Guatemala is a popular destination for backpackers. With stunning architecture, incredible nature and exciting adventure there is something for every type of traveller. This ultimate guide will highlight the best things to see and do in this enigmatic country.
Where to go in Guatemala?
Antigua
The whole town is UNESCO heritage site (including the McDonalds). It’s beautiful to walk around the cobbled streets and admire the view of the volcanoes that surround it. This is also where you can do the Acatenango Volcano hike where you hike an inactive volcano camp overnight and watch its sister volcano Fuego erupt every 15-30 minutes. This was my main reason for visiting Guatemala (as where else in the world can you see lava?) but the country offered so much more.
Flores
If you’re heading from Guatemala to Belize or vice versa Flores is a good place to stop. It’s a small town on a lake but as well as lake activities it’s also the gateway to Tikal an ancient mayan ruin site which was on elf the highlights of my trip to Latin America.
Atitlan
I didn’t go to Lake Atitlan myself as I didn’t have time but heard lost of great things. Especially good to do this after the volcano hike in Antigua as it’s on the way to Flores and you can relax for a few days to let your calves recover.
Lanquin
Again, I didn’t have time to visit here but heard lots of good things. A lot of people stop here to visit Semuc Champey a beautiful tiered river.
Where not to go in Guatemala?
I would highly advise against staying in Guatemala City. As with any larger city there is a higher level of crime than the rest of the country and with recent civil unrest protests were highly concentrated here.
How to get around Guatemala
I flew from Panama to Guatemala City Airport. As previously said, I wouldn’t recommend staying here. Although I had pre-booked a shuttle it had not arrived when I landed. After waiting 20 minutes and calling my hostel I paid to take another shuttle (you can book from within the airport) to take me to my hostel as I didn’t want to hang around. Sometimes you just have a gut feeling about a place and know you need to get out.
This shuttle was great and highly recommend you can book in either US dollars or Guatemalan currency (always a better deal to use the local currency) as soon as you get to arrivals.
Getting from Antigua to Flores you can book shuttles and buses from various buses or hostels in the town. I would recommend this as trying to book online there lots of apparent scams and also the prices are very high. I paid around £40 (GBP) through Tropicana Hostel for my bus.
Where to stay in Guatemala
Los Amigos Hostel, Flores
This was one of the nicest hostels I’ve stayed at. Rather than bunk beds the dorms all have individual beds each with their own fan. There is a nice restaurant, bar, organised activities even a jacuzzi and sauna.
One Day Trip Hostel
This was a lovely hostel with nice clean spacious bunk/capsule beds. Staff were very friendly and hostel and provided an on site laundry service (got my laundry back in 3 hours).
As always I booked my hostels through Booking.com
What to do in Guatemala
OX Expeditions to Acatenago
I did the one night hike and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. There is a briefing the night before you go which answers any questions you have. Unfortunately I got sick from altitude in the evening but was fine on the hike going up. It was challenging but doable from someone who wouldn’t dream of doing the 4/5 day hikes in Peru. As I was ill I didn’t do the Fuego add on or summit at 3am but it meant early hours I could just watch the eruptions from my cabin and capture them on my GoPro. In the evening we couldn’t see Fuego but it cleared after midnight and I saw eruptions at least every half an hour.
Don’t expect to get much sleep so have a chilled day when you get down from the summit. I recommend taking at least 1 walking stick and to pay to have a porter on the way up (you won’t need one for the way down).
I booked this tour through Viator and it wasn’t much cheaper to book direct with the company.
Tikal sunrise
So there’s only 60 clear sunrises a year in Tikal. But a beautiful sunrise is not the reason to get up at 2am. You go through the jungle looking out for tarantulas (wear trainers not tevas like me and wear plenty of insect repellant). You then climb up a temple and sit with maximum 60 other travellers in silence in the dark waiting for the jungle to wake up. Before the light arrives you can here the howler monkeys and others (it is called jaguar temple after all). It’s incredible. It’s enigmatic. As the sun starts to light up the clouds you get glimpses of temples and trees through the mist. Really a magical way to start the day.
The rest of the tour was brilliant- without the huge crowds you get a Chitzen Itza you feel like you have the place to yourself. As well as ancient temples you see monkeys, toucans and coatis.
For once I wouldn’t recommend booking the sunrise tour through Get Your Guide as it was far cheaper to book through Los Amigos Hostel.
The food in Guatemala was not my favourite as it was very Americanised. Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut were visible everywhere which was a shame as Latin American food is my favourite. However, this should not deter you from the amazing off the beaten track experiences you can have in this country. Seeing a volcano erupt, camping under the stars, visiting a Mayan temple without the crowds you get at Chichen Itza were astounding making Guatemala a Must Do country for any traveller who like s bit of adventure.