Home last updated 05/11/13
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Airlines Hotels and Region Info Buses Shuttles Rental Cars Tours Museums Guatemalan Maps Yellow Pages
Petén Info Volunteering Spanish Schools Maya Ruins List Thoughts about trash. Local Newspapers Thoughts on Food Safety Official Guatemala Tourism Website Current Weather at the Guate airport Do you need a visa? Current and Historical Exchange Rate See the Current Time in Guatemala Quetzal Exchange Rate to the US dollar
What to do in Guatemala City. Guatemala City Business Directory INGUAT website. Online Guatemalan radio stations Revue Guatemala's English Magazine See Travmed.com for travel medicine considerations. See Guatemalan Bus Schedules An Excellent Online Guide to Guatemala My favorite hot sauce is Guatemalan and you can buy it in the USA. . Time and distance map
Help support the new library in Tzununá. If you are going to Lake Atitlán, you can take some books in Spanish along to donate.
Friendly thoughts about the Pollo Campero chain.
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If you are taking any currency to Guatemala that you will want to exchange, make sure it has no tears or unusual marks.
Local Airline Flights You are usually best off to not pay for local air fare too far before you need it there unless it is a very early connective flight or if you absolutely must have that particular one. Then go ahead and book now. These sources are mostly listed so you can have an idea of schedules, airlines and availability.
time and you want to see Tikal fast.
Aereo Ruta Maya does charters for those with much more money than time. Mexicana (to Mexican cities from Guate) Grupo TACA. has an afternoon and morning flight to Flores. See ambivalent epinions of them. Get an idea of TACA Flight Schedules between Guate, Flores and Cancun. TAG flies between Guate and Flores and to Copan. It also does charters. About Sleeping in the Guate Airport
If you can sleep during an overnight bus ride, consider that option for Guate-Flores. There are no cheap airfares. Keep in mind that on holidays such as Good Friday, Easter, Christmas or New Year, don't expect any long distance buses to run. __________
Find out when first and second class buses are going where you are and their timetables. See another source.
Autobuses del Norte runs two first class buses between Guate and Flores day and night and is the good deal in price versus quality. If you want to be sure to sit alone, get a seat on the right side of the bus, but well behind the driver. #9 is good, as is back to #20.
Fuente del Norte
runs a lot of cheaper
buses for getting from Guate to Flores and other locations. Right across the street are two comedors that are open
until 10 PM, where you can eat or
just nurse a beer before departure.
Linea
Dorada runs first class buses to and from Flores to Belize and to Chetumal, Mexico. It looks like you
could book online if you feel the need to.
For Guate-Puerto Barrios and for Chiquimula and Río Dulce, see Litegua's schedules. Monja Blanca runs good enough and better buses between Guate and Cobán. Buses schedules to and from Cobán. Tica Bus International Schedule and prices from Guate
How you can sleep better on an overnight bus or plane, for that matter.
See also the expensive but comfortable Hedman Alas for its bus schedules from Antigua (1 bus daily to Guate with connections to Copan. It also goes to San Pedro Sula and back with connections to other places around Honduras), See Monarcas for Copan shuttles. Rutas Orientales also goes there.
Ticabus goes from Tapachula, Mexico through Guate to Panama City and some cities in between. Pullmantur is plush and goes from Guate's Zona Viva to Tegucigalpa and San Salvador.
If you need a car there and can book a good price with a local company, go for it. Ahorrent (Guate airport) Tabarini (in Antigua, Guate, Huehue, Cobán, Santa Elena, Xela) Tally Renta Autos (Guate airport) Company List (includes locations at Flores and Cobán) For Petén, see the Petén page.
Rental Bikes Emmanuel's in Panajachel. _____________
If you plan to take the generic "beaten path" tourist entry to Guatemala, you will find plenty of shuttles to take you there lying in wait to take you to Antigua.
