Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pedro, and the Pakachelaj forest reserve. They are also located on the path into town from
Posada Schumann, near Il Giardino.
There are no banks or ATMs in San Marcos.
Serene San Juan La Laguna is a relative late-comer to the tourism scene and makes a
good stop if you'd like to see a fairly sizable lakeside village that remains largely un-
touched by international tourism. It's accessible by boat or via a road that branches off
from the Pan-American Highway, subsequently twisting and turning down the surrounding
mountainside. If you'd like to stay here,
Uxlabil Ecohotel
(tel. 5990-6016 or 2366-9555,
www.uxlabil.com
,
$48-72 d) has comfortable, tastefully rustic rooms housed in a large
building overlooking the lake. There's a large dock for swimming among plentiful grass
reeds dotting the lakeshore here as well as a sauna, whirlpool tub, kayaks for rent, and
horseback riding available on request.
On the lake's southwest corner and accessible by frequent boats or road, San Pedro is
second in popularity only to Panajachel and has a hip international atmosphere. The place
has grown by leaps and bounds, from a once-scruffy village to a rather pleasant lakeside
town with a solid international presence. You'll see signs in English, Spanish, French, and
even Hebrew as you walk along the paths winding through town. The atmosphere in San
Pedro embraces a simpler state of being and you'll have no trouble slowing down to the
local pace of life amidst the serene tropical foliage.
ThetownflanksthenorthernslopesofSanPedroVolcano,apopularclimbforwhichthe
town is ideally suited as a base. It has increasingly become home to a number of language
schools, some of dubious quality, collectively offering some of Guatemala's least expens-
ive tuition rates. While it was originally a backpacker Shangri-La, there have been recent
additionstothehotelinfrastructure,makingforsuitableaccommodationstohousethenon-
backpacker crowd.
SAN PEDRO LA LAGUNA
