I roast coffee up here and the owner and a barista are going to Guatemala for the yearly country of origin trip.
They will be quite busy but I was wondering if there was any must sees or to dos I should tell them about.
Or if there was some esoteric thing I could ask them to bring me back that is likely only found in the region. I like all sorts of crazy unusual things. And it is a blast to actually have an answer when someone asks if they can bring you something back.
I just got back from my second trip to Guate (and am already planning my third), so hopefully I can help.
I also am in the textiles are wonderful camp. I brought my mother back a couple of table runners that are just stunning. You can also get exquisite wooden masks, the aforementioned jade, and colorful pottery.
Where are they going and how long is the trip? What sort of budget are they on? Tikal is indeed awe-inspiring, but it is in a remote corner of the country. You can make it a day trip by catching an early flight from Guate City, but that runs ~$150 (if memory serves). The budget option involves a long bus ride (~12 hours each way), but I have not personally taken the bus route.
Anyway, Antigua is great, as is Lago de Atitlan, the market at Chichicastenago is neat (so is the one at Solola). Even Guate City has a few gems, even though all the guidebooks really slam it.
Again, let me know so details of their trip and I can give you some good specifics.
My girlfriend and I just got back from a month in Guatemala in early January. It was a fantastic trip, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity.
A round trip ticket from Guate to Flores is $140. On top of that, you need to go from Flores to Tikal, pay park fees, buy food, etc. It’s supposed to be a spectacular site, but it’s hard on both the timeline and the budget.
For a Mayan site a little easier to fit into a packed itinerary and a little easier on the budget, they could look at Copan, just across the border in Honduras. From Antigua or Guate, you can get there and back in a single day for about $65 a person. We had to take a 4:00 am shuttle from Antigua, and we didn’t have nearly as much time at the site as we would have liked, but it was the only way we could get there.
Like EvilAsh, I can offer specific suggestions if you can let us know a little more about their plans.
The visit will be mainly coffee based. The owner goes to a coffee producing country every year and visits the farmers and coops. He likes to give money directly to them and do what he can to make sure they are being payed fairly, and learn as much about the people and the farms as he can in a short trip.
They will first be going to Lake Atitlan. It is exciting to know that was on the short list of must sees. They will only be there for a couple days.
Then off to Huehuetenango. Once again only for a couple days here as well.
Then off to Guatemala City for a short time to catch the plane back. And I think visit another coffee producing region.
He has decided to not book any places to stay the entire trip except for a place I think in Guatemala City the night before the flight back. I think they will be spending most of the time with the farmers and may be quite busy because it is harvest season right now.
Thanks for the input I was just hoping for some great Doper Wisdom for my good friends for this short mostly filled trip.
I was just in Guatemala in November, the first time I had been there since the 1970s. I spent most of my time in Antigua, but also stayed at a coffee finca that caters to birdwatchers on the south side of the Atitlan Volcano.
One thing I would suggest is that, depending when the flight leaves, staying in Antigua the night before instead of in Guatemala City. Antigua’s only about an hour or so from Guatemala, and you can easily arrange transport to the airport from there. (That’s what I did; I had an afternoon flight, but unless you had an early morning flight there shouldn’'t be a problem.) Staying in Antigua would be much more interesting and congenial than Guat City.