Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND
Air
At the time of writing the only scheduled internal flights were between Guatemala City and Flores, a route operated daily
by
Grupo TACA
(
www.taca.com
) and
TAG
(
www.tag.com.gt
) .
Bicycle
Guatemala's mountainous terrain and occasionally terrifying road conditions make for hard going when it comes to inter-
city pedalling. That said, if you have your wits about you, cycling is a great way to get around smaller towns - Antigua,
Quetzaltenango and San Pedro La Laguna are among the towns where you can rent reasonable mountain bikes (you don't
want skinny wheels here) by the hour, day, week or longer. There are bike shops in almost every town where you can buy
a new bike starting from around Q800.
Boat
The Caribbean town of Lívingston is only reachable by boat, across the Bahía de Amatique from Puerto Barrios or down
the Río Dulce from the town of Río Dulce - both great trips. In Lago de Atitlán fast fiberglass launches zip across the wa-
ters between villages - by far the best way to get around.
Bus, Minibus & Pickup
Buses go almost everywhere in Guatemala. Guatemala's buses will leave you with some of your most vivid memories of
the country. Most of them are ancient school buses from the US and Canada. It is not unusual for a local family of five to
squeeze into seats that were originally designed for two child-sized bottoms. Many travelers know these vehicles as
chicken buses, after the live cargo accompanying many passengers. They are frequent, crowded and cheap. Expect to pay
Q10 (or less!) for an hour of travel.
Chicken buses will stop anywhere, for anyone. Helpers will yell '
hay lugares!'
(eye loo-
gar
-ays), which literally
means 'there are places'. Never mind that the space they refer to may be no more than a sliver of air between hundreds of
locals mashed against one another. These same helpers will also yell their bus's destination in voices of varying hilarity
and cadence; just listen for the song of your town. Tall travelers will be especially challenged on these buses. To catch a
chicken bus, simply stand beside the road with your arm out parallel to the ground.
Some routes, especially between big cities, are served by more comfortable buses with the luxury of one seat per per-
son. The best buses are labeled 'Pullman,'
'especial'
or
'primera clase'.
Occasionally, these may have bathrooms (but
don't count on them working), televisions and even food service.
Pullman routes always originate or end in Guatemala City. See Guatemala City's Getting There & Away section (
Click
here
) for route information.
