Guatemala Travel Guide

By Marina K. Villatoro

Guatemala has so much to offer that it's hard to know where to start. 'Take the Kids Along' - Guatemala makes your trip easy with tons of important information: Family Friendly Hotels, What to See and Do, Where to See Tons of Wildlife, Find Secret Attractions, Freebies and Great Deals, Local and Traditional Guatemalan Food, Maps of each region, Plus so much more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marina K. Villatoro
• Release date: Sep 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301980475

Book preview

Guatemala Travel Guide

By: Marina Kuperman

Smashwords Edition

All contents copyright ©2012 by Travel Lat Am Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Fun Info & Disclosure

Time is so precious. Especially when it comes to planning your family vacation. So why waste it on looking through hundreds of websites (most of them outdated) and reading through 300 page guidebooks that barely touch upon REAL family travel and kid friendly places? With our family's hours of researching and personally experiencing each location, hotel and tour I hope this book will help you with your trip and give you more time to do what you really love - being with your kids and getting them excited for the new adventure!

Each hotel and tour has been tested and approved by my family. We love the local and most authentic experiences from boutique, locally owned hotels to the most typical, and educational tours!

The guide specifically stays away from restaurant recommendations because traveling with kids takes on a whole different feel and many kids are either picky eaters or don't like to sit through a fancy dinner.

What the guide (and I) do recommend and highly promote is eating (or at least trying) local cuisines. The guide helps you navigate through the most common cuisines of each country and region. And most importantly to get the kids excited about experiencing new foods!

Now it's time to have some SERIOUS fun!

This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Table of Contents

About Guatemala

Map of Guatemala

Must Sees

Recommended Itinerary

Festivals and Holidays

When to Bring the Kids

What To Eat

Where to Shop with Kids

Shopping with Kids

Antigua

Atitlan, Panajachel & Santiago

Tikal & Flores

Chichicastenango

Rio Dulce - Fronteras

Livingston

Coban, Lanquin & Semuc Champey

Monterrico

Xetulul and Xocomil Amusement Parks

Quetzaltenango (Xela)

About Guatemala

Did You Know:

1. Guatemala’s official name comes from the Maya-Toltec language meaning Land of The Trees.

2. Guatemala is called The Land of Eternal Spring because of its great weather year round.

3. Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, but there are over 20 different Mayan dialects spoken throughout the country.

4. Resplendent Quetzal is Guatemala’s national bird.

5. Guatemala is home to 3 UNESCO site: Antigua, Tikal and Quirigua.

6. The first ever chocolate bar is believed to be invented in Guatemala during Mayan times.

7. The ancient Maya civilization was the first to use the concept of zero.

8. The first calendar, which is the Mayan astrological calendar computation, was first excavated in Guatemala which is also believed to be a perfect calendar.

Currency:

Guatemalan Money is Called Quetzal. 1 USD is equivalent to 7.80 GTQ.

Taxes:

$2 departure tax

Map of Guatemala

Must Sees

Tikal Maya Ruins and National Park

A UNESCO World Heritage Site - these amazing Mayan ruins and the National Park will leave you in awe and practically speechless of what the Mayan Civilization was capable of doing more than 1000 years ago - at its peak.

Fun Fact - The discovery of Tikal Ruins was completely unexpected. A gum collector accidentally sighted one of the temple's roof’s comb from a distance. He immediately told the Governor and the rest of the discovery is history.

Antigua

This is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The whole city is full of historic buildings, museums and churches some are restored while others are still in ruins due to two earthquakes!

Antigua is considered to be the last true colonial city in all of Latin America, preserved from when the Spaniards arrived with cobblestone streets and hacienda style homes.

Lake Atitlan

Lake