Pacaya Volcano Tour: Scenic Hike from Antigua

Explore Pacaya Volcano from Antigua: a thrilling hike with stunning views, volcanic sand trails, and steam vents. Perfect for adventure seekers!

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Pacaya Volcano - Set off on an unforgettable half-day journey to Pacaya, one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes. Following a picturesque one-hour drive from Antigua, embark on a guided hike through verdant forests and volcanic landscapes. The trail provides breathtaking views and leads to a plateau featuring dried lava fields and steaming…
What's Included
  • Collective transportation Antigua-Volcano-Antigua
  • Hotel pickup (selected hotels only)
  • Trail Guide in both languages Spanish-English (Basic English)
What's Not Included
  • Entrance fee Q100.00 per person
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • Horse ride (Approximate cost Q300.00 round trip)
Additional Information

Embark on an unforgettable journey to one of Central America’s most active and accessible volcanoes, just an hour from Antigua. Pacaya showcases stunning volcanic landscapes, featuring solidified lava flows and steaming vents (though no flowing lava is visible), yet the warmth beneath your feet is palpable.
What makes this tour truly special is the…

Location
Café La Parada
6a Avenida Norte No. 42, (In front of La Merced Church), Antigua Guatemala 03001
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(411 Ratings)
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Winstonwwright
May 4, 2025
Fantastic experience, easily one of the best things to do in Antigua - Excellent tour and I would say a medium hike overall. The distance & duration itself isn’t an issue but the incline is pretty steep from the start. It was a relatively cloudy day so some views we couldn’t see along the way but everything was worth it once we reached the actual volcano. Highly recommend this experience for anyone visiting Antigua. Our driver Fernando was hilarious & the tour guides (can only remember Jose) were great too!! Please bring extra Qs to tip them well!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juan_h
Apr 29, 2025
Pacaya - Great trip as I was picked from my hotel promptly and the guide was great in guiding us and explaining the volcano and is history.
Review provided by Viator
Krystalynmarieh
Apr 23, 2025
The hardwork is well worth it! - I was a little nervous to book this activity but my husband was very insistent. I can honestly say that I'm glad we did it! It was great to be picked up from our hotel, made it very easy and convenient. The bus is a lot bigger than I was expecting and was pretty cool inside. The drive is about an hour away from Antigua- it wasn't too bad. Once we got there we were able to use the bathroom and get ready for the hike. You will need to pay the entrance fee in cash. You will also be given the chance to hire horses if you don't want to walk. I read other reviews saying how annoying they were about haggling but for us they asked a few times then went on their way. The hike is not easy. Keep in mind the terrain is volcanic so it is crumbly and can be prone to being unstable. Wearing the proper hiking shoe is a must but you can get away with a decent sneaker. I would say that I am moderately fit and would rate the hike to be a 7/10 in difficulty- was challenging but not impossible. You're able to go at your own pace and the guide will make sure everyone sticks together. The guide will have stops along the way to educate you on the surrounding towns, other volcanos and history. One of my favorite parts was definitely roasting the marshmallows. There's also nothing that beats the views you'll see along the way. Things to note: -The drive can get windy and bumpy. If you easily get car sick, I would take motion sickness medicine. -You must have cash for the entrance. -Highly recommend bringing water, hat, sunblock/other sun-blocking material. -It can get dusty from the terrain so a handkerchief/face covering could be beneficial.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dean_s
Apr 19, 2025
Great trip! Well... - Great trip! Well organised! We are fairly fit and it was a good walk in the Guatemala heat! No breakfast or coffee stop on route but you can buy pizza at the top.
Review provided by Viator
Julieta_a
Apr 16, 2025
Amazing hike around Pacaya - Overall, the trip was excellent, from the pick up to the drop off. Our group was small, 7 people, so the attention from the guide felt quite personal. Monkey (his nickname) explained to us the views and the points of interest along the way. Getting to the volcano + hotel pickups took around 1h/1.5hrs. At the entrance of the national park we had to pay in cash Q100/person. There’s a free public restroom at the parking lot, last one before going up. The hike to the top took less than 1h, but it depends on the speed of the group. In our case, my partner opted for a horse (extra Q300) right from the start while the rest of us walked all the way. At the top we heated some marshmallows inside a rock oven, walked around the volcano for a while and rest for about 30min while eating an snack (bring you own!). The way down was a lot of fun (we took a shortcut that felt like skiing on volcanic dust) and pretty fast.
Review provided by Viator
Morgan_s
Apr 13, 2025
Great hike and well worth... - Great hike and well worth the view! The guide “monkey” was very knowledgeable about the volcano and surrounding areas.
Review provided by Viator
Chandra_s
Apr 11, 2025
Must do! - Great experience. A must do at Lake Atitlan. Francisco was an excellent and very supportive guide. Worth every penny.
Review provided by Viator
Javier_f
Apr 10, 2025
I really enjoyed the... - I really enjoyed the Hike, I would say most of the time it’s an incline hike, so you better bring your A game shape or just make it work by hiking slowly. The views, the people, the dogs following us was just amazing. The volcano was totally clear, breathtaking when you get there! I did the hike of 6am, and it was so worth it. On our way down, the guide got us “hiking” it was FUN, also going to little pathways it makes it exciting. If you don’t wanna spend the entire day hiking this 6 hours tour it would be great for you!
Review provided by Viator
Ivytoo98
Apr 8, 2025
Out of this world experience! - I was looking forward to this activity the moment I booked it and it surpassed my expectations. The views of the volcano and lava are truly unreal if you've never hiked up a volcano before. My group did the experience on horseback which was worth it. I'm pretty fit but I don't think I would've had as good of a time - and we learned the horses were from a family farm. Eating volcano-roasted pizza with Pacaya Pizza and roasting the marshmallows was awesome as well. I would recommend wearing hiking boats or shoes with good grip. There were some parts that we had "skate" down the side of the hill and my shoes were sliding down.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
374kamilles
May 4, 2025
Beautiful time - Overall we had a great experience, we rode horses up and down the volcano for extra Q300 (it was worth it) Beautiful views from the top. The guides will assist you in taking photos, and give you information along your hike/ride. Also from the others that hiked in our group they said the $1 they paid for a walking stick was the best dollar they ever spent. It was pretty cloudy but we did get some good views when the clouds moved. ENJOY! *The only down side is alot of your time is spent on the bus, we left at 2pm from the pick up hotel location and had a 2 hours drive to volcano. And the same for the ride back. With a completely full bus and dropping everyone at there hotels. I only say this for others knowledge. We didn’t get back until about 8pm.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $35
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).