I recently flew into Belize City on AS then and made my way over to Guatemala City. It was a great trip catching local buses and a small open boat across the bay between Punta Gorda (Belize) and Puerto Barrios (Guatemala). The people were friendly and I felt safe all the way. I stayed in local hotels throughout Guatemala and Hostels throughout Belize for around $25 a night. I also caught a few local domestic commuter flights as I find they are much cheaper than "scenic tourist" flights.

I flew Maya Air ($75) on their Cesna between Dangriga (Belize) to Belize City and then onto Placencia (Belize) on my way to catch the open boat to Guatemala. The coastal scenery was incredible. Local "Chicken: buses from Placencia to Punta Gorda. The open boat across to Guatemala costs around $60. Just remember to look for the immigration office in Puerto Barrios as there are no formal entry facilities at the docks, Just walk up the road and "check in" so your passport gets stamped. The AC bus from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala was about $21 for the 5 hour ride on LiteGua.

Now that AS will be operating to GUA, I will certainly be returning as my return flight on American to Seattle was a bit of a cattle run via DFW and LAX.

My next trip will be to explore more of Guatemala and head overland to San Salvador (El Salvador).

As far as Award redemptions are concerned, AS lists Ffights to GUA as "First Class" seats at very high redemption rates (dynamic 40-75K pricing). However, if you search for "Business Class", American Airlines award seats are ony 27.5K