mexigringo
Guatemala
Couple
We were taken from our Antigua hotel to the Festival of the Kites in Sumpango. Our guide led us to and through the lavishly adorned cemetery, then up to the field where the kites were stationed. As an anthropologist, I can say that the guide was very well informed about the history of the country and the culture of the kite festival. We were returned to our hotel, and one of our group was provided a brief walking tour of Antigua.
The best parts:
Our guide and driver were very good, and the fiesta experience was spectacular.
The vehicle was nice. The arrangements with the agency were perfect.
The worst parts:
The time involved was a little short for me, but we were 4 people so I went along with the group.
Evaneos
Dear mexigringo,
Thank you for your feedback! We are more than happy that you enjoyed your trip to Guatemala and we are looking forward to see you again soon!
Yours sincerely, Your Evaneos Team!
Catalina
Guatemala
Solo
The city of Antigua really deserves its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was my first leg of the trip, and it was perfectly picturesque. There was art everywhere, and the people were so friendly and helpful. Of course I drank the delicious Antigua coffee, which deserves its world fame, and I found a little chocolate factory where I enjoyed a delicious bar of dark chocolate with chile to accompany my delicious cup of java. Market day at Chichicastenango is not to be missed. The amazing collage of color and Mayan culture was breathtaking. I bought two Mayan jaguar masks and a beautiful skirt. I could have bought nearly everything! German, my guide, took me to a lovely little restaurant full of original art. The portions and the quality of the food there were top notch. We also were privileged to see a Mayan ceremony taking place on the steps of the church, and we toured a fascinating cemetary that looked like a multicolored miniature town. Lake Atitlan and the T'zutujil Mayan towns that I visited there were also incredible. In San Juan La Laguna, I enjoyed seeing the naif artists and the women's textile cooperative, where I witnessed a demonstration of natural dying and backstrap loom weaving techniques. I bought some original art and a scarf in that town. I also got to meet a 15-year-old painter who is doing amazing art - Joselyn Cholotio. I will definitely keep her on my radar. There is also a man of Moroccan descent in the town who roasts his own delicious coffee. The drink he prepared for me was quite a treat. In Santiago Atitlan, I was able to see vivid examples of synchretism in the old Catholic church built in 1547, along with the T'zutujil Mayan men fulfilling their cargos in the care of the revered figure of Maximon in a secret place in the town. There was also plenty of beautiful art there. No trip to Guatemala is complete without going to see the ancient ruins in the Mayan city of Tikal. While there, I saw toucans in the wild as well.
The best parts:
The service was very personalized. Andrea was great at making certain that I was happy all along the way, and she contracted amazing guides. Maynor, German, and Carlos all went the extra mile to inform me and make certain that my questions were answered and that I got to see and learn exactly what I wanted to. Don Emilio was an excellent driver, too. I always felt safe and had great conversations with him. Guatemala is a beautiful country. I enjoyed every place that I visited to the max. The people are some of the nicest people to be found anywhere.
The worst parts:
This is a small complaint, but it was an inconvenience that the hotels in Tikal National Park only have hot water and electricity during limited hours. I'm sure this is something they cannot help. Also, the price of non-alcoholic drinks at ******** is outrageous.
Evaneos
Thank you very much for your feedback
Yanke
Guatemala
Family
31 days are great to visit Guatemala slowly and to have time to enjoy every single place.
With kids has been great to have so much time
We visited the whole country!
The best parts:
Great planning thanks to our local contact Arnaud, reliable drivers and nice (but cheap) hotels.
The kids really enjoyed Guatemala
The worst parts:
nothing
Evaneos
Daer Federico & Family,
We love to read how much you enjoyed trip to Guatemala. It is such a beautiful country! Thank you for your positive feedback. We look forward to seeing you at Evaneos in the future! With kind regards, Evaneos Team
Fantastic adventure
Guatemala
Couple
The culture of the country is strong, unspoiled by tourism at present. We will return for a longer visit soon.
The best parts:
Market, churches, cemetery, and hiking. Our guide David was excellent as his knowledge of area and his communication skills were excellent. Our guide to birdwatch also did well. I was impressed with the friendly nature of the local people. We had dinner at S**** D*** Hotel and loved it, wish we stayed there.
