Guatemala, Belize & Honduras
Signature 14-day trip
Guatemala, home of the first chocolate bar, boasts incredible history and stunning nature. The country holds more than 30 volcanoes, including three active ones, and several impressive Mayan ruins. Whether you’re looking for a place to enjoy nature or soak up the culture, this is a country you don’t want to miss out on.
Honduras is also home to several Mayan ruins, with the most impressive being the Copan ruins. You’ll have a chance to visit this humble country and explore its heritage, but you’ll also spend time in Belize. In Belize, you’ll enjoy plenty of time in nature, as this country has made a point of preserving much of its sea and jungle habitats. Traveling these three countries is the adventure of a lifetime.
Caves Branch River
Tubing and jungle
Silk Caye
Belize’s barrier reef
Copan ruins
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Placencia
Beach in the Caribbean Ocean
Highlights
On this adventure, you’ll visit Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, three fascinating countries in Central America. There’s something for everyone on this tour. You’ll explore ancient Mayan cities, see where the Mayans once walked and loved, and enjoy the lush rainforest experience. Dive into the pristine waters of the Caribbean Ocean and snorkel along the Cayes of Belize, or take a horseback ride up into the mountains. You’ll visit cities and villages, including Rio Dulce and Livingston, Hopkins, and Antigua, for a better understanding of why so many people love this region of the world.
Itinerary
We’ll welcome you at the GUA airport and take you to your hotel at Lake Atitlan. There, you’ll have time to explore the town or just relax and get ready for your Guatemalan adventure, tomorrow.
Lake Atitlan is a beautiful lake formed in the crater of a long-extinct volcano. Dotted along its edges are indigenous towns and the simplest way to see them is by boat. The lake is 18 km wide and 10 km wide, so we’ll head across it and then town-hop to three different villages.
Santiago Atitlan is home to many artisans and is the largest of the lake towns. Here, you’ll see a strong Tz’utujil influence, alongside the Spanish Catholic influence.
San Juan La Laguna is just a short boat ride from Santiago. It’s a quieter town, as it’s smaller than Santiago, but is well-known for its remarkable artisans. If you’re looking for paintings or weavings, this is a good place to find them. It’s also a great spot to taste-test some of the coffee grown on the volcanic slopes here, which gives it a special flavor.
Finally, you’ll visit Santa Catarina Palopo, back across the lake, near Panajachel. It’s popular for the brightly painted houses throughout the town, decorated with traditional Mayan designs. The painting project offers free decorating of homes, but the participants must agree to help and to keep the area near the home clean and tidy and must send their children to school. With many houses already part of the program, the village is seeing a definite economical improvement.
The colonial city of Antigua Guatemala is our destination today. This was the third capital city of Guatemala but was abandoned for Guatemala City after massive earthquakes damaged structures across the valley.
We’ll arrive early enough to do a walking tour of the cobblestone streets. Antigua has more than 30 convents, churches, and monasteries, most of which are in partial ruins, due to earthquakes. Simply exploring all of these Spanish-built structures would take days, but you can admire them on the tour. You’ll also have a chance to take in the lush greenery of Central Park, where a unique fountain is surrounded by vendors.
A quick flight to Flores Island in Peten will get you nice and close to the Mayan City of Tikal. This stunning archeological site juts out of the middle of the jungle and was once one of the largest Mayan cities, holding great cultural and economic significance. With more than 3,000 structures, the city is spread over a large area. Just 15% of the old capital has been uncovered, leaving even more shrouded in mystery.
In the evening, we’ll climb one of the stone temples to sit and watch the sunset from the top. It’s a breathtaking sight to see the sun dipping down behind the rainforest from the uppermost point of the ruins. You may recognize the tops of the temples standing out from the trees as a scene from Star Wars: Episode IV, as part of the movie was filmed here.
Tikal isn’t the only Mayan ruin in the area. Today, we’ll visit Yaxha, just 30 km from where we toured yesterday. As the third largest Mayan city found in Guatemala, Yaxha is significant in its own right. It is also known for its causeways, including the Blom and Lake Causeways that connect various parts of the city.
