Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book or buy something through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend places and services I have personally used or vetted. If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in September, you need to know two … Read more
If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in December, you are looking at one of the clearest, driest, coldest, busiest, and most festive months of the year. December is when Antigua glows with Christmas lights, Quema del Diablo opens the holiday season, Ciudad Vieja fills with the Danza de los 24 Diablos, Chichicastenango celebrates Santo … Read more
If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in June, you are looking at the start of rainy season, the moment when the country begins turning green again, and a calendar full of local traditions most visitors never hear about. Guatemala in June does not have the huge international-name festivals of Semana Santa or December, but … Read more
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book or buy something through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend places and services I have personally used or vetted. If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in November, you are looking at one … Read more
If you are thinking about visiting Guatemala in July, this guide will help you understand what the month is really like beyond the usual rainy season warnings. Yes, Guatemala in July falls during rainy season, but it is also one of the greenest, most culturally rich months of the year. Antigua celebrates Santiago Apóstol, Santiago … Read more
Guatemala’s national parks and nature reserves are where I go when I want to remember just how wild and beautiful my country still is. Cloud forests where the quetzal still flies. Jungle that has slowly reclaimed ancient Maya cities. A Caribbean lagoon where manatees drift through the mangroves. Pacific beaches where sea turtles come ashore … Read more
The best eco lodges in Guatemala are the ones where sustainability is the whole reason the place exists, not a word added to the website later. I’m talking about private cloud forest reserves that protect quetzal habitat, lodges built by hand from local stone by the community that lives there, and working coffee and cacao … Read more
Community tourism in Guatemala means experiences that are designed, run, and owned by the communities themselves: the coffee tour led by the farmer who grew the coffee, the weaving class taught by the cooperative that owns the workshop, the restaurant where your lunch pays for a town’s nutrition program. This guide is my list of … Read more
Responsible travel in Guatemala starts with knowing what your visit costs and what it can give back. This guide covers what ethical travel actually looks like here: what’s happening on the volcanoes, how tourism is changing the Maya communities around Lake Atitlán, how to tell real ceremonies from commercial packages, where to stay and shop … Read more
Most 5-day Guatemala itineraries try to cover three destinations and end up doing none of them well. This one doesn’t. It focuses on two places: Lake Atitlán and Antigua Guatemala. Where to base yourself, how to move between them, what is worth your time, and what to skip. Written by a Guatemalan who has been … Read more
