Guatemala Travel Forum

I am considering a trip to Guatemala from around June27- July 7. I would have about 9 full days...

I was wondering if this time of year was good for visiting Guatemala? If we are flying roudtrip to Guatemala City can we go by bus to Tikal stopping along the way to see various other cities/ towns and then just fly back to Guatemala City from Flores?

Also- what would be the best way to spend our time. I think that 9 days would be a decent amount of time to explore Guatemala...

I want to thank everyone in advance for any comments & information!

It will be quite warm and you will enjoy the daily rain in late afternoon or thereabouts. There is not a lot of airline competition between Guate and Flores/Tikal, so it's not cheap to fly. I prefer an overnight bus to Flores and a day bus via Coban coming back. The scenery via Coban is impressive (unlike the route via Rio Dulce)and there are things to see in and near Coban. With only 9 days, don't let anyone talk you into wasting two of them to get to the overrated Semuc Champey.

Well. actually from Coban a peraon would be wasting PARTS of two days.

June is a rainy month, July is not. The best way to go to Tikal is by a tour bus, it will take 8 hours to get there, so you need more than 3 days to enjoy the trip. Antigua Guatemala is a great place, just stay away from a 5 star restaurant Santo Domingo, Its expensive and four people got food poison after having their breakfast and paying 78.82 for it!!! Lake Atitlan is another beautiful place to see and on your way back from Flores stop at Rio Dulce. Good food and lots of things to see like Livingston.
Wish you good luck, don't drink the water or have ice on your drinks.
I love Guatemala, is a beautiful country. Stay away from the city if you can.

Maria

TOUR buses to Tikal are not a good idea. Being on one suggests that you are rich. You could instead just flash a wad of money to impress would-be robbers. There are plenty of public buses to take. My impression is that currently the BEST overnight service is with Fuente del Norte if you get one of the deluxe seats on one of its first class buses.

Stay in Antigua not Guatemala City. It's best to have a reservation at a hotel in Antigua and have them arrange someone to meet you at the airport. That's the safest way. DON'T ARRIVE AFTER DARK! Many people are robbed in Guatemala. I was there for three months and heard many, many robbery stories. Take a money belt and WEAR it. Antigua is the most touisted city in the country and worth at least two or three days. If you like the party scene head to Lake Atitlan. Panajachel is the biggest most touristed town on the lake, while 420 friendly San Pedro is an up-and-comer with a young backpacker and hippie crowd. Tikal is a don't miss. I would take an overnight buss there and back out of Guatemala City. The only place I went between the city and Tikal was Semuc Champey and unlike the other guy I loved it. Beautiful waterfalls and pools cascading over rock formations. It's great for swimming and hiking. Make the short hike up to the view of the pools from the side of the mountain, it's worth it. Make sure to take at least one "chicken bus" while your there. Antigua to Lake Atitlan is a great chicken bus trip.

Anytime of year is a good time to visit. You'll see some rain, mostly just short showers though. Antigua and Lake Atitlan are both at about five thousand feet so the nights are chilly, bring a jacket and at least one pair of long pants. Tikal is hot, hot, hot. Take lots of water to the pyramids or you'll have to pay the higher prices at the vendors in the park. If your like me you'll climb every pyramid there but if you have to choose one make it the tallest, I forget the name but the top sticks out above the trees and the view of the endless ocean of green in every direction is unbeatable.

Your plan is a good one, and 9 days is realistic. If you start in Antigua Guatemala, you'll find dozens of agencies and other outfits in that charming town to organize the rest of your trip.

Avoid Guatemala City as much as possible. When I went, I spent 2 nights in El Remate (near Tikal), one night in Flores, one in Sayaxché (very exciting, because 100% not-touristic), one in Coban, and two in Antigua.

I never used tour buses. Just regular buses, minibuses, shuttles... (but not the colored schoolbuses, which I was told were iffy).

If you look at one page of mine, look at the Sayaxché page. It's the real flavor of Guatemala.

I'm preparing to go to Honduras next month, and if it's half as great as Guatemala, I'll be thrilled.

Thanks for all of the great information so far!

We are doing a lot of reading on Guatemala and definitely need to visit Tikal and Yaxha. If possible we'd also like to do an excursion into Honduras to see Copan.

If we were to do those things listed- could anyone suggest an itinerary for 10 days including them.
( other things we want to visit are Antigua, Pacaya Volcano, Chi Chi market and possibly Monterrico etc..)

Thanks again, we have little time to plan and want to make the trip as best as possible!