Mexico/Guatemala itinerary advice

Hi, wow! That is a lot of travel and zig zagging. I have done two similar trips around Central - specifically including Guate and Mexico. How are you getting from Palenque to Flores?? Tikal to the city is also very long.

I would recommend doing a more circular trip. Travel in Guatemala is very slow. I have used public bus, private bus and hitch hiked and also we did a self drive all around this area, time takes mostly the same!

Decide whether you want to go to Tikal or Palenque more (I haven't been to Tikal, but have been to Palenque and Coba ruinas) then make a decision. Doing that amount of long journeys is hard let alone with kids and in thirty days.

I would personally do one of the following:
Cancun 1/2 days
Cancun - Isla (spend 1/2days)
Cancun - Tulum (I love this place and we stayed well off the beaten track down towards Punta Allen in Sian Ka'an) for 2-3 days at least, visit a cenote; including a trip to the Coba ruinas on the way back to Cancun.
Over night bus Cancun to Palenque (ours was comfortable, long journey no. one).
Palenque ruinas spend a day and night,
Palenque to San Criostobal stay here over night and for a day or two. Cool at christmas time.
San Criostobal - Lake Atitlan (long journey no. two)
Spend 3-4 days here, love it!! Amazing hikes etc.

(So far between 15-17 days and only two long journeys)

Lake Atitlan to Antigua spend a few days here;

Now you get to decide where to go... we went to Monterrico and had an amazing time, all locals, black sand beach, amazing sunsets, baby turtle release, boat trip at sunrise through the mangroves with a view of the volancoes in the distance. Finally to Guatemala city :-)

This would give you a couple of days to extend your trip in some places, or go to Xela.

The other option would be go down the east coast - Cancun - Tulum - Belize - Tikal (Flores) - Coban - Antigua - Lake Atitlan - Antigua - Guate. This is also a lovely trip we self drove this (stopped at Flores but did not go to Tikal) as we has seen ruinas in Coba etc.) however the bus journeys are a lot longer for more days. I wouldnt zig-zag over and back you will be wrecked, unless of course you are flying.

If you want further info on the east coast trip and then across to Guate let me know.

Semuc Champey was amazing btw!

Oh I should have answered the rest of your questions, - I personally would not cut down time in Atitlan, the views, people and things to do are amazing and close by. Semuc is fantastic but there is only really the hike there ( I am trying to keep in mind your kids). But could be added to my first or second route above if you did a one way route and not zig-zag. You could for instance continue down the coast of Belize, get the boat from Punta Gordon to Livingstone then take a boat trip up the river, bus from Rio Dulce to Coban and then Lanquin is 3 hours from Coban, you would then have to double back to Coban and head towards lake atitlan etc.

The volcanoe hike in Antigua is very easy, the ones in Xela are tough around Dec and we were up the top of Santa Maria it was well below freezing until the sun came up. San Pedro in L.Atitlan hike up the volcano was easier and would be more kid friendly (stops and viewpoints on the way).

Hi,
I am travelling in November for 4weeks (32 days) in Mexico-Guatemala. Arriving in Cancun, leaving from Guatemala City. We are 2 adults with 2 kids (3 and 5), we like ruins and outdoor activities (children are limiting for the hiking bit). ...
21-night bus to Guatemala City, plus transfer to Antigua
22-24 Antigua
25-31 - Lake Attitlan, Xala? (not sure if there is enough to keep us busy there? could someone recommend how to spend time there?)
32- sleepAntigua
33- flight from Guatemala City

Also we like hiking, are there any half day hikes around this itinerary that you would recommend? Is any of the volcano hikes in Antigua doable with kids?
If you have any ideas how to optimise our itinarary, I would be happy to hear

From Antigua Volcan Pacaya is doable with kids. You can hire a horse for extra money for the kids to ride. One option worth considering with Pacaya is to arrange a private tour (if you have the extra money). That way you can go at your own pace. The $10 - $15 trips you see advertised provide you with transportation only. As many people as they can cram in the van become your tour group. Guides are mandatory. Probably not the best for your kids (or the others in the group). Bring ingredients for s'mors. Your kids will love roasting marshmallows on the hot lava.

