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If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in November, you are looking at the month the country quietly switches seasons. Rainy season is wrapping up, dry season is taking over, and on a single day, the first of the month, the whole country turns toward its dead in a way I have never seen anywhere else. Guatemala in November means cemeteries full of flowers, giant kites lifting into the wind in two small towns outside Antigua, and a plate of fiambre on every family’s table.
In this guide I will cover the weather in Guatemala in November, what the shift into dry season actually feels like, the best places to go, and the traditions around Día de Todos los Santos that most visitors have never heard of until they are standing in the middle of them.
If you want help building a Guatemala trip around November’s weather, the Barriletes Gigantes, or the Festival de las Flores, I can help you put together an itinerary here.
This guide is for
✓ Travelers deciding if November works for their trip ✓ Anyone curious about Día de Todos los Santos and the kite festivals ✓ People who want the start of dry season without the December crowds
PLANNING YOUR TRIP
Is November a Good Time to Visit Guatemala?
Yes, November is a good time to visit Guatemala, and it is one I would point most first-time visitors toward. Rainy season, which runs roughly May through October, is finishing up. By November the afternoon downpours that defined September and October start thinning out, and the country dries off without yet hitting the dustier, more crowded stretch of December through February.
What makes November different from a plain weather report is November 1. Día de Todos los Santos is a national holiday here, and it is built around remembering the dead rather than fearing them. Families spend the morning at the cemetery, cleaning graves and bringing flowers, and the afternoon eating fiambre together. In Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez, two towns about thirty minutes from Antigua, that same day fills the sky with some of the largest handmade kites you will ever see.
I have stood in the cemetery in Sumpango on November 1 watching a kite twenty meters across get hoisted by a dozen people at once, the bamboo frame creaking, marimba playing somewhere behind me, and the smell of fiambre drifting over from someone’s family picnic. It does not feel like a festival built for visitors. It feels like a town doing what it has always done, and letting you watch.
📌 IS IT SAFE
Guatemala has well-traveled routes between Antigua, Lake Atitlán, and Tikal that are set up for tourism, the same as any country. Check the current U.S. State Department travel advisory before you book, stick to established routes, and use trusted transport. November 1 draws enormous crowds to Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez specifically, so go early, keep valuables close, and expect the roads in and out to be slow.
WEATHER & CLIMATE
Weather in Guatemala in November: What to Expect
The weather in Guatemala in November is the mirror image of what happens in June. Instead of sliding into rainy season, the country is sliding out of it. October is usually the last properly wet month, and by November the afternoon clouds that built up almost daily through the summer become the exception rather than the rule.
- Antigua Guatemala: mild days, cool nights, and noticeably less rain than September or October. Dust starts picking up on unpaved roads as the ground dries out.
- Lake Atitlán: calmer water as the season turns, with the Xocomil wind still worth planning boat rides around in the afternoon.
- Guatemala City: mild and drying out, with clearer skies than the rainy months.
- Tikal and Petén: still hot and humid, but trails are drying up and the worst of the mud from the rainy months is behind you.
- Pacific Coast: hot and humid year round, with sea turtle hatchling season building toward its best months ahead, from roughly September through December.
- Acatenango: trails firm back up as the rain lets go, making November one of the better months to hike before the coldest, busiest dry season weekends of December and January.
If you want the full seasonal pattern, including how this compares to the rest of the year, I covered it in my guide to the best time to visit Guatemala. If you are weighing November against the rainier months, my Guatemala in July guide shows you what rainy season looks like at its peak.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Día de Todos los Santos, the Barriletes Gigantes, and Fiambre
November 1, Día de Todos los Santos, is a national holiday in Guatemala. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday and will not be shifted to create a long weekend, so unlike June’s Día del Ejército, this is not a month where the whole country travels at once. What it does bring is one of the most distinctive single days on the entire Guatemalan calendar.
The morning is spent in cemeteries. Families clean and decorate graves, bring flowers, and sit with the people they have lost. By afternoon, the focus shifts to fiambre, a cold dish layered with dozens of ingredients, meats, vegetables, cheeses, that gets made once a year for exactly this day. If you have heard the word fiambre used for cured deli meat in Argentina, that is a completely different dish. Guatemalan fiambre is its own tradition, built specifically around November 1.
