March–April 2007
Started by flying into Guatemala City via Atlanta (mid-afternoon) and took a minivan ($10) directly to Antigua (1 hour). Easily found a hotel (tons of hotels, just walk around for a bit to check a few out). $9 per night got me a room with showers/sinks down the hall. Toured Antigua the next morning, and booked an afternoon tour of Volcano Pacaya. Left at 2:30pm in a minivan with other tourists. Did a bit of a hike up towards the volcano, and around dusk, we were climbing right up to active lava! One of the most amazing experiences ever (and I've travelled A LOT). Very National Geographic. :) This tour returned around 8pm to Antigua. Overnight in Antigua (same hotel).
Next morning went to Panajachel by minivan (1.5 hours). It's a one-street town, lots of hotels and restaurants. Got a room for $10 per night, with bath. Not much else to do there. Took a small boat (of which there are tons) to San Pedro, on the other side of the lake for the afternoon. Unless you're into pot smoking and laying around, there's not much else to do there. You can't really swim, since they wash everything in the lake. Although interesting to see what all the hype of that area was, I wouldn't be in any rush to return to Lake Atitlan.
Bought a ticket in Panajachel to Coban, which meant back through Antigua (for 1.5 hours, great for breakfast), and onwards to Coban. Although I was planning to stay in Coban for the night, I was ushered onto a minivan and made it to Lanquin, and eventually Semuc Champey by early evening! There was nobody staying at the hotel, so I had it all to myself, out in the bush. It was a 2km walk to the 7 pools the next morning, which was very nice. The river is beautiful. Swam in these pools most of the next day. Amazing. One of the highlights, and highly recommended.
Caught the 4pm minivan just in time to return to Coban, and found a hotel for the night there ($6 per night, bath next door).
From Coban, went by bus to Flores (about 5 hours), and got a hotel there for the night ($5 per night, bath down the hall). The next morning (5 am), took the prepaid minivan to Tikal and spent a nice morning having a little breakfast before going into the site, listened to howler monkeys on my entry, and spent 8 hours wandering around, climbing pyramids. Very nice. Returned to Flores for another night.
Next morning, continued on to Rio Dulce (small town, hardly ever on a map), and went down to the dock, into the small boat, and up the river toward Livingston. Not as exotic as I thought it would be, although nice. Doesn't really narrow down anywhere. Got to Livingston, which is an entirely different atmosphere from the rest of Guatemala (very Caribbean). Wandered around the small town for a couple of hours and ate, and decided I'd go to Puerto Barrios (late afternoon). 45 minute boat ride at sunset, which bounced unbelievably on the waves. Puerto Barrios is a dump, and saw next to no tourists on the streets after dark. Doesn't feel all that safe either, and not much to see. Only about a haf dozen fluorescent-lightbulb lit hotels in the area, rather morose. But it did for the night. Early wake up the next morning.
Got to the minivan for the ride to the border of Honduras, took three minutes to walk across, and had some breakfast (all very leisurely). Do not forget to get a receipt for the $3 you pay to get into Honduras. I met two girls later in the trip who were fined $80 each for not having this receipt!
Went via Puerto Cortez, from there switched for a bus to San Pedro Sula, and switched to a bus for La Ceiba, catching the last ferry ($15) at 4pm to Utila Island (as it was pulling out!) Whew! Got to Utila, and stayed at Rubi's Place ($15 per night, with bath), which was fabulous. You can certainly find cheaper rooms, but I didn't mind the minor splurge, since I was going to be there for a bit. Spent five days there, and went kayaking/snorkelling, and 3 days of scuba diving (although I got an ear infection, ugh!) Plan on almost the whole day if you are going from Livingston area to Utila Island, as you have bus connections, and the trips do take some time. Also be aware that the ferry in either direction from La Ceiba to Utila Island only go twice a day!
Left Utila, back to the La Ceiba on the mainland at 2pm, and caught a bus (3.5 hours) to San Pedro Sula for the night (yuck). Next morning, it was on to Santa Rosa de Copan (again, yuck) for the night, and then back to Guatemala City, and a shared cab to Antigua with two other travelers ($10 each and fast). Stayed for the Sunday procession, and flew back to Vancouver the next morning.
None of this felt rushed, and had some great adventures. It is very easy travelling, and does not feel dangerous in the least. If you had less time, you could definitely pass on Lake Atitlan.
