Acatenango volcano hike is one of the most incredible travel experiences in Guatemala and Central America. But it is also a daunting challenge. On this hike, you climb up a 13,044 feet high volcano, gaining almost 5,000 feet in elevation in just a few hours. You are also exposed to varying weathers, temperatures ranging from warm or hot to almost freezing cold. Needless to say, you need good planning and preparation to experience this hike safely. One of the essential steps towards that is the packing for Acatenango hike.
In this post, we list everything you will need to bring for the Acatenango hike. At the end, we have also included a checklist (yes, it is free!) that you can save to your device and refer to it while you pack for your trip.
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What to expect from Acatenango Volcano Hike and how to plan your own adventure:
- Acatenango Volcano Hiking Experience: Read our first-hand account
- Volcano hiking tour with English speaking guides: Check this tour
- Where to stay for the Volcano Hike: Browse hotels in Antigua
- Where to shop for your Acatenango Packing List: Amazon
- How to get around in Guatemala: Rent a car
- What else to do in Antigua Guatemala: Read this
If you prefer video content over reading, check out our YouTube video of the Acatenango Volcano Hike experience.
Do You Need to Bring Everything Yourself for the Acatenango Hike?
Many Acatenango overnight tour operators include gear rental in their tour price, while others assign rental cost separately to each item. So, check with your tour provider beforehand, what you need to bring and what you can rent from them, and if the rental price is already included in the overall tour price.
The companies usually offer winter gear (jackets, winter pants, gloves, caps), backpacks, walking sticks/trekking poles, flashlights and batteries. We feel it is the most comfortable if you bring your own gear, but no harm in renting too. On our Acatenango hike, Indranil and I carried most of our own winter clothing, and only rented fleece gloves, walking sticks and flashlights with extra batteries.
Traveling on Indian Passports? Read this article about everything you need to know about the visa requirements for Guatemala.
Luggage for Acatenango Hike
- 55 liters backpack: You will need a proper rucksack with good back support and belts. Acatenango is a long and steep hike, and you will need to carry all your winter layers and accessories, drinking water, food and other personal items. Based on the tour company you are choosing, you may need to carry your tent, sleeping mattress and sleeping bag too. Depending on whether you need to carry the tent and sleeping equipment, the tour company will ask you to get a 55 liter or 45 liter backpack.
Product Recommendations: Despite the price tag, Osprey has been a trusted name for very long in the world of luggage. For lightweight options which are easy to carry, check Osprey Exos 58 Ultralight Backpack for Men, and Osprey Eja 58 Ultralight Backpack for Women. Both are available in 2 different color options and 2 different sizes. However, if you are looking for budget options, check the Teton Sports Scout Internal Frame Backpack 55 L. This one is available in several different color options.
Tip 1: For the rest of your luggage, you can either keep it at the luggage room of the tour office or leave it with your hotel or hostel in Antigua Guatemala. Do NOT bring your entire luggage for the Acatenango hike.
Tip 2: If you do not feel comfortable carrying a heavy backpack for a long and steep uphill hike, check with your tour provider if a porter can be arranged.
If you are going for Acatenango hike, you will be spending some time in Antigua Guatemala, both before and after the hike. To plan your travel days in that beautiful colonial town, check out this post on the best things to do in Antigua Guatemala.
Wearables for Acatenango Hike
Since, you will be going through various weathers from hot to cold to hot, you will need to dress in layers.
We have split this section into 3 parts, based on what you will need to wear at the start of the hike, and what you need to carry in terms of clothing and other weather gear.
To Wear
- Underwear: Self explanatory.
- Dry-fit t-shirt: Wear a quick dry t-shirt that soaks the sweat during the initial warmer part of the hike.
- Dry-fit hiking pants: Wear dry-fit full length hiking pants that allow you ease of walking. During the two days of Acatenango hike, your leg muscles will work the most. So it is important to wear something that makes walking uphill or downhill comfortable. We like convertible pants in moisture wicking fabric, like this one for men, or this one for women.
- Socks 1 pair: Regular socks should be fine for the day hikes.
- Hiking boots: This is the most important part of what you will be wearing for the hike. You need proper hiking shoes, that have already been broken in. Sneakers or running shoes just do not cut it. We have seen some people use regular sneakers for the Acatenango hike. But these do not provide the required level of friction as hiking boots do. Make sure, your hiking shoes have good grip and strong ankle support. Check out the brands Solomon and Merrell, they have good reputation of making sturdy hiking shoes.
