Advices on Guatemala - Belize trip (18 days)

Hi, here is the trip I'm planning to do with my girlfriend. First of all, sorry for my poor English, I'm a french speaker :). I'd like to have advices from some people who've been there to make sure my itinerary is doable and also to make sure I don't miss something I didn't think of. I'd like to receive tips also if and I'm open to change some parts of my planning if I missed something or could simply improve it.

Here it is :

• August 10 : Flight from Montreal to Guatemala City. Arrive at GC @ 11AM. Spend the day in GC and sleep there.

• August 11 : Bus ride to Antigua early in the morning, spending the rest of the day in the old capital.

• August 12 : Early trek to Pacaya during the morning, spending the rest of the day in Antigua.

• August 13 : Day in Antigua

• August 14 : Morning in Antigua, move to Panajachel in the afternoon

• August 15 : Bus to Chichicastan...

8 Days in Guatemala- single female

I will be going to Guatemala in mid July. I'm spending the first week in Antigua, attending a language school. After that I will have about 8 days to explore on my own and wondering what I should do. I am a 28yr. old woman and this is my first time traveling abroad without my husband, so I am a little nervous about handling the logistics of traveling on my own. I am looking forward to seeing all the natural beauty Guatemala has to offer and hope to avoid major touristy areas. Any advice would be appreciated!

Help with a forgotten phone (Hotel Tikal Inn)

Is there anyone from the US who will be in Tikal and wouldn't mind helping me retrieve a lost phone? I was recently in Guatemala, and ended up leaving my phone at the Hotel Tikal Inn. I'm having a really hard time figuring out a way to pay for the phone to be shipped back to the US (I'm already back here - Tikal was our last stop).

If there's anyone traveling to the area in the next few days/weeks, and wouldn't mind helping, I'd love to work out the details.

Thanks in advance,
Nickie

Transportation Advice

Hi Everyone,

I'm feeling quite lost and overwhelmed as I plan my two week adventure honeymoon and while I think I have most of it figured out, could really use advice or recommendations on transportation.

Normally I would wait until I was in country to figure out hotels and transportation but because it's my honeymoon I'd like to pre-book all hotels. This means I need to understand transportation between towns and the time it gets to take from place to place.

We will spend the first week in Belize and then of course head to Flores to see Tikal. Will likely spend two nights there. My hope was to go straight from Flores to Lake Atitlan and spend 3 nights there followed by 2 nights in Antigua and then catch my flight home!

Questions:

• I can't find the best route from Flores to Atitlan and can't figure out how much time of our trip this will eat up. It appears buses and sh...

Need at Spanish School in Panajachel

Hello everyone. I will be in Pana for 25 days starting in mid July. I am looking for recommendations for a Spanish school there. I really need a school in Pana, not one of the other towns on the lake. Thanks!

Antigua efficiencies

I have been looking for a place to stay in Antigua that is safe, not too expensive and near the central park area. This place sounds almost too good to be true, low rents, website looks lovely, near Merced Cathedral. My concern is why it has not been reviewed by any site and why I cannot find any comments from people who have stayed there. If it is as good as it looks, I would think everyone would be talking about it, especially since I have heard that it is not always easy to find good inexpensive rentals in this area. If anyone has personal experience about this place, I would love to hear it. Also, I welcome the names of any other places in the general area. I am a single woman, looking for studio size. Thank you for any help.

Photographing people

Does anyone have experience photographing the streets and people in Guatemala? I am keen to do a mixture of landscape and street photography and I'm interested to hear about people's experiences. Particularly keen to hear how the locals respond to people taking photos of them and neighbourhoods. I want to shoot candids as much as possible but do not want to offend people in the process. My experience has varied from country to country and an online search hasn't thrown up much for Guatemala.