Pacaya Volcano
Pacaya Volcano
4.5
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  • onetwochachacha
    Sydney, Australia124 contributions
    Great experience, but.....
    I did the 2 PM tour to Volcano Pacaya in Antigua. The driver was 50 minutes late picking up me, and then spent another half hour driving around town texting and using his map app to find four more guests. When it got to 3:20 and we still hadn't left Antigua, the people on the bus ganged up on the driver and said, "Let's GO!" So off we went. We got up to the park entrance at 5 to 5:15 PM and had 30 minutes before sunset. There is a 50 QTZ entry fee that I didn't know about but I managed to scrape that together. No worries. Everyone tore up the hill. I kept wondering how we were going to get down in the dark. It is a steep climb on loose pumice pebbles and dust. I am fit so that was fine but some of the tour guests were struggling. We got near the top as the sun was setting. Very beautiful. Then we scrambled up the lava flow stone as dusk was settling in. The lava flow stone is very irregular, sharp as razors and tricky to walk on. You don't want to fall. At the highest point for the tour we were literally 200 metres from the top of the volcano that was sprouting sparks. It looked really quite amazing in the dark. There was a place where we were standing where you could look down a crevasse and the magma/lava was visible 5 metres down. Anyway we toasted some marshmallows and just grooved to the sprouting volcano. Now it was dark and we had to walk back down. (Remember the highly irregular, razor sharp solidified lava flow stone?) This was the part that was really quite dangerous. If someone tripped, lost their balance or fell it would result in a horrendous injury. I had been told that we would be back at the hotel by 7 PM so I didn't think to bring a flashlight. Fortunately my fellow travellers shared their lights with me and I made it down. But it was pretty hairy in places. My recommendations are: 1. Don't go with the cheapest tour. Some are more punctual than others 2. Remember the park entrance fee 3. Bring a torch/flashlight 4. Bring a warm jacket or sweater/jumper 5. If you are uncomfortable with walking over magma and being 200 metres from the top of an active volcano, don't go. Was it fun? Yes!
    Visited January 2020
    Written January 21, 2020
  • Susan Y
    Guelph, Canada45 contributions
    A very worthwhile climb
    We booked our trip through Antigua Tours and our driver was punctual and a careful driver. The tour company arranged our guide, Carlos, to accompany us and he was very patient. I am 66 and my husband is 70. The locals didn't think we could do the hike and kept suggesting that we take a taxi (a horse) to the top. But we climbed and with a few stops to catch our breath made it to the top (not where the marshmallows are roasted) but a large clear area where the view is indescribably beautiful. Walking down is no treat --- need to keep eyes on your feet at all times. We thought Carlos was amazing and we can hardly wait to return to do it again. Thank you Antigua Tours for setting this up!
    Visited January 2020
    Written February 9, 2020
  • Christophe B
    Atlanta, Georgia100 contributions
    The best volcano tour!
    This is a very nice tour on an active volcano. As we were there, it was continuously ejecting smoke and large stones so we could not go to close to the crater. Hopefully, the local guys are monitoring its activity so they close it when it could be really dangerous. We hired a local guide who was helpful with many comments during our trip. The tour itself is a quite an easy 2 hour walk up if you are going slowly up to the lava river and 1h to go down. Then, it becomes more challenging to walk across the large lava blocks which I never had done before. Our guide found us a hot place above lava and we cooked some chamalows! That was a nice and original experience. Some boys are selling walking stick for 5 quetals. It is more a rental as you can give it back to them when you return :) You can also hire a horse if you don't want to walk up by yourself. The most IMPORTANT part is to come with long pants and hiking boots if you plan to walk on the lava river (the best part of the tour). The lava block are slippery and extremely sharp. One lady around us came with short pant and sport shoes and she felt and cut herself multiple times. Also, some lava blocks are really hot and sport shoes can melt. We did it in the morning but you can also come at night in the evening which gives you apparently a totally different experience. We will have to do it again!
    Visited December 2019
    Written January 8, 2020
  • Tomi L
    Round Rock, Texas17 contributions
    We use the tour guide at the base of the mountain
    Our tour guide could not speak English and we could not speak Spanish but we still had a wonderful time. And thanks to Google translate and the little bit of Spanish we know in a little bit of English they knew it was fine. It was nice because our group was small and other groups were enormous going up. We did not get to see flowing lava that we felt very hot rocks and got to melt marshmallows. Highly recommend bringing plenty of quetzales so that you can rent horses or sticks. The sticks are worth it and they support the local community. You give them back when you’re done. The horses have a lot of ticks and are sort of dirty but they make the hike easier. We paid 20 US for a horse and I think you can get the sticks for like two dollars or less. Try to remember to bring a tip for your tour guide they appreciate that.
