Everything You Need to Know Before Hiking Acatenango in Guatemala

When I think about Guatemala, the one thing that pops in my mind is the VOLCANOES, and mainly Acatenango! If you’ve heard about Guatemala, then this hike is probably one of the experiences you see everywhere. I travelled to Guatemala back in December of 2024, and I of course did the overnight hike to Acatenango and Fuego Volcano. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life (but also really difficult in my opinion). I have therefore built a little guide for everything you need to know before hiking Acatenango in Guatemala! I hope that this guide will help make this experience of a lifetime a bit smoother!

This is a picture of the sunrise from Acatenango base camp in Guatemala.

How many days is the Acatenango hike?

Generally speaking, the hike to Acatenango can be done in either 1 or 2 days, with 2 days being the more popular option. The 2 day option include staying overnight at the basecamp of Acatenango. During day 1, you will be picked up at your accommodation in the morning, you will get to basecamp in the late afternoon, you can either relax at basecamp during the evening or hike to Fuego, and the next morning you will summit to the top of Acatenango and also hike back down to the bus, and finally get dropped back to your accommodation in the early afternoon. I have heard from other travellers that I met that they did it in 1 day independently, but I don’t know of any tour companies that do it in 1 day.

This is a place where you can buy some snacks or water on the Acatenango hike.

Where do you book the Acatenango hike?

There are lots of platforms where you can book the hike. You can book directly on the companies’ websites, on getyourguide, or even in person at your accommodation/at tour shops, the day before.

We booked directly with our hostel the day before the hike, and the company that operated through them was Barco Expeditions.

Click here to book the Acatenango Hike on getyourguide.

This is a picture of Acatenango Volcano from basecamp.

Which companies are good for the Acatenango hike?

Barco Expeditions is a great company if you are on a budget! The guide was very nice, and the group was very fun. In addition, we had everything that we needed. However, I will say that everything is very minimal (hence also why it’s good if you are on a budget).

Other companies that I have heard of (but that I can’t personally comment on how good they were) are Ox Expeditions & Wicho’s and Charlie’s. They are a bit pricier, but honestly, you get what you pay for!

This is a picture of Fuego erupting at night.

How much does the hike cost?

For us, it cost 600Q per person. This included:

300Q: the tour
100Q: entry fee to the volcano park
200Q: optional hike to Fuego

The 400Q is the “base” fee, because not everyone decides to hike Fuego. I will say though that if you do want to go with a tour/group, I think that the cost starts at 600Q, since every other company I search about were pricier.

Click here for the best accommodations in Antigua, Guatemala.

This is a picture of us hiking down Fuego volcano in the dark in Guatemala.

What was the total distance and elevation gain of the Acatenango hike?

I had really bad altitude sickness, so unfortunately I didn’t hike to the summit of Acatenango. I hiked to the basecamp, and I also did the Fuego hike. Here are my stats (as based of my strava!):

For Acatenango basecamp:

16.3 km out and back
1500 m elevation gaib
5h30 duration (doesn’t include breaks)

For Fuego:

4.3 km out and back
600 m elevation gain
2 hours duration (doesn’t include about 30 minutes that you spend at the top)

What was your schedule like during the Acatenango hiking days?

This varies depending on your company and your group, but to give you a little idea, this is what our schedule looked like:

9am: pick up from our accommodation in Antigua and drive to the start of the hike
11am: start of the hike
2pm: lunch
5pm: arrive at basecamp
9pm: arrive at the top of Fuego
10:30pm: arrive back at basecamp if you decided to hike Fuego
3:30am: wake up to summit Acatenango
6am: wake up to watch the sunrise from basecamp
7am: descend from basecamp
11am: arrive to the start of the hike
1pm: drop off at our accommodation in Antigua

This is a picture inside of the hut that we were sleeping in on Acatenango.

What were the sleeping conditions like during the Acatenango hike?

With Barco Expeditions, we slept in a big hut. Inside the hut, there was basically one very big bunk bed (I’m not even sure what to call it), as you can see on the picture above. It basically fit 8 people on the bottom and 8 people on the top. It’s not very glamorous, because you sleep in a sleeping bag (that is provided for you), but right next to everyone else without much personal space.

With other companies, I saw that you can have private tents, where there are nicer beds. Of course, that means that it would cost more, but it’s honestly worth it in my opinion to rest well for the sunrise hike!

Click here for the best hostels in Antigua, Guatemala.

This is an example of the lunch we got for the Acatenango hike.

What type of food did they serve during the Acatenango hike?

On the first day, they served us lunch and dinner, and on the second day, they served us breakfast.

For lunch, we had chicken and rice. For dinner, we had pasta that they cooked for us at basecamp. For breakfast the next day, we had oatmeal and fruits. The food is very basic, but it was enough to fill me up. I do recommend to bring snacks though, because the hike is quite demanding and you will need some extra energy for fuel.

Do I have to bring water?

With Barco Expeditions, the cost of the tour included 3L of water per person. The only thing is that although they provided the water bottles for us, we were the ones that had to carry it… So keep that in mind for your backpack size.

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Picture of me, almost reached basecamp!

What should I bring for the Acatenango hike?

Pack minimally! It’s just one night!

I will say that some non negotiable are the following:

Jacket, sweater, gloves, especially if your tour company doesn’t provide it for you. It got soooo cold at the top of Fuego. Even with the extra jacket and gloves that our company provided us, I could barely stay longer than 30 minutes on the top of Fuego because I was so freezing.
Toilet paper. There probably won’t be any toilet paper at the toilet at basecamp, so make sure to bring your own.
Hiking shoes. I had hiking shoes, and I’m really happy I had good feet gear. I will say though that some people in our group had literal Adidas sambas and they were doing okay, but I don’t necessarily think you should follow that example lmao.
Hiking poles. This is the one thing we didn’t get, and omg I regretted it so much. You can rent some with the company you go with. It helps so much for all of the descents, and also the really hard uphill for Fuego. It’s extra, but I promise you it’s worth it. Honestly, it was so bad that every time I go hiking now and it is relatively a bit difficult, I refuse to not bring poles.
Snacks++++. Because you never know if the food that the tour company provides you will be enough, and fuelling well is so important!!

This is a picture from Acatenango basecamp, during the sunrise.

How should I physically prepare for the Acatenango hike?

I recommend having a good base of cardio before the hike. The hike has a fair amount of elevation gain, so be prepared for that! Even though you regularly workout, I do think that it still might not be enough, and the altitude can affect you are much as simply a hike.

I’m really not the fittest person, but I do try to workout regularly. My partner on the other hand is super fit, and to give you an idea, he has ran multiple marathons, half iron mans and an ironman… Yet we both found the hike very difficult. Now I will say, I don’t think that the act of going uphill was that difficult, but it was the altitude that affected us a lot. Acatenango basecamp is at approximately 3500 meters above sea level. Altitude sickness generally starts at 2400 meters above sea level. I had no idea about this beforehand, and I learnt the hard way. We both had bad headaches once we got the basecamp, and I vomitted my breakfast because I felt so sick. The good news is, you can absolutely prepare for this!

I recommend altitude sickness pills. Please check with your health care provider on how to get them, because it can vary from country to country! But on my next trip to Peru, I got the pills for the Salkantay trek (which reaches an elevation of 4630m), and it helped so much! Also, you can also try to acclimatize in Antigua (at 1530m above sea level) before the hike. We had a tight schedule, so we only had 1 full day in Antigua before the hike, but I think it would have helped if we had some extra days in Antigua. Make sure to also stay hydrated, fuel very well, and drink some coca tea!