thefrenchgoddess

I just booked a trip to guatemala from may 30th - june 6th.

Does anyone have general advice on what to do. I am extremely poor at this moment in my life (as im sure everyone is right now!) and i wouldn't be going if it wasn't for my timeshare.

a must for me is tikal and for that im not going to worry about my budget -- does anyone have suggestions? do a tour? fly yourself? stay overnight? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

and beyond tikal what else can i do on a budget. i am staying in antigua guatemala. are there any must do day trips? good restaurants? bars??

any help is appreciated!

thanks
robyn

hopefulist

Night buses to and from Flores (an hour from Tikal) are popular or you can fly. Definitely stay overnight so you can explore the ruins in the cooler evening and early morning hours when the wildlife is active and you practically have the place to yourself. Staying in Flores or El Remate is cheaper but I much prefer to stay in the park. If you fly it's actually just as cheap to buy a package from a good agency. I've used Rainbow Travel and Adrenalina successfully.

Check out the Inguat office in Antigua - lots of helpful information about trips to neighboring villages (some free) and museums around town. A day trip to Lake Atitlán would be worth the expense and might include a stop at the world famous market in Chichicastenango if you can go on a Thursday or Sunday.

You need a good guidebook so you can read about the culture and history and things to do. Moon Handbook is good and there's a brand new Rough Guide mailing out March 2nd; you can preorder from Amazon.

Lots of photos and recommendations linked below. Happy trails and keep us posted!

http://flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

SusanSDG

Sunrise at Tikal was the highlight of my trip, and one of the best mements of my life. Stay in the park one night. Jungle Lodge has a pool, from which we saw more toucans, parrots, spider and howler monkeys than in a week in Belize. Their restaurant is decent, and they'll knock on your door in the am for the sunrise climb to the top of Temple Jaguar.

MrShort1

I agree with hopefullist. We stayed at the Jungle Lodge pool side. The down fall was it was always noisy and everyone staying in tikal used our pool ( at all hours of the night) Next door at the Jaguar Inn they have camping a sleeping in hammocks. That is where all the travelers stayed. I do believe that you can even rent a tent and possible a sleeping bag( bring your own sleeping sheet. A week is not long enough to see anything. Last year we did Tikal for a week. This year we are 3 weeks in the south and Honduras before a week on the beach in Belize. The market is the place we really want to go on a Sunday just beware of pick pockets and people who may take advantage of you.

Mike

thefrenchgoddess

thanks for the advice! this is really helpful.

sadly, a week is not enough time. but money is hard to come by these days, so i didn't decide on a week thinking i'd get to see everything. i decided on a week because that's all i can afford. but this is really helpful. we'll do an overnight in tikal and definitely try to get to the market.

qwovadis

www.jaguatikal.com

ADN night bus nice cheap from GC

shuttle to Atitlan

www.lacasadelmundo.com

also like

www.blackcathostels.net

nice cheap...

Have fun you can do it cheaply...

Vttraveler

Our family was in Guatemala last week (sigh) and I agree with the others that it is definitely worthwhile to stay overnight in the park at Tikal. We drove so I can't comment on the airplane or bus options for travel.
WE stayed 2 nights at the Jaguar Inn which is the cheapest of the 3 options in the park, and it was fine. (actually the price might be better at one of the other places--Tikal Inn or Jungle Lodge-- for smaller groups so it would be worth checking. OUr family had a bungalow quad room).

Tickets purchased at Tikal after 3 p.m. are also good the next day. If you are there for a full day you will probably want to plan some kind of picnic lunch in the park since walking in and out several times is pretty time-consuming and there is so much to see. The Jaguar Inn sold sandwiches in the early morning as did the comedor nearest the entrance booth. Surprisingly, you can buy drinks inside the park by Temple IV. Be sure to carry water with you.

If you are going to Tikal you should read about recommended anti-malaria drugs and decide whether to take them (we did)

We used the Rough Guide and I think it would be good for budget options for you for both Tikal and Antigua. We also had a Fodor's guide for free (I got it because I was quoted in another guide this year) and found it quite useful. The most detailed guide available at the Tikal site was written years ago--not sure whether you can find something that would be better before you leave.

Antigua is an amazing and beautiful city. We had good breakfasts at Fernando's and Dona Luisa Xicoencatl and good Guatemalan food at La Fonda de la Calle Real and Cafe Colonial (the latter is much simpler, cheaper). There are lots of cafes and bars and international restaurants. Also good bakeries, the market and at least one "gourmet deli."
There is a monthly English language magazine called the Revue

We were only in Antigua for a day and a half so did not do day trips, just wandered the city.
You might find a visit to a coffee plantation interesting. We took a tour in Coban and really enjoyed it. I would have gone out to the museums of the Centro Azotea if we had had more time. These are in a village 2 km from Antigua and it is possible to visit a coffee plantation from this cultural center. There are free shuttles several times a day from the central plaza

In the city I would recommend going inside the Convento de las Capuchinas and the San Francisco monastery with its shrine to Guatemala's saint, St. Pedro de San José Betancur
(1626-1667)