Antigua, Guatemala

[unohuu]

Traveling to Antigua for a wedding at the end of the year and into

early January. Looking for suggestions on places for a day visit

for shooting and interacting with others. Also want to know if

Belize would make a good 2 day excursion to see the coast (I hear

they have second best coral reefs in the world). My Spanish is more

than adequate so language will not be a barrier. TIA

[soboyle www.oboylephoto.co]

A trip to Lake Atitlan is worth it, rent a motor bike and drive around to the back side of the lake.

 

Visiting Tikal in the Peten is a fantastic experience, a couple days there at least seeing the ruined Mayan city, and yes, the cays off the Belize coast have some great diving and snorkeling, the blue hole is a great dive. One option would be to fly to Flores from Guat city, then travel overland to Belize city after visiting Tikal. Great trip.

[znabal]

Lucius,

 

You can do a one day trip to Tikal from Guat City with any

number of tour companies. Basically fly out at about 6-7am,

and return about 6-7 pm. Tikal is pretty physically demanding,

lots of walking and climbing steps. Lake Atitlan is also nice.

Chichicastenango is supposedly a really neat market town.

I've only been living down here for 4 months so I haven't made

it there or to Belize yet :)

 

One thing to definitely keep in mind is the crime situation.

I can quote you all kind of scary statistics, but the bottom

line, keep your eyes open, be careful. You can see the

latest Department of State Public Announcement at:

<http://travel.state.gov/travel/guatemala_announce.html>

 

Have fun

jeff l

[steviewander]

IMHO, your best bet would be to visit a small town on market day. Each town has their

market day on a specific day of the week. That is the best time to interact with the locals

and get some good (albeit demanding!) photos of the people. If you prefer architecture,

then Antigua's the best place in the country. For landscapes, anywhere in the highlands,

but lake Atitlan

is stunning (as mentioned above). Can't think of any towns with good markets close

enough to Antigua for a day trip, though. Have fun!

[sarahunderhill]

Lucius, There is a wonderful travel agent in Antigua that can arrange any kind of travel in Guatemala for you. Helmuth Leal

Rain Forest Tours, and you can e-mail him at rforest@rainforest.guate.com

 

I have been to Guatemala twice, you will have a great time. Belize is a blast, we went a few years back and went swimming with stingrays and sharks. Helmuth may be able to help you with Belize also. E-mail me if you have any questions. Sarah

[david_chananie]

My wife and I, many years ago, rented a car and drove around the country. We stayed at the Antigua Hotel in Antigua and had the place entirely to ourselves. We overnighted in Tikal itself, and then had the place to ourselves before the airplanes started to come in. The overnight was unbearably hot and humid, so we drank ourselves into a stupor. A small town I liked a lot was Solala. We came back to Lake Atitlan three times. I hope it has not become to built up and touristy.

[juan munoz]

Lucius, I live in Guatemala and if there is anything I can help with before or during your trip to the "land of the eternal spring" please let me know will be glad to assist.