Teens hiking retreat, 2025
Complete a bucket list hike up Acatenango Volcano and see lava eruptions up close. Discover villages around Lake Atitlan, eat fresh local food, stay at lakeview accommodations, explore Antigua, Tecpan Iximche Mayan ruins, and engage in cultural activities!
All this while having a profoundly positive impact in our local neighbourhood of Pacucha!
TRIP DATES: Aug 12 - Aug 22, 2025
10 Available Spots
What is included:
6 Nights Accommodations
12 Meals: 5 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches, 3 Suppers
Daily delicious snacks, healthy food, smoothies and refreshments
Camping gear for Volcano Hike
2 Local guides
English speaking hosts and leaders that will be with group for the duration of the trip.
Airport Shuttles
Transportation throughout Guatemala
*HAVING A LOCAL TEEN YOUR AGE JOIN YOU FOR THE CAMP
Adult supervision
Activities:
San Juan walking tour
Lake Atitlan Boat tour
Rostro Maya Sunrise Hike and summit breakfast over the campfire
ATV waterfall tour
Pickup truck ride through villages
Acatenango Hike
WhatsApp group chat leading up to the trip for continual support and questions answered.
What is not included:
Flights
Personal Travel Insurance
(Required)
Gratuity for guides/hotel staff
(10% recommended)
4 meals out while exploring Antigua, Santiago and San Juan
PACKAGE PRICE: $2200
The Full Itinerary
Day 1
August 12, 2025 TUESDAY
Morning
Shuttle pick up in Guatemala City.
Arrive at San Juan accommodations
Settle in, welcome charcuterie snack spread, cultural orientation and schedule review.
Walking tour through San Juan's famously painted streets, including the umbrella street, sombrero street and coffee alley.
Special welcome dinner and introduction of roommates. (See additional info below itinerary)
Day 2
August 13, 2025 WEDNESDAY
Morning
Breakfast at accommodations
Safety orientation
ATV waterfall tour
Lunch Served at Hotel
Afternoon
Games and time to break into small groups for exploring town (with guides)
Evening
Dinner at Accommodations
Bonfire
Day 3
August 14, 2025 THURSDAY
Morning
Early morning wakeup. Meet in kitchen for water and snacks. Sunrise Hike up the iconic Rostro Maya of Lake Atitlan.
Summit and enjoy a campfire breakfast with an incredible view
Pick up truck tour of villages around the west side of Lake Atitlan.
Lunch
Free afternoon for visiting with new local friends and visiting their homes
Live music and pizza
Day 4
August 15, 2025 FRIDAY
Morning
Breakfast served at accommodations
8am
Boat tour of Lake Atitlan stopping in different villages, swimming for those that want to jump off some rocks into the blue water.
Packed picnic Lunch on the boat!
Shopping in different Villages.
Dinner in the town of Santiago at Bambu restaurant on the lake. (Not included)
Day 4
August 16, 2025 SATURDAY
Morning
Breakfast
9:00 head to Antigua in shuttle. Stop in Tecpan Iximche ancient Mayan ruins on the way to Antigua.
Lunch in Tecpan
Orientation with hike guides
Dinner
Early to bed for the big hike the next day!
Day 5
August 17, 2025 SUNDAY
Morning
5 am wake up for the "big hike".
Early breakfast
Pickup snack packs from group leaders ($10-20-30 sizes available)
Hike up Acatenango with stops for lunches and snack breaks.
Arrive at base camp cabin, settle in, enjoy the incredible view.
(Picture of neighbouring volcano from Acatenango base camp!)
Day 6
August 18, 2025 SUNDAY
Morning
Breakfast Hike down
Shuttle back to Antigua Hotel
Afternoon to rest and enjoy some down time in hotel.
Special restaurant final dinner, time to share highlights
Day 7
August 19, 2025 MONDAY
Morning
Breakfast, final good byes to Antigua and all the new friends you have made on this adventure!
Official closing of the event
Shuttles to Guatemala City Airport for flights
What makes this program so special:
This program brings adventure, social responsibility, friendship, community and stewardship all into one neatly wrapped package. A package that you are not only purchasing for yourself, but for an underprivileged Guatemalan teen from our local neighbourhood as well. Price INCLUDES sponsoring a local to attend!
Registered teens that sign up for this are encouraged and given tools to fundraise to facilitate the participation of their sponsored local counterpart. The sponsored teen that you raise funds for, will be put in contact with you to share training progress videos before the trip, and will be your roommate and hiking buddy for the duration of the experience.
How it works: A 50% deposit it taken to reserve your spot and then a fundraising information package will be provided to help raise the other half for your Guatemalan hiking buddy!
Parents: Instilling a healthy world view in your teen is at the heart of this trip.
As trip organizers with several children (5!) of our own, we are committed to making sure Culture Chalk trips are more than just a getaway to "spoil yourself a bit". On the contrary, these are work hard/play hard experiences that by design seek to challenge participants through exposure to new environments in underprivileged neighbourhoods, and local rural Guatemalan homes.
Who can come?
