A Complete Guide for Visiting Semuc Champey in 2024
Have you ever heard of Semuc Champey in Guatemala? Well, if you haven't then you're in for a treat.
Imagine turquoise pools nestled in a lush jungle, surrounded by a variety of fun activities, away from the chaos of the big cities.
Semuc Champey is a true slice of paradise, and makes for the perfect weekend getaway. We're here to share all of the details for visiting, so that you too can have an incredible trip like we did.
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📍 Where is Semuc Champey in Guatemala?
Semuc Champey is located in the middle of the jungle in Central Guatemala. It's right outside of Lanquin, a small town in the mountains of Alta Verapaz.
🗺 Map of Semuc Champey
Here is some general info and the map for when you arrive at Semuc Champey.
Ways to Get to Semuc Champey
Now that you know where Semuc Champey is, let's go over the different options for how to get to Semuc Champey in Guatemala.
🚌 How Many Ways to Get to Semuc Champey are There?
There are a number of ways to get to Semuc Champey. Depending on where you are coming from and what your itinerary looks like in Guatemala will have an impact of the best decision to make when it comes to your transportation options.
✈️ What is the Closest Airport to Semuc Champey?
The closest airport to Semuc Champey is Guatemala City Airport, which is about 300 km away from Semuc Champey, and takes around 7 hours by car.
🚗 Can You Drive to Semuc Champey?
Yes! We actually rented a car from Cancun to visit Guatemala, and did the drive to Semuc Champey.
🛣 Is Semuc Champey Worth the Drive?
While it's a long drive, and some of the roads aren't great, driving to Semuc Champey is worth the drive if you are traveling with a few people, want to be flexible with time, or are doing a long trip including the surrounding countries like we did.
If you plan on just having one home base, are traveling solo, or are not comfortable driving on rocky roads, then we'd recommend getting the overnight shuttle, or taking a tour to Semuc Champey in Guatemala.
How Do I Get from Guatemala City to Semuc Champey?
You can get from Guatemala City to Semuc Champey by either renting a car, taking an overnight shuttle bus, or by taking an organized tour.
Guatemala City is the easiest place to rent a car in the country, as there are many options. While it's not 100% necessary, we do recommend getting a high clearance vehicle, as the road to Semuc Champey wasn't in the greatest shape when we visited.
🗣 Can You Go to Semuc Champey Without a Guide?
Semuc Champey can easily be visited on your own! We were actually pretty deceived by this, as all of the top-ranking travel blogs with info on Semuc Champey took tours - and while taking a tour is a great option, it's not the only one.
Doing a tour is great when you want everything included, without having to worry. If you don't have a lot of time in Guatemala and want to visit Semuc Champey, then going on a tour is ideal and much more hassle-free.
Don't worry though- if you DO want to go on your own, we'll break it down for you later in this article.
How to Get from Antigua to Semuc Champey
Antigua is the most popular place to visit Semuc Champey from, and is a 9-12 hour drive away.
Here are the options for how to get from Antigua to Semuc Champey:
🚌 Take a shared van (colectivo)
🚕 Go on an organized tour (2-3 days round trip)
How Do I Get From Lake Atitlan to Semuc Champey?
Semuc Champey is about 300 km away from Lake Atitlan's east side, and about 325 km away from Lake Atitlan's west side, both of which are a 9 hour drive away.
Here are the options for how to get from Lake Atitlan to Semuc Champey:
🚌 Take a shared van (colectivo)
🚎 Take an organized shuttle one-way or round trip
🚕 Go on an organized tour
How to Get from Rio Dulce to Semuc Champey
Rio Dulce is 180 km east of Semuc Champey, and takes about 6 hours driving.
Here are the options for the journey:
🚗 Rent a car from Rio Dulce (we recommend a 4x4)
🚌 Take a local bus: Rio Dulce - El Estor - Panzos - Cahabon - Lanquin (the cheapest option, which takes around 9 hours)
🚕 Hire a private transfer (this is the priciest, but most convenient)
How to Get to Semuc Champey from Tikal
Is There a Bus From from Tikal to Semuc Champey? This is the most common questions out there, as it's another top attraction in Guatemala.
Tikal is 8 1/2 hours driving north of Semuc Champey, and the closest city is Flores, which is an hour and a half closer.
Here are the options for getting to Semuc Champey from Tikal:
🚗 Rent a car from Flores (there are shuttles to Flores from Tikal)
🚌 Take a shared van (colectivo) from Flores (shuttle from Tikal to Flores first)
🚕 Go on an organized tour
🚐 Shuttles from Semuc Champey
If you're going with the flow and don't have your transportation booked leaving Semuc Champey, you can organize with your hotel one of the shuttles leaving at 7 am daily:
- Semuc Champey to Antigua: Q 250
- Semuc Champey to Flores: Q 250
- Semuc Champey to Panajachel Q 300
- Semuch Champey to Coban: Q 100
Time Table & Price for Semuc Champey, Guatemala
Here is all the info you need for entering Semuc Champey in Guatemala:
🕘 What Time Does Semuc Champey Open?
Semuc Champey opens at 8:00 AM and the ticket office is open until 4:00 PM. You can stay inside the park until 4:30 pm, and enjoy the river outside of the park 24/7.
Re-entry is allowed, so if you want to leave for lunch and go back in Semuc Champey park after, that's totally fine.
💵 How Much is the Entrance Fee to Semuc Champey?
The entrance fee for Semuc Champey is 50 Quetzales for foreigners, 25 Quetzales for locals, and 10 Quetzales for local students. This includes the entrance to the viewpoint and the pools.
