Guatemala was the fourth of five countries I visited during my Central America backpacking trip, I trip I'd been manifesting since last summer.
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... and then this trip materialized and I can hardly begin to express my excitement levels for the stories itching to be told and the memories begging to be documented.
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, one of my friends from Salzburg.
Here is my complete guide on how to spend ten days in Guatemala:
Currency
Guatemala uses the Quetzal; the US dollar is also readily accepted across the country. When we visited Guatemala, 10 Córdoba was equal to roughly €1.14, so it was pretty easy to quickly convert in our heads.
We paid for most accommodations and tours in advance and some meals at larger restaurants with card but the overwhelming majority of things were all cash only; shuttles, meals, tours, activities, shopping...
The best ATM we found in the whole country was the BAC at the Parque Central in Antigua; it doesn't charge fees and, as the first destination on most travelers' itineraries, is a great place to start.
Visas
I traveled to Guatemala on my Canadian passport so that I would not need to get an ESTA for my layovers in New York each way. Canadians do not need a visa to enter Gutemala and can stay for up to 90 days visa-free. My friend had her Austrian (EU) passport and she also did not need a visa and could stay up to 90 days visa-free.
I use Passport Index before every international trip to find out if I need a visa for a country and, as a multi-passport holder, which of my passports is the best to use to enter a specific country.
Land border crossing between Guatemala and Belize
Language
The official language of Guatemala is Spanish and you should absolutely have a basic grasp of the language not only to be able to do basic things such as order a coffee, buy bus tickets and ask for directions, but also as a sign of respect. There are 24 other Mayan and Indigenous langauges spoken across Guatemala. In big cities and in all "toursity" spots, you'll usually find people who speak English and can assist you.
One place we didn't have any English was our guided hike to Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes; our tour guides only spoke Spanish and so we used our basic Spanish among the group to work out what they were saying!
Get Around
We traveled through Guatemala by private shuttles, each of which we booked a few days before after researching at different tour companies in town and then via WhatsApp (which is very normal here). We didn't use public buses at all based on advice we had been given by other travelers, but please do your own reasearch here and go with what you feel comfortable with! I will go into detail below.
You can also choose to travel through Guatemala with your own car. I don't have any experience with driving or parking in Guatemala so please do your own research here.
A shuttle in Antigua
Safety
Central America can have, for some, a perception of being an unsafe part of the world to travel, particularly for young white women. However, we loved Guatemala and found it so safe - often times more than many European cities we have visited, so long as you use the same common sense you would use elsewhere in the world.
Arrive: I traveled to Guatemala from Nicaragua by flight, landing in the capital of Guatemala City. From there, I took a private shuttle with GuateGo who picked me up outside arrivals and dropped me off at my accommodation in Antigua for USD $18.
Get around: Antigua is a beautiful city and very much compact and easily walkable. I found that it was set up on what felt like a grid layout, with streets intersecting each other in easy squares that made getting around relatively straightforward. One thing to be prepared for: the streets of Antigua are cobblestoned, so they are really uneven and bumpy to walk on. Totally doable, you just want to take care and pack good walking shoes! We didn't use any public transport while in Antigua, but there are plenty of tuktuks roaming around if you need a ride somewhere! Just make sure you agree on the price before your journey commences.
Stay: There are plenty of different types of accommodation in Antigua. We spent three nights at the Maya Papaya, the best hostel in Antigua. I genuinely loved it here. While it's definitely on the pricier side when you're looking at hostel options in Antigua, you'll quickly realize you are seriously getting bang for your buck. Maya Papaya has the comfiest hostel beds I've ever slept in, beautiful bathrooms, free breakfast, fast wifi, events and socializing opportunities, tons of little extra details and the perfect location just a few streets away from the Arco de Santa Catalina.
