guatemala tips

Will be trekking through Guatemala in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions on hostels in the Lake Atitlan/Chichi area?
thanks

Lake Atitlan: La Iguana Perdida in Santa Cruz la Laguna. Cheap beds, expensive dinners. Stay there, eat elsewhere.

Hotel agua Azul in San Pedro. Clean basic rooms, cleanish bathrooms with hot water, and friendly owners. When I was there one could get a hammock or cot on the balcony for half price, if they are full.

Across the street is a good food place that used to offer movies every night.

Pana? I've been in many places, but none struck me as fantastic.

i looooove the igunana perdida. it's true, the dinners are expensive, but the experience of the hearty, family-style dinners (very sociable) is really nice. and it's difficult to eat anywhere else, since the village is a 20-minute steep walk and the other places on the water are just as expensive. try to stay there on saturday night when they have barbeque and it's really worth it.
in san marcos there was a place i looked at but couldn't stay because it was all booked called the acuulaax (sp?). it's in the woods (you'll see signs), and the entire hotel is like a peice of artwork made of stone and glass mosaic. really beautiful. there are several other nice places in san marcos, like the unicornio.
however, none of these places matched the iguana for me. if you want to prolong your stay, you can work there in exchange for food/lodging. everone working there seemed really happy.

Yeah, at La Iguana Perdida we did have the dinner once, and the atmosphere and socialization were great. But we couldn't eat those wonderful meals every day because of the cost, so we ate big lunches in San Pedro, and brought back snacks for the evenings.

I had to leave after a few days, but a couple of my traveling companions stayed behind and worked for a week. That week half of their workforce left, so they were desperate for people to work there. I would have done so if I'd had the time. Seems they often need people to work there, and what a wonderful way to expand your travel experience!

The atmosphere of the place is great, with travelers of all kinds sitting around in the common area by the light of kerosene lamps, swapping stories, playing games, strumming guitars, drinking beer, relaxing, and having a good time. We stayed in the open-air dorm, which was only a few US$ a night, and which despite being exposed to the open air was comfortable and bug-free.

Highly recommended!

oh, yeah, and: definitely go to munchies in san pedro. really yummy vegetarian food from all over the world. if you've just arrived in guatemala, you might not be so impressed, but after two months of rice and beans and corn tortillas it's great. kinda hard to find, though.

In Panajachel, there is, or was, an argentinian Parilla grill with some good priced sausage sandwiches.

It also featured coffee from real beans,fresh roasted, and FREE refills.

This is a very big thing for me.

I'm reviving this thread to ask if anyone has stayed at Isla Verde in Santa Cruz on the lake. It looks really pretty and fun but I prefer to go off of recommendations.

On a different level, is Hotel Atitlan really all it's cracked up to be?

We spent a couple of days in Panajachel in October. Panajachel is the major city on the lake and really touristy. All the travellers we've meet have said that at Lake Atitlan the best place to stay is San Pedro, San Pedro, San Pedro. That would be my suggestion for anyone going there.

Check out Camping Campana, which is down the road a bit from the city. They are a campground, but they may have some tents or trailers to rent. They have the best showers in Panajachel, AND a good outdoor kitchen, under a roof.

Michael, the owner, is a realy font of information.

Panajachel sucks culo. San Pedro is okay, if you don't mind a bunch of filthy gutter hippies sitting around for weeks at a time, smoking pot and playing bongos. Casa del Mundo, in Jaibalito on Atitlan, is one of the coolest hotels you'll ever be able to afford as a backpacker. San Marcos is alright too.

Economy shared bathroom: $27.00

It looks great for the price, but some people may not have that kind of budget. Still, thanks for the idea. I didn't know about that place.

Urk, if you can't afford $13.50 for a night of luxury in a double, you're really budging it. That's what you pay on average for a night on Costa Rica; it's hardly anything. You get tired of 15Q rooms in San Pedro after a while, and there's nothing wrong with treating yourself from time to time. Personally, I'd rather spend 5 months on the road with an occasional treat, than 6 months on the road eating grubs and boogers, sleeping with toads.

yo travelers---

what about getting from San Cristobal in Chiapas,Mexico across Guatemala to Belize to do some diving? I will beout there from March 15-April 10 solo...lookin for advice

Anyone know the best route, etc?

backpacker acker

Felix, I have no argument with what seems a good place for the price. Unfortunately, some people are on shoestring budgets. Other people, like me, travel single, and take up the entire burden. It IS more expensive to travel single.

Acker-
Its very possible. If you go by land, you'd have to take a minibus to comitan, and from Comitan a minibus to el Frontera. Least that's how I did it. There are also buses to el Frontera from San Cristobal, most likely.

From the frontier, its Guatemala city to Belize, probably a bus from there.

OR, you could go to the Yucatan, and cross into Belize from Mexico. I don't know that route.