You should not need a reservation, but the last regular shuttles between the Guatemala City Airport and Antigua leave at 8 PM, although there may be laggards. If you are arriving late and you really need to head to Antigua, ask others on your flight if they would like to share a cab. Adrenalina Tours runs a large number of high priced shuttles to places including Nebaj, Cobán, Yodos Santos, Tapachula and San Cristobal, Chiapas.
Panajachel, Antigua, Copan and Chichi.
Maya Guate has a lot of shuttle runs to and
from a lot of locations, including 11 from Pana, 5 from
Antigua, including to Copan and Flores, and three from Cobán.
Turansa has shuttles between Guate and Antigua, Antigua and
Monterrico, Panajachel and Chichicastenango.
Santos Juracán can take you from Guate to
Pana and back without going through Antigua.
Servicios
Turísticos Atitlán (STA) has a good number of regular shuttles
from Guate-Pana via Antigua. From Pana and Antigua, it also goes
many places, including Monterrico, Copan, and connecting with a
first class bus to Flores.
The
Happy Fish Resort advertises boat and van transportation from Livingston
to Río Dulce,
Copan, Quiriguá and Tikal.
See
also Hedman Alas for its
bus schedules from Guate to Copan and back.
Monarcas
in Antigua has shuttles to Copan , San Cristobal de las Casas,
Panajachel and the airport.
A
$100 shuttle for groups from the airport to Panajachel. ___________
List and Descriptions of Guatemalan Museums
Museo Popol
Vuh (English)
Keep in mind that some so-called volunteer
options are just money making opportunities for the organization.
Common Hope
sounds pretty good.
Entremundos
deals with Xela.
Safe Passage allows you to work with children, either near
Antigua or near the Guate City dump. Inexpensive
volunteer opportunities at Casa
Guatemala in Rio Dulce
involve so-called "orphans".
Animal
Aware is somewhat near Antigua. Study
abroad options in Guatemala by location.
List of volunteer
opportunities in Guatemala.
Excellent Petén Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer to work at repatriating wildlife with
ARCAS.
The
Scarlet Macaw
Biological Station is located on the San Pedro River, which has nice
bass and tilapia in it. BYO fishing equipment for a spare time
activity.
Guatemala
Daily is in English and has a lot of news stories gleaned
from various sources, some of which are about Guatemala.
La Hora.
This
one has a search engine that goes back several years if
you are looking for old
stories.
Prensa
Libre. This has a search engine that goes back
a similar range.
Siglo
Veintiuno also has daily news.
Revue Magazine seems mostly
about and for tourism.
Guess
where this is.
Tienda near Cancuén,
where you can pay for the
boat to the ruins
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Some Mostly Maya Pages about Guatemala Navigating the Guatemala City Airport and the one in Flores What's so bad about Guatemala City? How to get to Flores from Guate City Guatemalan Spanish Language schools How to Get to the Mirador Basin Museum
Face it, some places are quite difficult and even impossible to get to without a tour or at least a guide. If you do go on a tour, using a local company will help keep more of the tourism money working in the local economy.
I am ambivalent about booking early for tours. Unless it is something you really want to do that is out of the ordinary and the price is right, you might wait until you are there. If the company guarantees certain dates, all the better. Here is a chance to get a feel for what tours are online.
Look up Tour Agencies listed by INGUAT by location.
Mundo Guatemala offers a number of short highlands tours, including Todos Santos and Cobán. Guatemala Reservations does a number of tours and services and gets good marks from customers. Aventuras Vacacionales has some whitewater day trips from Guate and Antigua. Adrenalina Tours offers a good number of tours in the Highlands. Old Town Outfitters does biking, kayaking and rock climbing trips among its other efforts.
Specific Locations
Antigua Don't be too worried about finding a place to arrange a shuttle if you decide that you need one while you are there. Agencies are common. Pay by credit card to simplify refund if ripped off.
Avoid the rip off "gRuta Maya" agency on the main square, which gets bad reviews on the Thorn Tree and elsewhere. It also lies about being connected to Lonely Planet. If I were in Antigua with just a little time on my hands, I would go in and warn any victims who are inside.
