Visitor Information and Tours

INGUAT, the national tourism office, has an office in the interior courtyard of the Casa Jaulón building on 4 Calle Oriente, one-half block east of Parque Central. It is open weekdays 8-5 and 9-1 and 2-5 on weekends. The office is slated to move to an as-yet-undetermined location sometime in 2010 or 2011. Directions will be posted at the current location when the move takes place.

A number of travel agencies can book you on trips around the region and throughout the country. Among the better known are Chiltepe Tours, Rainbow Travel Center, Vision Travel, and Turansa. One of the best is Antigua Tours, run by independent guide and longtime resident Elizabeth Bell. It offers all sorts of personalized trips, from walking tours of Antigua (daily except Sunday) to a tour of the traditional villages around Antigua, to excursions to Lake Atitlán, Chichicastenango, and Tikal. Guatemala Deaf Tours' name is self-explanatory: it conducts signed tours of the region for hearing-impaired visitors.

A number of fincas (farms) in the hills around Antigua offer tours. Finca Los Nietos and Finca Filadelfia, both coffee plantations, and Finca Valhalla, a macadamia farm, are southwest of the city.

Information

INGUAT 4 Calle Oriente, interior of Casa Jaulón, Antigua, 03001. 7832-0763.

Tour companies

Adrenalina 7832-1108. www.adrenalinatours.com.

Antigua Tours 7832-5821. www.antiguatours.net.

Chiltepe Tours 5709-0913.

Guatemala Deaf Tours 5186-1708 for text messages. www.guatemaladeaftours.com.

Rainbow Travel Center 7832-4202. www.rainbowtravelcenter.com.

Turansa 7832-4691. www.turansa.com.

Vision Travel 7832-3293. www.guatemalainfo.com.