Personalized trips to Guatemala
for independent travelers

From my first email with Catherina to our last day with our personal guide JJ, and everything in between on our week-long trip was amazing and personal – truly. You can’t go wrong with this amazing and caring team. Some highlights: 1. I needed to book the trip quickly as we’ve never traveled internationally as a family. My husband was concerned about the State Department warnings. So, I knew I needed help. Of the 4 online companies I contacted, Columbus (Catherina) was the only one who replied quickly – and kept replying quickly to create the ideal trip for us. I felt like I was talking to a friend who truly cared, rather than a bot or bored office worker. She stuck with me until the itinerary was ideal – and we were also able to make changes on the fly during the trip. 2. We visited Guatemala City, Lake Atitlan, Antigua, and several places in between that had personal meaning to us. JJ was with us the entire time, expertly navigating the busy roads and easing the way with his translating and friendly personality. We felt safe and cared for the entire time, and were thrilled with the charming and delicious roadside restaurants JJ recommended. 3. This team is as good on the ground as they are at planning. The dedicated behind-the-scenes logistics team checked ahead to ensure things would go smoothly, alerting JJ to potential road blockages. We couldn’t have felt in better hands than this amazing group of caring people.
4. We are so glad that we made this trip. We found Guatemala to be a stunning country filled with incredible history and kind people. The first look at Lake Atitlan gave me goosebumps and will stay with me forever, as will so many of the memories we made on this trip. Thank you Columbus Guatemala Travel for making this happen for our family!!! I'm sure I left things out, because every single day was filled with beauty, wonder and learning. I highly recommend Guatemala as a destination and this amazing team as your guides.

Alex did a near perfect job designing our trip. He took the time to understand our needs and expectations and tailored the trip to provide the range of experiences and lodgings that fit our travel preferences. he also provided excellent guidance on what to do and expect at each of our 5 locations, e.g., the decision to add an excursion to Mountain Pine Ridge. The lodgings varied from spectacular (Las Lagunas) to very nice (Ramon's and Casa del Mundo) to pretty basic (Meson de Maria and Falling Leaves, which did have great service however). These choices were very consistent with the guidance we provided to Alex.

Some of our guides were outstanding, in particular, Dary in Antigua, the woman and grower at the coffee farm, Pablo for birding in Finca Santa Victoria, Oscar at Chichicastenanga, Oliver at Tikal, and our cave tubing guide. The rest, however, were mediocre at best. The guide for the Pacaya Volcano hike didn't add much value on a straightforward route, and discouraged us from climbing to the top, which I would have liked to try. The guide for our hike along Lake Atitlan was also pretty unnecessary and didn't add much, as was our guide for the Lake Atitlan boat trip to visit villages. Part of that problem might have been our overall Guatemala guide, Pablo, who was very nice and mostly helpful, BUT his English was nowhere near the level we expected. Therefore, there was alot of miscommunication, and very limited translation for our guides in Lake Atitlan. We really felt like we missed alot of useful information during the village visits and on our hike back to the lodge. AND, there was a major screw-up on our kayak/hike trip, with our bags in limbo for an hour and a wasted hour waiting for the bags after our kayak trip. We also felt like he was trying to scare us away from the full kayaking and hiking experience by overestimating the difficulty. Yes, it was challenging, but exactly what we wanted.

Finally, there was a bit of confusion on our flight from Belize City to San Pedro, but it did NOT turn out to be much of an issue and we all learned from our mistakes.

Again, Alex was a joy to work with and designed a 5 star itinerary for us, and most of the experiences lived up to that standard.. However, the execution by a few of the guides was not quite up to this high standard.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Meson de Maria

Antigua Guatemala

Great location, decent breakfast, beautiful courtyard, charming hotel, BUT, our room was very tired and not that comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cramped room

Casa del Mundo

Lake Atitlán

Beautiful setting, a bit challenging to navigate the property, and our room was small, cramped, and outdated

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Las Lagunas hotel

Flores

Great setting, great facilities, fantastic suite, great food, unreal service. Didn't want to leave the property

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Falling Leaves Lodge

San Ignacio

A little out of town, facilities need updating, but the birding and service were excellent, and the food was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ramon's Village Resort

San Pedro

Very convenient location, nicest beach on the island, easy access to town and services, mediocre restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat Tour of Lake Atitlán Villages

Guatemala

Local guide was nice but not very informative, and language was a problem. The visit to the bee collective and the mayan ritual visit were very interesting, but the rest of the trip didn't feel all that authentic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking & Hiking Lake Atitlán

Guatemala

Loved the kayaking and hike and Pablo took some good photos of us on the water. However, the local guide did not provide much info on a straightforward hike through villages, and the logistics from kayak to hike were a disaster. Our backpacks (with wallets) were left at the dock by our hotel, and we had to anxiously wait an hour for the bags to arrive.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour the famous Chichicastenango Market

Guatemala

Local guide was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Tikal National Park

Guatemala

Oliver was a spectacular guide, with great information, flexible plans, a special extension to see a falcon, and a great lunch choice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from San Ignacio to Belize City with Cave Tubing Tour en Route

Belize

transfer went very smoothly over the border, and our guide was excellent on the cave tubing, which was alot of fun and interesting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antigua Coffee Tour by Bus with De La Gente

Guatemala

De la gente was outstanding...both farmer and local guide and the farmer's wife

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antigua Walking Tour

Guatemala

Fantastic guide, Dary...authentic, charming, and shared her enthusiasm and love for the city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Traditional Guatemalan Cooking Class

Antigua

Great dinner, fun company, and accommodating for dietary restrictions.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

car broke down on what to get us

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

Great experience, but not much help from local guide or our chaperone. Also, would have liked to try to go to the top, but not offered, and English was not good enough to make request.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AC didn't work and van was a little dirty

Driving Tour of Almolonga Valley

Antigua

Nice villages to visit, but our guide, Pablo, had limited excitement, energy, or information to share.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Santa Victoria Half Day Birding Tour

Guatemala

Pablo was a real character, but a little too full of himself. The birding was ok, but not all that productive

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thank you so much to Alex for planning such a great trip for me. He was able to plan a trip for me in a short period of time to Belize and Guatemala. The guides and the accommodations were amazing and I am so happy that I was able to participate in this trip. I would recommend Alex to plan your next trip to Guatemala.