Whats good in Guatemala?

Swayze

Me and HJ are thinking about going to Guatemala in December. I definitely want to see Tikal, but beyond that, I'm not really sure whats cool to do down there. We're thinking about going for about a week.Any strutters ever been?

tallbobsmoke

I spent six weeks in Guatemala and Belize in July and August. A week's a pretty short time. Antigua and Lago Atitlan are two awesome places in Guatemala, but they're pretty far from Tikal (at least a full day on an uncomfortable bus on pretty fucked up roads) Some people say it's dangerous to take the overnight bus, but I met a few people who did it and had no problem. When you go to Tikal you should try to spend the night in one of the hotels in the park. They are expensive (compared to the rest of Guate), but it's so worth it to wake up in the park and get an early start. You should also do the sunrise hike. Climbing to the top of a pyramid in the dark and experiencing the waking up of the jungle with howler monkeys and toucans is pretty unforgettable.

Flores is a cool town about an hour and half from Tikal. It's this little island in the middle of a lake. It's muy tranquilo there. Small cobblestone streets. If you go there stay at Los Amigos Hostel. Very cool vibe with hammocks, tiki lamps, cheap drinks, and cheap food. We spent two days there hanging out, taking a canoe onto the lake and laying in hammocks and reading. They can also arrange some pretty cool trips to Mayan ruins a little more off the path.

From Flores, it's actually easier to go into Belize than heading further south into Guatemala. You can make it to San Ignacio, Belize from Flores/Santa Elena in about 3 hours. In San Ignacio there are a bunch of tour operators that can take you cave exploring if you're into that. We did the ATM Cave and were pretty blown away. You have to swim through a large portion of the cave. You end up walking next to cermonial pottery shards and skeletons. There are also a few smaller Mayan pyramid complexes that you can do on your own like Xunantunich. You have to cross the river on a hand cranked ferry to get there.

I could go on and on. That's a great part of the world.

Gnat

I spent about 6 months down there, crossing in and out of Guatamala several times because it was one of my favorite places. Honestly, I recommend staying longer.

Since that ain't happening, do Tikal and take Bob's advice there. And then check out Lago De Atitlan by way of Panajachel. Don't stay in Panajachel though, stay in the hotel on the lake called Casa Del Mundo. Fuckin doooooope. Beautiful, places to cliff dive, amazing food, surly parrot simply named "lorro" that will try and take your food if left unattended, verry nice.

The difficulty is the amount of time you're spending. Travel is lengthy and difficult because you gotta take those crazy ass buses. They're an experience in and of themselves...looking down jungle ravines where you can make out the skeleton of buses that actually have gone over (or were pushed over) and then realizing why it says "Que Dios Bendiga este Bus".

Main advice: pick a couple things to do and try to relax. You try to do to much in that week and you'll have done nothing.

If you need specific recs about specific places, hollur.