Guatemala

by Lonely Planet, Lucas Vigden

Discover Guatemala

Get up early to explore the kaleidoscope of colors and incense-clouded chaos of the Chichicastenango market, p. 150
Worship the sun - just like the ancients did - atop Tikal's towering Mayan pyramids, p.288
Pay reverence to a cigar-smoking, rum-swigging saint in the traditional village of Santiago Atitlan, p.137
Learn to roll your RRRRRRRs like a local in the world-famous language schools of Antigua, p.106

In This Guide:

Resident author brings you to the seldom-visited towns of the highlands, lowlands, rivers and coasts - 55 detailed maps will keep you on track.
Specialist-written Ancient Mayan Culture chapter explores the myths and mystery of this enigmatic people.
And - since you asked for it - we've incorporated more cultural coverage than any other guidebook.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Collections, Guidebook

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[Yael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review from a Guatemalan:
Tho I liked the book and it has some facts that I didn't even know... It also has some misleading information and it tells you to go to places that don't even exist!
So if you use this book, try to look for information online or ask a local.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book to fill in a trip to Antigua and Lake Atitlan. Very thorough, and contained solid info on how to get around the lake towns in Ati.

[Theut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utile per preparare il viaggio, ricca di informazioni utili (ovviamente il web aiuta per gli aggiornamenti, ma sulle priorità/posti interessanti al momento il cartaceo batte siti ;)).

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guidebook edition was pretty good, but it was missing a lot of detail. Plus, it was riddled with small errors (typos, wrong page numbers cited, etc.) Lonely Planet needed a good proofreader for this edition. The style of this edition was different from other Lonely Planet guidebooks, and on one hand, I liked the more interesting way it wrote about the different attractions/things to do, the problem is that it really focused on a couple of the main things to do in each city/place. Some of the cities/towns, there was not a lot of information as to what to do/see. I am glad I had an older Lonely Planets guidebook for Guatemala because that provided much more detail on sites/things to do/eateries/places to stay so between the 2 books I got a comprehensive amount of information (though I did have to check that the eateries, etc. from the older book were still around and some of them were closed). So I am a bit disappointed in this LP guidebook. They could definitely had included more details for every place in this edition.

[Chelsea Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction/ Informational

Summary:
Guatemala, a country with history. This travel guide gives color maps, suggestions of activities to do while in Guatemala and built in dictionaries to help with vocabulary. Maps and photographs give readers a view of Guatemala that they would not receive apart from this nonfiction text.

Evaluation:
This book is so engaging. From colored maps to actual budgeting suggestions, it follows a person through how to take a trip to Guatemala. This book is in the beginning of a series of different countries.

Activity:
These books come in a series of different locations that the students could research. Since the text gives suggestions for taking trips to Guatemala, I would ask the students to write a short paragraph on what they would do in Guatemala. I would incorporate this text by teaching the students about maps and what maps tell them.

[E&A Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in Guatemala for over 2 years, in the jungle on the Rio Dulce on my sailboat and this was my bible during that time. It was a huge help. If you have never been go now! It's a beautiful country and the people are the kindest in the world.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of places to see and experience. Little stories about the history and traditions of places also captured my mind.

[Yaotl Altan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una buena referencia sobre los sitios que no debemos omitir en nuestra visita a Guatemala 🇬🇹 tanto en su ciudad capital, como en la colonial Antigua, además de múltiples lagos, volcanes y sitios arqueológicos. También proporciona información cultural sobre ese hermano país.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I carried this book in my backpack for six weeks around Guatemala, like just about every other american (and most European) tourists. I found it helpful to a point, like most guidebooks I suppose, but after a week or two I began to find it most annoying. It didn't seem terribly well organized and I found it particularly difficult to use when trying to figure out how to get from place to place, because often that information was spread throughout the section, or simply was incomplete.

[Rosey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... this was a good starting point for me. It did exactly what I wanted it to do--get me excited to go to Guatemala. Hopefully I'll get there, sometime in late August... again, let me know if you have any suggestions for reading regarding Guatemala, and any tips if you've been there... la dee da.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guidebooks for what they are worth can tell you a lot. And this one does that, but there is something about this guide book that only tells you about the tourist traps. I like to go where there aren't tourists. So take it with a grain of salt if you like to travel like me. But whatever you do don't carry it in your hand or the people will laugh at you!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feel like I have a pretty good first impression of Guatemala now! It provided a thorough intro to the culture of Guatemala and listed many outside resources that will also be helpful for learning about the country before I go. The writing was pretty entertaining as well - my favorite part is when the author called the tectonic plates underneath Guatemala "frisky."

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this guide and can't wait to reference it on our trip to Guatemala this month! Skimmed quite a bit in the middle for regions we're saving for future trips. I'm really excited to visit the western highlands-Antigua, Lake Atitlan, and Xela. Lots of good food and lodging tips in this book as well as some history.

[maggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is embarassing. They call indigenous traje "costumes". If you're ever going to travel to Guatemala and want a book borrow one from somebody else or get it used (I could track mine down for you)- don't give 'em your money.

[Justin Wiebelhaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide to Guatemala. Though I think things like specific restaurants and hotels is getting antiquated with the internet but the overviews of cities and the quick history of Guatemala was good. Also liked to inside look on culture and what makes the county unique.

[Jennifer Fetterly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good source for travel from Lonely Planet.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't go to The Mangle in Monterrico!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a great trip!

[The Bamboo Traveler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Lonely Planet. It's probably the best travel guide on the country. Not perfect, though.