I hiked an active volcano in Guatemala without taking any PTO days

Guatemala · Long weekend · 0 PTO days

Memorial Day Weekend 2024. Friday night flight after work. Saturday spent hiking. Sunday sunrise on the summit of a volcano. Home by Monday night, and at my desk Tuesday morning. I did not use a single vacation day, and the whole thing cost me $369.

Here is my full story of my first side quest.

0 PTO $369 all in 3 nights Solo

Why I went

Two years ago, I started my first job after grad. I was living in New York City, getting accustomed to the new cyclical nature of life engulfed by the hustle and bustle. Doomscrolling away at night as we all do, I was living vicariously through a screen. One of the imaginary lives the algorithm sold me showed an up-close encounter with an erupting volcano. It felt raw, prehistoric, almost otherworldly. I bookmarked it, unintentionally asking for more.

When the same volcano popped up a second time, my curiosity spiked. I opened up the comments to see what I could learn. Guatemala… Volcán Acatenango… hiking tours… I noted all of this somewhere in the back of my mind. Probably labeled “trips in a different life”. Then Memorial Day weekend came around. I was deciding between proposed plans with friends in Long Island or down the Jersey Shore when a spark of spontaneity hit me: Maybe I should leave the country!

The schedule that made it work

Memorial Day weekend does the heavy lifting here — the Monday is a holiday, so the long weekend gives you three days without any PTO.

Friday, 5:00 PM — left work, went straight to JFK. Flight to Guatemala City departed at 7:00 PM.

Friday, 10 PM — landed in Guatemala City. 5-hour flight where Guatemala is 2 hours behind NY. I did not arrange any transportation, planning to take a taxi with cash from an ATM. However, I was lucky enough to run into a small group of fellow travelers (easily identifiable by their backpacks) who had a shuttle taking them to their hostel.

Saturday, 6 AM — Meet at the tour company office in town for orientation followed by breakfast. 1-hour drive into the mountains to mentally prepare for the upcoming hike. The hike starts around 10 AM. We arrived at Base Camp around 4 PM, making it almost 6 hours of the stair master’s master.

Sunday, 4 AM — Early alarm for those who want to make the summit push. Another grueling 90 minutes of vertical climb and slight scrambling to be rewarded by a breathtaking (pun intended) sunrise. Descend to base camp as the volcano continues to erupt beside you for breakfast with the rest of the group before heading down to the base of the mountain and back to Antigua by noon.

Sunday, 3 PM — Check into hostel with new friends met on the volcano. Guatemalan local stewed chicken for dinner. Walk around the town square before bunking up for much needed rest.

Monday, 9 AM — Explore Antigua. Cute cafes, handcrafted shops, ancient architecture, street vendors, and the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world.

Monday, 4 PM — Shuttle back to the Guatemala City airport for a 7 PM flight while still trying to process the last 3 days. Aisle seat for 5 hours to land back in New York City. Maybe my eye bags were swelling a bit extra when I showed up in the office on Tuesday morning, but the memories were more than worth it.

What it cost

Everything, in USD. I just brought some clothes in a backpack; everything else was waiting there for me

And if you don’t believe me on the cost of the flight… here is my receipt. Booked the day before.

The hike

I would highly recommend coming prepared. Base camp sits at around 3,600 meters after 1,500 meters of elevation gain. That is no joke. Plenty of people turn back down the mountain. You do get small breaks to catch your breath, but the hike feels endless on the volcanic ash, where you fall a step backwards after every two steps forward. You get a 30-minute lunch break around 1 for the sandwiches prepared by the tour company before continuing the climb. It won’t be much, but anything works at that point in the hike. There are snack shacks along the trek up, and a cold, crispy Coca-Cola might be life-saving.

What to bring

Your backpack will feel 3x heavier on the mountain, but all the layers you packed will be worth it because it’s freezing and windy at the top. Hiking poles will definitely help; some tour companies offer them, and some don’t, so do your research. Footwear doesn’t matter too much because there is nothing for your shoes to grip onto, but wear something comfortable and something you might not mind throwing out afterwards.

