Budget Travel and Vacation Ideas for Guatemala

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Budget Travel and Vacation Ideas for Guatemala

July 13th, 2009 | Guatemala - Business, Guatemala - Gringo Favorite, Guatemala - Places to Stay, Guatemala - Travel Tips, The Best of Guatemala | 4 Comments »

Tourism may be down around the world, and although some businesses in Guatemala are suffering, the outlook isn’t as dim here as it is in other Central and South American countries. Why? Well, Guatemala is seen as a cheaper option for vacation than the ever popular Costa Rica and Panama. And to be honest, Guatemala is less expensive.

Nowadays, flights to Central American countries from the United States all hover at about the same price, so picking your destination, if guided by your budget, may mean choosing a country that has cheaper accomodations and activities. (For a search of international flights, try www.kayak.com.)

Guatemala not only offers high quality tourism, it does so at better prices. There are the Read more

Eat at Mickey D's… in Antigua!

June 30th, 2009 | Guatemala - Family Friendly, Guatemala - Gringo Favorite, Guatemala - Places to Stay, Guatemala - Travel Tips | No Comments »

You may scoff at the idea of eating at McDonald’s, but in Guatemala it is considered a somewhat fancy place to grab a bite to eat. And, while the double cheeseburger doesn’t taste quite like it does back home, you’ll still get exactly what you are expecting when you unwrap the sandwich.

Of all the McDonald’s I’ve seen, the one in La Antigua Guatemala is one of the fanciest. It started out as a smaller McCafé, but has been transformed into a fancy, comfortable, almost coffee house style restaurant where you can eat dessert, drink coffee, and of course, scarf down a burger and fries.

From your chair lounging beside the impressive garden you can see the Volcan de Agua, and Read more

The Grand Tikal Futura Hotel in Guatemala City

April 16th, 2009 | Guatemala - Places to Stay | No Comments »

There are plenty of things to do in Guatemala City, and there are just as many places to stay. You have your standard Clarion, Holiday, and Best Westerns, but if you are looking for something just as nice, but a little bit different than the standard, try the Grand Tikal Futura Hotel.

The Grand Tikal Futura Hotel is part of the Futura Complex, which is considered to be the new downtown of the city, located in Zona 11 at Calzada Roosevelt 22 43.

The Hotel offers all the services you would expect from such a nice resort including and airport shuttle bus service, 24 hour assistance, a multi-lingual staff, photo service, a baby-sitter, currency exchange and more. Within the Futura Read more

The Gringo Shares His Little Black Book…

April 5th, 2009 | Guatemala - Adults Only, Guatemala - Adventure, Guatemala - Best Shopping, Guatemala - Business, Guatemala - Culture, Guatemala - Family Friendly, Guatemala - Gringo Owned Business, Guatemala - Must See or Do, Guatemala - News, Guatemala - Nightlife, Guatemala - Places to Eat, Guatemala - Places to Stay, Guatemala - Relocation, Guatemala - Travel Tips, The Best of Guatemala | No Comments »

We interrupt this tour of Guatemala City to share with you an important update from the Guatemala Gringo and his other Gringo affiliate sites (see the blogroll)…

The Gringo has worked to create a system that puts readers in touch with valuable people in Guatemala and other Latin American countries. If you need an English speaking driver, real estate information, legal services and so on, all you need to do is this:

Click on this link to sign up for whatever information you want. Then you will be put directly in touch with people that you can count on to get the job done.

It is an automatic system that is shared by all the Gringo affiliate sites Read more

Bakery and Restaurant in Antigua

January 21st, 2009 | Guatemala - Places to Stay, The Best of Guatemala | No Comments »

Delicious chocolate cake and homemade banana bread are mmm mmm good at Doña Luisa Xicotencatl in Antigua, Guatemala.

This little restaurant and bakery is located on 4a calle oriente #12, but it is better known as the yellow house across the street from Deliciosa where there used to be a Subway, or next door to Fridas. It is a common place for Antigüeños to meet for breakfast on a Sunday morning, or grab lunch during the week.

The food is excellent, reasonably priced, and the atmosphere is great. Doña Luisa Xicotencatl is located in a restored home from 1650, and is named after conquistador Pedro de Alvarado’s companion. In the front room on the second floor there are some amazing Read more

Meson Panza Verde Hotel and Restaurant in Antigua

September 19th, 2008 | Guatemala - Places to Eat, Guatemala - Places to Stay | No Comments »

Meson Panza Verde is a great European style bed and breakfast in Antigua. It is located on 5th Avenue, just 5 minutes away from Antigua’s Main Plaza and Cathedral. The Inn has nine suites and three double rooms, and a central garden area with a fountain that captures the charm of this Colonial sector of the city.

Meson Panza Verde has gotten rave reviews from a dozen or so local and international publications. I was first attracted to it because of its interesting name: Panza Verde means “green stomach” and as the website explains a theory suggests the locals who live in Antigua call themselves this because in the past they were too poor to eat anything but Read more

The Best Hotel on Lake Atitlan

July 22nd, 2008 | Guatemala - Adventure, Guatemala - Places to Eat, Guatemala - Places to Stay | No Comments »

Hotel Chi-yá sits overlooking the majestic Lake Atitlan in the highlands of Guatemala. The Hotel boasts 4 private bungalows and 5 rooms available for rent at the best rates you will find in San Juan La Laguna. Double occupancy in a bungalow is just US $12.00 per person per night, while 4 people lower the price to only US $9.00. Rooms run at the same rate.

Hotel Chi-yá has the most incredible of backyards, and encourages its guest to explore it. Free services provided by the hotel include swimming, rock diving, canoeing, table tennis and volleyball. You can also enjoy windsurfing, horseback riding, paragliding, kayaking, scuba diving, fishing, and more, all at a reasonable price.

Relaxing Read more

Westin Camino Real – Nice Place and Adoption Center of Guatemala

September 3rd, 2007 | Guatemala - Places to Eat, Guatemala - Places to Stay, Guatemala - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Located about 5 miles from the Guatemala City Airport, this impressive 4 star hotel is nothing short of impressive. First, there are many English/Spanish speakers working at all levels throughout the hotel and they all went out of the way to be immensely helpful though all facets of the trip. Second, the place is spotless and compares with any Ritz Carlton in the US without any problems. Great pool, spa and restaurtants (4 of them Italian, Continental, Austrian and American).

The hotel is located in Zona 10 – the entertainment district so you are walking distance to nearly 100 restaurants – everything from Fridays to top end steak houses and seafood places. Excellent values are to be Read more