    Visited February 2021
    Traveled with family
    Written February 10, 2021
  • Jared
    Austin, Texas72 contributions
    Excellent experience on an extremely difficult hike (please read review for details)
    Did the hike based on the location and expecting a low level of difficulty. It is located about 90 min to 2 hours from the city, there is supposed to be a toll road that will save you about 30 minutes, so, ask your driver to take it and just pay the extra 25 Quetzals. There are two ways to do the hike, regardless, you will need a guide to do the hike. There is a 100Q fee for foreigners as described by many previous reviews. That is the entrance fee. Then the guide will be between 200 and 300Q depending on what you would like to accomplish. I highly recommend Kevin, he is a 3rd generation guide and has a great amount of knowledge and knows the trail and even the dogs on the way. You can reach him at +50253276570, Discuss your fitness level before starting and he will tailor to your level. I felt confident enough to ask for the most difficult hike, it did not disappoint, 2 hours and 1500 meters later, we arrived back at the other end of the volcano. I would only ask for this hike if you are very athletic and hike frequently. The views are great, you can see Laguna Calderas, Fuego, Agua and the main Volcano Acatenango. We saw many horses and dogs along the way and if you mentioned you are coming to meet Kevin then you avoid a lot of hustling from the other 100+ guides. Great time if you are looking for the closest, fastest hike from the city!! Highly recommended and Kevin was a fantastic guide.
    Visited November 2022
    Written November 23, 2022
  • Andy
    25 contributions
    Decent but defo don't pay more than the public tour
    I enjoyed this but have to say that I don't think it would be worth paying more than 12 dollars to go on the public tour. I'd read a lot of reviews saying that it was too dangerous to climb by yourself, I don't know if that's the case but there is definitely a veyy clear route. If you can run 5k in a decent time this hike won't stretch you at all but its a cool experience and if you ate travelling by yourself you will get to meet some nice people.
    Visited March 2020
    Traveled solo
    Written March 11, 2020
  • LizzyB01
    Salt Lake City, Utah327 contributions
    One of a kind experience
    It's so worth going with a tour guide to hike out this volcano! we did the sunrise tour so he picked us up at 2 am and we drove out all the way, and hiked up with breakfast provided by them as well as freshly made coffee/tea. we enjoyed the sunrise from the top and at 6.10 we hiked down and he drove us home again. so unique!
    Visited December 2019
    Written January 3, 2020
  • Caro D
    Nieuwpoort, Belgium28 contributions
    Terrible tour guide
    They told us in the hotel it was not safe to do it without guide so we booked a tour. We are in our fifties and medium fit as requested. No problem to hike the trail but the guide wanted to run to the top and left us behind because we were too slow he said and the rest of the group were younger and quicker. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to walk to the top so this is normal time to do it. Actually there is no need to book a tour, it is perfectly safe and the trail is marked so you can t get lost. We started at 8 am and there were a lot of tourists, horses, guides,...perfectly safe. The hike itself is not spectacular but once reached the top it is very beautiful. A must see.
    Visited January 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 13, 2020
  • Rowan H
    Cairns, Australia1,333 contributions
    Good warm up for acatenango
    Despite being listed as a attraction in antigua, pacaya volcano is located around an hour an half’s drive from same. To visit it you will need to either have your own wheels or do it as part of a tour. I don’t believe public transport is a great option. We did a day tour with ox expeditions at a cost of 470Q (add on another 100Q for entrance cost). These tours are really half days - ours left at 0600 and had us back in antigua shortly after 1pm. CA travel also offer a similar day tour. The tours all follow a similar itinerary. Starts with a fairly steep hike up one side. Couple of stops at miradors before you reach the lava field. The lava field is still somewhat active so they use the rocks to roast marshmallows for a gimmick. The lava field allows views of the volcano top but you don’t get that close to the summit. Following the lava field you go across the base before descending the other side. The other side is wider and less steep. This is the side that the horses exist on and so if you start from this side you can hitch a ride up. Some do it as a loop going from just the one side. Overall I was happy with the experience and would recommend this to others. I didn’t think the hiking element was all that difficult for those with average fitness.
    Visited September 2022
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 22, 2022
  • Sinead R
    Melbourne, Australia29 contributions
