Our third and final stop in Guatemala was in the far north of the country on the little island of Flores, the base for which to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal.
Guatemala was the fourth country of my Central America backpacking trip. I had started with my partner in Panama, the easternmost point of the trip, before traveling by bus across Costa Rica. We finished our portion together with three stops in Nicaragua from where he flew back to Germany for work and I flew on to Guatemala for the adventures to continue.
I quit my job last July and decided to take what I coined an "adult gap year", given I was taking it aged 28, instead of the typical gap year age of 18. I went back and forth for months on exactly when I would go, which countries I would visit, for how long I wanted to travel, with whom I wanted to go - if anyone...
My Central America trip would turn out to cover five countries in five weeks; the first three (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua) with my partner Tobi and the last two (Guatemala, Belize) with Ina, a friend from Salzburg.
As with most people who arrive in Guatemala, our first stop in the country was a few days exploring the stunning city of Antigua. It was the perfect first place to explore in Guatemala, and we spent our days wandering the beautiful streets, finding the best food and views. Antigua is also the base for hiking the volcanoes of the region and successfully climbing the Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes was a highlight of my entire Central America trip. From Antigua, we took a shuttle onward to Lake Atitlán to spend a few days exploring the little towns around it. We then headed northward for the final leg of our Guatemala adventure.
Although it was a lot of work, I made daily vlogs on Instagram reels of every single day of my Central America trip which I branded "the backpacking series".
→ Check out my episode of the Backpacking Series of visiting Tikal and Flores!
By flight: The Aeropuerto Internacional Mundo Maya in Flores offers domestic flights from Guatemala City which makes for an easy and quick journey from the capital to the north.
By coach: We traveled from Lake Atitlán to Flores by coach which we booked through a local transport company in Panajachel after comparing prices between a few vendors in town; the communication and confirmation then all happened via WhatsApp which is common for Central America. We were picked up in Panajachel at 5:00am and took a private shuttle to Guatemala City where we then had a two-hour wait before a 12-hour coach ride to Flores. Thankfully there was a small café across the road with wifi! It was a long day, but the coach was probably one of the comfiest buses I've ever been on with nearly-flat layback seats so we napped well. There were also food and toilet stops along the way. From the main bus terminal in Flores, we grabbed a five-minute taxi to our hostel.
By private shuttle: We then left Flores headed for our next country of Belize and arranged a shuttle which took us from Flores to the border and then another shuttle picked us up after we walked across the border, drove us across Belize and dropped us off at the ferry terminal to head to Caye Caulker. We booked this shuttle via WhatsApp with BelizeGo.
By car: If you have decided to travel through Guatemala or Central America by car, you can also travel to Flores with your own wheels. I don't have any experience with driving or parking in Guatemala so please do your own research here.
→ If you don't have your own car, you can rent one in Guatemala City.
Our coach from Guatemala City to Flores
Where all shuttles depart Flores, regardless of where you're off to next!
Flores is tiny! We literally walked every single street of the island in one afternoon.
→ Check out our walking route on Strava!
There are tuktuks available if you want to get somewhere faster but you can cross the island so quickly that we never found it necessary.
Flores is small but there are still a great number of options for accommodation. As this Central America trip is a backpacking one, we booked into a hostel in Flores. We spent two nights at Don Cenobio on the northern coast of the island and it was the perfect, comfy spot for us. Breakfast is included but I really wouldn't recommend it. Otherwise, hot showers and a hostel dog sealed the deal!
→ Book your stay at Don Cenobio.
→ Check out other places to stay to suit your budget and accommmodation type.
Image via Booking.com
Flores might be small but there seemed to be tons of food options no matter what you were craving. We think we found the best restaurant on the island, though...
Restaurante Maracuyá
An absolutely mouthwatering menu catering to all dietary requirements - I wanted to eat absolutely everything at Restaurante Maracuyá. I can highly recommend the smoothies and the pad thai!
Casa Ramona
It was so hot while we were walking around Flores that we stopped in for frozen lemonades at the brightly coloured Casa Ramona, also a boutique hotel.
The main reason most travelers come to Flores is to visit the nearby Mayan ruins of Tikal, however I am absolutely encouraging you to spend at least a day exploring Flores, too! This adorable island is the perfect spot to unwind and I wish we had had more than a day here.
Walk all the colourful streets
Since Flores is so small, we actually managed to walk practically every single street on the island. Flores is bursting with colour and every door is painted beautifully, with flowers adorning many of the buildings.
Watch the sunset over the water
We had such an incredible sunset in Flores. It seems like the whole town gathers along Calle 15 de Septiembre to watch the sun dip below the horizon, lighting the sky up in a beautiful canvas of pinks and oranges.
Watch the sunrise from the other side
As we were heading out for our tour to the Mayan ruins of Tikal the next morning, we caught the early sun coming up on the other side of Flores.
Take a tour to the Mayan ruins of Tikal
Most travelers visiting Flores are here because it is the base town to visit the nearby Mayan ruins of Tikal. These incredible ruins are one of the largest archaeological sites ever found of pre-Columbian Mayan civilization; much is still undiscovered!
We joined a day tour which picked us up in Flores, drove us to Tikal, provided a brilliant guided tour and then drove us back to Flores in the early afternoon. I can highly recommend visiting Tikal this way!
→ Check out my complete guide to visting the Mayan ruins of Tikal!
We spent 10 days exploring Gustemala as part of a backpacking trip through Central America. I wrote a complete guide on how to visit Guatemala, including:
- where to go in Guatemala
- how to get around
- where to stay
- where to eat
- all the best things to see and do in Guatemala
→ Check out my complete guide on how to spend 10 days in Guatemala!
Antigua
Acatenango and Fuego Volcano Hike
Lake Atitlán
Tikal
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