Lake Atitlán This will just warn about the Maya Tzutujil agency in San Pedro La Laguna. See this complaint. Also beware of Casa Verde in same pueblo.
Guatemala City Cacaya Birding does bird watching tours of up to six people. Fanny's Tours has offices in Santa Elena, Guate and Chiquimula. Maya Expeditions.com runs a lot of river and whitewater raft trips, among other things.
Xplorandoguatemala.com in Guate is where to go to learn mountain climbing or to go on a climbing trip.
Quetzaltenango (Xela) Quetzaltrekkers has affordable and well recommended hikes there.
Nebaj Guias Ixiles does some interesting hikes and bike rides.
Río Dulce Aventuras Vacacionales has sailing trips on Río Dulce and Lake Izabal and to Belize
Lanquín/Semuc Champey Guatemala Rafting offers rafting and kayaking day trips and overnighters around Lanquín.
To call Guatemala from the US, dial 011 502 and the local number. To call from another country, 00 502 and local number will work from most, but not from all. Try this link to make sure. __________________
A Dental Office in Guate City that a friend of mine uses. Amigos de Santa Cruz does a number of worthwhile projects in Santa Cruz la Laguna. Nim Po't Online; check out Guatemalan textiles and even buy them. In Antigua this is the place to visit before and after seeing other local markets. website by an ex-pat in Antigua A New Introduction to Maya Glyphs A list of museums in Guatemala City and in Antigua Guatemala Cooking School in Antigua looks interesting. Really getting away from it all in the little village of Chicacnab. Itinerary suggestions by someone who doesn't say you need to avoid Guate City Scroll down for Guatemalan news stories A couple of 3-4 week itinerary suggestions Dan Mennill's Bird Songs of the Yucatan Peninsula which includes many birds of Peten. A discussion of driving in Guatemala Fun Web page for adding Spanish Vocabulary See a lot of photos from all over Guatemala Valhalla Experimental Station, near Antigua, is a macadamia farm using sustainable agriculture and growing trees for reforestation projects. Volunteers need a minimum of a month. Huipil photos according to village. A Satellite Photo of Guatemala City
You can use
Moneygram.com to
send money from your bank account to Guatemala for reasonable rates.
Panoramic photos of Guatemala, mostly in
the highlands. Fiestas
en Guatemala
Online Business Directory Bird watching check
list for Guatemala See
photos of many Guatemalan
birds Try
an online Spanish Language Proficiency
Test
How
to travel on a bus overnight
Cyber
cafes. There are also several in Flores, but unlisted here. Eco-Travel
in Guatemala, a directory
of sources and articles.
Find the
Current exchange rate
Near
the top of Pacaya,
four
of us have a toast to
a
great Mirador trip in 2002. Per
Travmed.com "(In
Guatemala) accidents and injuries are the leading cause of death among
travelers under the age of 55 and are most often caused by motor vehicle and
motorcycle crashes; drowning, aircraft crashes, homicides, and burns are
lesser causes." |
Ask questions at Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, but don't be lazy. Do a search there first before
asking a question that may be very common or have been answered recently. If you register, the suggestions from travelers can come straight to your email address.
Or try Lanic
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Cancuén and how to get there El Ceibal photos
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Piedras Negras See some photos or take an online tour. Tikal/map, and brief history of rediscovery. Also see many photos. More photos. How to see Uaxactún without a tour.
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When you enter Guatemala from Belize, if you have time you might want to hike in and see the stelae in the town park. After you cross the bridge, there will be a large road, which you can take to the right. When I went, it seemed to be somewhat under a kilometer until the park appeared on the right. Throughout the small square there are several Maya artifacts, mostly ignored by those people in the area. It is better to visit these stelae if you are there before mid-afternoon. Later in the day, there are fewer combis and other options for going onward to Flores.
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Directions to hotels near the Guatemala City Airport.
Although they all offer a shuttle, claims of being a minute from the airport should be taken
with a grain of salt, due to traffic patterns around said airport.
Directions as given by "Chinche" at the Lonely Plant Thorn Tree.
