Guatemala Travel Forum

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon. We already made arrangements to stay at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala and are researching the possibility of traveling to southern Belize for a few days to spend some time at the beach. We plan to rent a car and don't mind traveling on difficult roads across Guatemala; however, we don't know the best route. We would rather drive than fly. Does anyone have suggestions for the best roads to take to drive from Lake Atitlan to Belize or have any idea how many hours the trip would be? We appreciate any help!!

Getting to southern Belize by rental car from Lake Atitlan would be interesting. First, you would have needed to hire a rental company that will even let you cross the border. Then you need to drive way up to Peten and cross over into northern Belize. Then you need to head south again.

Guate City to Flores is 8 hours, once you get there from Atitlan, but you could head straight north from Atitlan on small roads. I bet you could get to Placencia with a little over a full day and a half of hard driving and not stopping to see much of anything.

Wow! Thanks so much for your help. We didn't even know if it was possible, so your input is much appreciated. I wonder what we could do instead. We are definitely staying at Lake Atitlan for a week, then we wanted some beach time and I've heard that some of the beaches on Guatemala's coast aren't that great. Do you have any suggestions for a nice beach that would be closer to Lake Atitlan and more accessible than trying to get to southern Belize? We definitely don't have enough time to spend a day-and-a-half driving one way to Belize. Thanks!

Personally, I think that honeymoons should not involve a whole lot of transit, and because Guatemala is not really a "beach destination," you would do best to splurge a little at the end and just get a hotel with a pool.

Guate City's Zona Viva has them, and a nightlife with fine restaurants as well.

Great! Thanks again. I figured that travel by car around Guatemala would be difficult. You're right...we should focus more on relaxing than on trekking great distances. Would it be okay for me to keep your info in case we have any additional questions as the time gets closer?