✨ THE KITES
In Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez, both in Sacatepéquez department, the same day brings the Barriletes Gigantes. These are not flying kites in the way you might picture. The largest ones, some over twenty meters across, are built to be displayed standing upright in the cemetery rather than flown. Smaller kites, still impressively large, are flown, and the belief tied to them is that they help carry messages to ancestors. The tradition was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in December 2024. I wrote a full guide to the festival’s history and meaning, plus separate insider guides to visiting Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez, since the two festivals have a real difference in feel and I get asked which one to pick more than almost anything else this time of year.
Preparation for the kites starts the night before, on October 31, with what locals call the lunada del barrilete, an overnight session assembling the bamboo frames so everything is ready by sunrise. If you want the full story behind why this tradition exists and what it actually represents, I go deep into it in my guide to the history and meaning of Guatemala’s giant kites, and I compared the two host towns directly in Sumpango vs. Santiago Sacatepéquez.
November 2 is Día de los Difuntos. It is not an official holiday, but a lot of the same spirit carries over, more cemetery visits, more fiambre, a quieter continuation of the day before. If you want the full picture of how this compares to Day of the Dead traditions elsewhere in the region, I covered that in Day of the Dead Traditions in Guatemala and Day of the Dead celebrations across Latin America.
Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez are not the only place where November 1 takes a distinct shape. In Todos Santos Cuchumatán, a Mam Maya town tucked into the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Huehuetenango, the day is marked by the Carrera de Cintas, also called the Carrera de las Ánimas. Riders in red trousers, white shirts with purple stripes, and hats trailing ribbons and feathers race horses through the town from around eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, after a ceremony asking permission from the saints and the earth. Drinking is part of the ritual itself, not an incidental side effect, and falls happen every year. It is intense, it is not staged for visitors, and it is nowhere near Antigua, roughly 150 kilometers northwest of Guatemala City, so this is its own trip rather than something you tack onto a Sacatepéquez-based itinerary. If you want a Day of the Dead tradition that has nothing to do with kites or flowers, this is it.
A quick note since I get this question often: November 1 is not the same holiday as Quema del Diablo, which happens on December 7 and is its own separate tradition. Easy to mix up if you are reading about Guatemalan holidays for the first time, but the two have nothing to do with each other.
Antigua has its own November tradition built entirely around flowers. The Festival de las Flores is when the city gets covered in flower sculptures and floral installations, arches made of blooms, monumental displays in the Parque Central, decorated balconies and facades, and an opening parade of flower-covered floats that kicks things off before the main weekend. For 2026, the tenth edition, the main weekend falls on November 14 and 15, with floral competitions across several categories, live music, workshops, and the streets around the Arco de Santa Catalina, the Parque Central, and the Tanque de la Unión serving as the festival’s main stage. Past editions have used over a million flowers across the city. You can get the full breakdown in my full Festival de las Flores guide.
Timing It Around the Kites or the Flowers?
I Can Help You Land Your Trip on the Right Days
November has a lot packed into a few weeks, between the kites, the cemeteries, and the flower festival. If you want help lining your dates up with what’s actually happening, just reach out and tell me what you’re hoping to see.
WHERE TO GO
Best Places to Visit in Guatemala in November
Antigua Guatemala in November
Antigua Guatemala in November gives you the Festival de las Flores, drier streets than you will find in September, and an easy base for a day trip out to Sumpango or Santiago Sacatepéquez on November 1. The Festival de las Flores is when the city gets covered in flower sculptures and floral installations, arches made of blooms, decorated balconies and facades, and a parade of flower-covered floats around the Parque Central and the Arco de Santa Catalina. For 2026, the tenth edition, the main weekend falls on November 14 and 15. A morning cultural walking tour through Antigua is a good way to settle in before the kite festival crowds.
Since Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez sit in the same Kaqchikel Maya region as Iximché, some visitors pair the kite festival with a stop at the ruins on the same trip. If that interests you, an Iximché ruins tour from Antigua rounds out the day. For more on the city itself, read my Antigua Guatemala travel guide and my guide to Antigua festivals and important dates.
If you don’t want to deal with parking or timing the drive yourself, shuttles and small group tours run from Antigua out to Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez on November 1, which takes a lot of the stress out of the day. And if your trip doesn’t land exactly on the first, some of the giant kites get moved into Antigua’s Parque Central afterward and stay on display there for a few days, so there is still a way to see them up close even outside the festival itself.
Lake Atitlán in November
Lake Atitlán in November sits right at the front edge of dry season, which means calmer water and clearer mornings than the rainy months, with the Xocomil wind still worth planning boat rides around in the afternoon. It is one of my favorite windows for the lake, after the rain but before the heaviest dry season crowds of December through February settle in.