The worst parts:
Our hotel. We were charged for an insignificant item, in my opinion was nothing more than a money grab. The first room we stayed in for two nights had windows that opened to the street so sleep was hard to get.
Iximche
Guatemala
Private group
Picked up from Antigua to go to a big market and then to panajachel and after that from panajachel to guatemala city with a stop at iximche
The best parts:
The first driver we got from Antigua was absolutely amazing. He was a great driver with an amazing personality.
It was a comfortable car and they were right on time.
Mary was fast and clear with her response every time.
The worst parts:
The last driver from panajachel to guatemala city was a really bad driver. Our child got driven sick and vomit, which she has never done before. We told him to slow down, but forgot it already a few minutes after.
He didn't communicate well with the guide, so we left panajachel without the guide and had to wait for him in another city.
Gotta coaching
Guatemala
Solo
I really enjoyed the Lake Attitlan where I had a yoga retreat and Antigua which became my base between traveling.
Needless to say that the sunrise at Tikal with a quiet crowd on top of Temple IV was a fabulous experience!
The best parts:
All the reservations went smoothly and most of the hotels chosen for me were great.
I specially liked the El Remate hotel P*** D** C***
The worst parts:
Nothing really bad except the hotel in Semuc Champey, not the location which was perfect but the room itself which was in a concrete building very dull compare to all the other cabanas ( shared) who were more typical.
The fact that I traveled during the Semana Santa made some traveling complicated as the Antigua streets were closed to vehicle on several occasions and I had to walk long distance. I has nothing to do with the agency but I wanted to mention that the Semana Santa starts at least 2 weeks before in Guatemala.
Trixie
Guatemala
Family
We loved our trip. Guatemala and Belize are beautiful and wee are greatful to have learned so much about these countries from people who deeply love their homelands. We started in Antigua then moved onto Panajachek. After those towns we visited Flores before traveling to Belize to see the ATMn cave and Ambergris Caye.
The best parts:
Our tour guides, Alfredo and Jose in Guatemala were excellent, friendly and informative. Our drivers for the entire trip were fantastic, except for our driver from the Cayo area to Belize City. We really enjoyed the ATM cave excursion, Pacayo volcano, Tikal, Yaxha, and the villages of San Juan and Santiago as well as Antigua. Mary, our trip coordinator, was amazing! She was very responsive during the planning phase as well as on our trip.
The worst parts:
There are very few low lights to our trip. Our driver from Cayo to Belize City did not engage with us and got us to the boat taxi terminal with barely enough time to make our ferry which we missed and had to wait 1.5 hours for the next ferry. Also, our hotel in the Cayo area was not equal to our other hotels on this trip. It was not as comfortable nor as updated and the staff was not friendly at times.
DavidK
Guatemala
Couple
Really enjoyed kayaking on lake Atitlan, the volcanoes, treks through the jungle, the town of Antigua, tubing in the caves, the markets (Chichicastanengo!), etc.
The best parts:
Guatemala is a beautiful country with a distinctive and diversified geography within a relatively small area and its people are friendly. It is a great mix of nature and native cultures. We were very lucky to have Evaneos recommend our local agency (based in Antigua Guatemala) to us. The agency (including Lorena, our agent, and Arnaud, the GM) helped us plan a comprehensive trip, executed it flawlessly, including selecting a wonderful driver for us who spoke English well and was very helpful, placing us in great hotels (some of which were drop-dead beautiful), and, in general, giving us the feeling that they were with us every step of the way (we stayed in 10 different places over a two week period. They even gave us a local cell phone.) Just incredibly helpful, smart, caring people who know their business - and the country - well. We would very highly recommend them. This is our first experience using Evaneos and I found its entire booking process, including payments, etc. to be re-assuring when you don't really know who you are relying on at the outset. Thank you!
The worst parts:
Some of the roads in Guatemala to a few of the most beautiful areas (such as Samec Champey) are a bit rough...be prepared to get shaken up a bit. We were also a bit disappointed by Livingston on the Caribbean coast - would not necessarily omit it, because the boat ride there from Rio Dolce, with stops in the biotop is great. But in general, there were no bad parts to the trip.
none
Guatemala
Friends
Tikal was incredible. El Mirador exceeded our expectations, the Hotel in Flores was good with a great restaurant. the tour guides could not have been better, especially our guide in El Mirador, top notch.
