san marcos, gt
San Marcos is the hippy town on the lake. It's really very hippy actually. It's not dissimilar from Mazunte in Oaxaca, whereas here you will find many a long-haired-dreaded white men in loose-fitting dresses, sporting a variety of colorful crystals and rocks around their neck. I had a girl here tell me once that the reason she had chosen Lake Atitlan as a destination was because the location of Venus, based on her astrological chart, told her that this was where she was supposed to be. She also confessed to traveling with 15 pounds worth of stones or crystals. I found that all a bit interesting. To put it lightly. But that is the kind of place that San Marcos is. It's a little haven for the hippy types. Or at least it has become that in the past few years. Here you can find tons of spirituality as a result. The small streets will be full of little vendors, both Guatemalan, and foreign, selling handmade goods and trinkets. The Guatemalans selling typical colorful bags, clothing, etc., and the travelers selling their handmade jewelry, candles, oils, etc. It's a really nice little place though. For me I found it nice for a day or two, but the overwhelming spirituality wasn't a long term fit for me. It's a great and almost perfect place for people looking to connect spiritually or even look for some sort of healing. There are many people here claiming healing practices or ceremonies. The place is also referred to as a vortex, and is probably the center of this "magical" feeling you will get at the lake. People come here and get stuck. Additionally, in San Marcos there are lots of opportunities for spirituality adjacent things. Such as yoga and cacao ceremonies. It's not uncommon for people to come here and do their yoga teacher training, then stay for quite some time more. San Marcos also has a number of Ashrams, and there are courses that you can take on spiritual healing through crystals. So all this being said, you should have a pretty good understanding of what this place is. If it's not your cup of tea, and I would totally understand it — it wasn't really mine either — I still highly recommend coming to visit if at least for the day. The walking streets are really nice and interesting, and the town itself is beautiful to explore. If you are staying in another one of the lake towns, it's a quick boat ride over anyways.
San Marcos is obviously located on Lake Atitlan. You're not going to be able to get here straight from any other city. You will first have to go through either San Pedro or Panajachel. Your shuttle will take you to one of those places. So look at the directions on how to get to one of those places first. Then you will have to just hop on one of the little water taxis from either of those locations, and they will take you over to San Marcos.
You can technically drive to San Marcos, but it's only through the shitty lake-access road that is essentially traveled by tuk tuks and not much more. I would recommend the boat transport.
The water taxi from Pana will be no more than 25Q, and won't take long.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
There's a good amount of housing options here in San Marcos, and some options that are certainly going to be make any hippy or aspiring hippy, happy.
When you come here you'll of course have your options when it comes to the level of comfort that you would like, as it's typical for the people who live and love these types of places to have relatively low standards for the quality of their housing. So there are certainly some options like that.
But as comes with these hippy towns as they get popular, the nice and expensive and comfortable boutique places will begin to emerge. Those exist here as well. I won't get thing them though.
This is what I was referring to when I was getting at the basic accommodation. Pacha Mama is just that. Very basic accommodation, but a bed. It's only going to cost about $8, so you are getting what you pay for here. Exactly the type of people who look for cheap accommodation and like places like San Marcos will be staying here. So it's going to be filled with a bunch of likely cool and interesting folks.
Tiny little hostel that is connected to a really nice cafe. Probably one of the better places to stay in San Marcos.
This is a much more well-rounded hostel here in San Marcos. The facilities are going to be pretty good. They will have yoga. A roof deck. It will be cozy and nice.
EATS
One of the nice and luxury options just to include it here so you can see what the nice stuff here looks like. It looks really nice and relaxing and tranquil to be honest. If you have the means, or just want to spoil yourself, something like this place could be cool. It's not terribly expensive at $65-80 per night, and it's beautiful.
A cute little option. It will be pretty mellow, and cost about $20. But you'll have a nice outdoor area that you can hang out — frequently yoga. All of that. — Also lots of hammocks which is nice, and some rooftop areas with nice views. Lots of green on the property, too.
With the large concentration of hippy and spiritual types, you are also going to have the types of food here that fit that grain. There will be a good amount of health food options, vegetarian vegan, — all of that.
Below are the few places that I know of to eat in San Marcos.
Restaurants
Great little cafe that is attached to the hostel. They have great bread, as it's a bakery — and delicious breakfast.
Cool little spot for lunch and some healthy eats. They are known for the falafel burrito, which is great and good for you as well.
Vegan spot right in town with good and healthy food. Nice outdoor patio as well.
