Lago de Atitlán Transportation

By Boat - to San Pedro, Santiago, San Marco, Santa Cruz and other lake villages, take a boat from the main pier. 15-30Q.

By Pick-up Truck - to San Marcos, Santa Catarina, San Antonio, Sololá and other villages

By Shuttle: direct shuttles available to Antigua and San Cristobal de las Casas (Mexico)

By Bus:

to Guate - direct buses leaving about every hour. take this to Los Encuentros (for Chichicastenango) and Chimaltenango (for Antigua)

from Chichi - bus to Los Encuentros, bus to Sololá or Panajachel

from Antigua - bus to Chimaltenango - any bus going north - at Los Encuentros get bus going to Sololá or Pana

from/to Mexico - from Mesilla, bus to Huehue - 4 caminos (any bus going south to Xela at least) - Los Encuentros - Sololá or Pana. same in reverse.

Most people arrive to Lake Atitlan via the town Panajachel, and from here the easiest way to get to other destinations at the lake is by boat. There's a lot of possibilities, and you will probably have to bargain a bit with the boat owner to get a good price.
The main destinations is Santiago Atitlan, San Pedro la Laguna, San Antonio Palopo.

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There are lots of boats going to the villages around the lake . There are frequent four hour ferries going to Santiago from Panajachel and private water taxies making regukar trips to the other towns and villages around the lake. Prices are pretty low , less than 15 quetzales.

You don't need reservations . just go the the lakefront dock.

Its a good idea to travel very light , probably no taxis to pick you up at the other side.

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We took a shuttle from the airport . We had our hotel arrange it and there was someone waiting for us when we arrived . It cost $50.00 for the two of us. ( a little more since it was prearranged)

When we left we took a shuttle to Guatemala city . It took 4.5 hours via Antigua where we picked up more people. It can take longer depending ob traffic. Cost $22.00 each .

It is easy to arrange transportation in Panajachel.

The shuttle was a mini bus that held about 7 people. Quite comfortable and safe.

IF YOU ARRIVE AT THE LAKESIDE IN PANAJACHEL THEN YOU'LL FIND BOATS WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO TOWNS OR VILLAGES AROUND THE LAKE SUCH AS SAN PEDRO LA LAGUNA, SANTIAGO ATITLAN, ETC.

BUT BE WARNED, THEY WON'T SAIL AWAY UNTIL MORE PASSENGERS BOARD THEM.

AS FAR AS I REMEMBER I THINK IT COST Q20

You can hike around the lake, although it would take a couple days to get all the way around it. It's also possible to hop on a local bus, but routes are very limited. You might have better luck hailing down a pickup truck and asking for a ride. For a small fee, you should be able to get just about anywhere you need to go.

Traveling around the lake is best and most convenient by boat. You can catch boats that serve Santiago Atitlán, the eastern shore, and some lake tours from the Barceló del Lago, at the end of Calle del Rancho in Panajachel. There's another dock at the end of Calle del Embarcadero where you can catch boats to San Pedro la Laguna, Santa Cruz and all towns in between. Most rides are on large, tourist-oriented ferries, but you can also catch smaller, faster boats called lanchas, although you'll pay a bit more for the speed and relative privacy. Most of the tours will take you to San Pedro, Santiago Atitlan and San Antonio Palopó and will take most of the day (6-8 hours) and will cost only around 50- 70 Q, depending on how good you are at negotiating.

To get anywhere around the Lake you must take a water Taxi. I believe at that time the price was around 5 US dollars and like most places you will pay more than a local - this is just the custom and don't complain about it. The Lake can become rough at times and the ride a little bumpy. I had a hard time on the road coming into Pana so my stomach was a little upset, but on the return I had no problem.