rvijay

I am planning a 12 day trip some where in CA, preferably Guatemala and Belize. Please suggest some itineraries for the same.
Thanks

hopefulist

What are your priority interests and your general budget? Do you have your flights yet? What time of year are you traveling? If you give us more information we can help you more.

You could either fly in and out of Belize and enjoy inland and beach activities with an overnight visit to Tikal in Guatemala, or fly into Guatemala, spend a week in the highlands, visit Tikal, and head to the beach in Belize. The latter is a lot of ground to cover in just 12 days unless you fly between Guatemala City and Flores (for Tikal).

My photos with blog, travelogue, and review links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there.
Happy planning!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

rvijay

Planning in the beginning of July. I read some of your other posts and got inspired to travel during this time I am looking at flight tickets right now and am open to anything and would most likely fly between the 2 places unless there are good overnight buses that do the trick.

Katie_Valk

Both very interesting countries. Guatemala much larger and diverse; Belize the size of Massachusetts and English speaking and easier to move around. Guat mostly on the Pacific (expect for Livingston) and Belize on the Caribbean with hundreds of coral encrusted cayes and mangrove islands and 3 of 4 atolls in our hemisphere. Fishing for game fish better on Guate Pacific side. Diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing and fishing for bones, tarpon, permit, snook and other species better in Belize. Belize has migrating whale sharks, less visited impressive sites, caves with artifacts, jungle, waterfalls, river horse trips, as does Guate. Gaute has more sophisticated older colonial cities, more diverse and authentic culture, better dining, shops, etc. Belize more laid back, personal safety is less of an issue to be aware of, less people and less developed. Both well worth visiting

hopefulist

I stand by my 2 recommendations in my response above - either prioritizing Belize with a visit to Tikal in Guatemala or prioritizing the highlands of Guatemala, visiting Tikal, and ending on the water in Belize. There's an overnight bus between Guatemala City and Santa Elena/Flores (for Tikal); it's 8-10 hours, or you can fly.

You choose between those or come up with your own basic itinerary and then we can help again. Happy planning!

rvijay

Thanks so much, this has been very helpful

rvijay

Hopefulist what would be the places to visit if I plan on doing the highlands of Guatemala?

hopefulist

It depends on how much time you have - in other words, what else you'd like to do with your 12 days in addition to the highlands. With a week in the highlands I'd split between Antigua (colonial ruins, great food, interesting neighboring villages, coffee fincas, museums, access to the Pacaya volcano hike) and Lake Atitlán (fascinating villages, gorgeous scenery, hiking/nature reserve/ziplining, kayaking, best shopping in Guatemala for gifts and souvenirs). If you're planning to fly in and out of Guatemala City and spend the whole time in the highlands, I'd add in the Ixil Triangle.