    Below average fitness
    Now I am below average fitness and reading from the reviews I could still achieve this climb. Unfortunately I got half way and had to get on a horse for 100q. I was exhausted, our guide took us on a different route because some people in our tour wanted "less people on the track". Which took us about 45 minute longer and I was cooked, my legs couldnt do it anymore. The horse ride was beautiful and after my ego started healing I embraced the views. I climbed the last while up the top of the volcano and the horse can only go so far, and it was all worth it. Dont worry about horsing up or not, its completely worth it no matter how you get up!
    Visited January 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 7, 2020
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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Tomi L
Round Rock, TX17 contributions
Feb 2021 • Family
Our tour guide could not speak English and we could not speak Spanish but we still had a wonderful time. And thanks to Google translate and the little bit of Spanish we know in a little bit of English they knew it was fine. It was nice because our group was small and other groups were enormous going up. We did not get to see flowing lava that we felt very hot rocks and got to melt marshmallows.
Highly recommend bringing plenty of quetzales so that you can rent horses or sticks. The sticks are worth it and they support the local community. You give them back when you’re done. The horses have a lot of ticks and are sort of dirty but they make the hike easier. We paid 20 US for a horse and I think you can get the sticks for like two dollars or less.
Try to remember to bring a tip for your tour guide they appreciate that.
Written February 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jared
Austin, TX72 contributions
Nov 2022
Did the hike based on the location and expecting a low level of difficulty.
It is located about 90 min to 2 hours from the city, there is supposed to be a toll road that will save you about 30 minutes, so, ask your driver to take it and just pay the extra 25 Quetzals.
There are two ways to do the hike, regardless, you will need a guide to do the hike. There is a 100Q fee for foreigners as described by many previous reviews. That is the entrance fee. Then the guide will be between 200 and 300Q depending on what you would like to accomplish. I highly recommend Kevin, he is a 3rd generation guide and has a great amount of knowledge and knows the trail and even the dogs on the way. You can reach him at +50253276570,
Discuss your fitness level before starting and he will tailor to your level. I felt confident enough to ask for the most difficult hike, it did not disappoint,
2 hours and 1500 meters later, we arrived back at the other end of the volcano. I would only ask for this hike if you are very athletic and hike frequently.
The views are great, you can see Laguna Calderas, Fuego, Agua and the main Volcano Acatenango.
We saw many horses and dogs along the way and if you mentioned you are coming to meet Kevin then you avoid a lot of hustling from the other 100+ guides.
Great time if you are looking for the closest, fastest hike from the city!!
Highly recommended and Kevin was a fantastic guide.
Written November 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andy
25 contributions
Mar 2020 • Solo
I enjoyed this but have to say that I don't think it would be worth paying more than 12 dollars to go on the public tour. I'd read a lot of reviews saying that it was too dangerous to climb by yourself, I don't know if that's the case but there is definitely a veyy clear route. If you can run 5k in a decent time this hike won't stretch you at all but its a cool experience and if you ate travelling by yourself you will get to meet some nice people.
Written March 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LizzyB01
Salt Lake City, UT327 contributions
Dec 2019
It's so worth going with a tour guide to hike out this volcano! we did the sunrise tour so he picked us up at 2 am and we drove out all the way, and hiked up with breakfast provided by them as well as freshly made coffee/tea. we enjoyed the sunrise from the top and at 6.10 we hiked down and he drove us home again. so unique!
Written January 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Caro D
Nieuwpoort, Belgium28 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
They told us in the hotel it was not safe to do it without guide so we booked a tour.
We are in our fifties and medium fit as requested. No problem to hike the trail but the guide wanted to run to the top and left us behind because we were too slow he said and the rest of the group were younger and quicker. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to walk to the top so this is normal time to do it.
Actually there is no need to book a tour, it is perfectly safe and the trail is marked so you can t get lost. We started at 8 am and there were a lot of tourists, horses, guides,...perfectly safe.
The hike itself is not spectacular but once reached the top it is very beautiful. A must see.
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rowan H
Cairns, Australia1,333 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
Despite being listed as a attraction in antigua, pacaya volcano is located around an hour an half’s drive from same.

