A budget but beautiful journey around Central America’s Mayan marvels. With plenty of beach bliss thrown in. Staying in basic hotels along the way, and traveling in a small group.
Mexico: Playa del CarmenYucatan PeninsulaTulum Belize: Caye CaulkerSan Ignacio Guatemala : Tikal National ParkRiver trip on Rio DulceAntiguaLake AtitlanPanajachel
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Reviews
2 Reviews of Mexico, Belize & Guatemala tour, Mayan encounter
4 out of 5 stars
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Reviewed on 06 Nov 2018 by Ana Maria Garcia Menendez
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Visit to Tikal.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Long days of the trip were on the bus.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes. The experience of living together with a Mayan family in Guatemala was amazing.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Very good.
(Translated from Spanish)
Reviewed on 01 Sep 2015 by Helen Hore
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Snorkelling in a coral reef amongst nurse sharks and other amazing sea life was an experience that we will never forget.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
In spite of being by far the oldest couple in the group, we had a thoroughly amazing vacation with an excellent tour leader. Try to pack light.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, particularly the homestay which provides an alternate income for families trapped in povery.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) vacation so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.
Planet
The very ethos of our style of travel is responsible; small groups on fully escorted tours, experiencing the very best of a region, a culture and a landscape, with a friendly local hand guiding the way. Our itineraries are designed to give our travelers real life experiences without compromising the part of the world we are exploring; to travel responsibly is at the heart of our commitment as a global tour operator.
Our emphasis on tour is real life experiences. To this end, on this journey you’ll mainly use local buses to get around, as well as being by far the best option environmentally, this offers great opportunity for cultural interaction with your fellow bus travelers. Due to safety concerns however we do not use the brightly painted ‘chicken buses’ that are a common sight throughout Central America, instead using more modern inter-city coaches.
In addition to this we encourage all our passengers to take steps to ensure that their trip is environmentally responsible as possible. Your group leader will be on hand to assist with the appropriate disposal of rubbish en route, recycling wherever possible and we encourage all our travelers to use refillable water bottles with purification tablets rather than contributing to the rapidly escalating problem caused by the copious number of plastic bottles discarded globally on a daily basis.
People
This brilliant no-frills itinerary takes in the highlights of the ancient Mayan civilisation, giving travelers the opportunity to visit sites in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Focusing on low impact and even positive impact travel, this trip supports local industry and helps provide employment throughout the regions of Central America we visit. You’ll stay in small, locally owned budget accommodation, from hotels to a unique homestay in the famous market town of Chichicastenango (Chichi) and be accompanied throughout by a professional local group leader. There will be the opportunity during the trip to rent bikes and snorkelling equipment in Tulum, try kite surfing in Caye Caulker, go birdwatching in Tikal and buy local handicrafts at the enormous Chichi Market. Your group leader will help with all these arrangements and their local knowledge will be vital in helping you get the best deal!
Meals on this trip are at your own expense giving all travelers freedom to choose the places you eat. When dining together, your group will eat in traditional, locally owned restaurants, and during the day will purchase food en route from local vendors and small cafes.
Travelers wishing to visit the Mayan ruins dotted across the region will find their entrance ticket to the sites helps fund conservation and restoration projects, while the local site guides also benefit from the opportunities tourism brings to their region.