Eat: There are SO many incredible places to eat in Antigua. It's also worth noting that Antigua is one of the world's most famous sources of coffee beans so coffee culture is taken very seriously here so make sure to visit the world's most beautiful Starbucks right here in Antigua. Grab smoothie bowls at Awakana Superfood Bowls. Have lunch at Cafe Boheme or El Bowl and then the best vegan dinner at Once Once. You should definitely also try street food from the market outside Iglesia de la Merced.
Do: Go shopping at Xibalba and the Mercado Central. Wander the colourful streets. Walk under the famous Arco de Santa Catalina. See the yellow Iglesia de la Merced. Take in the view from the Cerro de la Cruz. Visit the gorgeous Convento de Santa Clara. Wander through the Parque Central de Antigua Guatemala, one of the prettiest I've seen.
→ For full details on everything mentioned above, check out my complete guide to Antigua!
Arrive: You can only hike Acatenango and Fuego Volcanoes with a guided tour group as they own the various camps you can sleep at overnight. I completed my volcano hike with Get Your Guide and absolutely loved my experience. They picked us up in Antigua at 8am and dropped us off the following afternoon after the hike just after 12pm.
Get around: This overnight hike was a difficult 22km trek up two volcanoes near Antigua: Acatenango and Fuego. There is only one route up and you return back down the same way. You can only hike Acatenango with a guided tour group and they will accompany you the whole way.
Stay: Each tour company owns a different campsite on Acatenango Volcano so you will finish in slightly different spots depending on who you book with. You will then get to sleep on the volcano with views of Fuego Volcano - a memorable sunset and sunrise to say the least!
Eat: The tour company provided us with a packed lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks; we carried this ourselves so make sure there is room in your pack! Drinks and snacks are available for purchase as you hike up and you can of course also pack your own.
Arrive: We arranged our shuttle to Lake Atitlán from Antigua at a local transport company after comparing prices between a few vendors in town; the communication and confirmation then all happened via WhatsApp which is common for Central America.
Get around: There are 11 towns around Lake Atitlán, all of which are small and very walkable. If you're looking to get between the towns, there are two main ways to get around Lake Atitlán: either by ferry across the lake or by tuktuk around the lake.
Stay: In San Juan, we stayed at the 4 Elementos Hostal, a small hostel run by a lovely host, Majo. It's the perfect location in the quiet town of San Juan and there are plenty of activities on offer such as weaving, cooking class and macrame lessons. In Panajachel, we stayed at the Socialtel. It's a larger hostel with a big emphasis on the social vibes. We didn't love Panajachel and I wouldn't recommend staying in this town, but we had a 5am shuttle from here heading northward and needed to stay the night so it's a good option if you have a late arrival or early start at the lake.
If I visited Lake Atitlán again, I'd opt to stay closer to the water instead of in a town. We took the ferry past La Casa del Mundo which is quite well-known on Instagram and I think I would personally want to stay there next time!
Eat: In San Juan, get breakfast at Nativo Coffee Shop, smoothies at Café El Pajarero and quesadillas at Chicharronera La Barra.
In San Pedro, go for smoothie bowls at Forbidden Fruit, coffee at Tornado's and the world's best ramen (outside of Japan) at Tacoyaki Japan Ramen.
In Panajachel, get coffee at Cafe Loco and pizza at Pizzeria Florencia.
Do: In San Juan, wander the main colourful shopping street, walk along the lake front, take a weaving or cooking class from local Mayans and best of all, hike to the Mirador Kaqasiiwaan.
In San Pedro, you'll find the best views of the lake, and we also enjoyed hanging out at the pools of both Zoola and Sababa. I can also recommend getting a massage at San Pedro Massage.
→ For full details on everything mentioned above, check out my guide to Lake Atitlán!
Arrive: 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.
Get around: Flores is tiny! We literally walked every single street of the island in one afternoon.
Stay: 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!
Eat: 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. I also recommend the cafe in Casa Ramona.
Do: Walk all the colourful streets. Watch the sunrise and the sunset. Do a guided day tour to the Mayan ruins of Tikal.
→ For full details on everything mentioned above, check out my guide to Flores!
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; click the photos below for all my guides!
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Belize
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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.