To visit it you will need to either have your own wheels or do it as part of a tour. I don’t believe public transport is a great option. We did a day tour with ox expeditions at a cost of 470Q (add on another 100Q for entrance cost). These tours are really half days - ours left at 0600 and had us back in antigua shortly after 1pm. CA travel also offer a similar day tour.

The tours all follow a similar itinerary. Starts with a fairly steep hike up one side. Couple of stops at miradors before you reach the lava field. The lava field is still somewhat active so they use the rocks to roast marshmallows for a gimmick.

The lava field allows views of the volcano top but you don’t get that close to the summit.

Following the lava field you go across the base before descending the other side. The other side is wider and less steep. This is the side that the horses exist on and so if you start from this side you can hitch a ride up. Some do it as a loop going from just the one side.

Overall I was happy with the experience and would recommend this to others. I didn’t think the hiking element was all that difficult for those with average fitness.
Written September 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sinead R
Melbourne, Australia29 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Now I am below average fitness and reading from the reviews I could still achieve this climb.
Unfortunately I got half way and had to get on a horse for 100q. I was exhausted, our guide took us on a different route because some people in our tour wanted "less people on the track". Which took us about 45 minute longer and I was cooked, my legs couldnt do it anymore. The horse ride was beautiful and after my ego started healing I embraced the views. I climbed the last while up the top of the volcano and the horse can only go so far, and it was all worth it.
Dont worry about horsing up or not, its completely worth it no matter how you get up!
Written January 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

County-Hunter
Tacoma, WA3,137 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
My wife and I have traveled all over the wall. We have seen the pyramids of Giza and taken a toboggan ride down the Great Wall of China. We have climbed Machu Picchu and ridden dune buggies in Dubai. But until Pacaya, we had never ridden horses up the side of an active volcano and eaten a lunch of pizza baked on the lava rocks. Wow!

I was worried about the hike up as my wife and I are older and not in the best shape. There were a lot of young boys at the entrance trying to sell us walking sticks and men trying to sell us horseback rides. We decided to try it on our own as we had heard that the hike wasn't all that strenuous. Yeah right! You are at 7,000 feet in elevation so everything is strenuous. If you are young and in good health, it would still be a slog, especially if it rains as it did on us. I give the caballeros a lot of credit because they did t give up on us and followed us up the mountain pulling their horses along. The knee is better than we did because 3/4 of a mile up the trail and 100m higher, we were done! But because of the horses, we didn't have to give up and go back. We paid the caballeros who gave us a good deal to go both up and down and climbed on board. We enjoyed our first horse ride in years and arrived at the viewpoint in good shape. Beware of the lava rock as you scamper over it to get to the pizza place. It is razor sharp. I slipped and gouged my leg so our intrepid guide went over and had the pizza boy deliver us our pizza. We made sure to tip him for his service. As we headed back down, it began to pour and we were drenched, but we were drenched and happy. What a great experience, you have to do this one!
Written July 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TravelingFamilyTrip
Chicago, IL203 contributions
Jan 2023
We went with an organized tour bus out of Antigua, which took drove us there then handed us off to a local guide for the hike, which is pretty standard. You can book a tour for a wide range of prices, but I don't see much difference, so I'm not sure what makes it worth paying 2-3x as much for some of them. The hike isn't too difficult if you are in shape at all. Enjoyable with some nice views. Due to eruptions a year or two ago, you can't go to the summit, but you go to a nice viewing area where you can see the steam coming out of the top and vents on the side. Then hike down to the edge of the lava field where the guides roast marshmallows over hot spots that they've found. We had some really great views of the other volcanos around Antigua (Fuego, Agua,...) as wellas the whole valley on the hike back down.
We did the morning hike, because we thought there was a better chance of good visibility. They also offered evening hikes where you might get to see Fuego's glowing lava.
Written February 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

novepove
The Hague, The Netherlands54 contributions
Jan 2022 • Friends
Fantastic experience! Climbed on New Year’s Day. Climb was quite tiring but everyone in the group able to do it (range of abilities, including someone in their 60s and an asthmatic). Have people with horses at the beginning that follow you but if you just take your time and pace yourself then they soon leave. Had pizza made from the heat from the magma by Pacaya Pizza - delicious and the staff were very friendly. Highly recommend this trip
Written January 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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