In the beginning of July my best friend and I spent a week in Guatemala, then a week in Belize. Where to begin. It was the most beautiful, fun, spiritual trip! We started in Antigua at Casa Cristina. The room we got was okay, but tiny and one bed-we wanted two so we moved. The lady at Casa Cristina, Maria was really nice and helpful-even after we told her we were moving to another hotel.
We stayed at Hotel Convento Santa Catalina Martir. $85 us a night. Not cheap but really nice, comfortable and safe for us. Also near the town center. We talked to many people who rented houses and stayed at other hotels that were much less expensive and nice.
Took a shuttle to Pacaya-I think it was $12. The climb up Pacaya was steep and the girl who was the guide was hoofing it at a good pace. I thought I was in good shape. but it was a pretty hard hike. That being said there were horses "taxis" that were available-for a price, somewhere between $10-20 depending o your negotatiating skill and how far up the mountain you were-if anyone decided they did not want to walk. Pacaya was specutacular. Walking over hot lava is not something you could do in the states for sure. We went to the very top and looked down the blow hole-scary. A guy at Tikal was there two days later and showed me a picture on his camera where it was erupting!
Next day went to Lake Atitlan on a WILD van ride. The boat to Casa del Mundo was 30Q, they tried for 200 at first! Said we'd have to wait 2 hours blah blah. Just say no. Stayed at Casa Del Mundo $72 for a spectacular room with 2 walls of windows-think it was #14. Next night moved to a room up the mountain even higher (179 steps!) with a shared bath (around $50). Casa Del Mundo is dreamy. It deserves all the accolades it gets. I would go back-and I typically like to try new places. Boats around the lake 10-15Q.
We had a great time checking out the villages around the lake-San Marcos, lots of massage and language schools. Hotel Acuulax was something to see. Almost moved there for a night, but Casa del Mundo was so good. There is a sweetheart of a man there named Luis, who is a language instructor-very reasonable too. San Juan-a, small, nice art community, then took a tuk tuk over to San Pedro, a sort of "60's" vibe place.
We flew to Remate and stayed at Casa Don David on Lake Peten Itza. Happy to have a room with AC. I think it was about $50. Good, simple, clean place to stay. The dinners were so so. Took off to Tikal the next day where we got a guide that spoke English perfectly, but gave us very little info and left early to catch another tour. I suggest that if you are going early in the am as we did to pre-arrange a guide, otherwise you'll have to pay for a private tour-expensive, or wait around till later in the am and miss the jungle life.
We caught a collectivo to San Ignacio from the side of the road at the crossing. I guess that is not recommended, but it was memorable! 20 people in a van with 12 seats! We had to sit in the jump seats with our luggage on our laps. 2 hours of bumpy roads, and many stops to the border of Belize. It was about $10.
We took a cab to Benque, then a public bus to San Ignacio-really cheap, I don't recall exactly how much-maybe a dollar us max. Took a cab from the center of town to Cristo Rey Village to Crystal Paradise Resort ($20US!) $102 per night with dinner and breakfast. It was okay, but it was $40us for a RT to town, so we moved into town to the Casa Blanca the next day $50 with AC. The Casa Blanca was nice, and we enjoyed being in town a lot more than at the resort.
We had to move the next night as there was no vacancy-we moved to the Mallorca next door same basic price ($48)and just as nice. the people were really nice too. We looked at Martha's guest house too and it was a good choice also-we didn't want to walk though they would have picked us up.
Went canoing on the Macal-really peaceful and beautiful. Without a guide the canoe was $12-with one it was $40 or more. A guide is definitely not needed if you get good directions. Stopped at Duplooy's botanical gardens-lots of skeeters, but worth the walk. Then stopped at Chaa Creek for lunch. That place is BEAUTIFUL. We had really good salads for lunch at their restaurant. Chaa Creek is expensive and high end, but worth it.
We met so many really cool locals I cannot begin to recap here! Check out Hannah's for dinner, Cafe Del Sol for coffee and internet, and Faya Wata for night life. No, these are not the least expensive, but they are at least some of the most entertaining and good.
Only spent two days on San Pedro as we stayed over in San Ignacio-there's a story in and of itself! Stayed at Corona Del Mar. $110us a night. Big suite type room with a kitchen, right on the beach. Free rum punch and a very simple breakfast. No hot water, but that was not really a big deal. Fidos is a great night spot. The musicians there were really good. And you should see what I call the climbing man of San Pedro who climbs the palalpa several stories high.
Special mention-we went snorkeling and our guide was Alphonse. I would ask around and get him if I ever went again. He's very knowledgable, safe, and personable. My friend booked this so I do not know how much snorkeling cost. We got to hold sharks and rays.
Bottom line-loved every bit of everywhere we went. So much so that I bought a small bit of land in Cayo! Thank you all for your help and advice in planning our trip. It helped a lot. Happy travels!