The cave and waterfall are actually located on another private property, that charges 60 Quetzales as an entry fee. This includes your guide for the cave (which is mandatory), and although you can of course leave a tip, it's not necessary.
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Amenities at Semuc Champey, Guatemala
Now that you are ready to go to Semuc Champey, let's quickly go over the amenities in and around the park, so you can plan your trip accordingly.
📶 Cell Service & Wifi at Semuc Champey
Inside the park of Semuc Champey there isn't any cell service, or Wifi!
You can find Wifi at one of the two hostels that are right next to the park, which both have restaurants. It's not the strongest, but it allows you to use basic internet while there.
🚽 Bathrooms at Semuc Champey
There are bathrooms right outside the park entrance of Semuc Champey, and also another set that are after the fork of the viewpoint and the pools.
👗 Changing Rooms at Semuc Champey
Right after the fork for the viewpoint and the pools there are changing rooms on the left side walking towards the pools.
🚿 Showers at Semuc Champey
There are no showers at the park, but there are showers right outside the entrance. Keep in mind that there is not hot water at Semuc Champey!
🗝 Lockers at Semuc Champey
Located right next to the pools are lockers at Semuc Champey and they are free of charge. You'll have to bring your own lock though.
🍴 Restaurants at Semuc Champey
There are no restaurants or kiosks to get food or drinks inside the park of Semuc. Champey. However, there is a restaurant right at the entrance of the park, and you can also eat at one of the two lodges that are just minutes walking from Semuc Champey.
If you're looking for a beer or snack, the locals also have got you covered! It'll be hard to miss them, as they all line up at the bridge and will insist on selling to you.
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Semuc Champey in Guatemala: How to Spend the Perfect Day
When we finally got to Semuc Champey after an intense drive, we looked up the closest hotels in the area. While there are a lot of hotels in Lanquin that seem just a few kilometers away, it's important to note that the hotels in Lanquin are actually about 45 minutes away driving.
We arrived at our hotel and went straight to sleep, ready to start the day early.
When we woke up we had breakfast and planned to go to the park as soon as they opened. We ended up having a slower morning than we thought, and weren't ready to leave the hotel until 9 AM, which is when the tour groups all start going in.
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👨👩👧👦 Is Semuc Champey Busy?
Honestly, after visiting so many cenotes in Mexico, we were stressed imagining the hoards of tours that would be flooding the place.
Luckily, due to the location of Semuc Champey in Guatemala, it wasn't even close to being as crowded as we had imagined. There were just a few tour groups, each of which had 5-10 people max.
We did go during the slow season, so if you are going in the high season, you may experience it a bit more crowded, but not enough to not be able to enjoy your own space.
📍 Arriving at Semuc Champey
Upon entering Semuc Champey, you'll have to cross a yellow bridge. You'll see two different parking lots, one right after the bridge, and one just a minute away that is the official parking lot. The first lot charges Q5 and the official lot charges Q10.
As we stayed in one of the few hotels right next to Semuc Champey, we opted to leave our car in the hostel's parking lot and walk there, which was just 10 minutes.
Right before the official entrance you'll have a few groups of people selling things on the streets such as food, drinks, bathing suits, and water shoes.
Next to the parking lot is a set of free bathrooms you can use, and signs with useful information for the park.
🎫 Entering Semuc Champey Park in Guatemala
The ticket booth is pretty basic, and entry must be paid in cash. Hold onto your ticket in case you want to leave the park and re-enter later.
Once you get your ticket there is a trail on your right-hand side. This path goes down to a view of the river and just takes 5 minutes. The woman working there wasn't impressed with it, so we honestly just decided to skip it.
Keep walking down the path and in just a few minutes you'll find a fork. If you go straight you'll arrive at the pools in just 500 meters, or you can take the stairs up the the viewpoint on the left.
👀 The Semuc Champey Mirador
If you've seen any pictures of Semuc Champey Guatemala on Instagram, then chances are it was of the iconic viewpoint, or "mirador".
We opted to do this first, as it was a bit cooler in the morning, and it made the pools all that much more rewarding.
To get there you'll be climbing up stairs, with a few resting areas in between. We had just come from hiking Acatenango the day before, and were feeling quite rough, so took it much slower than we typically do.
We read most people take 30-45 minutes, but even at our slower-than-normal pace, we got up there in a little under 30 minutes, and got down in about 15.
The viewpoint is a platform jutting over the pools, and you can get a picture like the one below simply by walking up on the side of it.
💦 The Pools of Semuc Champey in Guatemala
Semuc Champey, Guatemala's claim to fame is its pools, and while the photos from above are beautiful, swimming in the pools is the true highlight of the visit.
You can either reach the pools from a path straight from the viewpoint, or you can go from the fork we mentioned earlier (the path from the viewpoint was under construction when we visited).
After just a few minutes walking you'll be greeted by gorgeous turquoise pools and small cascades falling around them.
The water is at a perfectly refreshing temperature without being too cold, and the water coming down from the small falls are actually slightly warmer, making this an incredibly perfect combo.
After jumping into the first set of pools we continued along the wooden planks onto the higher area of pools, and here is where you can find lockers, a small dock, and plenty of area to swim and relax.
You'll notice that splitting the river is a long string. This is there to block off half the river. This is because there have been rocks falling from the side of the mountain, so it's fenced off to keep people safe.
Past the locker section you'll see another path of wooden boards, and a sign that says "sumidero" which is just 95 meters away.
This is where the water goes underneath the ground. I went to go check it out, and honestly there's not much to see. However, I did see that this is where the path coming from the mirador ends up.