Old Town Outfitters

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.

I just want to remind KimKim that one way that I evaluate value is by seeing how much I paid per day. In my case it was $460/day. I understand that all agents involved need to make a profit to stay in business. However, I felt that on days 1, 3( guide was with me for 1 hour), 4, 9 and 10- I had free days which meant that the costs were primarily transportation and hotel( hotels that I stayed in Guatemala under $125/day). Please factor this in when you quote a price.
My comments by day are below
Day 1- took hotel shuttle which arrived 30 minutes late and picked up 4 other passengers, so we left the airport 60 minutes after arrival.
Day 2- prompt pickup from airport, good experience in Tikal.Good hotel in Flores.
Day 3- guide was with me for 1 hour( we had to wait to pick up his spouse) who accompanied us.
Day 4- Transportation and met with Chris. Camelias Inn is a good hotel, however their towels/sheets and pillow covers smell( I gave them this feedback, it is also mentioned in many Tripadvisor reviews)
Day 5- Hike to EarthLodge was un-necessary. I would skip EarthLodge all-together.
Day 6- Great hike to Pacaya
Day 7-Car troubles on the way to ChiChi, delayed arrival, but great experience. Isla Verde was a great hotel.
Day 8- Good day of hiking and kayaking.
Day 9- Free day, back in Antigua -I felt that I should have left that day.
Day 10- Free day in Antigua , flight at 1130p
Rudy- who was with me for the hikes in Antigua, Pacaya volcano and kayaking in lake Atitlan was fantastic!
I will be back to do the Volcano Acatenago. Thank you for organizing

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Barcelo

Guatemala City

Airport shuttle does not arrive on time

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Take very long to check-in, 45 minutes to check in 3 people at midnight with 2 staff members

Cleanliness & Comfort

Isla de Flores

Flores

Near the Parque Central- can be a little noisy if there are town celebrations( which was on when I stayed). Hotel staff not very knowledgeable or helpful in guiding tourists regarding things to do.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near town Center can be noisy

Staff

Not knowledgeable about details of town events- there was a rodeo as part of the town celebration which they were not aware of

Cleanliness & Comfort

Camelias Inn

Antigua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sheets, towels and pillow-covers smell

Hotel Isla Verde

Santa Cruz la Laguna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Tikal National Park

San Ignacio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pacaya Sunset hike

Antigua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking & Hiking Lake Atitlán

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Not applicable

Excursion Into Actun Kan Caves

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Took the short trip 30-45 minutes, I thought we would do the long 3 hour trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stopped at guide's home for 20 minutes to pick up his spouse

Earth Lodge Hike (stay overnight)

Guatemala

Good location, scenic- limited options for dinner. I would probably skip this

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Not applicable- we hiked to this lodge

We were very pleased with the arrangements in the end, although it took longer than expected to finalise the itinerary given that I'd already gone through it in detail with someone from KimKim. Eduardo was extremely helpful and went beyond the call of duty when we needed to change the itinerary after we'd started the trip. He arranged a couple of tours for us in Guatemala including a trip to villages near Antigua which was really enjoyable and the Acatenango volcano hike. We found that less enjoyable as we weren't sufficiently acclimatised and I've already suggested a night at higher altitude beforehand would have helped. When one of our crossborder transfers didn't go according to plan because the drivers couldn't contact each other Eduardo apologised and made sure we were compensated. The few problems that arose were, I think, largely due to the agency in El Salvador not communicating fully with him. Most of the drivers (and vehicles) were very good although we did have issues with the guy who took us from Lanquin to Antigua, overtaking on blind bends in zero visibility due to the mist. Most of the hotels were very nice and comfortable. Hotel Guayaha in Lanquin was a bit odd - lots of potential in a vast but empty room with nowhere to even dry towels! The staff at Hotel San Buenaventura were pretty miserable, unlike everywhere else, and there was no breakfast before 8am but the hotel itself was nicely located on the lake. Finca Tatin Hotel would have been much nicer if we'd had decent weather as it is all open air.

Alex went above and beyond every step of the way! His local guides were also fantastic!! They were knowledgeable, flexible and great with kids (we were travelling with a 7 and 10 year old). Giannina came with us to Antigua and Lago Atitlan and she was so fantastic. She understood we needed extra breaks on long drives with the kids, she made sure the local guides tailored their cultural tours to the kids and was patient, reliable and fun. We all loved the ziplining, hiking the volcano, and spending. Christmas in Antigua. What a beautiful place!!

Hotel Reviews

Casona De La Isla

Flores

We were only here one night. Hotel was clean and breakfast was great. There was no safe in the room. That would have been nice to have.

Authenticity & Character

Hotel was busy and crowded- long lines to check in and long wait for breakfast. Likely because of Christmas season.

