Guatemala tailormade tour

Environment

We are promoting the natural beauty and ancient heritage of Guatemala through visiting not only many Yaxcha National Park, but also the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Tikal. UNESCO Sites are chosen by the UNESCO committee and must "bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to civilisation", "an important interchange of human values" or be outstanding examples of major stages of Earth's history or ecological and biological processes in evolution. Visiting such sites helps sustain the traditions and natural ecosystems of Guatemala.

On day 8, you will visit a coffee plantation run by a small Mayan community, where you will have a chance to learn about the harvesting process and sample some of the produce. Guatemalan coffee is considered to be amongst the finest in the world, and on day 3 of the tour we will visit one of the region’s small, independent coffee producers. Supported by a number of organisations that promote environmentally responsible agriculture, the tour affords a chance to see up close how the small coffee farmers go about their daily business.

Community

The tour involves visiting many traditional Mayan villages. On day 2, visit a textile co-operative in a mountain village to see how their traditional Mayan costumes are made, promoting this ancient tradition and skill, as well as providing direct income to the community. Also, visit a macadamia nut farm to taste a variety of locally farmed products and learn of how the nuts are traditionally farmed.

The wonderful thing about this kind of interactive tourism is that everyone gains – the families benefit financially and we more than benefit from them in terms of the wonderful welcome and experience they give us. Wherever possible we stay in locally owned accommodation, eat in locally owned establishments and purchase supplies from the local markets.

On each Group tour we use local ground handlers. This means that all operational costs go directly into the local economy and help improve employment opportunities in remote regions. Such support can also be seen in our incorporation of homestays, locally owned hotels, family run restaurants and the services of local guides and drivers into our itineraries, which ensures that the money you spend with us goes directly into the local economy and local community.

As an overall ethos, wherever possible we aim to use characterful accommodation that enhances the overall travel experience, not just offers a bed for the night. This can obviously vary dramatically from country to country and from trip to trip. On this particular trip we will be in a combination of hotels (some comfortable, others somewhat simple) but we will also spend several nights in homestays and guesthouses, with the occasional night wild camping.