Cobán & Central Guatemala Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The highway connecting Cobán with Guatemala City and the Carr al Atlántico is the most traveled route between Cobán and the outside world. The road north through Chisec to Sayaxché and Flores has almost all been paved in recent years, providing much easier access than before to El Petén. The off-the-beaten-track routes west to Huehuetenango and northeast to Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas and Poptún are mostly paved and still provide a bit of an adventure. Always double-check bus departure times, especially for less frequently served destinations. Tourism staff at the municipalidad try to keep up with the frequent schedule changes and display bus details in the foyer.

Many buses leave from Cobán’s new bus terminal, southeast of the stadium. Buses to Guatemala City, Salamá, Lanquín and many other destinations depart from completely different stations.

Minibuses, known as microbuses, are replacing, or are additional to, chicken buses on many routes. Many buses do a circuit of the plaza before leaving town and stop outside Oficinas Profesionales Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Bus departures from Cobán:

Biotopo del Quetzal (US$1, 1¼ hours, 58km) Any bus heading for Guatemala City will drop you at the entrance to the Biotopo.

Cahabón (US$3.20, 4½ hours, 85km) Same buses as to Lanquín.

Chisec (US$1.95, two hours, 66km, 10 buses from Campo 2, from 6am to 5pm)

El Estor (US$6, seven hours, 166km) This road gets washed out in heavy rains – check at the municipalidad to see if the bus is running.

Flores (five to six hours, 224km) Go to Sayaxché and take an onward bus or minibus from there.

Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (via Chisec US$4, three hours, 121km; via San Pedro Carchá US$4.50, four hours, 101km) Several buses and minibuses depart from Campo 2, from 5am to 3:30pm. Buses might just say ‘Las Casas.’

Guatemala City (US$4 to US$6, four to five hours, 213km) Transportes Monja Blanca (7951 3571; 2a Calle 3-77, Zona 4) has buses leaving for Guatemala City every 30 minutes from 2am to 6am, then hourly until 5pm.

Lanquín (US$2 to US$3, 2½ to three hours, 61km) Minibuses depart from the corner of 3a Calle and 3a Av, in Zona 4, from 7am to 4pm. Do check these times, though, as they seem to be fluid.

Playa Grande (for Laguna Lachuá) (US$6.50, four hours, 141km) Frequent buses and minibuses from Campo 2. Playa Grande is sometimes called Cantabal.

Puerto Barrios (6½ hours, 335km) Take any bus headed to Guatemala City and change at El Rancho junction.

Raxrujá (US$3, 2½ to three hours, 81km) Take a bus or microbus heading to Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas via Chisec; some Sayaxché-bound buses go through Raxrujá too. Or go to Chisec and change.

Río Dulce (6½ hours, 318km) Take any bus headed to Guatemala City and change at El Rancho junction. You may have to transfer again at La Ruidosa junction, 169km past El Rancho, but there is plenty of transportation going through to Río Dulce and on to Flores.

Salamá (US$3, 1½ hours, 57km) Frequent minivans leave from Campo 2, or take any bus to Guatemala City and change at La Cumbre.

San Pedro Carchá (US$0.40, 20 minutes, 6km) Buses every 10 minutes, from 6am to 7pm, from the lot in front of the Monja Blanca terminal.

Sayaxché (US$7, four hours, 84km) Buses at 6am and noon, and microbuses from early until 1pm, from Campo 2.

Tactic (US$0.60, 40 minutes, 32km) Frequent buses from Campo 2.

Uspantán (US$4.50, 4½ hours, 94km) Microbuses go from Campo 2 with a stop at Oficinas Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Car

Cobán has a couple of places that rent cars. Reserve your choice in advance. If you want to go to the Grutas de Lanquín or Semuc Champey, you’ll need a 4WD vehicle. Rental companies include Inque Renta Autos (7952 1994, 7952 1172; 3a Av 1-18, Zona 4) and Tabarini Rent A Car (7952 1504; fax 7951 3282; 7a Av 2-27, Zona 1).

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