A backpackers guide to Guatemala

I spent around four weeks in Guatemala and still feel it was no where near enough time. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, it’s a country that utterly stole my heart. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out Guatemala – you stole my heart (ft. Stranger who now has pictures of me).

Firstly, I personally found that this one one of the most sociable countries out of the 10 I covered. So many people were doing a similar route so without meaning to, you end up meeting people you’ve already met as you work through the towns/cities and it feels like a real community. As a solo traveler, this can be really comforting and as someone that likes a drink, it makes nights out very fun.

I’ll stop blabbering on, here’s my itinerary for 4 weeks spent in Guatemala:

Flores

My first stop was Flores island. I had crossed by land (many come from Belize) by bus and arrived in the quaint, tiny town that is situated on an island on lake Peten Itza. As it is an island, the prices were a bit steeper than the rest of the country as a pre-warning but as the island is so tiny, I didn’t feel the need to stay much longer than 2-3 days. It’s got it’s own charm and beauty, some amazing street food stalls and fun activities. My suggestions for your time here are as follows:

• Street food! I had some amazing chicken and chorizo taco’s (pre-vegetarian days) that were so full of flavor and spice. They were super cheap and authentic in comparison to all the high end restaurant’s around.
• Watch the sunset over the lake (beer in hand is optional but advised).
• Rent a kayak or get a boat across to Jorge’s Rope Swing. There is an old and really lovely man that own’s this land and he’s added a rope swing, some hammocks, deck chairs, table and even now serves some food and drinks. Costs a little to enter but it’s going to a local family and is a really nice place to chill for the day.
• Visit Tikal National Park. It’s a Mayan Ruins site where you are free to explore for hours, I actually preferred this to Chichen Itza as you could climb up some of the ruins to be on top of the trees, hear the monkey’s calls and with the amount of land to cover, it takes at least half a day. Many people go for sunrise but I am not a morning person if I don’t need to be and although the temperature gets really high, it’s still a good time to visit.

In regards to travel around the island, it’s really small so you can walk everywhere and for travel to Tikal, there are lots of tour agencies that organised daily travel. I got a lot of cat calls when alone and was followed once so be mindful when walking alone in the dark but overall, it’s safe enough.

Lanquin (Semuc Champay)

From Flores, I traveled down to Lanquin to stay at Zephyr Lodge (https://zephyrlodgelanquin.com/). I had heard of this hostel through other backpackers and although it’s a more expensive option, I do think it was worth it for the amount of fun I had and people I met. The setting is in the middle of a jungle and don’t underestimate the journey to access it. My bus broke down on the way (brakes failed while on an incline) and the roads are sooooo questionable but once you’re there, it’s really a jungle paradise.

What to do:

• While in Lanquin (wherever you stay), the main tourist attraction is visiting Semuc Champay. This is a turquoise paradise of natural pools, caves and waterfalls as shown above.
• Zephyr offer two day trips. One, tubing down the rapids of a river while sipping cooled beers, stopping for lunch and optional volley ball and secondly,a day caving, visiting SC, viewpoints, waterfall jumping and rope swings! I fully recommend this.
• Fun evenings! At this hostel, the WiFi is switched of from 7pm so all guests turn to socialising, drinking and playing a range of games (dare Jenga, ping pong, typical drinking games, card games etc) and it’s such a great idea. There is an infinity pool, hot tub and food. It’s not the most authentic experience but it’s unforgettable! I extended my stay here like many others.

Antigua

From Lanquin it’s about another 9-11 hour journey dependent on traffic and reliability of the bus you’re on. Many people went straight to the lake but I had other plans and actually joined back up with the South African girls I met on my boarder crossing who saved me on the bus trip (Guatemala – you stole my heart (ft. Stranger who now has pictures of me). As I was for every new town I visited alone, I was really nervous and had no idea what to expect by my gosh I fell in love with this place the second I stepped off the bus (in which I endured endless hours of love songs from a broken-hearted driver). The cobbled streets with a backdrop of huge volcanoes is incredible. The locals were so lovely and it’s just full of charm.