Cerro de la Cruz is a viewpoint outside of Antigua that you can walk up to from the city. Without kids it is about a 30 - 45 minute walk.

If you make it as far as Xela (Quetzaltenango), Laguna de Chicabal is a nice half day hike. Its on a dirt road most of the way. Its a sacred Maya site so you may see people doing sacrifices (chickens not people). For a cost you can get a ride to the rim and walk down. The lake was formed in the caldera of an extinct volcano.

The following is a list of activities from the Spanish School that I attend in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. It will give you some ideas of the activities that are available around the lake. Some are specific to the school, but most you can arrange on your own. Lots of them are suitable with young kids. One thing Lake Atitlan has, is an abundance of travel companies willing to help you arrange activities.
http://www.jabeltinamit.com/spanish_language_schools_activities/spanish_schools_activities.htm

I like the overall plan and route. The hotel strip of Cancun sucks so stay away from that place.

Couple suggestions/Ideas:

You can visit Coban on the way from Tulum to Valladolid, rent some bikes. A lot of fun.

You might replace Merida with Santa Elena, very cool small town and close to Uxmal. We liked staying at Sacbe Bungalows, big grounds, great for the kids playing around and good birding. Maybe rent a car for a few days out of Merida then bus it to Palenque.

In Palenque I enjoyed the village of El Panchan, lots of cheap lodging and next to the ruins.
From Palenque to Flroes, easy to set up in Palenque, it's a full day trip.

Might consider staying overnight in Frontera Corozal, on the river and visit Bonampak and Yaxchilán ruins, about half way to Flores.

Highly recommend staying in the park at Tikal.

You and the kids might enjoy a few nights in the Rio Dulce area. It help break up the trip to Guatemala City and is a very cool area, places a few minutes out of town like Tortugal and Tijax come highly recommended or get a boat stay a night in Livingston the a couple nights on the river. Easy 5hr. bus from Dulce to Guatemala City after that.

http://www.hotelitoperdido.com/main.php?page=activities& http://fincatatin.com/Code/HTML/English/en_welcome.html

Hm, I didn't think I was zigzaging...
I would rather not go through Belize as we cannot do diving, so I would leave it for my next trip..
Saying that I would choose Tikal over Palenque..
The border crossing to Guatemala worries me a bit from what I understand there are 2 options from Palenque:
- El Ceibo land crossing - do it yourself type of deal (?)
- organised shuttle with boat to Bethel
I was hopping to get more info once in Palenque... But it seams doable as a long day trip.

You're right I had a look at the map (I was between breaks earlier and thought palenque was further West in relation to Flores and the border!) apologies, it is not really a zig zag. I would agree about merida could easily be skipped!
Also you could always head down the coast and get the bus from Chetumal to Flores.
Maybe some others can give you more advice on this as I don't know the palenque to Flores route. It would give you an extra day or two rather than going back to cancun then to palenque and it's less than a day by bus.
There is also a shuttle bus from Flores to lanquin for semuc.
Have a little think :-).

I haven't done the palenque to Flores route and it might be very easy (hopefully you will get some good advice from others here), but long packed bus journeys are never fun with children and some buses are small, we had a shuttle van type which was supposed to sit 12 had 23 on it for three hours haha!!

Also a lot of travel is so much easier when you vet there so if you're not stuck hard and fast to an itinerary you can spend an extra day here or there and book bus or shuttle that suits. Accommodation shouldn't be a major issue, we have never head a problem with extending stays or getting places even when we ended up in groups of six or more random travellers over Christmas periods.

It sounds like it will be an amazing trip. Once you have set the route for certain if I can help at all I will! Lake atitlan is a must that's for sure and again I second the Antigua volcano hike it's perfect for kids.

There are 3 Antigua volcanoes to hike, but two of them are definitely too difficult for your kids, maybe even for you. The only one for you to consider is Pacaya.

Buen viaje!

This might help for the Palenque to Flores trip, again I recommend staying the night in Frontera Corazal. I originally posted in #4.

Here is a thread from several days ago, might help you decide.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-mexico/mexico/palenque-to-flores-de30c795-1d98-49e3-9126-9080b5db38b2

Totally doing the hike!