Flavorful Guatemala Food Tour
10 Days - 9 Nights
- Based on Double Occupancy
A flavorful journey through the highlights of Guatemala and Mayan food traditions for 10D/9N starting at $3,925.00 per person.
The cuisine and culinary traditions of the Ancient Mayans were diverse and extensive.
The Mayans were hunters, fishers and used their own gardens to grow their food supply. Their most traditional dishes use a variety of ingredients. Their largest crop production was maize (corn). Cacao, another principle crop, was used in a sacred drink and also as an exchange unit in its grain form. The Spanish colonization brought change to the region.
They introduced not only a new religion and lifestyle, but also new flavors and ingredients. The Spaniards also introduced alcohol, resulting today that Guatemala produces one of the world’s finest rums. Guatemalans still use many Mayan ingredients and recipes, such as corn and stone grinding.
The result of the Mayan traditional dishes and their colonization has left us with a fusion of flavors and a new Guatemalan culinary identity.
This culinary itinerary invites travelers to move beyond restaurants and recipes into kitchens, markets, and homes—where food tells the story of the land and the people who shape it. Every stop has been chosen for authenticity and depth, guided by local hosts who bring their culture to the table in the most literal sense.
The adventure begins in Antigua, where volcanic soils yield rich coffee and cacao, and where colonial courtyards echo with the sounds of daily life. Lost World’s local guides lead travelers into the heart of the city’s food traditions—from roasting beans to grinding chocolate—and into private homes for cooking lessons that blend warmth, skill, and heritage. These encounters reveal Guatemala’s flavors as living history, not museum pieces.
Beyond Antigua, Lost World’s route weaves through highland markets and lakeside villages, connecting travelers to regional specialties rooted in centuries of Maya tradition. Meals are shared in open-air stalls, on shaded patios, and beside the brilliant blue of Lake Atitlán. Each dish—corn tamales, spicy pepián, fresh tortillas—reflects both landscape and lineage.
In the lowland jungles of Petén, the experience shifts from cultural to elemental. Guests dine among ancient ruins, cook with master chefs at Nitun, and savor the tropical ingredients that thrive in the forest’s humidity. These are not staged experiences but living exchanges, curated with the precision and care that define Lost World Adventures.
From market to mesa, from volcano to rainforest, this itinerary turns travel into a sensory experience—guided by Lost World Adventures’ expertise and crafted for travelers who value authenticity over pretense. Each meal, lesson, and encounter reveals Guatemala’s history through its ingredients and the people who prepare them. To know this country is to taste its diversity—earthy, aromatic, and deeply rooted in place.
Lost World Adventures itineraries can be tailor-made according to your plans and preferences: budget, hotel selections, travel dates, optional excursions, length of trip, etc.
Day 1: Antigua
Welcome to Guatemala! Antigua is among the world’s best conserved colonial cities in the Americas. It is a magic and captivating small town that makes you feel time might have stopped 300 years ago.
From its colonial architecture to its beautiful surroundings; strolling through town on the cobblestone streets will fascinate you!
You will be met by one of our representatives at the airport and transferred to Antigua. Overnight at an Antigua hotel, daily breakfast included. Dinner included at an Antigua restaurant.
Day 2: Antigua Walking Tour
Enjoy a walking tour which will take you through the Colonial architecture, fine arts, terracotta, ceramics, wooden sculptures, a great variety of traditional costumes and weavings. You will also visit a Chocolate Museum, take a Coffee Tour with tasting. Overnight at an Antigua hotel. Breakfast and lunch included today.
Day 3: Antigua – Community Cooking Class
After breakfast you will transfer to the town of San Miguel Escobar. Here you will learn how to prepare a traditional Guatemalan dish at a Guatemalan home. A authentic one-of-a-kind experience. Your chef will be a local housewife and mother. After the lesson and lunch, you will transfer back to Antigua with free time to explore the town on your own. Overnight at your Antigua hotel. Breakfast and lunch included today.
Day 4: Chichicastenango Market & Lake Atitlan
After breakfast, you will transfer to Chichicastenango, home to what is surely the most colorful native market in the Americas.
