Duration
14 Days / 13 Nights
Package Type
Traditional
Activity Level
Moderate
Physical Difficulty
Cultural rating
Wildlife expectation
This 14 day classic route takes in the best of two countries in Central America, combing the best sites of Guatemala and Honduras. Unique and rainbow coloured Guatemala with its Mayan culture, colonial towns, active volcanoes, ethnics markets and unrivalled archaeological sites. Belize, the second smallest country in Central America, offers sacred caves, jungle adventures, wildlife, and the fantastic Caribbean beaches with the second largest barrier reef in the world. Get the most out of Classic Central America with this incredible Classic 14 Day Mayan Adventure.
Special features of our 14 day Classic Mayan Adventure:
Type of Tourism: Classic, Nature, Culture, Geography, Archaeology,
Places to Visit: Guatemala City, Antigua, Iximche, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango, Tikal, Yaxha, Ambergris Caye, Hol Chan, San Ignacio.
Duration: 14 Days and 13 Nights.
Type of Service: Private tours.
Accommodation: 4 star hotels and lodges at every destination that you will visit. These hotels have been carefully chosen and we can guarantee that you will feel comfortable and your every need catered for!
Today is arrival day to Guatemala City. Your guide will be waiting at the airport to take you to the hotel for the evening in the colonial town of Antigua.
Today we can enjoy a morning cultural walking tour of Antigua, we will visit ruins, churches and museums of the city. The stories and legends of colonial times are still part of everyday culture and we will visit: La Merced Church, Convent Las Capuchinas, Saint Joseph Cathedral, Central Park, the local craft market & Chocolate Museum.
The Pacaya volcano is one of three active volcanos in Guatemala, standing at 2,552 metres elevation. The hike is a relatively easy ascent and offers spectacular views of the whole volcanic chain. If you prefer, you may hire a horse at the entrance to the park for the ascent. We will head along a trail through a pine forest to the volcanic ash and finally reach the cone of the volcano. From the top, you can enjoy excellent views of the volcanoes. After enjoying our volcano adventure tour, we will descend to the foothills and hand back...
Today we will head to the market town of Chichicastenango, where the Mayan and Catholic traditions come together in glorious and colourful fashion! The scent of incense and the people's mysticism offers a unique atmosphere found only in Guatemala. The combinations of tastes, smells and colours combine uniquely here. We will then head to Lake Atitlan for the evening.
Today, we will visit San Juan La Laguna, where we can see the women’s textile cooperative for hand weaving and natural dye processing of the textiles. We will also visit the homes of the famous naïf painters before we continue to Santiago Village. We will then head to see the famous Maya deity, Maximon and learn about the textiles, spiritualism and beliefs of the T’zutujil Maya. Each year a different family houses the saint of the town, taking care of their cigarette, smoking God.
After breakfast, we will visit Iximche in Tecpán, a Mayan city founded in 1463. Before the Spanish arrived, the city was important, yet almost a century later, it played a decisive role in the Spanish conquest of this Guatemala region. The city's remains can still be found in the surrounding pine forests, with its ceremonial plazas, temples and ball courts still on display. We will enjoy a traditional lunch in Tecpán and then head back to the capital. Here we will take our onward flight to Flores, where we will spend th...
Today we will wake early once more to appreciate the spectacular Tikal in all its glory. We can see the incredible flora and fauna in the jungle, with an array of Mayan temples offering the most spectacular setting for an archaeological site. The National Park is the perfect opportunity to discover the birds that are endemic to Tikal, as well as Howler Monkeys and Spider monkeys, butterflies, and spectacular insects. For lunch, we will enjoy a BBQ served inside the park. In the afternoon, we will head back to our hotel for the evenin...
After breakfast, we will visit the Yaxhá National Park, located n the banks of the Yaxha Lake. We will walk along the causeways beneath a lush tropical forest, where howler monkeys fill the air with their calls, hoping to impress a female or to defend their territory. We can climb Mayan temples that offer spectacular views over the rainforest. We will finish our tour at the highest temple in the park, the temple 216. We will then head to the border to cross into Belize and spend the night in San Ignacio.
After breakfast, we will head to the magnificent Actun Tunichil Muknal, one of the most remarkable caverns in the Mayan Lowlands. This sacred cave is found in the middle of the Belizean rainforest and has been an important religious site of the ancient Maya of Belize for centuries. Here, we will enjoy a caving activity exploring a natural cave system with a group of chambers, with a 300 metre cathedral, where sacrificial rituals took place back in the day.