Location

Central. Close to lots of restaurants.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No

Porta Hotel Antigua

Antigua Guatemala

This was my favourite hotel of the three. Staff was welcoming and front desk staff all spoke English. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. Grounds were beautiful and the kids loved the playground and the parrots. The breakfast was also excellent. We had one bad experience in the restaurant on the first night we arrived. A large tour group came in (from old town tours), and they got served right away and we got forgotten for about an hour and a half. I think the guide was quite aggressive with the staff as we just got forgotten. Otherwise the service was great and it was a very positive experience.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful old building, amazing Christmas decorations, outdoor restaurant

Location

Very central and beautiful location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

We did see two cockroaches in the bathroom

Hotel Porta del Lago

Panajachel

This hotel was great. It was quite cool and rainy when we were there and we were not feeling great, so we did not get to enjoy this hotel as much as the others.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to the water and all the action

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean

Hotel Barcelo

Guatemala City

This was like being in a large hotel in any large international city. It was clean and amenities were great. We waited about an hour to check in. Breakfast was good, but we ended up having to pay for the kids as for some reason they were not included. They were not originally on the reservation either which delayed check in a bit.

Authenticity & Character

Really nicely decorated for christmas

Location

Very central

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Bitlmore Plaza

Belize City

Service was poor and they are building a conference centre beside the hotel and there was rock blasting happening all day. It was tough to enjoy your room or the pool. Hotel was busy and when we arrived (along with about 20 United airline pilots and flight attendants) rooms were not ready and they sent us to two different rooms that had not been cleaned ( this was around 4pm). We waited about 90 minutes to get into a room, which turned out to be last room right beside the construction. It was fine for sleeping. There was a strong musty/ mouldy smell as well. We were glad we were only there one night.

Authenticity & Character

Looked like any other best western

Location

Nothing really around it. Nice that it was close to the airport

Staff

The staff were doing their best to manage a tough situation

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Tikal National Park

Guatemala

Tikal itself was amazing!! Guide was good, but did not seem to have a good sense of when we were losing the kids attention. He was speaking to Paul and I which was interesting for us/ but he lost the kids and then they would start to complain. The kids did love the ruins and the birds we saw, but I don’t think they took in much of the history part. The day was too long for the kids, because we went from Flores to Tikal, back to Flores, flew to Guatemala City and then drove to Antigua. With the traffic, that was about 10 hours of travelling, plus Tikal! There was also no time built in for lunch. We ended us having a donut at the airport in Flores for lunch, which meant that the kids were cranky and not feeling great on the long drive from Guatemala City to Antigua (with traffic about 2.5 hours). They were so tired when we arrived they did not want to eat dinner, and when we got to the restaurant at the hotel we had a very long wait. With kids that age I think it would have been better to maybe stay right in Tikal, or to stay two nights in Flores so that it would not have been as rushed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

This was a great trip! It was a tough hike for the kids, but they made it! And Giannina was very patient with us. The best part was going out onto the lava field at the top and roasting marshmallows. It would have been great to now how long the drive was going to be to and from the volcano!

Quality of Experience

Guides were fantastic and experience was very unique!

Food

Giannina made us lunch, but kids would not eat the sandwiches because there was tomato, mayonnaise and lettuce on the sandwiches. Would have been great if she asked us what the kids would eat:)

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Antigua Walking Tour

Guatemala

Dart was engaging and interesting! Loved the old churches and the ruins. She understood the kids attention span and made sure to have a well timed ice cream break. This tour was cut short in order to bump up the time of ziplining. We did this so the kids could have a few hours of just hanging out by the pool and text before dinner. We were trying to stay up to midnight on Christmas Eve to see the fireworks!

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Zipline Tour at Santo Domingo del Cerro

Antigua

The whole family loved this!

Quality of Experience

Staff were really great with kids- really made experience great for everyone

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Drive to Lake Atitlán

Guatemala

We did this on Christmas Day and there was no traffic! Drive was great. It would have been good if there a place to stop for the kids to run around a bit on the way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour of Lake Atitlán Villages

Guatemala

We all loved this trip. We went to Santiago and San Juan. Paul was not feeling well this day. Kids really loved stopping to see the bees at the honey exhibit and learning how chocolate is made. I really loved wandering around the market in Santiago. It would have been great if we could have had lunch at the hotel before leaving. I got sick from eating lunch at one of the little restaurants in Santiago.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guides were all extremely friendly and helpful, helping tailor or experience to make it impactful and comfortable. An added bonus was having a coffee with Chris after our arrival. We always felt very well taken care of. One example - we had some motion sickness due to the windy roads. Hilberto took us to a pharmacy. Two pills and two quetzales later we were back on our adventure. Without exception, knowledgeable and friendly guides and rides showed up on time ready to make our day the best. Activities were well tailored to our desires and abilities.

Our local specialist, Chris, was great with communication while planning our trip as well as during it. He was able to change our itinerary while we were in Guatemala on short notice due to an illness in our group, so that we could still do an excursion that was important to us on a different day. Our in-country tour guide and driver was also great - very welcoming and knowledgeable.