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So me and my friend are going to Guatemala for 2 weeks in January. After looking up some places and different itinerary on the web I tried building ours and this is our first look at it :

Day 1 - Travel from home country to Guatemala

Day 2 - Arriving in Guatemala City at around noon. We plan to take the direct shuttle to Antigua then visit and hangout in Antigua.

Day 3 - Antigua again, walk around. Is there any specific places that you guys would propose ?

Day 4 - Head to Panajachel around the Atitlan. We want to explore and see different villages around the lake. Any villages better than others ?

Day 5,6 - Around Lake Atitlan again

Day 7 - Travel to Flores. We are unsure about taking the night bus or the day one. It is a long trip so we're planning a full day on this.

Day 8 - We would like to take the Sunrise Tour at Tikal and finish the day wandering around in Flores

Day 9 - Get to Lanquin, any places to see in the town ? Will probably sleep at Zephy Lodge

Day 10 - Semuc Champey! Sleep again in Lanquin

Day 11 - Not sure what to do here!

Day 12 - Take the Pacaya Volcano Hike

Day 13 - Smooth day before going back home, planning on sleeping in Guatemala City to catch our flight on the next day

Day 14 - Flight back home

So far, it looks like this. Im not sure about the end of the trip between Semuc Champey and the Pacaya Volcano hike.
Any advices would be really appreciated :) Thanks guys!

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1

You're just proposing 2 nights per stop which means you will be transitioning half the days of your trip - that sounds like bad trip math to me. I'd put Antigua and Pacaya together either at the beginning or the end of your trip and add another night or 2 to the lake.


My photos w/ blog & travelogue links on the main page of each collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections
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2

Hmm good idea, could do the pacaya while in antigua at the start of the trip. Add one night at the lake

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3

There are tours to Pacaya from Antigua, so like #2 said maybe move Pacaya towards the beginning of your trip. There are shuttles from Antigua to Pacaya. You can also take chicken buses, but you would need to change buses at least twice.

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4

2 Nights Atitlan is 2-3 nights too little.

That is a lot of moving around.

What about fly GC to Flores for Tikal, then head to Lanquin/Semuc, then head to Antigua and then relax at lake and head to Antigua last night before flight for GC...


Adventure Travel to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, South Africa, Morocco, Turkey, EU, USA National Parks, enjoying culture, cuisine, motorcycling, scuba diving, surfing, sailing, rafting, hiking, fishing, camping, nature, wildlife. Get a Guidebook, and get lost!
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5

I agree w/ #1 poster. You're trying to fit in a whole lot of travel days, and you should have at least one more day for Lake Atitlan.

Since most transit to Flores means you have to go back to Guatemala City first, or include GC enroute, you should go to Flores and Tikal either first or last, since you're already going to be in GC at the beginning and end of your trip. If going by bus, overnight bus to Flores is best and most available.

If you started by going to Flores, you could find someplace to store your luggage a few hours, explore the city in the afternoon and night bus to Flores, then after Tikal, work your way back south by bus. Or, start in Antigua, and visit Flores last, taking overnight bus to GC at the end.

Otherwise, you're zigzagging around the country too much.

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6

Suggest you get the NEWEST Lonely Planet for Guatemala. Mine came yesterday. I have a couple of older ones but wanted the most recent info. It is great. My next trip is planned for Semana Santa of next year, I don't bother with electronics as in places many times that don't have access. So I rely on my LP and my maps.

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7

I love having the e-versions of guidebooks. You can often get them before the (heavy) paper versions come out and can choose more than one publisher if you want; in general I prefer the Rough Guides and Moon Handbooks to Lonely Planet. The digital versions are really searchable and you can highlight and make notes. I print out specific pages or maps ahead of time if I want a paper copy. I travel with an iPad Mini which serves as my ereader, my internet connection, and a hub for organizing, sharing, and backing up photos.


My photos w/ blog & travelogue links on the main page of each collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections
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8

I have lived on Lake Atitlan (initially Panajachel and now San Antonio Palopó) for four years. There are still villages I want to visit but have never made it. Antigua is a town, the Atitlan area is a collection of very diverse communities surrounding an amazing lake.

If it was my trip I would plan to spend a lot of time on the lake but not necessarily with a lot of structure/pre-planning. What will appeal to you is going to be different from what appeals to others. For example, I have virtually no interest in "where the Gringos go". Thus, I find San Antonio Palopó and San Lucas really interesting. But, that's me. http://casasderocio.com/the-area/ is my personal one-page description of the communities on the lake.

If you start in Panajachel, it is easy to get to the other communities including a multi-stop trip for about Q100. Look around and stay where it feels right. It is a really amazing area with a lot of diversity.

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9

Thanks for all you advices, really appreciated :)

So I changed the trip a bit it looks like this now :

Day 1 - Travel from home country to Guatemala

Day 2 - Arriving in Guatemala City at around noon. We plan to take the direct shuttle to Antigua then visit and hangout in Antigua.

Day 3 - Antigua again, walk around. Is there any specific places that you guys would propose ?

Day 4 - Pacaya Volcano

Day 5 - Head to Panajachel around the Atitlan. We want to explore and see different villages around the lake. Any villages better than others ?

Day 6,7 - Around Lake Atitlan again

Day 8 - Travel to Flores. We are unsure about taking the night bus or the day one. It is a long trip so we're planning a full day on this.

Day 9 - We would like to take the Sunrise Tour at Tikal and finish the day wandering around in Flores

Day 10 - Get to Lanquin, any places to see in the town ? Will probably sleep at Zephy Lodge

Day 11 - Semuc Champey! Sleep at Greengos in Semuc Champey

Day 12 - Chill day in Semuc Champey

Day 13 - Smooth day before going back home, planning on sleeping in Guatemala City to catch our flight on the next day

Day 14 - Flight back home

I know it makes a lot of travelling between day 8 and 10 but its just to go see Tikal really. Other than that I dont think we are travelling too much ? How easy is it to go from Laquin to GC ?

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