Guatemala Info and Opinions

#9: I enjoyed your Guatemala pictures...thanks! Yes, I feel like I'm a little late getting my plane ticket and will probably have to pay too much for it, but I think I'll go for it.

Well good luck. I am leaving on December 20th with a return of January 7th. Guatemala is always a great place.

portlandia - I stayed week in San Pedro with a lovely host family. The school had evening activities and I always felt safe walking to my host family, 8 or 10 blocks away on one of the main roads. There were political parades in the evenings sometimes, and my friend and I caught a 4 am bus when we headed out - never felt safety worries. In Antigua we walked in the main areas between the plaza and our hotel after dark - lots of people and felt safe. Only once was it after 8 pm or so. In CA I rarely go out after dark and often taken a tuktuk if I do. I also keep my wits about me, know where I'm heading, travel really light and wear valuables under my clothes on transition days, all so I'll feel more confident and safe. If you attend the Cooperativa school please say hi to them from Stacey from Oregon. Photos and travelogue linked below if you're interested.

hopefulist, thanks for the tips. San Pedro sounds wonderful and I looked at your pictures and got even more excited. If I go to the Cooperative school, I will definitely tell them hello for you. Did you spend any time in Xela? I'm wondering if it's worth spending a night or two there. I live in portland, do you?

I live 80 east in The Dalles. I haven't been to Xela since the 80's, wasn't too fond of it then and haven't been back. The surrounding area is beautiful, though. Our son Isaac spent 6 weeks near there last summer volunteering and serving as an international observer for popular referendums associated with the terrible mining problems up there. I wouldn't make a separate trip that way if you only have a night or 2 - too much bus time. If you only have 2 weeks I'd spend a few days in/around Antigua and a few in Flores/Tikal in addition to your week in SPLL. You'll have afternoons to explore other villages around the lake if you're interested. That's basically what we did last summer but we had 3 weeks and spent an additional language school week in Nebaj. Instead of flying to Tikal and back we bused there with a 2 night layover in Rio Dulce (OK but not all that IMO) and flew back in time to connect with our flight home. Keep us posted!

I had a REALLY BAD experience with El Gran Jaguar travel agency in Antigua. We used them to take us to the airport in the early morning. First, the driver was late. Second, he could barely get the back door open for our luggage. The side door didn't even open at all. Then he got lost going to the airport. I was thinking he knew a secret route when he blew by the airport signs. It turns out he couldn't even read. Then he took us to the TACA corporate office, not the airport. When we FINALLY arrived at the airport, the back door wouldn't open and we had to shove the suitcases through a window.

Avoid el Gran Jaguar Travel Agency in Antigua. I speak relatively good Spanish and was able to book my trip with no problems. However, there were other travellers there as well who did not speak Spanish. The agency had no one who spoke English. I ended up translating, but the other travellers (Scotish) were disgusted with the Jaguar and went down the street.

I am sorry about your experience with Gran Jaguar, zaxinc. I was very satisfied with their service. I guess sometimes it's about luck.

Yeah, win some, lose some. At least we got to the airport on time. The rest of the trip went without too much trouble, even getting surrounded by a mob of people in a small village outside of Sayache in our car.

Glad you had a good time in Guatemala.

We've spent 3 months (on a boat in the Rio Dulce) in Guatemala, interspersed with some travel 'inland', including

- Pacaya
- Antigua
- Chichi
- Panajachel and Lake Atitlan
- Coban, Lanquin, Semuc Champey
- Rio Dulce
- 2 weeks at La Union language school in Antigua.

Links to info here:

Blog (Our experiences and photos, in reverse chronological order)

Photos

Facts and Details (PDF/doc file with links, recommendations, and phone numbers)