhh excellent! You have made up my mind for me! I am going to Guatemala for the sole purpose of learning Spanish and I do not want to be surrounded constantly by English speaking people. I will make my move to San Pedro somewhere in the middle.

Thank you so much for your advice!
I will definitely let you know if I have any other questions

Solo te recomiendo que tengas cuidado despues de que llegue la noche, mucho criminal anda en las calles de Guatemala.
Anyways, if you truly want to learn spanish, always pick the road less travelled. Meaning when you are away from most tourists, you will be among spanish speaking people. This allows you to learn more about the language and more about the culture.
In Antigua, they all speak English, so you end up talking more in English than Spanish.
That's just my personal opinion, I've been several times to Guatemala, seen a lot.

Switch locations sooner, rather than later. If learning is your primary focus you will not regret it.