A special thanks to Nancy Hoffman who has a travel agency in Antigua and looked through these pages to give updates. Other people who helped with this page are Karine Goeman (8/97), Yves De Ceuleners (11/97), Trui Van Gucht (8/98), Geert Desmet (12/97), Gerdi Vanfleteren (11/98) Guatemala has everything a traveller could dream of (except beaches maybe): There's the authentic Indian culture with lively and colourful markets like in Solola, Chichicastenango and San Francisco El Alto (Solola is my favourite though). Make sure you have plenty of film there, you'll need it.

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Entering Guatemala through the airport goes very smoothly and the official was extremely friendly. There's no entry tax for the moment. Once you've passed customs, there are several banks all charging reasonable exchange rates. You can also arrange a shuttle to Antigua.

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We had 3 guidebooks with us, so I can pretty well compare the 3 biggies: LP, Rough Guide and Footprint. Lonely Planet Guatemala Since 2/2001, the LP series now has a separate book on Guatemala. I suppose they had to follow the competition of the Rough guide (see below) Order the Lonely Planet Guatemala now for only 13.59 US$! If you are doing the typical Ruta Maya (Guatemala -Belize -Yucatan /Chiapas), then this book will give you good info in 1 book. However, it was clear to us that the LP guide came on the 3rd place. The prices where outdated, but this is inevitable.

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Arriving by plane in Guatemala, you have 2 options: Either you go to Guate by bus or taxi. A taxi is 7 US$ to the center (11/98). Buses are 10 Q, take bus 2, 5, 6 or 20. Either you go directly to Antigua by taxi or by shuttle bus (7 US$ 11/98)..

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Guatemala City is said to be a dangerous city, especially at night, so take care and avoid walking alone at night.

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This page on Atitlan covers Solola, Panajachel and all the villages around the lake. Getting to Atitlan The bus from Guate costs 23 Q (12/97). You will probably have a short stop at Los Encuentros. It's possible to go up the military post, and they might even allow you to take a picture of the crossing. In between Los Encuentros and Solola, there used to be a military base with an enormous military boot serving as watch tower, but that has been removed after the peace agreement, a real pitty !

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This page on the mountains includes the region east of Atitlan, i.e. Chichicastenango, Qeutzaltenango, Huehuetenango and villages around. You can find much more practical info on a site called Xelapages. Chichicastenango Getting there There are regular tourist shuttles going there Panajachel-Chichi: 7 US$ one way Antigua-Chichi: 9 US$ one way Apart from that, there's also a direct public bus on market days leaving from Panajachel. It's quite a long trip, about 2-3 hours.

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In 2002, a Canadian woman thought to have an excellent idea by handing out T-shirts and cards to all the streetkids (including drugdealers and -users) saying they are official guides of Copan. The mayor and locals interfered, they got rid of the Canadian woman, but still the result is that these kids talk to newly arrived tourists, show them the way to their hotel and then demand for a fee.

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There's a public bus, but there are also tours taking in Copan, Quirigua and Rio Dulce in 2 days. Entrance to the ruins of Quirigua is 25 Q (12/98). The train is not functionning anymore (11/98).

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El Peten is undoubtedly a must in any visit to Guatemala. There is of course the unforgettable Tikal, but don't just rush from the airport to Tikal and back the same day. Take your time, there's much more: The first day we arrived, we went to Flores and stayed at Tucan hotel which is lovely. From there, go to the Mirador on the other side of the lake from where you have a nice view over Flores.

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