Mature boys and girls aged 15-19 are welcome to come unassisted by a parent. We personally pick up at the airport and all transportation and shuttle details are taken care of with our trusted private chauffeurs. Hotel accommodations will be dorm style with boys on one floor and girls on another.
Children aged 13-15 are welcome if accompanied by a parent. Parents coming will be able to stay in a boutique hotel 5 minutes away and will be welcome to participate in the events organized for a modest cost to cover expenses.
What about safety?
In our years of living in Guatemala, it has proven to be an extremely safe place for us to raise our children. While there are always risks anywhere, the community mindset here and protection of tourism has provided a very safe environment for our family and the cultural immersion events we love to host so much.
We have been hosting guests for 3+ years and have yet to experience an act of violence or theft of any kind. Please review our trip guidelines for further info.
Where you'll be staying while in Guatemala:
The rooms offered in this package boast two double beds and a beautiful east facing view so you enjoy the daily sun rising during your time at Lake Atitlan.
Beautiful views, local decor. You will be paired with the local, Spanish speaking roommate that you helped bring on this experience!
Where you'll be staying while in Antigua:
Each one of the rooms offered in this package have two double beds, you will be paired with your fellow hiker unless you have specifically asked for a private room at an extra charge of $85/night.
Hiking Disclaimer: Acatenango Volcano’s peak is at 13,045 feet. This trip’s itinerary involves hiking 4 steep and challenging miles up on an established trail for 4-6 hours to about 11,800 feet. Those with little experience hiking high altitudes should prepare accordingly and discuss preparation with their doctor. The group will have professional guides with them, along with the Culture Chalk host and group leader. The hikers will take many breaks, and the guide will assess regularly for anyone feeling unwell. Anyone who anticipates that they will be unable or unwilling to complete the hike up Acatenango and then back down the next day should contact us prior to make alternate arrangements in schedule.
Sponsored hikers
The sponsored local participants for this trip are from families we support through our "The Giving Experiment" community initiatives. We have a close relationship with each one of these families. They are our neighbours. We are committed to their long-term growth and wellbeing through the support we offer. The majority of the local participants come from single mother homes and participating in this hike and a camp event like this would otherwise not be a possibility for these teens.
It is our desire to foster bigger-picture world view not only in the minds of our international guests but also in the minds of these local youngsters we have come to love and care about so deeply.
HIKING PACK LIST!
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Head lamp
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Portable charger
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Medications if needed (acetaminophen is recommended to have on hand)
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Electrolyte tabs
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Dry bag (for passports and wallets)
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Walking stick or poles (optional)
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Daypack (10-20 litre capacity)
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Water bottles, 4 litre capacity recommended
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Extra snacks: granola bars, chocolate, nuts.
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Layers of Clothing: Acatenango hike gets gradually colder and colder.
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Mits and beanie
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Hiking shoes
CLOTHES PACK LIST
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7-8 Pairs socks and underwear
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4 Pants
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Comfortable hiking pants
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3 pairs of shorts
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8 shirts/tops
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Toiletries, brush, hair ellastics
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Swimwear
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Sandals -hiking type recommended for versatility
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Sport Bras
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Base layer of thermo-wear
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Jacket AND sweater
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Walking shoes
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Earplugs and headphones
GENERAL INFORMATION
Join us for an incredible 7 night stay of work hard - play hard fun! We are so proud to offer this experience! Once registered, you will be invited to the teens' WhatsApp group party-line where registered guests are posting ideas, preparation hike photos, tips and questions for the hosts to answer. Sponsored Guatemalan hikers will be taught how to use google translate and will be included in the group chat as well.
The hikes:
Acatenango
Distance: 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) return
Elevation Gain: 1,615 meters (5,300 feet)
Top Elevation: 3,976 meters (13,045 feet)
Duration: 7 – 10 hours return
Rostro Maya: (warm up)
Distance to top from San Juan: 4 miles
Top elevation: 2250 metres Hike up 2 hours.
Way down is a scenic pickup truck tour.
Lake Atitlan remains extremely traditional and conservative in nature. Please remember that we are guests and as such we should dress and behave respectfully towards our hosts. Please dress modestly during your time here.
Bringing a small gift is optional but recommended to give to some of the families we support in our community. (Quality socks, non-lingual games (like UNO, a quality decks of cards, Blockus), children's toys or a quality kitchen utensil/gadget.)
As our name Culture Chalk implies, we specialize in Cultural Education. We truly want you to experience the best of Guatemalan culture while representing your own culture with class, sensitivity and objectivity. And trust us, we know it's not always easy when experiencing new things, as good as they may be, they are still different and different can be challenging. We encourage visitors to come with an attitude of loving Guatemala for what it is and not judging it for what it is not.
Guatemala is a vibrant place and roosters crowing, dogs barking, music playing and fireworks being set off at all times of the day is considered normal. Come ready to laugh, dance, sing, and see yourself in a brand new light.
Also... Please bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper! ;)
Our goal as your hosts is for you to leave our place BETTER, in so many ways.
Cultural Immersion Retreats