The site provides a wonderful view of Lake Yaxha and while it is made up of around 500 structures, only a handful are available to be seen. These include twin pyramid temples and around 40 stelae that depict many historical events in their carvings.
At the end of the Yaxha tour, we’ll head to San Ignacio, Belize, where you’ll spend the night in a jungle lodge.
The Caves Branch River flows through a network of karst and limestone caves and today, you’ll be adventuring through those caves on inner tubes. The fun trip takes you through four different caves, complete with stalagmites and stalactites. Light filters through “windows” in the caves, so you can see the incredible structures below.
As you float down the bright blue river through the Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch Archeological Reserve, you’ll have a chance to spot beautiful tropical birds and some interesting animals as they come to the river to drink. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime journey that everyone should try.
Covering more than 7,000 acres, the Mayflower Bocawina National Park is the perfect place to experience untouched nature in Belize. You’ll take a nice hike through the rainforest, spotting wildlife and rare flowers on your way. There are creeks and waterfalls throughout the jungle, so you can dip your feet in to cool off when you come across one. There’s also ziplining and waterfall rappelling available if you’re looking for even more adventure. However, just walking through the forest is an amazing experience. Your visit helps support the conservation efforts being worked on here.
Next, we’ll head to Placencia, a cute beach town on the peninsula. It boasts the world’s narrowest main street, a 4,000-foot-long boardwalk. It’s just a few feet wide, with plank paths wandering off every so often so you don’t get bogged down in the soft sand. It’s a good spot to enjoy the ocean and maybe even spot a dolphin or two.
Ever dreamed of living on a deserted island? Both Silk and Moho Cayes are uninhabited but surrounded by the perfect snorkeling areas. The Cayes are part of the Belize Barrier Reef, the second biggest barrier reef in the world. Here, you’ll find soft sandy beaches to relax on if you want some time out of the water, as well as a wide variety of creatures below the sea.
Nurse sharks, sting rays, and sea turtles are just a few of the diverse species that frequent the Cayes. This area is part of the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve which was set up to help preserve the delicate ecosystem and encourage more biodiversity. You have a chance to experience the effects of their efforts up close and personal.
Today, we’ll take a trip up Monkey River, with its pristine coral reef and unique ecosystems. You’ll find everything from mangroves and the Caribbean coral reef to a montane broadleaf primary forest. There are plenty of photo opportunities as you travel along the river and keep an eye out for some of the more interesting animals that live here, including the fer-de-lance, jaguars, ocelots, and Guatemalan black howler monkeys.
Near the entrance of Monkey River, we’ll stop to check out the manatees. These gentle giants of the sea like to hang out in the warmer waters where they are visible every time they poke their noses out of the water to breathe.
You’ll spend the night in Punta Gorda, a Carib town with a relaxed vibe and stunning ocean views. Take some time to walk the beach and grab a snack at one of the local cafes. You’ll want to relax a bit since your next adventure is just around the corner.
From Punta Gorda to Livingston in Guatemala, you’ll enjoy the fresh breeze on the water, as you’ll travel via boat. On the way to the Garifuna town of Livingston, we’ll stop at Playa Blanca, where you can swim in the warm waters of this beautifully cared-for beach. It features swings, picnic tables, and lounge chairs for those who prefer to suntan. Don’t forget to grab a fresh coconut to stay hydrated!
From Playa Blanca, the boat will take you a short distance to the entrance of Seven Altars. From the water, you’ll hike inland, along trails cut through thick jungle. The reward is immense, though. When you reach Seven Altars, you’ll find seven beautiful blue pools, spilling into each other like a series of steps. The area is surrounded by lush rainforest and is perfect for swimming.
Finally, you’ll finish your journey in Livingston, Guatemala, a cozy town that winds along the waterfront. This is where the Garifuna settled in Guatemala and with the remote location, it has become a unique place that shares very little culture with the rest of the country. Here, you’ll find laidback, friendly people, ready to share their stories with you, and restaurants that serve delicious Garifuna food, often fresh from the sea. We’ll take a cultural tour of the village so you can get a real feel for life in the jungle.