Things to do:

• Spanish School and live with a local family. I met some really amazing students with my host family and it’s a way to throw yourself in the deep end. The family spoke little English and neither did my teach so you pick it up pretty quick! We had family meals together, spent half the day in lessons and half the day exploring the town and meeting friends.
• Volcanoes! The two most popular are Acatenango (two days), 4000m peak where you can hear and see the volcano Fuego erupting. The other option (I did both) is Pacaya. It only takes half a day, sits at 2,500m and you are often able to see running lava which is pretty impressive.
• Mansion and pool parties – these are weekly events, most hostels will advertise them an organise travel! They can get pretty wild but are good fun.
• Walk around the town and find all the incredible buildings, arches and churches. Architecture here is beautiful.
• Bar crawls are quite popular as there are so many places to visit. Form Irish pubs, local salsa bars and popular hostel bars.
• Visit the local markets
• Go to the Chichicastenango market
• If you’re missing home and are from the UK, you can even get a roast!

In regards to travel, you can walk around the town, get a chicken bus (so cheap and often decorated well) or get tuk-tuk’s around. Again, here I did get followed by a truck that was literally driving beside me at my pace and even going against the one way systems to cat call. I just ignored them and took a road they wouldn’t fit down and continued to walk to meet my friend. Just be careful as you would anywhere. Without the Spanish course, you could do Atingua in about 4-5 days but I loved it and spent much longer there before and after my 5 days at the lake!

Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlán is a body of water in a massive volcanic crater in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands. It’s known for it’s Mayan villages and surrounding volcanoes. It’s about 4 hours bus away from Antigua (give or take as mentioned) then you need to get a boat to the village you want to visit. I think there are 4 main ones and they all have different vibes. In my opinion, the momst popular palces to stay were either Panajachel or San Pedro La Laguana and from these you can do day trips to the other 11 places.

I stayed at a hostel call ‘Free Cervaza’. It’s such a backpacker spot but I had so much fun. The staff are amazing, they offer paddle boarding and various other water activities and family dinners with a 2/3 hour drink all the beer you can limit. The accommodation is either tipis or treehouses so it’s truly idyllic. They offer cooking lessons, there are frequent boats, evening parties etc and there was even a rescue puppy there when I went. I love dogs so I was in my element (shown below) I also met up with a bunch of friends that I’d made so the hostel was full of our big group!

I’ve mentioned a few already but here is a summary of things you can do:

• Hop between villages, they all have something different to offer.
• Water activities like paddle boarding but DO NOT swallow the water, it’s know to be very dirty and we got very ill (probably a mix of the water and excessive drinking if I’m honest).
• Visit the markets
• Avoid beer bongs at all costs🤮
• Always have cash on you as there is only 1 atm in one of the villages.

There is so much more you can do here but with all the last minute hostel extensions and having 4 days bed bed bound really poorly, it was time to move on. Next stop was Nicaragua for two weeks!

Some extra info

I am aware this is already a super long blog post which I try not to do often but for those that have stuck with me, some extra tips and information on my month in Guatemala.

Budget – I can’t remember exactly what I spent but most places averaged around £1000 per month. This was doing whatever I wanted whenever I fancied. The start of my trip was not focusing on budget so I hardly cooked for myself and would always eat out, drank quite a lot and just made sure I wasn’t missing opportunities. The Spanish school added more but everyone’s budget will vary dependent on how fussy you are with accommodation, how much you drink/eat and what activities you like to do.

Safety as a solo traveller – I was never really alone but Guatemala is very safe. Just stick to common sense, be extra careful when you’ve been drinking and be aware of your surroundings if you’re alone and you’ll be fine.

ATM’s- there a lots of faulty ATM’s in Guatemala. Always get a receipt as on a few occasions, the ATM’s took money from my account but didn’t actually give me any and it took months battling with Monzo to get it back! Try to stick to withdrawing cash from an official bank ATM (these still don’t always work but it helps).

I hope this helps someone plan their trip. I am sorry it’s so long, I love writing and talking so I just keeping splurging information😂. As always, check out lucystraveldiary on Instagram for the Guatemala highlights!