Weather Gear: Clothes
- Dry-fit t-shirt (extra): Pack an extra quick dry t-shirt, in case you want to change into fresh clothes after reaching base camp on Acatenango. We did carry one each, but did not need them, and it was too cold at base camp to change clothes! However, we suggest you pack in one, in case you need it. A small quick dry t-shirt anyway weighs light and does not take up too much space.
- Thermal Layers – Top & Bottom: This is critical. You will need thermal layers, both top and pants, to create your first protective layer for battling the cold. You need to put these on soon after reaching basecamp. For highly rated, climate pledge friendly, small business brands, check this set for men and this one for women. For both, you will find different colors, size and style options for neckline. If I were you, I would pick the crewneck style for Acatenango hike, for maximum coverage.
- Light jacket: Carry a light jacket for cool winds and light cold. Do not put this in the backpack. Carry it instead. When we started from Antigua Guatemala on a December morning, we needed the jacket. Took it off almost immediately after the steep uphill hike started. Then needed to put that on again when passing through the coniferous forest region in the afternoon.
- Waterproof/ water-resistant winter jacket: Get a very good warm winter jacket. This will be your outermost layer, that is the final shield against the cold. You will wear this on top of the thermal layers and the light jacket. It is best to get a water resistant or waterproof jacket to prevent moisture from soaking in.
Weather Gear: Other Essentials
- Winter socks 1 pair: Carry 1 pair of winter socks that you can put on after reaching the base camp. For the evening, night and early morning summit hike, we wore our hiking socks on top of the normal socks. Yes, 2 pairs of socks and we are glad that we did that.
- Bandanas: Each of us used 1 bandana for covering our necks (and sometimes half of our faces) and another bandana as the first layer to cover our head.
- Beanie cap: Warm cap, woolen or fleece to keep your head warm. For the night and the early morning, I used beanie cap as the second layer of head gear, over the bandana and under the hood of the jacket. On other occasions, just the beanie cap sufficed. Check this pair of unisex beanies or this reversible one in more colorful choices, with one side in solid color and the other side with stripes.
- Gloves: Very important! Our fingers went numb every time we had to take the gloves to take a photo or video.
- Raincoat/ Rain poncho: Definitely needed during the rainy season. But do carry it irrespective of the season. We had ours in the backpacks but thankfully did not need. Check out this unisex rain poncho to get ideas and navigate to find more similar products.
Do you also have Costa Rica on your Central America trip route? Check out this comprehensive Costa Rica packing list for a comfortable vacation. This one also has a FREE checklist!
Food for Acatenango Hike
- Water 3-4 liters: It is recommended to carry 3-4 liters of drinking water per person. You will need to carry it yourself and this will add significant weight to your backpack. But you cannot skip this part, because there are absolutely no sources of water on the Acatenango hike trail.
- Snacks: The tour companies offering Acatenango overnight hike usually include 3 or 4 meals in their tour price. But they still recommend you to carry snacks so that you can keep fueling yourself during this demanding hike. We carried cereal bars with chocolate chips and trail mix. But we brought back most of those snacks that we carried as the food provided by our tour company (Soy Tours) was very good and more than filling. Some other snacks you can carry are chocolates and apples.
Read this article on Best Places to Visit in Guatemala for planning your trip in this beautiful country.
Electronics for Acatenango Hike
- Mobile phone: You may or may not have network at the top, but you would not want to miss out on the photo opportunities. From beautiful valley vistas to lush forests to volcano eruptions, every moment of the Acatenango hike, you will have memories to capture. Whether you bring your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S or Google Pixel, do not forget your mobile phone.
- Portable charger + Charging cable: If the phone is being used so much for photos and videos over a period of 2 days, you will probably need to charge it too. But there is no source of electricity on the Acatenango hiking trail, nor at the base camp. So, to make sure you can actually charge your phone, carry a portable charger. Do not forget the charging cable! Check out this popular 2-pack portable charger compatible with several devices. Consider this Belkin power bank for compatibility with iPhones (12 onwards), Google Pixel and other devices.
- Flexible tripod for mobile: If you like shooting time-lapses with your mobile, get a flexi tripod for mobile. We use the Joby Gorillapod Mobile Rig for this.
- Camera + Lens: If you are enthusiast about photography, you would want to bring your camera and lens. Yes, all the photography equipment will add a few extra pounds to your backpack weight. But the Fuego volcano eruptions are too magnificent not to be captured on camera. In that darkness of the night, mobile phone camera may not do justice to the spectacular sights of volcano eruptions with lava flows. We carried our Nikon mirrorless camera and Nikkor lenses.