The best parts:
everything was great, Great response by Mary to all emails and questions. Everyone showed up on time, and waited when we had plane delays, Very professionally done all the way around. All sights and tour guides were fantastic.
The worst parts:
no complaints at all.
TimM
Guatemala
Solo
Several nature walks and volvcano climbs. Mostly Antigua and Lake Atitlan. One short walk in Antigua.
The best parts:
Literally everything. The guides were all knowledgeable, spoke good English, and were very professional. I loved the volcanos and the nature here.
The worst parts:
Sometimes the drives were long but that couldn’t be avoided. The obvious crime (one of our destinations was cancelled due to problems in our intended destination) was less than ideal.
Best of Guatemala
Guatemala
Friends
Overall great place to visit
The best parts:
People, guide, history, weather
The worst parts:
Mosquitoes in Tikal
Cameno Real hotel
PDX to Guatemala.
Guatemala
Couple
The Ixchel museum and textile/ food markets were colorful and really showed the creativity and culture of Guatemala; the painters in San Juan were a big surprise; the colorful cemetery in Chi Chi was memorable;our hotel on Atitlan with beautiful view; trying the Kaqik and pepian of the countryside; seeing the Maximon shrine and hearing of the beliefs surrounding that; the Solola market and home dining experience with Vilma and her family; finally getting the whole story on Padre Apla and Hermano Pedro; the communication with Mary from Evaneos was always clear and thoughtful.
The best parts:
Alejandro G was our greatest delight on the trip; we would have seen all the wonderful sights anyway, but his interpretation, historical and political perspective were essential to our enjoyment! We had read a lot before coming, so we were prepared with numerous paths of conversation/questions to explore and with his well traveled experience and education(archaeology) we felt like we really hit the jackpot. Both he and Aaron, our driver, were superior examples of service to your company! The hotels were also exceptional for their location and service.
The worst parts:
if we had researched more about the wonderful museums in Guatemala City, we would have planned a day or so to visit there (we did get to see the textile museum before leaving for Tikal,( Ixchel) thanks to your efforts); the hiking trip to Pacaya was not really worth it, especially since it was raining, cloudy and inundated with busloads of tourists...we drove to the trailhead, paid the guide and returned to Antigua to spend the day. The guide in Tikal/Yxcha ( Melvin?), did not really appear that interested in his what he was doing and talked mainly to the driver.
Sue and Jon's trip
Guatemala
Family
Having traveled with Evaneous Travel to Costa Rico last year, I went directly to them this year for a trip to Guatemala. I was traveling with my son who was on break from grad school. I wanted to get him as far away from school and stress as possible. We decided to travel to Guatemala. The local agency is a travel company Evaneous works with. They were the most organized tour company I have ever traveled with. Mary in the office, David R. -our guide- Mr. Edgar, our driver, all wonderful and knowledgeable people.
The best parts:
Our local agency was SO professional to work with! Their guides, drivers and office coordination could not have been any better. Our personal guide, David R., was the best guide I have ever had the pleasure of working with. They truly customized my trip for MY wants and needs. 5 stars to the local agency!
The worst parts:
I have absolutely no complaints.
DMWong
Guatemala
Friends
Destination: Part of a total trip to Central America. Did not want to deal with my own planning so opted to use a tour agency.
Why Evaneos: Liked the flexibility, schedule, semi independent nature, and pricing.
The best parts:
Very well organized, friendly and knowledgeable drivers and guides, good English, some flexibility in the schedule - no just go go go, accommodations better than expected. I was impressed with the trip booklet that was provided, it was very detailed and a great tool to have for each location.
The worst parts:
None - the trip exceeded all expectations!
Nigel
Guatemala
Couple
Had always wanted to tour South and Central America. Guatemala was a must and were very pleasantly surprised. Never thought I would go up a volcano by taxi! Even if the taxi had four legs and a tail. Loved every minute of it.
The best parts:
Extremely well organised, the pace was just right, the guides were brilliant. Lorena was great, made the correct recommendations and provided us with a really great driver. Only one bad point, having to leave Guatemala!
The worst parts:
Absolutely nothing.
