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Advantages: Gorgeous town with a lot of character, plenty to do, and great markets. Disadvantages: No alcohol after 8 on a Sunday
I travelled through Guatemala as a student backpacker, but there are lots of things to do for any age group/interest. For the bargain hunters I thoroughly recommend the colourful and vibrant markets, but make sure you haggle (the best price is often gained from comparing different sellers, and having a grasp of the language!). I bought a beautiful bedspread for only £15, planning to send it home in the post, but ended up carrying it around the rest of Central America due to the £70 needed on stamps!!
Even for the non-religious traveller, it is well worth visiting the churches, such as LaMerced, San Francisco, and Las Capuchinas, for the colonial architecture and to appreciate the local devotion to the Catholic Church. The recent canonisation of Hermano Pedro (the first saint from Central America) involved a visit from the Pope ...
Advantages: The people and rich culture Disadvantages: You need at least 1-2 weeks for the experience and clubs are only open till 1am
So I feel I should write a review of the the mighty they call Antigua of Guatemala, after living there for nearly 4 months I relised why it is considered to be one of the jewels of Central America.
So lets be honest I could write volumes for this but I will try to avoid covering standard issues which you will find in travel guides.
On first glance Antigua can seem like a beautiful but sleepy location as this is the impression I got on my initial visit passing through for just 1 day, but you see Antigua is the type of place you need a little more time to appreciate the fruits which it has to offer, and so my 1 day experience was not really a good indication of what Antigua has to offer the traveller/tourist/culture vultures! But on my more extended visit a few weeks later I saw that with a little time, research and 'getting to know ...
Advantages: Beaches are georgous; plenty to do; friendly locals Disadvantages: Avoid hurricane season, sand flies and mosquitos
Apparently Antigua has a beach for every day of the year - somehow I onoly got round to using the two at our resort - Allegro Pineapple.
Allegro is on the west side of the island and is within walking distance of Devils Bridge - a natural phenoninom but play safe and keep away from the edge of the water.
The locals were polite and friendly and the beach hawkers took no for an answer if you were not interested in what they were selling.
Antigua has a warm tropical climate and our main bugbear (pardon the pun) was with the sand flies and mosquitos - a good insect repellant will do well - the bottoms of the ankles seemed their favourite place to bite.
There is plenty of things to do in Antigua and to spend your holiday sitting on the beach all day is a waste.
Here are a few activities that you can get up to : Nelsons ...
