Central America Trip Report - Guatemala - Pt 1 - Flores

I had been planning my trip to Central America for months and had scoured the Thorn Tree Forum looking for tips and recommendations. After much thought, I finally decided on visiting the following countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Panama. I hope that my series of trip reports will be useful to forum readers. I plan to do the report over the coming weeks and will break it into parts for each city/town. I stay in secure, comfortable hotels and mostly dine in restaurants/cafes and sometimes eat off the street, if I am very sure that the business has clean and fresh food... look for lots of locals dinning and it has gotta be good. I speak reasonable travellers´ Spanish (I am daily building my vocab) and firmly believe that it is essential to speak at least a few (polite) phrases of the local lingo, no matter where you go. I began my 2 month trip on August 8 2007.

Flores - Tikal

I flew into Flores as an extension to my international flight legs in order to save some overland journey time. Tikal was my primary interest for going to Flores. I had intended to stay overnight at the Jaguar Inn, next to Tikal but they were full and would not accept a phone reservation, from Flores, for a latter night. Therefore, I checked out a number of travel agents in Flores looking for the best deal for a day trip to Tikal. After shopping around I found that, for the budget option, most agents were only on-selling San Juan Tour´s day trip packages. I opted for the guided sunrise tour the ruins (180Q). The plan is a 4:00 am start in order to arrive at Tikal and be sitting atop Temple 4, with about 80-100 other tourists, to view the sun rising over Tikal. Unfortunately, the morning was foggy so I did not experience the sun´s rays breaking over Tikal, however, I was cool seeing the tops of Tikal´s temples poking through the fog. The tour progressed around Tikal for a number of hours (about 4 in total) and we climbed a couple of pyramids & temples in order to get a better view of this spectacular place that is surrounded by the jungle. We spotted numerous howler monkeys and a toucan. Although the guide did provide a fairly good explanation of the fauna and flora, I and numerous other people in my group, left a little disappointed with the guide´s inadequate explanation of the Mayan history and culture that existed at Tikal. On reflection, I should have shelled out the extra cash to pay more to a smaller specialist company who could have delivered a more personalised service. Later in the day, I met 2 chickas from England who had done a 4 day tour to El Mirador and Tikal with a small operator based in Flores and they were really happy with their experience. The agency is the first agency on the right after you exit the bridge that leads into Flores (between the alley that leads up to central park and the bar/restaurant).

Flores - Lodging

I stayed at Casa Rosa, about 2/3 the way along Calle 15 de Septiembre, on the right (adjacent to the boat stop where boats depart to cross the lake). The hotel is fairly new I recommend the rooms up stairs (the rooms down stairs tend to be noisy) - $20 per night, 2 x double beds (new & firm), A/C, 24/7 HW, TV.

Flores - Eating

As the LP guide book notes, La Luna (Calle 30 de Junio) is The place to dine in Flores. Their menu is innovative, the food fresh, great ambiance (check out the funky back room) and the service is attentive and top rate. Either get in early or reserve a table to avoid being disappointed. I also had pizza at the first pizzeria after the bend in Calle 15 de Septiembre... the pizza was very average.

Flores - Antigua

I opted for the direct day bus to Guatemala City (Linea Dorada) and connecting shuttle bus to Antigua. The agent I used to book this trip was the first agent on the left along Calle Centro America). The bus departs Flores at about 8-8:30, stops for lunch for 45 minutes about an hour south of Rio Dulce. The transfer to the shuttle was efficient and painless and the shuttle service (via a large Mercedes van) delivers you at Antigua´s central park at about 7:30, from memory.

Part 2 - Antigua - to follow