scared about travelling alone in guatemala... need advice!!
I\'ll visit my father that leaves in Guatemala in June but as he leaves in Guatemala city I\'ll have to travel by myself, because I don\'t want to spend 2 weeks there... I am affraid because I\'ve always heard bad things about tourism in guatemala, and worst ones about women travelling alone...
I\'d like having some advice from people who went there, and if some girls went there alone that would be great if you can help me... I am very scared, and I almost think that I\'ll cancel my trip if I really have to go by myself.
Reply to this Margo, If you are flying into Guatemala City and just traveling to your father's house, you should be fine. Check my blog "goodsusan"; the early entries are about Guatemala. If you get in touch with the Presbyterian churches, you may find some people going on a mission trip and you could go with them. I think everyone flies into Guatemala City. Keep your money and passport in a money belt, or another secure place (not something on your shoulder or a waist pack that can be grabbed or cut). Whatever you do, always keep your head up and walk with confidence. Stay with other people; avoid isolated places. Call or visit your local Presbyterian churches and they will probably help you contact people. CEDEPCA, that I mention in my blog, may be able to help you as well.
Reply to this Actually I'll just stay at my father's house for a couple of days and then travel on my own... but thanks for helping!! I'll check you blog...
Reply to this Sorry to ask, but do you have any experience in travelling alone?
If you you don't feel confident you should 1°) ask your father 2°)find a travelling companion? 3°) choose another destination
Do not forget your own pleasure in travelling
Reply to this Margo
Just noticed your message. I have traveled to Guatemala more than thirty times in last ten years including hitching and chicken busing. In fact I will be there in mid July of 07. I have met many young ladies traveling alone there. I knoq only one young lady out of about fifty that had a bad experience. You should link up with and travel with a group. I assume that you speak fair or better Spanish. Once you link up with a group the people change but the group goes along. Almost always females from the US travel in pairs. You often see females from Europe, Israel, England, Australia and other countries traveling by themselves.
Reply to this Hi Margo,
I've traveled alone to Guatemala last year and found that as long as you use you're common sense, you'll be all right. And you won't be the only one traveling alone!
Amber
Reply to this Hello everyone!
This is very interesting, as I am planing 2 months of backpacking, from Mexico down to Costa Rica. I feel o.k. about going there by myself, knowing from my trips in Europe that you are never really alone anyway (as mentioned in this discussion as well).
I have one question there, about safety: except in the big cities (which i am going to avoid anyway) which are the more risky places? Guatemala looks so beautiful, no one is going to scare me enough to keep me from going there ^_^
Cheers, Barbara
Reply to this hello everyone, me and my g/f are gonna go backpacking threw central america for 63 days starting in guatemala and going down into panama, and we are realy excited and happy about. use common sense and nothing to worry about. cheers to everyone
Reply to this I too have found that if you use common traveler sense you should be fine. Bad luck happens to folks in all countries, but you can avoid most bad situations with some basic traveler awareness. One thing that helped me a lot was getting connected to the local hostelling international council for a traveler education workshop before going on my most recent trip. They do a World Travel 101 (for the beginner traveller) and Women Travelling Solo (for women specifically) workshop that are free to anyone. Easy resource and worth checking out with your local HI-USA.org council.
Reply to this Hello Margo 😊
I hope u went to Guatamala and enjoyed it. Although your trip is over now I will give my opinion in case somebody else has the same decision to make as u did.
I went to Guatamala alone. As regards womens issues and travelling there were a lot of guys asking if I want company. It gets boring to be asked that 10 to 50 times per day.
What concerned me more than sexual harassment when I was in Guatamala was the frequency of knife robberies. This was 10 years ago and I have heard that things have improved with increased tourism to Guatamala. Apparently outside Guatamala city is quite safe. When I was there what I did to escape the risks of robbery was go up to an Indian village. There was no risk of robbery up there and no sexual harassment either. Maybe that would be an option for u. If u dont already speak Spanish the Indian village of Todos Santos has 2 Spanish schools for foreigners to learn Spanish. U can also stay with an Indian family if u want. When I was there the school fees and accomodation were very very cheap. I dont know what it costs now.
Anyway Margo, how did it go? If u are still here please tell us about it.
Mel
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