Southern Mexico/Guatemala/Belize in March (probably!)
 

I have been playing around with a few ideas for travel for 2024. Due to various pet/house sitting commitments it is likely that this would be for no more than a month and most likely in Feb/March. Guatemala seems very interesting and comes highly recommended by some friends, but is very expensive to get to direct from the UK. I started trying to think outside the box on flights and found that LHR to Cancun seems to have very reasonable fares.

When planning a trip to Mexico a few years ago, I recall Baldone waxing lyrical about the delights of Valladolid and around. I also remember trying (and failing ) to include Palenque in our itinerary. I then realised that Belize is nearby and the diving there is supposed to be brilliant. As far as I can tell. Feb/March

Before I start to dig too deep into this as a possible trip, I wanted to solicit opinions on how practical it would be to see something of southern Mexico , a little beach/dive time in Belize with the bulk of time being spend in Guatemala ( where exactly, I am not yet sure)

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

Actually, it was Veracruz, not Valladolid. Never got that far. Hopefully someday. We did get to Palenque on a visit to San Cristóbal de las Casas years ago. Worthwhile. Maybe the controversial Tren Maya will be complete by then. I'm not for or against, but it could facilitate travel in that area. In Guatemala we primarily went to study Spanish a couple of times. Stayed in the tourist town of Antigua, which was lovely. But touristy. Also spent a couple of nights in the capital & Panajachel. Would love to go back.

Hi crellston,

With enough time, people definitely do that sort of thing, especially a Quintana Roo, Belize and northern Guatemala combo. I caught a minivan from Chetumal, Mexico to Belize City, where I was in a minority that disembarked in BC; most were continuing on to see Tikal and Flores, Guatemala. A number of people on the ferry I took from San Pedro, Belize to Chetumal were continuing on to Bacalar, Mexico; from San Pedro, there are regular ferries to Belize City, which is a hub for westbound buses toward San Ignacio. Palenque is a definite outlier, although not impossible; there are buses from Chetumal to Villahermosa (1.5 hour past Palenque). I took one, but I’m sort of weird that I actually kind of like long bus rides—many might find that route too much of a slog.

Have fun planning! Daniel

The "problem" is that the Guatemala that everybody comes to see (Antigua, Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango) is nowhere near Belize and it's certainly nowhere near Cancun. Of course, the more time you have to cover distances, the less of an issue that is. The distances are far. Keep that in mind.

I knew it began with V! 😁

Thanks Jeff. That is the sort of info I was seeking. I had had a quick look on Google maps and R2R for travel times and they seemed manageable. That said, our trips were always for 6 months plus so time wasn’t an issue and we could take our time hopping from place to place by bus. Bearing in mind your comments, I shall delve a bit deeper into the practicalities.

Hello Crellston,

Valladolid itself is a delightful town midway between Cancun and Merida. You might consider some time exploring Yucatan instead of spending more time getting to Belize and Guatemala. Possibilities: fly to Cancun, bus or rent car to Valladolid, then on to Merida, which is a good jumping off point to Uxmal (extraordinary site, one of the buildings--the so-called Governors Palace--looks like it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, indeed this building had a huge influence on Wright), and also to Campeche, a wonderful little town on the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula. And of course Chichen Itza, near Cancun; swamped with tourists but unmissable, IMHO.

We've been re-reading your blog posts about Colombia, thinking about going there next February instead of our usual Mexico City - Oaxaca trip.

Happy trip planning, that's part of the fun.

Thanks Daniel, That is very useful info. good to know that it is possible. I guess I need to sit down with a map and bus schedules and work out how much is possible in the time I have allocated. we are no strangers to long distance bus travel having travelled through much of South America , mostly by bus. I think the record was 25 hours for one journey (big mistake!)

We did think of visiting some f those places you mention on our last trip to Mexico but decided against it. Much as we loved Mexico, I think for this trip we really want to include countries we haven't visited before. Hence Belize and Guatemala. We feel we have missed out on Central America. Having said that, it is food for thought as is a Mexico City/Oaxaca combo.

We loved our time in Colombia and would find it hard to choose between Colombia and Mexico. We probably enjoyed the small villages more that the cities though we loved Bogota and wished we had more time there. So many places, so little time :)