Columbus Guatemala Travel

Catherina is amazing. From the preliminary agenda until we were on the plane she was on top of everything. When changes were required she made them, was solicitous of our comfort and in every way fabulous. JJ and Renee were equally impressive and did everything to make our trip enjoyable. Renee returned the room key that I forgot in Belize, JJ helped me through a bit of stomach upset. All of the birding guides were extremely knowledgeable. I would recommend that folks our age split birding and ruin watching into two days. It was 104 degrees the day we did it and we cooked. The reef in Belize is still beautiful, but showing signs of bleaching, more's the pity. All in all, it was one of our best trips. Kudos to Columbus travel.

Hotel Reviews

Mystic River Resort

San Ignacio

Sited in the jungle with balconies looking down on the river, Mystic River Resort is beautiful. For bird watchers like ourselves, there are over 250 species of birds on the property. The first morning a summer tanager dropped down to the railing when I walked out to claim her share of the banana bread (which hotel staff had brought to our door along with delicious coffee). The rooms are large and comfortable with both a fan and a fireplace. (A little too warm while we were there for the latter.) A very nice outdoor dining room with both hummingbird and platform feeders providing great interest especially in the morning. The staff are pleasant and solicitous of your well being. A thoroughly pleasant stay.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely cabins, decor throughout well done and consistent.

Location

Sited in untouched jungle, birds, birds, birds!

Staff

Way above average in friendliness and helpfulness.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and comfortable/

Hotel Atitlán

Panajachel

Very different from Mystic River. Sculptured gardens and lots of flowers. Beautiful! Many birds, but not as many as Mystic River. Very comfortable room. Lovely restaurant with excellent choices and food.

Authenticity & Character

Very well done with a great deal of period pieces

Location

Right on Lake Atitlan with boat travel to various cool experiences.

Staff

Very helpful and efficient

Cleanliness & Comfort

Like most Latin hotel very clean, good shower, very comfortable

Azure Del Mar

Placencia

Again a huge switch, since this hotel is literally on the beach. What appears to be a very simplistic hotel turns out to be a very cozy stay with the wind off the Gulf blowing through the room day and night. There was no need of fan or air conditioning although a conditioner was provided. Palapa style office, dining room and cabins. Very intriguing! Thoroughly enjoyed our stay there

Authenticity & Character

Palapa says it all.

Location

Right on the beach, what more could you ask?

Staff

Extraordinarily helpful, efficient and thoughtful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean throughout. Very comfortable the way the cabins are sited!

Activity Review

Welcome to Guatemala

Belize

Went off without a hitch. We were met by JJ as we came out of baggage claim, the car was loaded and we were on our way.

Quality of Experience

JJ is friendly, helpful, personable and efficient.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See above

Transport

Nice wheels.

Guatemala: The guides were knowledgeable and shared much that I didn’t know about the Mayan culture. I especially enjoyed going to the mountain indigenous villages and interacting with the people. The home stays and visits were insightful to seeing the integrity of family life, which seems to be very strong. The artistic cratsmanship of the weavers, was colorful and impressive. I would have like to learn more specifically about the different weavings and traditional dress from each of the villages that we visited. I bought a few weavings which I don’t know their origin. The Guatemalan people are very friendly, and sometimes wanted to take pictures with and of us. The extreme cold at night in the mountains was unexpected. I had to buy an extra layer at the Mipaca thrift store in Toto. This part of the trip overall was jam-packed, sometimes we had to skip lunch to make it through each day’s activities.

Tikal was spectacular and Flores Island was pleasantly relaxing and had good restaurants, bakeries, and cafes.

Belize: was a new and delightful experience for me. The nature we visited was awesome, from cave canoeing, the hike and waterfall massage at the Jaguar preserve, and the snorkeling in the reefs near Hopkins. It was great to relax after the busy first part of the tour.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Casa Blanca Inn

Guatemala City

There was -a miscommunication on where to meet the taxi driver from the hotel, so that was a bit stressful. Hotel was Adequate. No hot water after midnight. The staff was attentive and helpful. The young man helped me with a problem I had with my suitcase.

