Need advice and reassurance if possible on all aspects of bus or train journeys in Central America !
Hiya - In September I'm off to Guatemala for 6 weeks then I'm travelling (on my own) to Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
I've done the research, been on safety course etc - it would appear that I should forget trains all together and just expect horrors on the bus !! I suppose I'm just after a bit of guidance and reassurance - i.e. from Guatemala City bus station what do I look out for ? How do I know which is the best bus to get on without standing out like a lost and incompetent gringo ! I'm sure once I've done a couple of journeys I'll be fine but I think it's that first initial decision that terrifies me !
Any help / guidance would be appreciated ! Thanks.
Carolyn.
Reply to this Hey there, in guatemala the bus's are very colourful. You can get on the local bus's which are fine!! and very cheap. I travelled on my own in honduras and guatemala. Honduras has the yellow buses......fondly known as chicken buses :-) The buses can sometimes get really packed but its all part of the adventure. There are bigger tour opporators in each country which obviously cost more but not excessive amounts and if its a long long journey its sometimes worth it for the added comfort. Its fairly obvious in each bus station and locals are very helpful so just remember a few spanish phrases to help you on your way!! :-) I hope this helps.
Reply to this The nice thing is that if you dont want to take chicken buses you don't have to because all the buses are so cheap anyways, even the shuttle buses are pretty cheap. in Guatemala city Zone 1 is where the bus stations are, we avoided that all together and just got a shuttle from our hostel and it worked really nice.
we flew into Guat City and our hostel (Dos Lunas) to send a car to pick us up it was great!
but all our bus experiences were fun you meet people
-if you get a bus with AC bring a sweater cause it will be freezing
-if you have your bags up on top of the bus keep an eye out whenever the bus stops to make sure no one walks away with your bag
hope that helps =)
have fun!
Reply to this Hello,
As far as I know, Guatemala City has one big airport, La Aurora, and there are always taxis at the airport. They operate with fixed prices (around 12USD from the airport to zona 10) that are 2-3 times higher than what you would pay for the same distance with an ordinary taxi. Anyway, if you choose it for a vacation, you won't regret, cause it offers Central America in concentrated form: its volcanoes are the highest and most active, its Mayan ruins the most impressive, its earthquakes the most devastating and its history decidedly intense. For a better choice from the various taxi companies, make a short research at
Taxis in Guatemala and don't forget to consider also a bus, even they are very crowded.
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