Best Tour Guides Ever - Columbus Guatemala Tours is hands down the best travel tour operator I have ever worked with. I’ve booked through tour groups in countries like Brazil, India, Italy, Germany, and the... read more UK, but have never worked with such an organized group of individuals who truly care about crafting an all around experience for you.

Catherina was responsive, thoughtful, and dedicated to crafting a full trip itinerary that met our travel needs, and did so in a short timeline. She made sure we felt like our needs and ideas were incorporated into the plan, but ultimately, we learned to trust her expert local opinion on what to do and where to eat, and it worked out better than we could have imagined. Not only did she handle the itinerary, she also took care of all of our bookings, making trip planning simple.

JJ, our tour guide for the entirety of the trip, is one of the most friendly guides I’ve ever met. He was extremely thorough about making sure we knew what the plan was, where we were going, and translating all things shared by local guides or merchants - he never made us feel like the language barrier was a limiting factor in our experience. JJ was generous with his time and energy, allowing us to make adjustments to schedule and make detours as needed - he was always on time and never missed a beat. He even came on all of our hikes to make sure we felt safe and taken care of, and brought us a lot of laughs on the way. One thing that also stood out was how generous he was to all of their suppliers and local guides, the folks that drove the tuk tuks, the boats, and even showed us around the volcano. He treated everyone with the utmost respect, and made them feel included and welcome to experience the journey with us.

Overall Guatemala is a wonderful country, full of rich cultural experiences and tremendous nature. We hiked to watch the sunrise at Tikal, the volcano of San Pedro, and Acatenango to see Volcan de Fuego erupt. Each of these activities were magnificent in their own way, and were awe inspiring views to say the least. We also had the luxury to stay at Casa Palopo in Lake Atitlan, which was the perfect hotel to soak in the majesty of Lake Atitlan. In Antigua, we were lucky enough to spend time with the extended Columbus Guatemala tour team, and they made the city feel like home. They hosted a surprise birthday party for my dad and I during a cooking class, and we got to celebrate as if we had been family forever. I will forever cherish the experiences and memories I created in Guatemala, and I’m grateful for the Columbus Guatemala team for making it happen!

  Culturally Rich Tour - Had a fantastic tour around the villages south of Antigua - Catherina from Columbus Travel was able to make it happen in the end even when the date I picked... read more originally didn't seem to be available. The tour was incredibly in-depth, and we visited the villages to the south of Antigua, visiting many of the local small farms, artisan shops, and local landmarks in the area.

Everywhere we stopped by didn't feel touristy, it just felt a part of the local neighbourhood. (For those interested, just note that the tour does encompass a few local small businesses showcasing quality Guatemalan products, but that's fairly expected - it's always good to support the local community.) As an added bonus, the personalized "Columbus Chicken Bus" was a funky concept 😉

Carlos the guide was stellar, and he dedicated hours to explaining sites in the villages and everything along the route in such great detail, making sure nothing was lost in translation to help me get the most of the afternoon. The tour never felt rushed, and Carlos bent over backwards to reflect the best of Guatemalan life!

Thanks very much to the entire Columbus Team!

  Excellent tour, lovely villages, friendly people and history. Amazingly supporting local people. Felix made our tour extremely interesting, we really enjoyed it.

  Guatemala Experience - I had the pleasure to work with Columbus - Guatemala on my entire 2 week trip. Everything went as smooth as possible and Katherine was always available to help... read more and adjust anything I needed. My Antigua walk (along with rides around Guatemala) was provided by Esteban. That guys sure knows Guatemala - what a wealth of information along with being an all around good person. He showed me around Antigua, took me to a great place for a local lunch, drove me to a few small towns (which were amazing), and helped me practice my Spanish. I would highly recommend using Katherine and her crew to set up a vacation. Mine also included Semuc Champay, Tikal, Lake Atitlan and an overnight hike to the Volcano Acatenango. All were done through Katherine and Columbus, Guatemala - and all were a major success. I look forward to working with them again. Such a beautiful country with kind and generous people.

  street food tour - We did a street food tour, 55$ seems first like a lot but the whole day you pay anything, food/drinks/chickenbus-transfer etc. is included. Our guide Esteban was really nice and... read more very informative. Not only trying some street food (which was delicous) but also you will get a lot of culture and history information, we went to the local market aswell. We would highly recommend it 10/10.

  Amazing guide - JJ was an incredible guide. So friendly, personable, knowledgeable, and kind. He really made this tour amazing and unique for us both :D. The fresh chicharron & tacos was a... read more real highlight! Highly recommend!

  I had the best experience with JJ. He catered as best he could to what would interest me and was very knowledgeable and fun throughout the entire tour. It was... read more a wonderful learning experience and I saw places I otherwise would not have been exposed to or found myself. I recommend this tour if you wanna get a good introduction to Antigua.

  This was the most breathtaking experience of my life. Yimer was an excellent guide & the horses were lifesavers (Champion and Pancho we miss you!) My friend and I had... read more a picnic in the craters of an active volcano and we shared with our guides and learned about cheese leaves and rode the horses up and down (I am from the American south so the altitude killed me during the hike.) The pictures our guide took of us are going to be framed in my home. I am so happy. They were THAT good.