November 1 is observed at the lake too, even without a kite festival of its own. Families in the lake villages spend the morning at the cemetery and the afternoon with fiambre, the same as the rest of the country. There is no single signature event built around it here, it is simply how people spend the day, and it is worth knowing that before you assume nothing is happening at the lake that week.
If you are at the lake later in the month, Santa Catarina Palopó holds its feria patronal on November 25, honoring Santa Catalina de Alejandría, the town’s namesake saint. Expect mass, a procession carrying the saint’s image, marimba, food stalls, and fireworks that night. It is a small-town celebration rather than something built for visitors, which is exactly what makes it worth catching if your dates line up.
Dry season also makes for easier market days and artisan visits. If you are heading to San Juan La Laguna for the weaving cooperatives or San Antonio Palopó for pottery, November gives you better light and drier paths than the rainy months, without yet hitting the busiest dry season weekends.
Yes, you can swim in Lake Atitlán in November. The water stays cool year round no matter the season, so that part barely changes month to month. If you want to combine the lake with Mayan culture beyond the boat rides, a tour of three Mayan villages at the lake is a solid way to see more than just Panajachel.
More on the lake: my Lake Atitlán bucket list and best things to do at the lake with kids.
Tikal and Petén in November
Tikal in November is hot and humid, same as always, but the trails are drying out from the rainy months and walking is noticeably easier than it was in July or August. Go early, both for the heat and for the best chance of spotting wildlife before the day warms up. My complete guide to visiting Tikal covers logistics in more detail.
Acatenango in November
November is one of the better months to hike Acatenango. The trail firms back up as the rain lets go, and you get that benefit before the trail traffic of December and January peak season. Nights at high camp are cold no matter the month, so the gear list does not change just because the rain has stopped.
📌 ACATENANGO AND PACAYA
I am working on full guides to both Acatenango and Pacaya with hike-by-hike detail. Check back soon, or get in touch and I will help you plan the volcano portion of your trip directly.
MY ROUTE
What I Would Do in Guatemala in November
If my trip landed around November 1, I would base myself in Antigua and give the morning entirely to Sumpango or Santiago Sacatepéquez, arriving early before the roads clog up. I would not try to do both towns in one day. Pick one, stay long enough to actually watch the kites go up, and treat the other as a reason to come back another year.
If my trip landed closer to mid-November instead, I would build the days around the Festival de las Flores and let Antigua be the centerpiece rather than a stopover on the way to somewhere else. Either way, I would still carve out separate days for Lake Atitlán, since the water and the light are some of the best of the year right now, and I would keep Tikal as its own trip rather than rushing it onto the same itinerary.
PACKING LIST
What to Pack for Guatemala in November
- Light layers, mornings and evenings are cool, midday warms up fast
- Comfortable walking shoes with good grip, especially for cemetery and festival crowds underfoot
- A light scarf or bandana, dry season dust kicks up more than people expect
- Sun protection, skies clear up noticeably compared to rainy season
- A light sweater or jacket for Antigua, Lake Atitlán, and the highlands at night
- Insect repellent for Petén and lowland areas
- A small daypack you do not mind getting jostled in if you are heading to the kite festival
- Warm layers, gloves, and a hat if hiking Acatenango
WHERE TO STAY
Where to Stay in Antigua
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⭐ COLONIAL CHARM El Convento Boutique Hotel Walking distance to the cathedral square, an easy base for the Festival de las Flores or a day trip out to the kite festival. |
⭐ GARDEN SETTING Mesón Panza Verde Gardens that look their best as the dry season clears in, with a restaurant worth booking even if you stay elsewhere. |
Where to Stay at Lake Atitlán
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⭐ LAKE VIEWS Villa Santa Catarina Terraced rooms facing the lake in Santa Catarina Palopó, calm water and good light this time of year. Read my full review. |
⭐ DESTINATION STAY Casa Palopó A quieter, design-forward option above the lake, good for travelers who want some distance from the kite festival crowds. |
Where to Stay in Petén, Near Tikal
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⭐ LAKE FLORES La Casona del Lago Lake views in Flores with easy access to Tikal in the morning. Read my full review. Expedia link pending, sourcing from the affiliate portal. |
⭐ JUNGLE SETTING Villa Maya Closer to Tikal itself, surrounded by jungle that is drying back out after the rains. Read my full review. Expedia link pending, sourcing from the affiliate portal. |
A rental car is not the simplest way to handle this route in November either. Boats cover Lake Atitlán, shuttles and flights cover Petén, and Antigua is best walked, especially on November 1 when traffic toward Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez backs up early.
