Guatemala Overview
Picturesque city of Antigua, Mayan Ruins of Tikal, Lake Atitlan, Local markets & Highland Towns
Sandwiched between Mexico to the west and Honduras to the east, Guatemala also has borders with Belize in the north and El Salvador in the south. Yet it has an identity and an atmosphere all its own and is utterly
loveable, whether visited alone or in combination with one or more of its neighbours.
Preserving a strong Mayan heritage alongside the colonial Spanish influence, the majority of Guatemala’s population is mestizo, of mixed Mayan and European descent. Although largely healed, the country is still recovering from its brutal Civil War, which raged between the prosperous urban and the impoverished rural peoples from 1960 to 1996. While the country’s painful recent history is very much a part of its present, we find that Guatemalans are extremely welcoming to visitors and proud to show off all that is positive about their nation.
If arriving by international flight, the airport is all you’ll see of Guatemala City as we whisk you away an hour or so’s drive west to beautiful Antigua. The country’s capital does not cater for tourism and couldn’t be more different from Antigua, which is likely to be one of the highlights of your time in Central America. We’ll recommend a stay of at least two or three nights in one of the gorgeous small hotels here so that you can enjoy the city and its setting to the full.
A day’s drive west again and you’ll be on the shores of Lake Atitlan, whose waters stretch as far as the eye can see towards the perfect cones of the volcanoes that surround it. A stay here is all about relaxation, with boat trips to visit lakeside indigenous communities, and total escapism from the urban world. In the highlands all around the lake are small rural towns whose Mayan residents wear colourful traditional dress and carry out their business in busy food, craft and livestock markets; Chichicastenango being one of the best-known for visitors.
A short flight north of Guatemala City to Flores and an hour’s drive from there takes you to the jungle-clad remains of the Mayan site of Tikal. Unmissable and unforgettable, Tikal requires at least two nights’ stay, either in one of the hotels at the site itself or back in Flores, and an expert guide to bring the history and significance of it alive. We’ll provide both!
What to expect from your Guatemala Holiday: As a whole, the Central American countries are less developed and less sophisticated than those in South America, and it is only relatively recently that they have become destinations for upper-end tourism as well as for backpackers. Therefore although there are delightful hotels, particularly in Antigua, please don’t expect standards of service or facilities to be consistently top-notch throughout. A trip to Guatemala is extremely rewarding because of the easy accessibility of its indigenous culture and history, but it isn’t always the most slick of experiences!
