Notes from Guatemala trip. Sorry for the word vomit. I'm sitting at the airport on a long layover and spit out some thoughts and tips as payback to others before me.
Preface : 61F and 55F from the US. Fairly active. Likes to treat ourselves.
None of the ATMs worked for me. I came with $400USD and had to change money in a cambio in Pana on Santander.
If people are Mayan, they will identify as so instead of Guatemalan.
A good knowledge of Spanish is recommended. Friend said the Guatemalans are very nice and forgiving of her Spanish vs Mexicans (who told her to stop butchering their language) though I thought her Spanish is really good and was able to communicate and have meaningful conversations with people.
There are tourist prices vs national prices for almost everything. Food is generally cheaper than in US in restaurants along the tourist strip but still expensive for locals.
DON'T EAT THE LETTUCE. I WARNED YOU RIGHT NOW. YMMV
Early February is shoulder season. Weather is cool in the morning and at night. 50's F at morning /night and 75-80 F during the day. It was not crowded anywhere and sometimes we were the only people on tours. Perfect.
Guatemalans are among the most civil drivers anywhere (maybe script tuk tuk drivers). Hardly any honking!
To Tikal
GC to Flores - departures and arrivals are in different buildings. go outside turn right to 1st cross walk and go across the street to departures and check in.
In Flores was picked up by Hotel Tikal shuttle. Staff could not be any nicer. Hotel is basic but clean. Weather was uncharacteristically cold. There is no heat anywhere. One night I slept in my long underwear and socks. Wore my puffy jacket both days. Food was basic. Food was better at Jaguar inn. They had pepian, the national dish, Chaya (?) a creamy dish flavored with allspice which you can find the trees in the jungle.
Sunrise Tikal tour with Marlon and Gem Tours. He is an excellent guide and with the money. He will go out of his way and try to find you birds you are looking for. Sunrise was cloudy but fun to hear the howlers wake up while you're walking in the dark. Also went on a Sunset tour thru the hotel. Guide wasn't as good tho he was really good at finding monkeys and told me about the place to look for hummingbirds in the morning. He was spot on cause the birders were there too. Tikal is amazing and you should go out of your way to see as much as you can.
Took a shuttle to Flores Island. It is small and people weren't kidding that you could walk around it in 15 minutes. The most outer street is flooded in parts and has been for a couple of years. Took a cooking class with Pepian and made guacamole, pepian and tortillas. It was super fun. Stayed at casa Amelia which was clean and basic with a nice terrace and restaurant.
Flight back to GC then to Antigua via car from hotel. Stayed at the San Rafael which is one of the nicest places I've ever stayed at. It's a beautiful colonial residence restored into hotel rooms. Rooms are beautifully decorated, big and had a great courtyard and sitting space outside your rooms. Plus it's around the corner from the Arch and central to everything.
Antigua is a beautiful UNESCO city. As such it has these horrible cobblestone streets and tiny sidewalks. Wear hard soled shoes but it's Extremely walkable. The ruined churches are worth seeing as is MUNAG the art museum. The view from the top of La Merced Church is outstanding. Took 2 tours - a bike tour with CA Travelers which went to La Azotea coffee plantation, the market where we tried a tostada and local sweet candy and a small store where they make different drinks. It was fun but a little unnerving in rush hour traffic in these bikes with super fat tires. The other tour we took was a Chicken Bus tour with Columbus Travel. We went to a weaving coop, cocoa processing factory and macadamia nut farm. Shout out to Once Once, a vegan restaurant that we went to 3 nights just cause Guatemalan food is so heavy and El Comolote a restaurant by where they make tortillas with heirloom corn. Also check out Mundo Natural, a spa where the local ladies go for sauna and massages. They have good organic food as well.
Took a very expensive Uber to Pana. I know this could be done cheaper but...we are not those people. We stayed south of Pana along Playa Jucanya in Villas Jucanya. Really great villa, very well appointed kitchen and comfortable. The manager was extremely helpful and they had kayaks we could use. Also a tuk tuk driver we used to take us places.
Boat prices were generally 25Q. It was 50Q to Santiago and mainly because it was slow they had us pay ahead for guaranteed launch (we ended up the only people going that morning). If you need a transfer you'll need to negotiate a transfer price. Usually 25Q but we heard someone get quoted for 35Q cause...foreigner.
We visited Santiago and San Juan on day 1. Santiago is fascinating if you like history. We booked a walk with Dolores who is a legend in those parts. She's a Mayan elder and medicine woman, lived thru the civil war and can tell you stories. San Juan is really charming with all the colorfully decorated streets. We went to the Stingless Bee exhibit and went up the Mirador for some awesome views.
We felt like we walked around so many markets already that we skipped Chichi. Instead we went to the Nature Reserve. Great little hikes with many suspension bridges, a butterfly house and nice restaurant. There is zip lining and something that looks like bicycle lining but we didn't do that. Also a hike to a nice quiet beach. BTW the beaches here are not sandy but rocky. Ended the day exploring the market in Pana and had drinks at hotel Don Rodrigo with a great view. They also have an interesting museum with Mayan relics from an underwater explorations.
Next day we went to Santa Caterina Polopo (weaving and colorful village) and San Antonio Polopo where they make all the colorful ceramics you see around. The tuk tuk driver should have charged us 30Q a piece to SC but he charged 50Q. We think he was mad that we didn't hire him the entire day to do a tour but be wanted to be flexible. Anyways he showed us 3 Mirador points along the way. SC is indeed very colorful. We walked along the street where the school was as there were many stalls with women weaving there. There is also a coop where they sell things the children's parents make to sell to benefit the school.
Had good coffee from Cafe Tuk a cafe run by a very nice family with a small coffee farm.
Took another tuk tuk to SA (50Q) to San Antonio Polopo and visited 3 stores. Nice selection and fair prices. If you're short on time you could probably just buy stuff in the stores in Antigua and Pana. Prices are just a tiny bit cheaper (70Q for a mug vs 75Q elsewhere).
Tuktuk back to Pana was 75Q for both of us. Uber didn't work here. Lol
As for food we liked the Thai place Dao (really fair prices. Their drinks were inexpensive vs other places), Circus Bar for pizza and Las Chinitas for Asian Fusion. As for the latter it was recommended by travelers we just met. The food was delicious. However DON'T HAVE THE SUMMER ROLLS if you aren't used to Guate water! We were so careful and were just caught up in having veggies (these were raw) and we ended up a slight food poisoning.
It wasn't the worst food poisoning I've ever gotten traveling but bad enough that we couldn't go to Casa del Mundo the next day. Apparently we were the last people they accepted reservations from - they no longer have day passes for people not staying there and using their facilities for the day. So that was a bummer. But glad we could convalesce at the house.
We left Pana via a private van that took us to GC but stopped at Iximche ruins along the way. Don't believe drivers when they give you a time, they will always be late. It took a little over 2 hours to get to Iximche and another 2 to get to GC. Iximche was really cool. It cost 5Q to enter and you have to hire a guide to take you around. We ended up with a guy named Alex who was fantastic. His English was excellent and is also Mayan and really affluent the time explaining the ruins to us. If we meet him earlier in the trip I would have tried to hire him for other things.
Stayed at the Barcelo near the airport. It reminds me of the Marriott circa 1990. Clean and comfy with tons of amenities (pool, spa, sauna, restaurant, shops). Mostly a business hotel with meeting rooms. You can literally spend your entire day decompressing there and never leave. But we did walk 15 min to a place called Saul for dinner. Beautiful courtyard restaurant popular with locals.
Ask if you have any questions!