Que-girl
Jun 19, 11, 1:31 pm
We are going to take the 9 day Caravan tour of Guatamala in January. After the tour, we would love to go chill on a beach some where in Guatamala or close by. Does any one have any ideas?
Thx.:)
Thx.:)
Central America - Post guatamala tour
View Full Version : Post guatamala tour
manneca
Jun 19, 11, 2:34 pm
Haven't been there, but you might look at Belize. There's lots of nice islands. A friend went there on her honeymoon and loved it. She stayed on Anthony's Cay, I think. (Well, it's in the vicinity of Guatemala.)
SJOGuy
Jun 19, 11, 2:58 pm
Guatemala is not known for its beaches. It has a long Pacific coast with dark-sand beaches, but the tourist infrastructure is not there. The only beachy place of note is Monterrico, a one-street beach town near the border with El Salvador. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, but it's no Puerto Vallarta. :)
Anthony's Key is the name of a resort on Roatan in Honduras's Bay Islands.
Anthony's Key is the name of a resort on Roatan in Honduras's Bay Islands.
higo
Jun 20, 11, 12:58 pm
I've been to two beach hotels in Guatemala. One in Monterrico on the Pacific Coast, and another in Amatique on the Atlantic.
On Monterrico, there's the Cayman Suites hotel, you can check the hotel website for pictures in:
http://www.caymansuites.com.gt/
On Amatique there's the Amatique Bay Resot and Marina, the beach there isn't spectacular, but from there you can book a tour from there to the small islands on Guatemala's caribbean or take a tour to the Rio Dulce river and gulf.
http://www.amatiquebay.net/
Depending on what you want or how much you want to drive, you could consider the islands in Belize which are more Caribbean-like. You'll have to park your car in Belize City and then take a water-taxi to the islands. Remember that Belize is not part of the CA-4 Central American travel agreement and the entry tax and requirements are not the same as Guatemala.
In El Salvador, about 1 hour from the Pacific Coast border between El Salvador and Guatemala, there's the Decameron Hotel that has 1 km of dark sand beaches. It's an all-inclusive hotel though. El Salvador is part of the CA-4 and the border crossing should be easy.
On Monterrico, there's the Cayman Suites hotel, you can check the hotel website for pictures in:
http://www.caymansuites.com.gt/
On Amatique there's the Amatique Bay Resot and Marina, the beach there isn't spectacular, but from there you can book a tour from there to the small islands on Guatemala's caribbean or take a tour to the Rio Dulce river and gulf.
http://www.amatiquebay.net/
Depending on what you want or how much you want to drive, you could consider the islands in Belize which are more Caribbean-like. You'll have to park your car in Belize City and then take a water-taxi to the islands. Remember that Belize is not part of the CA-4 Central American travel agreement and the entry tax and requirements are not the same as Guatemala.
In El Salvador, about 1 hour from the Pacific Coast border between El Salvador and Guatemala, there's the Decameron Hotel that has 1 km of dark sand beaches. It's an all-inclusive hotel though. El Salvador is part of the CA-4 and the border crossing should be easy.
JDiver
Aug 13, 11, 8:25 pm
What may the world's best rum comes from Zacapa on the Caribbean coast - but NOT great beaches! :D
"Caravan" - are you driving? Having driven in Central American for some years (starting ~1970 on a one year solo trip throughout Mexico and C.A. in my VW camper) I'd frankly caution anyone considering driving up the Caribbean route between Guate and Belize - a lot! It used to be the Kaibiles with a infamous nasty military operation, now the infamous Los Zetas Mexican drug gang is in parts of the area (one could say parts of the Petén could be renamed "Guatepeór"). If they weren't, I'd recommend Flores and Lake Petén Itzá and Tikal.
From the U.S. State Department, May 2011:
The following is a Warden Message concerning Security in Peten. Please share the following information with any other U.S. citizens you know, as soon as possible. It should be disseminated as widely as possible within the U.S. citizen community. Thank you very much for your support and assistance.
The following notice was received from Asistur, the Guatemalan agency that helps tourists. We are passing this notice to you for your information.
“We are informing all that due to the latest incidents in the Department of Peten, we recommend not to travel to that destination to avoid any inconvenience that might arise and to protect the physical safety of local and foreign tourists”.
There is an increased level of violence in areas of the Peten, characterized by murders on a finca in the municipality of La Libertad and shootings and bombings in Flores and Santa Elena. The U. S. Embassy wishes to alert travelers to exercise extreme caution when traveling through those places. Travelers going to Tikal should bear in mind that the airport for Tikal is in Flores and the road passes through Flores and Santa Elena before reaching Tikal.
Copyright © 2011, United States Department of State
Link (https://www.osac.gov/Pages/Home.aspx)to USDOS OSAC website for Guatemala Warden Messages.
Crossing into El Salvador is easier, and safer; the country has more beach areas than Guatemala. If you haven't any experience with border crossings other than an escorted caravan, be aware it can take some patience and "extra requirements" (the Guate border authorities tried to scam me into paying bribes more than once, and it's not like you can drive around Guatemala between El Salvador and Mexico).
"Caravan" - are you driving? Having driven in Central American for some years (starting ~1970 on a one year solo trip throughout Mexico and C.A. in my VW camper) I'd frankly caution anyone considering driving up the Caribbean route between Guate and Belize - a lot! It used to be the Kaibiles with a infamous nasty military operation, now the infamous Los Zetas Mexican drug gang is in parts of the area (one could say parts of the Petén could be renamed "Guatepeór"). If they weren't, I'd recommend Flores and Lake Petén Itzá and Tikal.
From the U.S. State Department, May 2011:
The following is a Warden Message concerning Security in Peten. Please share the following information with any other U.S. citizens you know, as soon as possible. It should be disseminated as widely as possible within the U.S. citizen community. Thank you very much for your support and assistance.
The following notice was received from Asistur, the Guatemalan agency that helps tourists. We are passing this notice to you for your information.
“We are informing all that due to the latest incidents in the Department of Peten, we recommend not to travel to that destination to avoid any inconvenience that might arise and to protect the physical safety of local and foreign tourists”.
There is an increased level of violence in areas of the Peten, characterized by murders on a finca in the municipality of La Libertad and shootings and bombings in Flores and Santa Elena. The U. S. Embassy wishes to alert travelers to exercise extreme caution when traveling through those places. Travelers going to Tikal should bear in mind that the airport for Tikal is in Flores and the road passes through Flores and Santa Elena before reaching Tikal.
Copyright © 2011, United States Department of State
Link (https://www.osac.gov/Pages/Home.aspx)to USDOS OSAC website for Guatemala Warden Messages.
Crossing into El Salvador is easier, and safer; the country has more beach areas than Guatemala. If you haven't any experience with border crossings other than an escorted caravan, be aware it can take some patience and "extra requirements" (the Guate border authorities tried to scam me into paying bribes more than once, and it's not like you can drive around Guatemala between El Salvador and Mexico).