Panajachel >> Antigua
Currently, there is one direct bus from Pana to Antigua that leaves every day at 11am. In town the buses leave from Calle Principal, near the intersection with Santander, and just down the street (headed toward the lake) from La Parada Restaurant. If you’re in town, follow Santander away from the lake, to where it meets Calle Principal at the bank. Cross over to Calle Principal.
If you don’t make the 11am direct, you can still catch a bus to Chimaltenango to connect to Antigua. Once in Chimaltenango you will walk about a half mile down the road to an intersection where you’ll see buses going to Antigua. Done and done in about 2 hours and $3.20usd (25 quetzales).
Panajachel >> Santiago Atitlan
There are two docks in Panajachel, one heading to Santiago, and the other to San Pedro. To reach Santiago, you’ll want to head to the dock off of Calle de la Playa. You can head toward the lake either on Santander, or the next street over, Avenida Rancho Grande. The docks will be in between the two streets. Here, you’re more likely to encounter offers for private boats than at the San Pedro dock. If that’s not what your looking for, let the guys know you are looking for the publico. None of the boats are marked, so you’ll have to rely on someone pointing out which boat you need to board. Ask other passengers on the boat if you aren’t sure. Sometimes you’ll pay in advance, and sometimes when you arrive. The price should be Q20-Q25.
The boats here leave about every half hour for Santiago, the last one being at 6pm.
Panajachel >> Santa Cruz/Jaibalito/San Marcos/San Juan/San Pedro
At the end of the appropriately named, Calle del Embarcadero, off of Calle Principal, you can find boats headed either directly to San Pedro or a boat that will stop at all the other villages in between. From town, you can take Calle Principal to Embarcadero, or cut across either Calle 14 or 15 off of Santander. (If walking towards the lake, head to your right.) At the dock, you’ll want to ask whether the boat is direct to San Pedro or not, depending on your destination. There should be plenty of people around to help. The cost should be between Q10 and Q25, depending on what your final destination is.
Panajachel >> Quetzaltenango (Xela)
There are direct buses running from Panajachel to “Shey-la”, but don’t wait until late in the day to catch a ride. We were told the last direct bus is at 1pm on weekdays. On Sunday, after being told there were no direct buses, we showed up just in time to catch a 7am direct bus. (Thus reinforcing our belief that figuring out when buses are running is not an easy task.)
If you don’t get a direct bus, you can head to Los Encuentros, which is a significant crossroads for several buses. (Note: If you’re trying to head to the Chichicastenango Market on Sunday and there isn’t a direct bus, you can head to Los Encuentros as well)
Ask any of the buses leaving if they’re stopping in Los Encuentros. Buses to Xela, Chichi and Guate are all options. Otherwise, take the bus to Solola, and you can change buses there for Los Encuentros.
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