Accommodation around Lake Atitlan over New Year's...

Awesome, okay... good info to know! Thanks everyone!! :)

just make sure you don't let the boats over charge you!!!

They are notorious for making the prices up on the spot and the "gringo" price can be excessively high!

One of the captains' favorite tricks is to tell you the next public boat won't leave for 4 hours, you'll have to pay more for a private boat unless you want to wait. Sometimes they keep locals at bay while you wait, hoping you'll change your mind, then they finally give up and folks come out of the woodwork to fill the boat. The boats leave when they're full, however long that takes. I think the longest I've ever waited in Pana is about half an hour.

It's important to understand that the foreigner price and the local price are set by the official organization, and that's that. I've seen people argue, scream, and yell about it... even refuse to get off the boat once (an ugly yet somewhat hilarious scene that wasn't helped by the language barrier). Sort of unseemly considering that the locals are basically getting a volume discount for traveling every day, while foreigners get a cheap price anyway. Once someone lives at the lake long enough, they can start getting the regular price, but it's best to save everyone the hassle and not argue with these hard-working people over a 50 cent or 1 dollar difference in price. That said, there are standard prices and if someone is asking for more than that, it's not OK, but the tiered price system makes perfect sense and is there for a reason.

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