Antigua was one of the highlights of Guatemala for me. It is an unusual city to find in Guatemala. With its old buildings and cobbled streets, it stood out from the other cities we had been to.
Apart from its beauty and originality, Antigua stood out because of the adventure and excitment it provided its visitors. We were offered the trip to Volcan Pacaya (Pacaya Volcano) in almost all of the hotels, hostels or stores we walked past. We could book the trip from the hotel we stayed in and the bus picked us up from the hotel in the morning (we were also dropped back at the same hotel after)
We were provided with a tour guid who was friendly and really made the trip enjoyable aswell as giving great explanations on everything we encountered (the guides will speak in Spanish. it was very rare to find some one who could speak English)
On the bus trip which takes about 40mins there are a few stops where kids will climb on the bus and try to sell you different items. Buying marshmallows its a must!!! Also definately rent the hiking sticks these things dont cost much! If you have kids I would suggest you hire the donkeys!
It took us 2 hours to climb the volcano. The view was always amazing. The highter we got the hotter the ground got so wear god strong shoes. Some peoples shoes will melt on the hot rock! When you get to the top cover as much of your skin as possible, bring water sunglasses, gloves and a hat and full body cover. The air that comes off the lava will burn your skin and you'l come down from the mountain like I did looking like i had a bad sunburn! You can toast your marshmallows on the magma or lava aswell!! Seeing the little eruptions of lava from he volcano top and feeling it was a really cool experience. This is somegthing i would definately reccomend for any one travelling to antigua!!

Absolutely amazing.

I think it is a fairly strenuous hike. The first 45 minutes are like a walk in the park compared to the last 15 minutes of the hike. After 45 minutes you come to a clearing, near the summit of the volcano where you are surrounded by lava rock that is sharp and jagged. As you climb the side of the volcano, it is like walking on the beach at a 50 degree incline, taking 2 steps up to go about 1 step.

Many travel books say that it gets cold at the summit, but I found the contrary, it is rather hot and you can see hot spots as you climb where rock is red, but do bring clothing when doing the afternoon hike because once the sun goes down, it gets cold.

On the way up, you pass the cloud line and all you can see are clouds and other volcanos in the distance. When you reach the summit where you can see the lava flow, it is almost too close for comfort. We tossed in a tissue to watch how quickly it ignited. This is a wonderful spot to watch the sun set.

Climbing down the mountain can only be paralleled to surfing. People climbing up have the grip of the jagged rock. However, coming down, the path is sandy and I was almost knee deep in it, sliding down the mountain, rather than stepping.

I highly recommend this for anyone who has never done anything similar and definitely wear sturdy hiking shoes to make your experience more enjoyable.

Although there was not too much lava on the day I went, it was an amazing experience to see it flowing down the side. From a distance it looks like a solid black mass, but up close it is as sharp as a knife, almost coral-like in its consistency, and shines with a thousand different colours from all the different minerals. Its really beautiful but so dangerous. I occasionally grabbed onto a bit sticking out to help haul myself up to the next section, and it was only when I finished the hike that I released my fingers were all bleeding and peeling-the lava is like sandpaper, or like getting lots of little paper cuts. I always thought standing in front of an open fire was quite unbearably hot, but it is nothing compared to the radiant heat from the lava, which is apparently about 1400C. Also, you couldn´t stand in one place for more than a few seconds otherwise your shoes simply started to melt! The hike up to the base of the volcano only takes an hour or two and then you have an amazing view of the volcano, which you can then step out on to and wander over. Toasting marshmallows is a must! Also take plenty of water as the heat can be extreme, and it is advisable to wear good shoes and long pants.

The hike is not overly difficult, but beware that it is slightly more strenuous than generally advertised around Antigua Guatemala. Our guide climbed at a quick pace, but there were horses for hire, for those that were not physically fit enough to make the climb. It is advisable (at least in many tourist books) to take a guided tour... and from personal experience, there were some shady characters in close proximity to the trail, so I was happy to have had the guide along. Be sure to take good quality hiking boots, as the hardened lava field is quite rough and not always very steady. The views are awesome!

Also a very touristy place, but just breathtaking! It's a must to go. The climb up the volcano ist not that hard. And the view on the top is invaluable!!!