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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