Guatemala Travel Answers

you'll have a far easy time than most being literally next to the country itself i'd base myself in either Antigua de Guatemala or Quetzaltenango lots of outstanding indigenous villages and markets all round for a good day's visit and exploration...and since things are fairly inexpensive in Guatemala you'd have as much fun deciding on as many places and activities to choose from i find Antigua the old capital very convenient as far as everything considered (indigenous culture, markets, choice of accommodations/cafes/restaurants and transportation hub to practically everywhere

and you mustn't miss out on the weekend market at Chichicastenango...it's just incredible...this is where you can get better to great bargains if you want to shop (they have - as in all over Guatemala - great hand-women fabrics but in Chichi you'd find fantastic hand-made wood carvings) if you have time, also stop by at Panajachel and hire a boat/guide to visit and explore the many superlative indian villages that dot around Lago de Atitlan, this way you'll get to experience direct contact and then almost surely be invited into the very sublimely simple homes of the Mayans who also do their weaving and crafting right in their little homes from whom and where you can buy stuff directly and feel so much gratitude for giving back something to their existence be warned tho that many of the indigenous tribes don't appreciate fotos taken of them; ask first if you must (pretty sure you know of this already as this is generally true of the Mayans in Mexico)

Thank you Solo :D I will go to that market as well, I love markets

7 days is a short visit to bring in Tikal. We stretched our trip to 10 days, arrived in Flores from Mexico, then after seeing Tikal, took the combi van to Sayaxche, and then over the mountain to Coban. We visited the Highlands where Rigoberta Menchu by old bus was born in route to Lago Atitlan. But, we couldn't see how to fit in Antigua and stayed in Atitlan before getting a ride through HueHuetenango back to Mexico. We chose to see parts of Guatemala most tourists don't and had a great time on the cheap. If you are resourceful linguistically, then don't bother with tour package or bus. You can travel quickly as the locals do by minivan, and there's no need for reservations as the van leaves when its full of passengers, which is every few minutes.

Forgot to add that I have extensive VT pages on Tikal, Flores, Sayaxche, Coban, HueHue, and other places in Guatemala. Check them out for more details about what we did.

Thank you!! I will check your pages. :D

From Mexico City, you have a lot of options. With time, the rugged route over the Umacinta River is really great way to get into Guatemala. Fly to Villahermosa, and then take the first-class bus to Palenque. From there, the combis go to Frontera Corazal. You can take a river launch to Yaxchitlan (see my pages on this), then go to Bethel for the bus ride to Flores. Flores is a very nice little town. I also liked the rugged nature of Sayaxche, and hope that the bridge hasn't yet been built over the Rio Passion. Coban is also worth one day. From there, head for Lago Atitlan and relax.