Private and Small-Group Antigua Coffee Tours: 5 Compared by Group Size

Group size decides how much of the grower's attention you get. On a plot where somebody is explaining a year of work, a small group gets every question answered and a group of twenty does not. Every fare below is per person, so a small group costs you nothing extra. What it costs is choice: more than half the departures run larger than ten or state no cap.

Small-group and private coffee tours at a glance

The rest cap at 15 or 20, or state no cap at all. They are further down, so you know what you are trading if the date you want only has a larger departure.

1. Coffee & Macadamia Fincas Tour: the one private option

This is the only listing sold as private. You get your own guide, a private air-conditioned minivan and door-to-door pickup from any Antigua hotel. The cap is eight, it costs $60 per person for 4 hours, and it rates 4.6 from 56 reviews.

The morning starts with two hours at Finca La Azotea, then moves on to the macadamia trees of the Valhalla Experimental Station. Admission to Centro Cultural La Azotea and to Valhalla is not in the fare, so you pay at each gate, and a 10% tip is suggested. What an Antigua coffee tour costs puts those extras next to every other fare.

The catch is the minimum: the listing requires four travellers per booking. A party of four or more gets a private morning at a mid-range price. A couple has to pay for four places or pick one of the small groups below.

2. Coffee and Gastronomic Bike Tour in Antigua: nine riders at most

At $38 this is the lowest coffee-tour fare in Antigua, and it rates 4.9 from 383 reviews. The cap is nine riders and it needs two to run. You meet at the office two blocks off Parque Central and cycle out to Finca La Azotea for two hours on the trails between the coffee plants.

From there it is ten minutes on to San Felipe de Jesús and ninety minutes at the handicrafts market. The bicycle, snacks, bottled water and all fees are in the fare. The Coffee and Gastronomic Bike Tour page has the full route, and the other ATV and bike tours run larger groups.

3. De La Gente's growers: ten at most

The Antigua Coffee Tour by Local Producers costs $45, lasts 4 hours, caps at ten and rates 5.0 from 103 reviews. It includes round-trip rides from Antigua, an hour in the fields below Volcán de Agua, and coffee in the producer's home with champurradas. Lunch is not included.

• Two adults minimum. A single traveller can book for an extra USD 25 by contacting De La Gente directly.
• Ages five and up at the same USD 45 rate.
• Book at least the day before. The shuttle leaves Ermita de Santa Lucía at 8:45 am for the morning tour and 1:45 pm for the afternoon one.
• About 5 km of walking on uneven ground, with some steep sections.

It is one of the smallholding coffee farm tours, where the grower hosts you rather than an estate guide.

4. Organic coffee, avocados and honey: an eco-farm for ten

The Little Green Farm GT caps this one at ten. It costs $69, runs 2 to 3 hours and rates 5.0 from 112 reviews. You meet at Casa del Jade, a block off the plaza, and drive out past San Pedro Las Huertas for ninety minutes walking the eco-farm.

You get to try the pulp removal machine yourself. In harvest season there are corn tortillas with guacamole, and the farm's own honey. All fees are included.

5. The Rivera family farm, pickup included

Via-Guate's Coffee Tour in Antigua Guatemala is limited to ten participants. It costs $69, lasts 3.5 hours and rates 4.9 from 32 reviews. Transport collects you from your lodging at 9 am, the drive to the Rivera family farm in Ciudad Vieja takes thirty minutes, and you spend two hours in the fields before a tasting. You are back in Antigua by 12:30.

The guide, the transport, the tasting and the entrance are all in the fare. If you are still deciding between an estate finca or family farm, this is the family side of that choice.

Travelling alone: which coffee tours will run for one?

Two of the five set a minimum that rules you out. The bike morning needs two travellers and the private fincas tour needs four. De La Gente asks for two adults but will run for one if you pay an extra USD 25 and book with them directly. The eco-farm and the Rivera farm listings state no minimum booking.

If you are still choosing how to get there, the comparison of coffee tours by ATV, bike or on foot sets out what each format asks of you.

Which small-group tours collect you from your hotel?

• Private fincas tour: door to door from any Antigua hotel.
• Rivera family farm: transport from your lodging at 9 am.
• De La Gente: a shuttle from Ermita de Santa Lucía, not your hotel.
• Eco-farm: you meet at Casa del Jade.
• Bike morning: you start at the office off Parque Central.

The visiting page explains how a farm morning works from pickup to the last cup.

The larger departures, and the two with no stated cap

• 15 travellers: the Antigua ATV Coffee Tour and the Sip n' Cycle Coffee and Mountain Bike Tour.
• 20 travellers: the Coffee Tour in Sacatepéquez with Tasting and the Coffee Tour Adventure in San Pedro Las Huertas.
• No cap stated: the Coffee Farm Experience and the Antigua Coffee Farm and Chocolate Tour. Ask the operator before you book rather than assuming the group is small.

Travelling as a family? Antigua coffee tours with kids covers the ages and child rates that decide the rest.

Which one to book

A party of four or more who want a guide to themselves should take the private fincas tour. A couple on a budget should take the bike morning; a solo traveller who wants a grower should book De La Gente directly. If hotel pickup matters most, the Rivera farm is the small group that comes to you. Antigua Coffee Tours lists every morning side by side.

Frequently asked questions