Great design, some amazing guides, and some so-so guides
Guatemala
|
Feb 2 - Feb 18, 2025
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
Great location, decent breakfast, beautiful courtyard, charming hotel, BUT, our room was very tired and not that comfortable.
Beautiful setting, a bit challenging to navigate the property, and our room was small, cramped, and outdated
Great setting, great facilities, fantastic suite, great food, unreal service. Didn't want to leave the property
A little out of town, facilities need updating, but the birding and service were excellent, and the food was good.
Very convenient location, nicest beach on the island, easy access to town and services, mediocre restaurant
Activity Reviews
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.
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.
Local guide was fantastic.
Oliver was a spectacular guide, with great information, flexible plans, a special extension to see a falcon, and a great lunch choice.
transfer went very smoothly over the border, and our guide was excellent on the cave tubing, which was alot of fun and interesting
De la gente was outstanding...both farmer and local guide and the farmer's wife
Fantastic guide, Dary...authentic, charming, and shared her enthusiasm and love for the city
Great dinner, fun company, and accommodating for dietary restrictions.
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.
Nice villages to visit, but our guide, Pablo, had limited excitement, energy, or information to share.
Pablo was a real character, but a little too full of himself. The birding was ok, but not all that productive
