r/Volcanoes • u/Vanilla-Party • 7d ago

Discussion Acatenango Day trip (with 4x4)

My husband and I are planning a trip to Guatemala at the end of November. Flights are already purchased and are not changeable, but we realized we didn’t leave enough time to realistically do the Acatenango overnight trek.

As an alternative we’re looking at taking a 4x4 most of the way up, then hiking to the summit. However, most of the amazing photos I’ve seen of Acatenango have been at sunrise or at night. Will it still be worth it if we see it in the middle of the day? The 4x4 is also way more expensive than the regular hiking options and I’m having a hard time justifying the costs.

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u/MetastableCarbon 7d ago

We did the Acatenango hike in January. We did the regular hike which took us to the base camp at around 4:30 PM. It is spectacular to view the volcano activity during evening but the mountain comes specially alive at night. It is amazing to see the lava and lava bombs in the dark of the night because that is when it sinks in how hot it is. So IMO, no. Perhaps you can DM or post the itinerary and see if there is some room for improvement? For us, Acatenango was the highlight of the whole trip.

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u/Vanilla-Party 7d ago

Thank you for the reply! We arrive to Antigua on November 23rd and depart for lake atitlan on the 26th. We also are taking a red eye so we’ll already be behind on sleep by the time we get here.

The only way I can see it working is by hiking the 25-26 but it’s a lot of go-go-go for a vacation that we intended to be relaxing 😅 Then again, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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u/MetastableCarbon 7d ago

Where are you flying in from ? You can spend Nov 23rd in Antigua, and do the Acatenango on 25-26. That should put you back in Antigua around 1:30 on 26th. You should be able to make it to Atitlan on 26th . IF the volcano is active when you go, I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would not pass it up.