I planning to travel around Guatemala probably a month from the end of January and through February. Since I like to have a flexible schedule. I was wondering if hotels (and perhaps busses) may be full in some locations during carnival? I know in Panama for example everybody goes to the beach, mountains etc. so it may be difficult to find accommodation even though there isn't a carnival in that town.
Is there carnival in other locations than Mazatenango?
I was in Guatemala in February last year. Carnival is not a huge celebration in most of the country. The only thing we saw were the cascarones: brightly colored eggshells filled with confetti that people break on other people's heads. Our hostel in Antigua had a basket full and in the market in Antigua we saw Maya girls chasing each other and breaking those eggshells on each other's heads. We had no problem finding a room in February. We slept in budget hotels/hostels (private room with shared or private bathroom). We booked a few places as we liked them from previous visits. Buses are almost always crowded in Guatemala!
I've been in Guatemala a number of times during the week of carnival. For the most part never even noticed it was carnival week. I suppose it may be celebrated somewhat in Livingston with the Carib influence there. But in most of Guatemala lodging and intercity buses will be no more full than usual. And as sonia points out chicken buses are always full.
Buen viaje!
Yep, there are very few manifestations of it besides in Mazatenango... and that's mostly just (a ton of) domestic visitors. Semana Santa, on the other hand, is a lot more of an unusual period w/transit, hotels, etc.
You won't even notice it is carnival time.
If you are referring to the chicken buses, there can be anywhere between 20 and 100+ people on them at any given time, depending on the time of day, the route, and other random factors. How many people can you fit on a chicken bus? 10 more
Thank you all for your replies. I didn't think carnival was a big thing in Guatemala, just wanted to know if there was something to be aware of.
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