NIGHTLIFE
I didn't do any nightlife-related things in San Marcos whilst I was here. The nightlife isn't going to be really raucous, alcohol-fueled parties. That's not the scene. It will be more chill. There will be drum circles, live bands, stuff that like. I heard that occasionally at night there are things at Hostel Del Lago.
Also sometimes there will be raves that are put on by the Wizards Collective that is based here in San Marcos. If you are here long enough you will hear about them, and keep your ears open if you want to maybe hear about one of their parties.
SIGHTS
The things to see here at the Lake are pretty uniform across the different towns. Much of it is going to be outside of the town you are in. Visiting other towns, some of the same hikes, some of the same activities, etc.
So for the towns on the lake there is going to be some crossover in this section, but there will be a few things that are unique to the individual towns. Specifically here in San Marcos, you can embrace your spiritual side. Do some yoga, do some healing courses, join a drum circle. Take some acid and walk around and go swim in the lake. Whatever. Just go with it.
Below is what there is to do and see at the lake.
The largest of the towns to visit at the lake. Also the town you must likely come through. Much more on that on the Pana page.
VISIT SAN PEDRO
San Pedro is my favorite city on the lake. Much more on that on the San Pedro Page.
This is an extremely tiny town, but it is home to two really amazing hostels. One of them is called 'Free Cerveza', and it's a beautiful hostel right on the water. It's called Free Cerveza because every night there is a family dinner with everyone staying at the hostel. You eat at a low table while sitting on the ground. The beer is free for an hour while you consume your dinner (that you pay for). There is also an amazing little hostel there called 'La Iguana'.
The town itself is super tiny, and 100% worth staying in for a few nights. At a minimum, come walk around the tiny town for a day.
San Juan La Laguna is a cool town that sits right next to San Pedro. There's an amazing walking street that has a bunch of flags overhead, and the ground is made up of different-colored bricks. There's great walking and shopping here, and it's a perfect way to spend a day. A day trip here is probably enough.
There's a fun cliff jump that you can do outside of San Marcos. It's pretty high up, and a really popular and fun thing to do.
This is a stunning and extremely unique market located a little bit outside of the lake town of Pana. You will need to get on a chicken bus to get out here but it's worth it. The market days are Thursday and Sunday, and it's a sprawling textiles market that also showcases the tradition of textile-making that goes on here. The textiles and colors that you see being worn by the women walking around everywhere, and adorning the table and in the restaurants. Buy something as a gift, or just a souvenir. It's an awesome day.
There's a lot of really great hiking that can be done outside of the Lake, including Volcan San Pedro, Atitlan, Toliman and the Lower Mayan Trail hike (Santa Cruz to San Marcos). I am just going to get into my favorite — hiking up to the top of Indian Nose. This is one of the best viewpoints you could ever imagine for the lake. The hike gets you up there at sunrise to watch it all, and there's not much walking at all, making the difficulty low. I would check with your hostel and get involved in a tour to get you up there. It's one of the best things to do at the lake. Here is the Alltrails about the hike. Notably you need to get to Santa Clara to start the hike. But if you get on a tour, then they will handle this for you.
From Pana you can get on a sunset cruise trip that will take you on a boat around the lake right at sunset. It's a beautiful way to see the sun go down and experience the lake. I recommend. It's BYOB on the weekends, and the cruise only lasts about a half-hour and costs 10Q ($1USD).
Taking a booze cruise around the lake is a good way to spend the day here in Atitlan if that's your thing. The booze cruise is put together by Mr Mullets hostel, and is a wild time for sure. It's going to be full of young backpackers, so just be aware of that. If you know what you are getting into, it's a fun time.
There's a beautiful little lookout point north of San Pedro, called 'Maravilla'. It costs a little bit of money to get in there, but you end up with a stunning look at the lake. I would recommend.
The lake is another great place to come and go to Spanish School. I did mine through Lake Atitlan Spanish School. There's tons of other people that are going to be doing the same, so it's not only a good way to meet people, but also a great way to support the community and improve your Spanish. You are in Latin America after all.
There's a pub crawl here in San Pedro that practically every young backpacker is going to go on. That's why, after you get here you will notice there are a bunch of idiots wearing 'Mr Mullets' shirts. You get the shirt for free for going. Whatever — it's dumb, but it's an excuse to go out, and you will meet a lot of people. The parties can be fun too, if you can somehow avoid all the 18-year-old guys from the UK.
There's an awesome DJ collective called The Wizards that are based here at The Lake. They pretty frequently throw amazing parties and raves. They aren't necessarily published, but keep your ears peeled, and you may just hear of one. If you do, they are amazing.
SURFING
I think you can wakeboard here.