- Tripod for camera: For long exposure shots and time-lapse videos, you will need a good tripod for your camera. We use the easy-to-pack and light weight Peak Design Travel Tripod. They have two options in materials, one aluminum tripod and the other one, carbon fiber tripod.
Check out this YouTube video about the Fuego volcano eruptions that we witnessed on the Acatenango volcano hike. Subscribe to our channel for more travel videos.
Accessories & Personal Items for Acatenango Hike
In this section, we will list the small but important personal items which often get missed during packing.
Personal Items
- Toilet Paper: There are limited spots on the Acatenango trail where you will find a bathroom, and then there will be one at the base camp. But these all have rustic dry toilets (no flush toilets). And you will find nothing else inside these dark wooden rooms. In fact, while walking on the trail, couple of people in our group chose to do their business in the bushes instead of these dark rooms with smelly no flush toilets. Either way, you will need your toilet paper.
- Deodorant: The Acatenango hike involves getting dirt and sweat on you. A deodorant can be your friend.
- Sunscreen: Apply sunscreen and beat the tropical sun! This sweat-resistant SPF 70 sunscreen is a good option for outdoor activities. You can also check this reef safe SPF 40 sunscreen with natural ingredients.
- Mouthwash: Brushing your teeth at Acatenango volcano would be a luxury as there is no running water and you will also be limited on the drinking water availability. So, to feel fresh after meals or in the morning, you can carry a travel size pack of mouthwash.
- Wet wipes for Face: These are my favorite travel articles. A rub of wet wipe on the face makes you feel fresh instantaneously. Also, a great tool to wipe dirt off your hands. Check this pack of wet wipes for face and body, designed specifically for physical workouts and camping.
- Hand Sanitizer: Carry an alcohol based hand sanitizer. Remember, you do not have access to water or soap, so this is great for keeping your hands clean.
- Medical Kit: The tour company will carry the first aid and emergency response kit. But we still recommend you to pack in a few basic personal medicines. We had with us paracetamols, antacids and adhesive bandages.
Accessories
- Sunglasses: The first hour of the hike is under the sun. I had my sunshades on the whole time during that stretch.
- Watch: This is a personal choice. I like to see the miles and hours being tracked on the watch. Some of the reputed brands in the area of smartwatches are Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung Galaxy and Apple Watch.
Hiking Aids for Acatenango Hike
- Walking sticks or trekking poles: Get a walking stick or trekking pole as these will provide additional support while you navigate the steep trail with loose gravel, sand and dirt. We rented one stick each, and they were of great help.
- Flashlight: It is very difficult to navigate the trails without flashlights if you are going for the Acatenango sunrise summit hike. We had not carried any flashlights ourselves but rented the same with extra batteries from our tour company. You will also need the flashlight at night for moving from one area of the camp to other, and inside the tent. Mobile phone flash may still work for the base camp and tent, but for the trail navigation, it is best to keep your hands free off phone. Also, by not using phone flash, you will save the phone battery for taking photos and videos.
Packing for Acatenango Hike: FREE Downloadable Checklist
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Travel Planning Logistics
- Accommodation: For several years now, Booking.com has been our platform of choice for booking accommodation while traveling. You can apply all the desired filters and shortlist the ones that meet your criteria. On continued use, you will keep unlocking their Genius benefits. For long term stays, we use Airbnb. Of late, we have also started browsing Hostelworld for finding hostels.
- Tours: When traveling to new destinations, you can plan ahead and book your activities. Check for highly rated tours on Viator and Get Your Guide.
- Packing: From swimwear to sunscreen, hiking pants to insect repellents, buy your vacation packing essentials on Amazon.
- Flights: We always start our flight searches with Skyscanner and Momondo. They are aggregators that display flight options, compiling information across airlines and combinations. What we like the best about these flight aggregators is that you can put “Anywhere” as your destination, so that you find the best flight deals from your city of departure.
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Hi, I was wondering if you can let me know if hiking shoes with no ankle support it suitable for the trek or if you need hiking boots with proper ankle support? Just wondering what to pack that we will be useful in Costa Rica also. Thanks!
Hi. For Acatenango hike, we would recommend good hiking boots with ankle support as it requires hours of walking. The same pair should work in Costa Rica too as you may be walking on several hiking trails (not as difficult) where closed toed walking shoes are needed.