Old Town Outfitters

Amazing trip to Belize and Guatemala. Alex was very communicative and helpful during the entire planning process and while we were on the trip. We have been on many trips through kimkim with local companies in different companies. There seemed to be a disconnect with this trip. Typically we have one guide for each region that spends each day with our family (from airport pickup to the last day). This guide gives us local history and lots of information. They typically provide water for our family, local snacks and keep an eye on the schedule for stopping to eat (which is important for us as we have five children). This wasn’t the case in Belize or Guatemala. The guides we did have were great! The trip was wonderful but not as seamless as we are used to with kimkim trips.
There was more than one instance where we arrived at a location (ferry, airport, etc) and the driver was no where to be found. Alex took care of things very quickly but there seemed to be a lack of communication or understanding of pick up expectations between Alex and the drivers. I would highly recommend visiting Belize and Guatemala, they are both beautiful countries.

Activity Reviews

Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley - from Ramon's Village

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Tikal National Park

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing Team

Our team made our experience unforgettable. The attention to detail, the personalization, the effort that was made to go above and beyond was noticeable at each turn. I have never experienced such committed customer service as our team anticipated our every need and made sure to support and enhance our experience at every turn. I could not be more impressed with the team we had with us the entire trip. A special thanks to Joel and Giani who were so attentive and so friendly with the children. They made sure we were all together and that no one was left behind! This included putting a child on their shoulders to hike up Pacaya Volcano!

And an even bigger thanks to Vini, who was the mastermind behind our days. Who coordinated with everyone and was the warmest, loveliest person I have ever met.

We love you Vini!!!

I booked the trip to the Antigua region at sort of the last minute, but once again Kimkim and Alex at Oldtown Outfitters came through brilliantly. Alex arranged an amazing short trip that packed in an astonishing variety of wonderful experiences in a short period of time, including a visit to Lake Atitlan, the Mayan ruins at Iximche, a cooking class, a visit to a coffee coop, and a walking tour of Antigua. Throughout the planning process, he was really responsive to my questions, and flexible in arranging the trip. The airport transfers were seamless, and the hotels were excellent. Nery, my guide, was so knowledgeable, professional and nice, and overall, I just strongly recommend both visiting Antigua and working with Alex!

Matt was helpful and knowledgable. We followed his recommendations and were glad we did! There was one misalignment with what the itinerary said we were getting and what was actually provided - the snorkling day said the following:

"Today we will eat breakfast and then we will go ahead to the Ragamuffin office (Tour operator for snorkeling). They will be in charge to lead you for the rest of the day. The tour will start at the dock, where you will be able to see sharks on the shore that get fed by fish, in the meantime, you will be waiting for your boat to start the adventure on the beach. We will go for 1 hour deep into the beach to try at first our gear for snorkeling and then we will deeper into the coral reef to see the wonders Belize has to offer in tourism. The guides on board will take care of you and will make you pass a great time on the beach with snacks, lunch, and some alcoholic drinks or without. This will be a full-day tour."

However, the tour was a half day group tour with a total of 11 participants and lunch and drinks were not included.

Hotel Reviews

Mayan Mountain Lodge

San Ignacio

The hotel was clean and the property was gorgeous. We enjoyed having our own bungalow. However, the bed was small and the interior was a bit underwhelming.

Authenticity & Character

Property is gorgeous.

Location

A short walk to town, but not in town. Perfect.

Staff

Friendly and very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Small bed, but loved having our own bungalow.

Tikal Inn

The room was large, with two double beds. The restaurant had a well developed menu and the location - in the national park - was awesome.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Inside the park - wonderful.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Isla Resort

Cayo District, Belize

The room was large, with 2 beds. Clean and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the heart of Caye Caulker.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) caves day tour

Belize

We love this activity. It was physically demanding and really worth the work!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from San Ignacio to Tikal National Park

Belize

The transfer included a tour if Yaxhá Maya Ruins, which worked really well. The day was well designed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise Tour of Tikal National Park

Belize

We really appreciated visiting Tikal at 4:00 am. There was almost no one in the park. The sunrise on the day we were there didn't amount to much, but it didn't matter. We were at the site for 5.5 h - all of this was fascinating.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour Yaxhá Maya Ruins

Belize

The boat and tour of Yaxhá Maya Ruins was interesting, providing a enriching undersyanding of Mayan civilization.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cave tubing tour

Belize

The tubing was relaxing. Passing through the cave system in an inner tube was enjoyable. The cave portion of the tour was surreal.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkelling day tour at Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker

We enjoyed the snorkelling. The trip include coral reefs, nurse sharks, sting rays and tarpons. We thought the half day was an appropriate amount of time to spend doing the activity. However, our itinerary said the tour would be a private full day event, including snacks, lunch, and some alcoholic drinks or without. This. was not the case. There were 11 participants, which was crowded and congested at times.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Hotel Meson de Maria

Antigua Guatemala

Great location, decent breakfast, beautiful courtyard, charming hotel, BUT, our room was very tired and not that comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cramped room

Casa del Mundo

Lake Atitlán

Beautiful setting, a bit challenging to navigate the property, and our room was small, cramped, and outdated

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Las Lagunas hotel

Flores

Great setting, great facilities, fantastic suite, great food, unreal service. Didn't want to leave the property

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Falling Leaves Lodge

San Ignacio

A little out of town, facilities need updating, but the birding and service were excellent, and the food was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ramon's Village Resort

San Pedro

Very convenient location, nicest beach on the island, easy access to town and services, mediocre restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat Tour of Lake Atitlán Villages

Guatemala

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking & Hiking Lake Atitlán

Guatemala

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour the famous Chichicastenango Market

Guatemala

Local guide was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

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Explore Tikal National Park

Guatemala

Oliver was a spectacular guide, with great information, flexible plans, a special extension to see a falcon, and a great lunch choice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from San Ignacio to Belize City with Cave Tubing Tour en Route

Guatemala

transfer went very smoothly over the border, and our guide was excellent on the cave tubing, which was alot of fun and interesting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antigua Coffee Tour by Bus with De La Gente

Guatemala

De la gente was outstanding...both farmer and local guide and the farmer's wife

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antigua Walking Tour

Guatemala

Fantastic guide, Dary...authentic, charming, and shared her enthusiasm and love for the city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Traditional Guatemalan Cooking Class

Antigua

Great dinner, fun company, and accommodating for dietary restrictions.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

car broke down on what to get us

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AC didn't work and van was a little dirty

Driving Tour of Almolonga Valley

Antigua

Nice villages to visit, but our guide, Pablo, had limited excitement, energy, or information to share.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Santa Victoria Half Day Birding Tour

Guatemala

Pablo was a real character, but a little too full of himself. The birding was ok, but not all that productive

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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.