The night at base camp

My tour group had little wooden huts with enough room for 6 sleeping bags and a window. The sleeping situation is not glorious but gets the job done, especially when you can look outside to see an active volcano erupting throughout the night. The weather is unpredictable in these climates, as clouds converge over the peak of the volcano, but you have the best chance of clear views during the hours before dawn. This is something that I think everyone should see once in their lifetime. It’s hard to explain what it feels like, but it’s nature in its most authentic form. Nothing man can do to stop that volcano from erupting. No wifi, no outlets, just pure wilderness.

The summit, and the way down

The sunrise summit portion of the hike is optional, but if you’re able to, you should. You already made it this far up the mountain; the peak is just a little higher. The immense feeling of reaching the top, paired with the most beautiful colors in the backdrop of an erupting volcano. And if you thought nothing could make the moment better, wild dogs will be playing on the crater rim like it’s their backyard.

The way down the mountain is much easier, but I will warn you it is steep and dusty. Lots of people lost their footing and took a tumble (I slipped and banged my knee into a tree. Ouch).

The Fuego add-on

There is also an optional hike to the ridgeline of Volcán de Fuego for $40. This is the volcano that is actually erupting, and it gives you an up-close and personal meeting with the magma mountain. It happens shortly after arriving at base camp. Technically, this extra hike is frowned upon by the government due to dangerous conditions (there is a slight chance of a massive eruption and getting flying lava rocks thrown at you; look online for videos). It’s also an extra 4 hours of hiking with no guarantee of seeing the volcano, even though you’re up close. Clouds can be a pain in the neck.

Unfortunately, I was completely out of gas by the time we made it to base camp, so there was no way for me to descend and ascend and descend and ascend again. Fortunately for me, the group that went to Fuego did not see a thing, and to add insult to injury, they were also too exhausted to summit the next morning. (Back at the hostels, I heard stories from plenty of people who did Fuego and the summit. I was in awe, to say the least.)

Genuinely the hardest physical activity I have ever done, coming from a college basketball player that hated conditioning.

I went alone because nobody would come

When I got the idea to go to Guatemala, I asked everyone and anyone if they wanted to come. I got two answers: I already have plans or, in one case, I can’t just go to Guatemala on such short notice. This was their loss, because these are now the same people who tell me they wish they could travel like me. I wasn’t necessarily excited to be doing this alone, but I was excited to be doing it. My first solo adventure, a blessing in disguise.

Hostel culture is the closest thing to a storybook welcoming community I have ever felt. You learn quickly that while you are traveling in a party of one, you are never actually doing it alone. People from all over the globe will happen to be in the same country, city, and even hostel as you. You book an adventure, and you meet people from another hostel in your group, and then their friends, and then the other hostels, and the idea of traveling alone doesn’t seem so lonely. If you want to make new friends, they are there, and if you want time to yourself, that is there too. Solo travel allows you to learn so much about yourself (A story for another time).

What I got wrong

Try to spend more time in Guatemala if you can. I quickly realized that 3 days isn’t enough. Guatemala is a beautiful country with amazing culture, delicious food, and great adventure. Hearing stories and seeing pictures of Lake Atitlán made me really consider changing my flight and taking some PTO. I also wish I were able to do the extra Fuego hike to see the volcano up close. Also, pro tip: get extra cash out of the ATM. On the mountain, everything is paid in cash. And cash is always a cool souvenir to bring home! I will definitely be back.

What it started

A chain reaction. This was my first trip as an independent adult, and once I realized how attainable travel was, I couldn’t get enough. Especially with the ease of going from NYC to Central America, this trip led me to explore Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras, and hopefully the rest of the nearby countries. Now, I make it a priority in my life whenever I get the chance. All it takes is a 6-hour flight and saving on a couple of nights out with friends to start experiencing the beauty that the world has to offer.