Authenticity & Character

Fie

Location

Close to airport. Gated and secure.

Staff

See above.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Muchá

Quetzaltenango

Beds comfortable. Shower amazing! Very cold at night.

Authenticity & Character

Adobe made it very cold.

Location

Convenient

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cold—bring warm clothes for sleeping.

Totonicapán Homestay!

Totonicapán

Family was wonderful, kind, and very attentive. Very cold at night, I didn’t take a shower because it was too cold to get undressed.

Authenticity & Character

Carolina, Heidi, Melvin and Carlos were sweet and helpful in explaining home life and studies. It was very interesting to see Carolina’s jaspe dying process and Carlos’ sewing piecework. Carlo’s also demonstrated taking corn from the cob and grinding it.

Location

The walk around the property and hearing about the planting and processing of the corn for tortilla, and fresh beans, was absolutely wonderful.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room and Beds were clean, but communal bathroom was rustic, toilet need to be flushed with a bucket.

Casa Antigua El Chalet

Santa Cruz Del Quiché

Everything comfortable. Less cold at nights. I enjoyed sitting in the outdoor living room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Enjoyed the town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hacienda Mil Amores

Cobán

Beds were comfortable. Showers were a bit hot and cold the first night, but they arranged alternate shower the next night.

Authenticity & Character

Dining room for dinners and breakfast was lovely and rustic. It was nice to meet and chat with other visitors one night.

Location

Beautiful setting. However, we decided to take rooms away from the stable, since the cow smell was strong.

Staff

Accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Homestay in Chichicastenanago, Casa Diego Ignacio, EN.

Chichicastenango

Great to spend time with Miguel , Juana, Patricia and Sandra and their children. Food was homemade and very delicious. We saw how difficult it is to make tortillas, when we tried to make them. Miguel is a leader in his community and has a lot to share with visitors. Their store had wonderful weavings and masks for purchase at decent prices. If you intend to buy weavings, don’t buy elsewhere. I had already bought a lot before Chichicastenango, so I couldn’t buy much there though I was tempted.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Peten

Flores

Comfortable, but small rooms. Our room was facing the street where a bar had loud reggaton music. It made it hard to sleep.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful view of the lake, convenient location. See comment about the loud music above.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Midas Belize

Cayo District

Room was large, but mattresses were too soft. Loved the pool. Great for swimming laps. Breakfast was great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit of a walk to town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parrot Cove Lodge

Placencia

Wonderful rooms, great restaurant, good breakfast. Beachfront very comfortable. Dock where they picked us up for the snorkeling. Great to have a pool as well as the beach.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the water, but a bit far from the village.

Staff

Very helpful when my companion was not feeling well. Maritza was great in rescheduling our snorkeling.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Coningsby Inn

Belize City

Adequate.

Authenticity & Character

Historical landmark.

Location

Staff

Helpful in suggesting an excellent restaurant.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Small room, but adequate to be close to the airport.

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Guatemala

Guatemala

Hot water after midnight.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Pick up from airport was confusing.

Visit Cantel and its Women's Textile Cooperative

Quetzaltenango

We walked around the town. Happened to coincide with a funeral. Nice walk around the town. We did not go to the textile collective.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Luis was always early for pick, knowledgeable, and a safe driver

San Francisco el Alto

Guatemala

Saw a tradtional market. Few tourists.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Georginas Hot Springs

Guatemala

We got there late so we didn’t have much time to enjoy the hot springs. Met interesting people there. Hot springs temperature could have been hotter.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Totonicapán Handicraft Workshops

Guatemala

I wasn’t feeling well so I didn’t attend weaving demo.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Cruz del Quiche.

Santa Cruz Del Quiche

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore and Learn About Santa Cruz Education

Santa Cruz Del Quiche

Private relifgios school was very accommodating, giving us a tour of the school, classrooms, and a brief opportunity to speak with the teachers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chajul, El Quiche.