Dos Lunas is about a 25 minute walk from the airport. After exiting the airport, take a left (south) and about 300 feet later you'll come to a circle where several streets meet it. Continue past this circle going south (away from where you exited the airport) and follow the main road which then goes left toward the runway (east) about 100 feet. This road then curves to the right (south again). Dos Lunas will be about a mile down (south) this road (the runway will be to the left of this road, separated by a wall). Look for 21 Calle and Dos Lunas will be a block down this road on the left (south) side on the corner of the street. There is a small "Dos Lunas" sign on 21 Calle as well as in front of this residence (hostel).
The web site for the Hotel Aeropuerto has a small and simple map showing how to get there from the airport, although it's not a very good representation. After exiting the airport, go left (south) and following the road to the end. You'll come to a circle where several streets meet it. When you're looking at this circle from the end of this road, you'll see an unusual looking white building (unusual angles) that I think is a day-care run by the Catholic church and not a church, at least not a Catholic church (there are only two Catholic churches in zona 13, and this is not one of them). Hotel Aeropuerto is located on the other side of the street just south of this building. "
Moneygram.com seems to be a good option for sending money to Guatemala for reasonable rates if the provider does not use Paypal, and you arrange the cash to be sent from either your bank account or as a charge to your credit card. The addressee can obtain the money at any Banrural Bank in the country. This could be handy for making deposits with local companies or to send or receive emergency cash.
I sent $200 as a down payment on a 2006 trip for $10 for economy service, but could have opted for same day service for a total of $14. Economy service meant that on the fourth business day the money was available. I forwarded the reference number and the agent collected the money after presenting photo identification. It was simple.
I had earlier checked to find that my bank charges nothing for the withdrawal,
but would have charged $40 for initiating it as their service. Using a
credit card would presumably involve paying interest immediately and did not
seem a good option. I made sure that the money would come out of a
savings account that does not have a lot of money in it in case there was a
problem.
Thoughts about Crime in Guatemala
See the web page of the
US embassy in Guatemala for dates and details of recent crimes against
foreigners in order to better figure out a broad picture as to what sort of
violent situations to avoid.
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Here is my take on normal precautions to avoid being a victim of a crime anywhere you travel:
Don't seem prosperous. This includes the proverbial advice to not flash wads of money, but also involves dressing down and other things as well. Older clothes are better than classy ones here. And not carrying a laptop around publicly is an obviously good plan. Do try to avoid being with tour groups that are obviously well to do. Don't stay in ritzy hotels, especially in a non-tourist area and, if for some reason you must do so, watch carefully when you leave and enter.
Don't
exchange a lot of money at the airport. If you must take a lot of money out of
an ATM elsewhere, select one that is less visible to passersby.
Be cautious with your room. Don't let someone in
just because they claim to be from the hotel. Don't presume that someone with a
master key won't try to get in late at night either. If you have an en suite
toilet, pile some empty beer cans and bottles next to the door, so that anyone
trying to enter there would make one Hell of a noise.
Lock up your pack before going out for any length of time and have anything of value inside it. Hotel thievery generally involves being surreptitious and breaking open your luggage is unlikely to happen..
Also be wary of who approaches you on the street offering to "help". For
example, if you are looking for an ATM, someone may then offer to take you over
to one, but don't go. Be very wary if someone seems to want to go out of
his way for you or if he is extra friendly without being asked. If you are
looking for a hotel, it may be something more or less innocent, such as wanting
a commission from the business, but it might be something more.
If you think you might like a hot sauce that doesn't hammer your taste buds and also has great flavor, Guatemalan made Maya Ik' is likely the one for you. Ik' means wind in at least two Mayan languages. This is available only in Guatemala as far as I know, so if you are either checking a bag or you have a little room among your bag of liquids, try some and see if you don't also think that it is a great hot sauce.
Guatemalan Floods The biggest problems seem to be around Lake Atitlán, which is high, and the road between Panajachel and Sololá, which may be cut off for a couple days. Check this link.
