luv2globetrot

Hello.

We are just getting started planning a trip in February and will be staying 7 nights.
Just ordered a guidebook but haven't received it yet and I'm having a bit of trouble finding drive times between towns which I need to fine tune our itinerary.

First, we are very active travelers and like to get a lot of sightseeing in as opposed to spending time relaxing. I love photography so we really enjoy wandering around picturesque areas. We would love to do some hiking, zip-lining, maybe biking or kayaking. And we love seeing ruins and wildlife! (Guatemala sounds right up our alley )


So far we are thinking of dividing our time as such:
2 nights Antigua
3 nights Lake Atitlan
2 nights Tikal

It's the order of these 3 places that are puzzling me.

It seems logical to go straight to Antigua as soon as we arrive.
Then head to the Lake.
Then drive back to Guat City to fly to Tikal.
Then fly Flores back to Guat City and fly straight home the same day.

The problem for us with this plan is that we don't feel very comfortable with having only the one opportunity to catch the flight from FRS-GUA that will let us make our flight home.
The flight from FRS-GUA leaves FRS at 8:20am, getting into GUA at 9:10am.
Our flight back home departs GUA at 2:00pm.
Sounds good, but if something were to go wrong (weather, mechanical or cancellation), then we miss our flight home. And we are worry-warts when it comes to catching flights, so we really don't want to do that.

Soooo,
Then I started thinking maybe we could do Tikal in the middle:

2 nights Antigua
2 nights Tikal
3 nights Lake Atitlan

Which is where I now need to know if this is too much backtracking.

So, we'd have to drive from Antigua back to GC for the flight to Tikal.
After Tikal, we'd drive GC to Panajachel area.
Then drive back Panajachel to GC.

Can someone please tell me the drive times for these legs???
GC - Antigua
Antigua - Panajachel (or lake region)
GC - Panajachel

When I say drive times, I do mean by public transportation (shuttle bus, taxi?)
However, we have rented cars in many foreign countries (just recently drove in Peru and also Costa Rica, so we are familiar with the conditions/driving habits of Latin American countries) and are also open to this possibility.
We will definitely fly to/from Tikal to save time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks>-

hopefulist

Saving Tikal for last would definitely mean less backtracking. I did just what you mention in your 1st scenario in August and it was slick - not having to drive in and out of the airport and Guatemala City an extra time was nice. I was a tiny bit concerned something would interfere (like Hurricane Dean which affected our visit to Tikal in a fabulous, wild way but not the flight) but I could have lived with another day in paradise. That would be my recommendation because you're planning such a quick trip.

In my experience GC to Antigua is about 45 minutes to an hour and either place to the lake maybe 3 hours.

My photos and travelogues are here if you're interested:

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

Keep us posted and happy trails!

airwayvz

What time does your flight TO Guatemala land? If it lands reasonably early in the day, you could always head straight for the lake on Day 1

1: LA
2: LA
3: LA
4: Transfer to GC, take 5:30 pm flight to Flores
5: Tikal
6: Tikal
7: 8:20 am flight to GC then Antigua
8: Antigua


This leaves you the fall back of Antigua at the end of your trip...putting you only 45 minutes away on your last day. Obviously you could adjust the time spent at any of the places by a day or so.

luv2globetrot

hopefulist,
Thanks for the reply. I have lots to think about. We might just go for it and do Tikal at the end. We would have a 5 hour layover in GC in case anything went wrong.
FRS - GUA 8:20am - 9:10am
GUA - BOS leaves at 2:00pm

I guess chances are pretty good that the flight would NOT get canceled altogether.

Thanks for the link...haven't had a chance to look through all your pics yet...but thanks

airwayvz,
Thanks, too.
However, that still seems like the same amount of travel legs as if we did--Antigua, Tikal, LA.
Still 6 legs.
Also, it seems we'd have less time at Tikal with your suggestion (only one full day). Is that really enough?
We were hoping to have extra time to go zip-lining.

Like I said, I guess I have lots to think about and many scenarios to look into.

BTW we get into GUA at 12:50pm on the first day.

Thanks so far for the suggestions.

>-

airwayvz

Actually, you'd still have two full days at Tikal with that suggestion, as you would fly into Flores the night before. As far as if two days in enough in Tikal...some people could have enough after an afternoon, and for some a week would not be enough! We actually added two days to our stay in the area when we went last year because we loved the area so much...plus we hooked up w/ a GREAT guide. If you're interested in contacting him or hearing more about him just let me know.

I actually like your original plan best:

2 nights Antigua
3 nights Lake Atitlan
2 nights Tikal

With the decent arrival time, you can be in Antigua by 2pm if you're only bringing carry-on.

I was just trying to give you a different option because you mentioned you were worried about only having one chance to get back for Tikal in a worst case scenario.

Any way you slice up the trip, it's going to be tight, that's for sure...but some great places to visit. Have fun!