Guatemala City to Coban: Monja Blanca Bus Guide [2026]

Cobán, the capital of Alta Verapaz department, is the gateway to the Verapaces and the usual stop on the way to Semuc Champey and Lanquín. The scheduled bus line is Transportes Monja Blanca; tourist shuttles run the same road once a day. Everything below was read from the operators’ own pages on 24 September 2026.

Quick summary

• Bus: Monja Blanca, about hourly from 00:00 to 17:00, Especial or Estandar class. It publishes no fares (checked 24 September 2026).
• Where you board: Centra Norte, Km 8.5 carretera al Atlántico, zona 17. Tickets bought at the zona 1 office include a free coaster transfer to Centra Norte, because pullman buses may not enter zona 1.
• Shuttle: 09:40, USD$40 (AtitlanTour, 5 hours; Guatemala Transportation), or USD 50 with Adrenalina Tours from McDonald’s Utatlán (8 hours, drop-off at your hotel in central Cobán).
• Reserve: by phone (PBX 7961 8484), at an agency or on social media, from 5 days ahead, no deposit.

Monja Blanca: the two classes

Monja Blanca’s home page describes two passenger classes:

The difference, on the operator’s own list, is the onboard toilet and the charging ports. Its timetable also mentions coaster and “cobanerita” buses scheduled by demand, without fixed hours or a published description.

Fares: not published. None of tmb.com.gt’s home, services, agencies, timetable or help pages carries a price (checked 24 September 2026). Earlier versions of this page listed Q125 / Q105 / Q85 by class; we could not trace those figures to the operator and removed them. Ask at the counter, on WhatsApp 46828667, or at the capital agency (3013 8256).

Timetable, Guatemala City to Cobán

Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: every hour on the hour from 00:00 to 17:00.

• Especial: 05:00, 07:00, 09:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
• Estandar: 00:00, 01:00, 02:00, 03:00, 04:00, 06:00, 08:00, 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00

Wednesday and Thursday: 00:00, 01:00, 02:00, 03:00, 04:30, 06:00, 07:30, 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 17:30 (Especial in bold, the rest Estandar).

Monja Blanca notes that its service types “pueden variar sin previo aviso” (may change without notice). It publishes no journey time.

Coming back: Cobán to Guatemala City

The Cobán terminal (Terminal Cobán Central) is at 2da. Calle 3-77, zona 4, Cobán, counter open 00:00-18:00 every day. The parcels agency listed at the same address adds a night window for tickets and parcels from 18:00 to 22:00.

Where you board in Guatemala City

Monja Blanca lists two capital addresses, and its help page explains how they fit together:

1. Agencia Centra Norte, Km 8.5 carretera al Atlántico, 40-26, zona 17, open 06:00-18:00 every day. This is where the buses leave from (“la Estación en Centro Comercial Centra Norte”).
2. Terminal Guatemala Zona 1, 8a. Avenida 15-16, zona 1, open 00:00-18:00 every day. By a Municipalidad de Guatemala rule, pullman buses cannot enter zona 1, so Monja Blanca runs a coaster transfer (“transbordo”) from here to Centra Norte and back.

How the transfer works: it is included in your fare, but you must pay your ticket at the zona 1 office and show it to ride the transfer; you cannot board in zona 1 and pay at Centra Norte. The operator does not publish how long before departure the transfer leaves, so ask when you buy.

Booking a seat

From Monja Blanca’s help page:

• How: PBX 7961 8484, any Monja Blanca agency, or its social media (Facebook @TransportesMonjaBlanca). You give the date and time, the seats you want, and a NIT and name.
• When: from 5 days before travel. Reserving is recommended, not required.
• Cost: a reservation needs no deposit. You can cancel up to 15 minutes before the trip, and unpaid reservations are cancelled automatically 10 minutes before departure.
• Pets: not carried in the cabin; only as parcels in the hold, in their own cage.

The shuttle alternative

Guatemala Transportation quotes its dollars at Q8, AtitlanTour at Q7.8 (Q8 elsewhere on the same page); check today’s quetzal rate before paying in quetzales.

Arriving at the airport before the Cobán journey

Altiplano’s advertises private shuttles from the airport in Guatemala City to any destination (read 25 October 2026). Adrenalina Tours instead directs Coban / Lanquin passengers to Mc Donald Utatlan by taxi (read 25 October 2026).

Going on from Cobán

• Lanquín and Semuc Champey: no operator we read publishes a timetable or fare for the Cobán to Lanquín microbuses (checked 24 September 2026). guatemala.com (19 March 2026) puts the local bus at about two hours, without a fare. The through-shuttles from the capital (09:00-09:40 by day, 23:45/23:50 at night) are on Guatemala City to Lanquín, and from elsewhere on Antigua to Semuc Champey and Lake Atitlán to Semuc Champey; going on to Petén, see Lanquín and Cobán to Flores; the village is on our Lanquín page.
• Driving yourself: the road, distance and hazards are on our Guatemala City to Cobán driving guide.
• Coming from Antigua: three agencies list an 08:00 shuttle; see Antigua to Cobán.
• All routes: Guatemala transport routes.

Cobán to Lanquín: a reseller listing

Bookaway’s Coban to Lanquin bus overview names Coban Travels, displays 15:00 for both earliest and latest departure, and gives 2h and Limited frequency (read 25 October 2026).

These are separate overview and average displays, rather than a date-specific ticket quote or a public-microbus tariff.

What is not published

• Monja Blanca fares, for any class.
• A journey time from Monja Blanca.
• When the zona 1 transfer leaves relative to each departure.

Travelling at night: Monja Blanca’s midnight-to-04:00 departures sit alongside the other published overnight buses on our night bus guide, with the UK travel advice on night travel.

Sources

• Bookaway, Coban to Lanquin route overview, read 25 October 2026

• Monja Blanca, transfer explanation, read 25 October 2026

• Adrenalina Tours, capital shuttle services, read 25 October 2026

• Altiplano’s, shuttles, read 25 October 2026

• Transportes Monja Blanca: timetable, agencies, help page, home page and services, read 24 September 2026

• AtitlanTour shuttle schedule, read 24 September 2026

• Guatemala Transportation shuttle schedule, read 24 September 2026

• Adrenalina Tours, shuttles from Guatemala City, read 24 September 2026