Route from Guatemala City through Tikal and out through Cancun?

oppps sorry Mexico that should read

Paty - I'm not sure who you mean by 'they' in Belize. We have found our visits there to be generally more expensive than those to Guatemala or Honduras but have never felt nickeled and dimed - the providers we've used have all been really clear from the start what the services they provided would cost.

The taxes they now charge to be in Belize or just even pass thru.

I have never just passed through - that would certainly sting, having to pay the exit tax and not really sharing in the awesomeness on offer inside the borders. Our exit tax by air has been included in our airline tickets the last few times; it's high, but not more than Honduras', which we generally have to pay at the airport before we board.

There is a difference between a country having a high exit tax and airport departure fees, which are pretty standard everywhere.

Belize makes you pay a high fee even for passing through the country by road, even if you stay within a few hours time.

Hey there,
I backpacked through El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua for 6 weeks this summer. Lots of time had to be spent on buses in this short time but it's totally possible. So you can easily do Guatemala up to Cancun in 4 weeks.

To give you an idea, here's little travel guide I wrote for Guatemala. Maybe you'll get some inspiration as for where to go and how much time to spend in each location: My Little Guatemala Travel Guide

Go from Guatemala City to Antigua for 2 days, then take a shuttle to Lake Atitlan, maybe spend 5 days there. You probably have to move up North through Antigua (1/2 day). Go to Semuc Champey/Lanquin (about 2-3 days as it's not all too convenient to get there and away), then Flores and visit Tikal (2 days). So this would be 12 days, you could of course spend way more time around Lake Atitlan to visit a few more villages or relax a little more. We moved on to Caye Caulker after Guatemala (shuttle from Flores to Belize City, water taxi to Caye Caulker) and I know a few people who took the water taxi from Caye Caulker to Mexico. Caye Caulker would also definitely be worth a visit especially for snorkeling or diving, 3-4 days is enough though.

Have an awesome trip!

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Thanks everyone for these great tips! It's definitely a lot to think about!