Market days are held every Sunday and Thursday and draw not only the Quiche Maya of the surrounding region but vendors from all over Guatemala, representing many of Guatemala’s linguistic groups such as Mam, Ixil, Kaqchikel and others. Each has his or her products in a riotous cacophony of color, dialects and costumes, smoke, and smells.
After the tour, you will enjoy lunch and then you will make your way to Lake Atitlan where you will spend 2 nights. Breakfast and lunch included today.
Day 5: Village Tour
After breakfast, a private boat and guide will take you to visit one of the villages around the lake. After lunch, your guide will take you back to your hotel for an afternoon at leisure.
Enjoy a wonderful dinner at your hotel. With three stunning volcanoes rising out of its emerald surface, it is characterized by its natural beauty surrounded by gorgeous views of the volcanoes and indigenous villages filled with culture. The famous writer Aldous Huxley considered it “the most beautiful lake in the world”. All meals included today.
Day 6: Iximche tour and flight to Flores
After breakfast, a private transfer and guide will take you to Iximche. Your guide will show you around the main temples and the history of this fantastic site. Iximche is a Post Classic Mayan site, located in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Although it is not the major archaeological site, it was founded by the Kaqchikel Maya in 1,470 after a prolonged conflict with the Quiche.
It was the capital of the Late pre-Classic Kaqchikel kingdom from 1,470 until its abandonment in 1,524 with the arrival of the Spanish. After lunch, you will be transferred to the airport in Guatemala City for your afternoon flight to Flores. Overnight at Hotel in Peten. All meals included today.
Day 7: Tikal Tour
After breakfast, your guide will take you to Tikal National Park and show you the layout of the temples, architecture, history, and the theories of why they disappeared. If you are lucky, a few monkeys, parrots, macaws and toucans will be on site. Tikal is a City and ceremonial center of the ancient Maya civilization. Tikal became an important ceremonial center with the construction of major pyramids and temples.
The best years were the Late Classic Period (600-900 AD). Tikal has some of the most fascinating archaeological remains of the ancient Maya Civilization, excavated by Pennsylvania University between 1,956 and 1,969. Tikal is the largest excavated site on the American continent. It is Guatemala’s most famous cultural and natural preserve.
After the tour enjoy lunch at a restaurant in the middle of the jungle. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight in Peten. Breakfast and lunch included today.
Day 8: Nitun & Yaxha Sunset
Enjoy a wonderful morning at leisure. You’ll be transferred to Nitun. Cook with Lore, Nitun’s hotel manager and owner and learned from one the best cooks in town. Prepare tequila shrimp or apple ginger pork chops and bake your own homemade bread. Nitun is a beautiful property, set on 350,000 sq. m. of grounds where six species of hummingbird nest year-round.
The grounds are an attraction in themselves, boasting lush jungle and wildlife such as ocelots and jaguarondi (native cats). Once ensconced in this verdant beauty and accompanied by a soundtrack of bird calls, the temptation is to find a hammock and never leave. After lunch, you will be transferred to Yaxha Archeological Site for a beautiful sunset. Overnight at hotel in Peten. Breakfast and lunch included today.
Day 9: Flight to Guatemala City & city tour
After breakfast, your guide will transfer you to Mundo Maya airport for your flight to Guatemala City. Guatemala City is the most modern and cosmopolitan in Central America. Vibrant and fast pace, Guatemala City (or Guate as the locals called it) is a magnificent blend of the old and the new with a Latin charm. Nowadays, the city has around four million inhabitants and it’s a must when visiting Guatemala.
On arrival, a representative of will take you on a Museum visit. Enjoy lunch at one of the best restaurants in the city and then to the rum house to taste the best rum in the world: Ron Zacapa Centenario 23-year-old Solera Rum: This is first-class Guatemalan rum made from virgin sugar cane honey. It received 97 points from the Beverage Tasting Institute and a Gold Medal at the 2007 International Cane Spirits Festival.
Overnight at hotel in Guatemala City. As a farewell dinner will take place at a special venue. All meals included today.
Day 10: Int’l Departure
After breakfast, you will be transferred to La Aurora International Airport for your departure flight.
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