This is like a living museum offering incredible insight into Mayan hi...
Today, we will head out on a cave tubing adventure at the Jaguar Paw. This incredible adventure allows us to enter the exciting world of rivers disappearing into the depths of the ground as we float on inner tubes with only a headlamp to light your way. Enjoy floating through caves in the jungle through the mist, swirling around stalagmites jutting from the river and stalactites hanging above. Float past underground waterfalls then into the crystal cathedral, an Ancient Mayan spiritual centre. As we immerge from these underground cav...
After breakfast, our guide will collect us from the hotel for a snorkelling day trip in one of the most popular diving sites in Belize, Hol Chan Marine for a spectacular and stunning underwater adventure. Hol Chan is a protected marine sanctuary that is the home to many spectacular and colourful tropical fish species. We will then head to Shark Ray Alley to see sharks and manta rays in their natural habitat. The Shark Ray Alley is a shallow water snorkel where you will enjoy swimming with the harmless nurse sharks and southern stingr...
Today is a free day to enjoy the beach and explore the stunning caye.
Another free day to explore the Caye and its surrounding area.
Today is the final day of the tour. You will head back to Belize City in time for your international flight or on to your next exciting destination.
For city tours, there are public bathrooms available, in remote destinations bathroom facilities are more sparse.
Guides & Drivers:
2.2. Protective Measures and Equipment to consider:
2.2.1. Mandatory Equipment:
• Face mask
• Tied Hair (in case of having long hair)
• Closed Shoes (not sandals)
• Constant use of Hand Sanitizer
• Use pants with the uniform (not shorts)
• Sanitize your backpack and equipment constantly when providing services
• Limit the use of accessories (wallets, fanny packs, watches, etc.)
• Avoid sharing glasses, spoons, bottles, etc.
• Avoid the use of reusable tissues, make use of disposable towels or napkins
• Make use of the digital thermometer
• Avoid wearing a tie or scarf
III. SPECIFIC PREVENTION MEASURES
3.1. Tourist Guide Service
• Maximum 1 Guide for every 14 visitors
3.2. Tourist Reception
• Welcome: greet without physical contact and maintaining a distance of 1.5 meters.
3.3. Delivery of Preventive Utensils
• Take the temperature of Each Visitor
• Hand Sanitizer
• Masks, if necessary.
• Gloves
Physical distancy and wear masks in public spaces are mandatory for clients, guides and drivers.
We do not include travel or health insurance and we strongly recommend a comprehensive travel insurance for any unexpected circumstances. This is not obligatory, however. An full travel insurance policy that covers cancellations and delays as well as medical insurance.
We suggest that you speak with your doctor to ensure that you are up-to-date with the recommended vaccinations when traveling to the destination. In any case, a negative Coronavirus Molecular Test (PCR) is needed to enter the country.
We suggest that you speak with your doctor to ensure what medications you will need to bring to the destination. Pharmacies and drugstores are common in all cities, however, it is not certain that you will be able to find a specific drug that you can find in your country of origin.
As in any city in the world, there can be pickpockets in crowded places. We suggest being vigilant at all times, but if you are in a group you will always be safer.
We do not include the cost of any domestic or international flight in any of our programs. These services must be booked independently by each guest.
Yes, hotels will charge the cost of a double room as standard, so a single supplement will be charged if you are traveling alone.
VA Expeditions is supported by Valencia Travel, a company with more than 12 years of foundation with a solid financial position. We have insurance from the insurance company La Positiva, that supports us and protects our guests from any eventuality at the destination, covering our guests for more than 5 million US dollars.
Each trip is customizable, but there may be additional restrictions and expenses in each case. We suggest contacting your sales representative for more information.
Yes, in addition to multi-day programs, we offer half-day experiences and excursions without overnight, which you can purchase as additional services. In case you wish to purchase one of these services, you can ask your guide, the transfer representative or your sales representative to provide you with the support you need.
Yes, you can add additional or optional services to your regular tour. We appreciate contacting your sales representative for any changes you wish to make.
Yes, you can travel with children and we have many activities to do as a family, however, depending on your itinerary, some experiences can be a bit demanding for young children. As a recommendation, we suggest that you ask your sales consultant if the tour you wish to book is suitable for children.
We work with a maximum group size of 12 passengers for sustainability reasons and a more personaized experience.
We suggest making your reservations at least one month before your trip in order to reserve the best hotels, transportation and services for your travel dates, however, in last minute cases, we can reserve up to 15 days in advance.