Ready to Plan Guatemala?
Let’s Map Out a November Trip Together
Between the kites, the cemeteries, and the flowers, November moves fast once it gets going. I help travelers figure out which days to spend where, instead of trying to guess from a calendar.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
What People Ask About Visiting Guatemala in November
Is November a good time to visit Guatemala?
Yes, November is a good time to visit Guatemala. Rainy season is winding down, dry season is taking over, and the month includes Día de Todos los Santos on November 1, one of the most distinctive days on the entire Guatemalan calendar.
Is November a rainy season in Guatemala?
No, by November rainy season is wrapping up. October is usually the last consistently wet month, and November marks the shift into dry season, which generally runs through April.
What is the rainiest month in Antigua Guatemala?
September and October tend to bring the heaviest rain to Antigua, toward the back half of rainy season. By November that pattern has largely broken, which is part of why this month works well for travel.
Is November a good time to visit Lake Atitlán?
Yes. The lake sits at the front edge of dry season in November, with calmer water than the rainy months and clearer mornings for boat rides between villages.
Can you swim in Lake Atitlán in November?
Yes, you can swim in Lake Atitlán in November. The water stays cool year round regardless of season, so November does not change the swimming conditions much. Ask locally about conditions at your specific village before getting in.
What is the best time to visit Tikal?
Dry season, roughly November through April, offers the most predictable conditions at Tikal. November specifically gives you drier trails than the rainy months without the heaviest crowds that build up by December and January.
What is the festival in Guatemala in November?
The Barriletes Gigantes, or Giant Kite Festival, takes place every November 1 in Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez. Antigua also runs the Festival de las Flores, with activities stretching from mid-October through late November and a main weekend usually landing in mid-November.
What is the Giant Kite Festival believed to allow communication with?
In local tradition, the kites are believed to help carry messages to ancestors. The festival falls on Día de Todos los Santos, when families are already at the cemetery remembering the people they have lost, and the kites are understood as part of that same connection.
How does Guatemala celebrate the Day of the Dead?
Guatemala marks November 1 with cemetery visits, grave cleaning and decorating, and a family meal built around fiambre, a layered cold dish made specifically for this day. In Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez, the day also includes the Barriletes Gigantes.
How long does the Festival de las Flores last?
The Festival de las Flores itself runs over a single main weekend, November 14 and 15 for the 2026 edition, though some of the floral arch competitions and art exhibitions stretch a few extra days around it. The main weekend is when the city is actually covered in the flower sculptures and installations most photos show.
What is the most famous festival in Guatemala?
Semana Santa in Antigua is generally considered Guatemala’s most internationally known festival, but the Barriletes Gigantes on November 1 has grown into one of the country’s most recognized cultural events in its own right, especially since UNESCO recognized it as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024.
Related Reading
ANTIGUA
| Antigua Guatemala Travel Guide → | Festival de las Flores in Antigua → |
DÍA DE TODOS LOS SANTOS & THE KITES
| The History and Meaning of Barriletes Gigantes → | Day of the Dead Traditions in Guatemala → |
LAKE ATITLÁN & PLANNING
| Lake Atitlán Bucket List → | Complete Guide to Visiting Tikal → |
This Is My Country
Let Me Help You Find the November Most Visitors Never See
I have watched these kites go up since I was a kid, and I still get a little emotional every time. If you want help putting together a trip that actually lines up with what’s happening here, I would love to hear from you.
November does not ask you to mourn. It asks you to remember out loud, with flowers, with food, and with a kite big enough that it takes a dozen hands to lift it toward whoever is still listening.
Through her writing, Paula helps travelers discover Guatemala beyond the typical tourist route with practical advice, local recommendations, and authentic experiences that connect visitors with the country’s people, culture, and traditions.
Planning a trip to Guatemala? Paula offers personalized Guatemala itinerary planning and trip consultation services tailored to your interests, travel style, and budget. Contact her at [email protected] to learn more.
- Guatemala in December: What to Know Before You Go - June 22, 2026
- Visiting Guatemala in June: Weather, Festivals & More - June 21, 2026
- Guatemala in November: What to Know Before You Go - June 21, 2026