  I’m a long time user of Tripadvisor but never got around to posting much, but wanted to write about this tour because it was my favorite tour in Antigua! There... read more is so much history, culture, and wonderful visits to villages packed in to this tour and it didn’t feel rushed. Felix was our tour guide and he is top notch making it so informative, interesting, and enjoyable. He’s one of the best tour guides in all my decades of traveling. We had a multi lingual group and Felix made sure everyone got all the information and no one was left out. We were able to tour longer than advertised because our group enjoyed all the sites, and Felix asked if anyone needed to go and would accommodate to our schedule. The Guatemalan people are so friendly and welcoming and this tour is great because you get to see different villages around Antigua and learn about their rich history. Don’t miss out on this tour it’s so worth it!

  We stumbled upon Columbus Guatemala Travel while we were walking the streets of Antigua. How fortunate for us! We walked into the office as strangers and walked out... read more feeling like we had reconnected with long-time friends. The ladies in the office were very friendly and super helpful. Our guide Esteban was awesome! His knowledge of everything Guatemalan, his courteous service and safe driving, and most of all his friendly companionship made each of our excursions exceptional. Our whole family loved him! He was our driver for 3 weekend trips: Lake Atitlan, Tikal-Peten and Semuc Champey. We highly recommend Columbus Guatemala Travel!

  Great time! JJ was an awesome guide. We live here and got to see a lot of hidden treasures. A lot of nice villages.

  I cannot imagine a better tour guide for our day in San Juan Comalapa. We wanted to see this village known for it's local artists and the for the market... read more that was happening on that day. The drive from Antigua to Comapala was great because Esteban explained oh so many things about not only this region - but about the entire country of Guatemala. His vast knowledge of history, agriculture, traditions and the Mayan culture is wonderful. We had been in Guatemala for nearly a week - we had so many questions...he certainly filled us in on the chicken buses and the beautiful clothing we had seen. The mural was wonderful: each panel showed village life from traditions to their history including the horror of the civil war. The market was vibrant...the merchants were wonderful.
Esteban arranged for us to meet Oscar Peren in his Gallery. This was certainly a highlight for us. Esteban translated as Senor Peren spoke of his art.It was a personable experience I will never forget. I am thrilled to own one of his paintings. But I did not feel pressured to buy.
We felt safe in the comfortable SUV . Esteban is an excellent driver. He even provided water and snacks for the drive.

  Great Tour! - It would be hard to say what my favorite part of the tour was as every place we went to I really enjoyed.
I have been to... read more Antigua several times in the past but I have never gone on chicken bus tour before. I also have been to the villages we went to before but I enjoyed them even more because of our wonderful guide,Estephen, who was so delightfulhe was very knowledgable in all the places we went to . This is a tour that deepens your understanding of the local cultures in a very fun way.
I was thinking we would be riding around on the local chicken busses but what you actually ride in is a small private chicken bus which of course made it easier to get to the places we were going in a timely manner.
This was a tour I would highly recommend for a very fun half day.

  Chicken bus and local walking tour!  - We took a half day bus tour and a half day walking tour and found it extremely informative and entertaining. We covered a lot of ground and learned history we... read more hadn't gotten on our own just walking around. JJ and ET are local Antiguains and had great energy and pride for their home and country. I highly recommend this company and experience!!!

  Chicken bus the best - Amazing half day tour! Esteban was very kind, knowledgeable and with a good vibe. We loved every place we visit and we were entertained with the fun facts, interesting things... read more and culture tips Esteban told us.

  This was one of our favourite tours, we had so much fun, JJ and our driver Alex were top notch, very knowledgeable and personable. We saw many beautiful smaller... read more communities around Antigua giving us a glimpse of Guatemala outside of Antigua. We visited a local wine producer, a local chocolate producer and an organic macadamia farm and tasted all the yummy goodies. We also learned about Guatemalan jade and saw all the beautiful pieces they created. Such a great day, don’t miss this tour!

  I really enjoyed the walking tour with JJ. He was very knowledgeable and gave lots of small details to make it entertaining. I would not have discovered many of the... read more places and stories if I was by myself. Highly recommended.

  I was lucky enough to be the only tourist on my tour, so I had a personalized experience, but nonetheless I believe it would've been just as good with other... read more guests. Esteban was professional, enthusiastic, and flexible in delivering his wealth of information and tailoring the walk to my pace, questions, and interests. His English was fantastic, and his familiarity with the city is evident by how many locals said hello to him throughout the 3.5 hours. The tour is a great way to see the city and understand it's rich history. I recommend taking the tour on your first day in Antigua so you can have a better awareness of all of the city has to offer with which to personalize and maximize your stay.

  The Chicken Bus tour is my all time favorite tour in Antigua! From the moment we were picked up by the chicken bus to the last stop having an amazing... read more lunch of pepian with an indigenous family, each stop was filled with discovery, culture, locals, and amazing views of the volcanoes. We were treated to a cacao demonstration and sampled the chocolates, then the nispero honey and onto Fredy’s café for some fabulous dark roasted coffee grown locally by his family and served in his home. Onto the macadamia farm, the only one in Central America, where we experienced a relaxing macadamia facial! We were all smiles for our lunch with a local indigenous family who spent most of the morning preparing the Papillion. We are also treated to a weaving demonstration by the ladies of the house. All in all it was a fun filled day with smiles all around. Our guide Estephen. was knowledgeable and personable, we learned so much from him. Our driver Antonio and his son Fernando managed to get us in and out of some of the small villages on the chicken bus. A skilled driver indeed! I live part time in Antigua and this is the third time I have taken my visitors on the chicken bus tour and I highly recommend it for everyone of all ages!

  The guide had a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm about one of the nicest cities I ever has visited. Very good experiences. We walked around in the city, visited different... read more highlights.