I hiked Acatenango & Fuego Volcano as part of my trip to Guatemala in December 2025.
This is my detailed review of the hike and my tour with Lava Trails, including what the hike actually feels like, including what to expect at base camp, food quality, bathroom situation, crowds, difficulty, and what I’d recommend bringing.
The Lava Trails Acatenango Experience
7am – 10am: Pickup & Prep
- Pick up in Antigua after an included breakfast at Kaldi & Kapra Coffee House. Breakfast consists of a small plate of eggs, beans, toast, and weak coffee – In my opinion, not enough calories for the long day ahead.
- 1 hour shuttle ride to Lava Trails’ supply center to grab gear and water and get introduced to our guides. We spent about an hour at the supply center.
- At the supply center, there is an option to “hire a porter” to carry your pack (the guides also double as porters). The extra cost to hire a porter depends on the weight of your pack. You may also be strongly recommended or required to hire a porter if a guide sees you struggling too much on the way up.
- Short (5-10 min) shuttle to the Acatenango trailhead.
10am – 3:30pm: Hiking to Acatenango Base Camp (5–5.5 hours)
- The hike to base camp is about 4 miles (~6.5km) and 5,000 ft (~1,500m) gain.
- I would rate this section as moderate: The trail steep in parts, but the pace of the group was slow and there were lots of built-in breaks.
- For me, the hardest part of the ascent was hiking with a heavy pack on your back.
- My pack weighed ~25 lbs (6L of water, layers, lunch that they provide, extra food I carried). I had a camera outside the pack, which added another 2–3 lbs.
- The tour recommends that you carry 4L of water, with 1L of that water required for cooking.
- The group size for the tour I chose was 20 people, and we had to follow an overall group pace. You must always stay with a guide and are not allowed to hike on your own.
- During the ascent, there were plenty of pit toilets on the way, but there is no toilet paper and no doors.
- The trail can get very crowded, leading to short moments of standstill traffic, especially when multiple tours converge. This also contributes to the slow pace of the ascent.
- Lava Trails provided us with a lunch of chicken, rice, and vegetables, which we were required to carry in our packs. The lunch was surprisingly decent.
- Tip: Don’t use the tupperware they provide to carry the lunch – Use a Ziploc bag to reduce pack weight.
4:20pm – 8:30pm: Optional Fuego Volcano Hike (200 Q)
We headed out towards Fuego from base camp at 4:20pm.
- To get to Fuego, first you descend 2,300ft (~700m) on loose sand and gravel, then climb another 2,000ft+ (~700m) straight up Fuego (also on loose sand, rock, and gravel), all in about 1.5 miles (~2.5km).
- The downhill is slippery, and volcanic rock gets into your shoes unless you wear pants that cover the top of your hiking shoes.
- The uphill part of the trail is extremely crowded and narrow.
- We arrived at the Fuego viewpoint about 10 minutes after sunset, but saw multiple big Fuego eruptions, which look the coolest after dark.
- The return hike is difficult:
- Descent is slippery and there is lots of traffic heading both ways (some groups hike up to Fuego in the dark).
- The climb back up to base camp was objectively the hardest part of the entire experience (“one step forward, two steps back”).
After returning, we were welcomed with hot chocolate and dinner (pasta with tomato & meat sauce). Dinner tasted pretty good but the portion was small, and there wasn’t much sauce. After dinner, some people from the group roasted marshmallows around the fire and then headed to bed to prepare for an early wakeup.
8:30pm – 4:15am: Rest at Camp
Camp Conditions
- There were two cabins, sleeping 10 people each, in a mix of single and double beds (you choose single vs. double when you book the tour).
- The cabin itself gets cold at night, but the provided sleeping bags are very warm. In addition to the sleeping bag, everyone gets a blanket and a pillow, and extra blankets can be provided on request.
- Cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows that face Fuego, so you can see the explosions while inn bed.
- The cabin creaks loudly all night, making sleep difficult. I slept ~3 hours.
- The camp has a pit toilet only (there are no camps with full toilets or running water), located about 3 minutes from camp. Toilet paper ran out overnight. Smell from the pit toilet got worse as time went on, and was pretty bad by the morning we started our descent.
4:15am – 7:30am: Acatenango Sunrise Summit
- The sunrise hike departs from base camp at 4:15am.
- Steep, but much shorter and much easier than Fuego.
- The trail is rocky with some loose sections. The trail is crowded as many tours offer the sunrise summit hike.
- The 360° sunrise view at the summit is beautiful.
- If your main goal is to see Fuego’s eruptions along with a sunrise view, the view from base camp is just as good. The “additional” view at Acatenango summit is a view over the volcanoes and mountains in the other direction, and a view from Fuego from above.
- Descent from Acatenango was quick, and once I learned how to run downhill on the loose rock, it was quite fun (put the weight on your heels).
Breakfast was oatmeal and instant coffee or tea – Not very filling, but a nice meal to start the day.
8am – 10am: Descent Back to the Trailhead
- This was my least favorite part of the hike. Constant downhill for ~2 hours, slippery terrain, very painful as your toes are basically hitting the front of your boots constantly.
- After the descent, we shuttled back to the supply center to settle extra costs and return rentals before returning to Antigua.
What to Wear and Bring
- Clothing:
- Layers are crucial, as the start of the hike is hot, and the mountain (especially the summit) gets very cold at night.
- I wore a base layer, merino wool layer, fleece, small puffer, and winter shell.
- I wore one layer of pants for most of the hike, and wore an additional base layer of pants for Acatenango summit. I strongly recommend wearing pants that cover the opening of your hiking shoes, to prevent rocks from filling your shoes when hiking to Fuego or Acatenango summit.
- I also recommend gloves, a hat for sun, and a hat for the cold, long socks and hiking boots, sunglasses, and a gaiter / mask to cover your nose and mouth from dust.
- Layers are crucial, as the start of the hike is hot, and the mountain (especially the summit) gets very cold at night.
- Extra food & snacks: Lava Trails provided generally small food portions.
- Toilet paper.
- Trekking poles (Can be rented from tour company, they cost 60Q at Lava Trails).
- Headlamp (Rental included in the price of the tour).
Overall Verdict: Lava Trails Acatenango & Fuego Hike
What Lava Trails Does Well
- Highly professional and organized.
- Guides are funny, friendly, encouraging, and extremely experienced.
- Clear info shared beforehand about costs and schedule.
- Group members were respectful, friendly, and generally fit – Everyone made it to at least base camp with no issues. Some people took great photos and even shared them with the group afterwards.
- Warm sleeping bags, great view of Fuego from base camp.
- Responsive on WhatsApp.
- Open to feedback – they asked for suggestions at the end.
What Could Be Improved
- Shuttles ran a bit late, and there was a long wait at the supply center before returning to Antigua afterward.
- Following a group pace can be frustrating.
- Food is decent, but there wasn’t a ton.
- Very crowded trails.
- Dusty conditions and primitive toilets.
- 75% of the payment is cash-only, so you have to withdraw a lot of quetzales (or pay extra in USD, as the tour company exchanges it afterwards).
Final Thoughts
I would consider the Acatenango & Fuego hike a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I 100% recommend doing it, and also something I’d only want to do once. Lava Trails was an excellent tour operator, and I’d absolutely recommend them for the tour!
ADJENTURING 