We suggest consulting with your embassy to review any documents, tests or special visa you need for your trip.
The official currency in Guatemala is the The Guatemalan Quetzal (GTQ). In large cities there is a good chance that you will find ATMs or ATMs, however, we suggest that you do not rely entirely on this solution, as it may not be enabled to work with your bank.
Yes, we cater for all special dietary requirements. Please let us know at the time of booking if you have any allergies or special dietary needs.
We have our own NGO www.procrea.org Proyectos Creativos, after March 2020 we have the program in San Andres Ceballos, 20 minutes out Antigua Guatemala to build energy saving stoves for the parents of the kids we had in the school before the pandemic, some of the mothers make tortillas for sell, so they have some income for the families, Also we have program with kids and parents vegetables home-garden and organic chicken to have organic eggs, so is a complete program for 25 families,
We support a project in Sipacate that protects Green or Pacific Turtle, we have been working so closed with doctors from Universidad de San Carlos that are in charge of this project, at least to weekends at month they capture turtles to clean them of parasites, plastics, some need surgery because the propellers of the boats hurt them and also to check the chips with the information of their trip.
We are working with Vivamos Mejor at Lake Atitlan to push the government to declare 2 protected parks located around the Lake Atitlan, this is Paquisis which is part of San Pedro Volcano and is the home of Horned Guan, this is the sixth rarest bird in the world, and the other area is Rey Tepepul Park, here there are Quetzales, which is our National Bird, and other interesting birds and wild life,
We work also with the Mayan Q'eqchi community of Cruce Dos Aguadas, this community is located inside of the Mayan Biosphere and 15 families of this community are in charge to do El Zotz-Tikal Trek, we give them training in first aid, food management, cooking lessons, communitarian tour guides, firefighters, etc., because they work with tourism, they value the jungle and have become guardians of the forest and are teaching their children to protect the environment.
Tips are not included in the cost of the tour. You should plan to tip 10% in restaurants and for your guided services, however, tipping is never required.
Cultural norms vary within each Latin American country, even within each city within the country, however, we recommend the following measures to have a pleasant visit in each destination: Latin American culture in general tends to be closer and more informal than in others cultures, so there is usually always a friendly approach in all conversations, and going directly to the point could be considered offensive to some people. Personal space can be much shorter as well, but without being interpreted as sexual in nature.
The schedules are also usually more relaxed and informal, however, this is not the case of VA EXPEDITIONS, since we will always respect the hours indicated in your itinerary. This may be different for other appointments that you can book on your own at other locations.
This depends on each itinerary, and will be indicated in the detail of the day. However, our itineraries always usually include free times to offer more flexibility to our guests.
For any emergency, we appreciate contacting the 24/7 Operations Phone : + (502) 5417-5517
For an example of sustainable activities in Guatemala, we offer: Sustainable coffee tour at San Miguel Escobar, Antigua Guatemala and La Voz at San Juan La Laguna, Lake Atitlan, Pacaya Volcano day tour,Acatenango hike with the community project, Women textiles associations in Antigua and Lake Atitlan, Jungle Hikes in Peten, inside of the Mayan Biosphere reserve
All our guests have 24/7 support for any type of emergency or eventuality. For emergencies you can contact the following number: + (502) 5417-5517. For general inquiries, you can write to us at the following email: info@valenciatravelcusco.com
This depends on each itinerary, but generally is a ratio of one guide for every nine guests.
This depends on the type of the type of Travel insurance that the passenger has. We recommend that you have a comprehensive travel insurance policy for better care and hospital facilities.
The tours are carried out by an expert team that has determined the optimal times of visits to make the most of our guests' time, without rushing. All our programs are customizable, so if at any time at the destination you want to adjust the pace of the trip, you can ask your guide to reach a consensus with the whole group in case you need to make adjustments to the pace of the trip.
Each trip is customizable, but there may be additional restrictions and expenses in each case. We suggest contacting your sales representative for more information.
Yes, you can safely store any luggage at your hotel.
In the mountains and remote places there is no Internet connection. Hotels and public places usually have WIFI available.
In cities and tourist centers you will have good telephone reception. In remote areas, there may be no cell phone reception.
It depends on each itinerary. We suggest contacting your account representative to give you specific information regarding your program.
We suggest that you bring a refillable water bottle or purchase bottled water if necessary. At various points on your trip including hotels, there will be places where you can fill your water bottle.
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