Acul

Interesting meeting the backstrap weaver family

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

San Andrés Sajcabajá

Guatemala

Long drive to get there. Not sure it was worth the time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Chichicastenango Mayan Market

Chichicastenango

The family and market were the highlights of this experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tikal Maya Ruin

Guatemala

Guide was excellent. Impressive temples. Interesting to know about 25% has been excavate so far. Good lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Xunantunich

Guatemala

Not as incredible as Tikal. The excavation was at time reconstructed, with facsimiles, rather than real ruins. Tremendous vistas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy Barton Creek

Guatemala

Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maya Cacao Belizean Experience

Guatemala

Seeing a cacao plantation that is struggling due to not having the right conditions shows the difficulty of producing a healthy crop of cacao beans. Chocolate making workshop w,as interesting.; Nice to meet Hob’s father.

Quality of Experience

I had seen this demo in Costa Rica so. It wasn’t that new for me.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Leisure Day

Guatemala

Rest, eating well.

Quality of Experience

Jaguar Preserve

Guatemala

Hiking was great. We learned a lot about flora and fauna, waterfall swimming was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Guatemala

Safety was primary in postponing the day we went. Water was so clear. Great to see fish, corals.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat ride was GREAT!

Belize City Tour

Guatemala

It was short since we arrived late.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Short and sweet!

Transport

Thank you!

Guatemala

This trip was extremely well-planned by Columbus Travel in Antigua. Catherina and her team worked hard to understand exactly what our goals were and why we were coming to Guatemala. We had very specific requests and they listened intently to us, making sure we would have the experiences we were seeking. Many of the villages we visited had few to no tourists, and we really were able to see up close and personal the way the Maya K'iche' and Ixil people live their daily lives. We had many, many conversations one-on-one and were able to ask and answer questions, take photos, and dive deeper into the culture than any other type of travel could have provided for us. There were, of course, changes in schedule and plans due to unexpected opportunities or weather shifts, but Columbus Travel was always there to accommodate our needs and make it work for us on the spot. The guides and drivers were always in communication with Catherina and she with them, making managing the trip very smooth for us. The second part of our trip was the fun, more touristy, part, but even during that part, Catherina made sure we kept our cultural focus and were always met and guided by Mayans and visited Mayan sites. It was a true pleasure to work with such travel professionals who were also quite personal with us and got to know us well. I highly recommend this organization and this mode of travel planning. Kim Kim is lucky to partner with Columbus Travel!
GUIDES
Our primary driver and guide for the first half of the trip was Luis Medina. He was absolutely the best choice for our trip! He was informed, open, helpful, patient, and fun to be with. We had many speed bumps (literal and figurative) along the way and his mild temperament always came shining through. On many occasions, he saw opportunities for us to have unique experiences and he always moved forward to make them happen for us. The success of our trip was largely due to his on the spot, professional trip management skills.
Our K'iche' guide, Carlos Chaclan, also provided us with a homestay in Totonicapan and was a gracious host. We so enjoyed spending time with him and his family. They were all so sweet and relaxed with us and made us feel at home. On the road, Carlos never failed to connect us with our mission - to get to know the Maya K'iche' of Guatemala. He helped us engage with them; he taught me useful phrases so that I could begin speaking directly with them; he made suggestions about what we might want to do and experience that was authentic; and he was informative in providing history and meaning when we asked him about specific places and historical markers along our route.

I had an exceptional experience with Columbus Guatemala Travel. Prior to this journey, my knowledge of Guatemala was quite limited, and Belize was completely off my radar. This is precisely why I love to travel: to explore new destinations, immerse myself in diverse cultures, and embrace novel experiences. The itinerary crafted by Columbus Guatemala Travel perfectly encapsulated the spirit of both Belize and Guatemala, offering me fresh insights into these fascinating countries. Their responsiveness impressed me, especially their use of a WhatsApp group to keep my travel information up-to-date and adapt to any changes swiftly. Meeting the team in Antigua was a delight; they were warm and welcoming. I wholeheartedly recommend embarking on a new adventure with Columbus Guatemala Travel.