Antigua · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Cobbles, volcanoes and Spanish schools — Antigua is Central America's cheapest place to stop moving.
Hostels off the Arco
Beds cluster within four blocks of the Calle del Arco and the Parque Central; anything further out is quieter and a little cheaper.
What a day costs
About 180–350 quetzales, roughly $23–45: a dorm 70–130, comedor meals 60–100, chicken buses 10–30, and a coffee more than either.
Chicken buses and shuttles
Old US school buses leave the terminal behind the market for Chimaltenango and the capital for a few quetzales. Tourist shuttles to Atitlán and Lanquín cost more but save a day.
Free by day
The Cerro de la Cruz viewpoint, the Parque Central marimba, and the volcano views down every north–south street cost nothing.
Café No Sé
A dim mezcal bar on 1a Avenida Sur that has been the traveller and expat clearing house for years; the back room is smaller than it looks.