Rio Dulce or “Sweet River” is so named because it is fresh water flowing into the ocean. People have built homes along the river, perched at the water’s edge, under forbidding limestone cliffs covered in jungle. It feels like traveling back in time as you see simple wooden canoes with friendly fishermen.
Rio Dulce is also home to mangroves, which means there are plenty of birds and wildlife to spot. As you travel upriver, don’t be surprised to see some mangrove islands rising out of the water, covered in various local birds, including pelicans and cormorants. We’ll end our day in the city of Copan, Honduras.
While the actual town of Copan is somewhat modern and populated, we’re traveling into the past and visiting the Mayan ruins of Copan. This ancient city is considered to be one of the most important Mayan sites for archeologists, due to the vast number of structures and the details in its monuments. You’ll have a chance to see these for yourself, but not everything is as it seems . . .
You’ll travel underground in some of the tunnels used by archeologists, where you can see the first temples that were built on the site. These temples were eventually covered and new temples were built on top. The newer structures are the ones you see today, but the museum gives you a glimpse into the distant past when Mayans first settled here. There were three main periods of building in the city, which have made it a popular UNESCO World Heritage site.
After touring the ruins, it’s time for a refreshing soak in Luna Jaguar’s hot springs. Mayan rulers once enjoyed these warm waters, heated by geothermal activity. Now you can sink into the same thermal springs they did, hundreds of years later.
Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala and a great place to learn more about the history and culture of the area. As the largest city in Central America, it can be daunting at first sight, but our experienced guide will take you on a Guatemala City tour to ensure you see all the best parts.
From the massive 3D relief map of the country to the National Palace, you’ll have the chance to see how modern-day Guatemalans live. The city is a unique blend of history and modernism, with good restaurants in Spanish colonial buildings and impressive parks alongside gleaming skyscrapers. The first evidence of civilization in this area was Mayan, not surprisingly, but it didn’t become the capital until 1775.
Your adventure has come to an end this time, but we hope you’ll return to explore even further in the future. Hasta la vista!
map, expenses & price
Guatemala, Belize & Honduras
Expenses included:
-All private transportation.
-Thirteen nights of hotel accommodations.
-Domestic flights.
-Professional guides.
-All park entrance fees.
-Tours and excursions as listed.
-Boat transfers.
Extension
guatemala, belize and honduras
The phrase “semuc champey” means “where the river hides under the earth” in the local Q’eqchi language and that’s exactly what this stunning river does. It runs through limestone caves, creating a unique bridge above. While the rushing water below is dangerous, the calm, pristine pools on the bridge are perfect for soaking and swimming. The brilliant turquoise water is inviting even on the coolest of days and the site is set in the jungle, surrounded by greenery and limestone cliffs. Hike and climb to the Mirador, where you can see all the pools in their colorful glory.
guatemala, belize and honduras
If snorkeling is your thing, you’ll want to take this extension and travel out to the cayes that line the coast of Belize. The crystal clear water lets you see all the beautiful tropical fish against a white sand backdrop. You can even swim with sharks and rays in the famous Shark Alley, or take some time to walk the sandy streets of the Cayes and meet the interesting locals who live on these islands.
guatemala, belize and honduras
While in Belize, you can take an optional side trip to Hopkins. The friendly Garifuna culture makes this the friendliest town in Belize. It’s fairly small but boasts a beautiful beach and plenty of little shops to pick up souvenirs. The unique vibe here invites visitors to stay and enjoy a little of the peace and joy that makes up Hopkins. And don’t forget to wade in the water after dark to kick up some phosphorescence.
guatemala, belize and honduras
For a little more adventure, why not join us for some horseback riding through the jungles of Belize? Outback trails provide the horses and the jungle provides the adventure! This is one of the best ways to explore the country’s more remote areas. You’ll visit the Sittee River and enjoy a refreshing dip in the cool waters before exploring more of the backcountry, where you’ll likely spot plenty of plants, birds, and animals you’ve never seen before.
