7D/6N Gorgeous Guatemala Tour

Traveler Reviews

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  TAMIKO

  January 19th, 2025
  5.0
  This tour was amazing! Olivia and Daniel from Marvelous Travel were always available to answer questions. All the...
  This tour was amazing! Olivia and Daniel from Marvelous Travel were always available to answer questions. All the private drivers, shared shuttles and private boat captains were on time and courteous. The tour guides for the boat tour and volcano both spoke English which was helpful. The highlight of the trip was the Mayan Family Stay. My daughter and I were fortunate to stay with Daniel's wonderful wife and children. They made us feel so welcomed. We ate authentic Guatemala food which was delicious and his daughter taught us to make fresh tortillas while we were wearing their native dresses.Show more
  Traveled in January 2025
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  bethany

  April 8th, 2024
  4.0
  I was not expecting the rooms to be so hot and noisy; other than that it was good. I did have my own bathroom; it was...
  I was not expecting the rooms to be so hot and noisy; other than that it was good. I did have my own bathroom; it was a hostel still, I’ll use marvelous and Tourradar again It was a great introduction to Guatemala Thank youShow more
  Traveled in April 2024
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  Rona

  July 13th, 2023
  1.0
  Guatemala was wonderful as a country, but the value of the services provided were not worthwhile when looking at how...
  Guatemala was wonderful as a country, but the value of the services provided were not worthwhile when looking at how much transportation and lodging actually cost there. What's more, the tour company's itinerary written personally written for me was written ambiguously. It said "transfer to Panajachel", so when the van driver dropped us off in Panajachel, I was berated on the phone by a male voice when I called and asked how to get to the Mayan homestay. He said, "It's not my problem you don't speak good Spanish" when I explained that the van driver did not ask where exactly we were going. He was scolding me on the phone and said that I had to follow the schedule exactly as stated on the itinerary. I just assumed the van driver knew where to drop us off seeing as this is a tour company that arranges transportation for us. What's more, prior to leaving Antigua to go to Panajachel, I gave my phone to the male employee at Marvelus who spoke to the van driver, so I assumed that he told the van driver where we were supposed to be driven. That apparently was not the case. I have never been spoken to by a tour operator in my life with that condescending, scolding, rude tone of voice. When I screen shotted the ambiguity of their schedule, the male voice on the phone acknowledged that it was ambiguous but did not apologize. He then transferred me to a female person Olivia who did apologize for the ambiguity of the schedule and was professional in her messaging for the rest of the trip. I'm mostly offended by the condescending and offensive nature in which I was spoken to by the male staff member at Marvelus. I actually have a decent grasp of Spanish, but I cannot say I am fluent. It is not practical for every tourist to speak the local language of every country they visit on the planet. Also, many points were not planned well. In the stop from Panajachel back to Antigua, we were told to "simply wait outside the Marvelus office" for 1.5 hours. They claimed the office was closed at 10 AM on a weekday, forcing us to sit outside. Thankfully, it wasn't raining. Many of the 14 passenger vans were filled to max capacity, leaving no room for people with luggage beyond a backpack. It was an extremely uncomfortable van ride when the van was filled to max capacity for 2 hours of driving. Thankfully, my family member and I travel light, but I don't see how this would be feasible with people who don't travel lightly. Also, the Mayan homestay can be booked through other 3rd party web sites. They are not the only ones who provide this unique experience. I'm just writing this for future travelers to know. I'm assuming the tour operator takes the biggest cut, and the homestay family makes a pittance comparably, so if you want more money to go to the Mayan homestay, book through a third party web site that provides that and then tip the Mayan family generously for their hospitality. Also, the stated age range for this tour was up to age 71. My family member is in the 70's, and the volcano trek was unbearable for him. There was no warning for how physically taxing the volcano trek would be. I would advise those with older travel group members or those who are not physically fit to reconsider the volcano trek. We met younger travelers who also said the volcano trek was too taxing to be enjoyable, but they felt forced to finish because they had already walked halfway. The volcano trek takes 3-4 hours and is extremely steep in many parts of the trek. Also, the hotel Hotel Posada Los Bucaros in Antigua--the hotel room was the size of a sardine can. There was nowhere to put your luggage. The room was new and spotless though and well maintained. Wifi was good. Hotel Arca de Noe - There is no wifi except in the hotel lobby, and even there, it was unreliable. I can't expect every place on the planet to have amazing Wifi, but the other downside to this hotel was that it was extremely dusty and musty. It was like no one had ever dusted the room ever. And there were a ton of bugs. I saw every bug of every species and size in my hotel room. All in all, I will come back to central America some day, but not with this company.Show more
  Traveled in July 2023
  

  Reply from: Marvelus Travel

  Hello Customers thanks for shared your travel experience with Marvelus Travel, its important to us to hear you as well, we are taking action about what happened with you as travellers, we are sure we make this better for others future customers, we are sorry to hear that Marvelus Travel didnot filled you out the expectation, again thanks for let us, we should make better, precisely at the point you comment, Cheers Marvelus Travel Team

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  Laura

  May 5th, 2022
  3.0
  Here are a few considerations from my experience on this trip. I hope they're useful to future travelers. -The...
  Here are a few considerations from my experience on this trip. I hope they're useful to future travelers. -The itinerary that we received was confusing. Make sure that you read the entire document and contact the operator if you have any questions. For instance, our original itinerary did not include the Mayan homestay; they were quick to correct that once we pointed it out -If you arrive in Guatemala City a few days before the tour starts, you can still contact the tour operator to request airport transfers. The transfer is good whatever day you arrive. -Unfortunately, I got heat exhaustion (April is the hottest month!) and not go on the volcano hike. However, my partner went and he told me that it was harder than he expected. -Make sure to bring snacks as sometimes you will not have time for meals, particularly when they pick you up early, before the hotel restaurant is open -The Mayan homestay was wonderful. Make sure that you learn a little Spanish before your visit so that the time that you spend with the family is not awkward. Also, it's nice to bring a gift for the family -When you visit Lago Atitlan, if you're staying in Panajachel, you will have tons of things to do and eat. I highly recommend visiting the reserve and paying extra for ultra zip lining (a 850 m zip line awaits you). If you find yourself somewhere else around the lake, you may not have many activities, but you can always take the public boat to Panajachel. -We were tricked into taking the public boat on the way back to Panajachel, as the captain told me that his boat was part of the tour and when we arrived he charged us Q25 -I appreciated having an updated travel guide to do things on our own because this tour is NOT guided. -All in all I'd recommend the tour if you like doing your own thing and have researched the proposed locations.Show more
  Traveled in March 2022
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  Maria De La Cruz

  June 8th, 2021
  4.0
  I don’t want to do in the future any more tour alone. I would like groups and guide.
  Traveled in May 2021
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  Dorka

  February 22nd, 2019
  4.5
  This trip was a mother & daughter trip for one week. This was our first time in the region (central America) and we...
  This trip was a mother & daughter trip for one week. This was our first time in the region (central America) and we had a wonderful time. Itinerary: This itenaray was exactly what I had in mind for a trip to Guatemala. If I designed an itinerary myself, in all honesty, it would have the exact same destinations. Our favorite place was Lake Atitlan but all the rest of the places were are lovely too. The only thing not in the itinerary is Tikal but that is understandable because it is very very far. We did tikal after the ending of this tour and it was nice too. We only had one issue that is worth mentioning about the itinerary. Sadly, neither of us speak Spanish and this meant that the Mayan Homestay was not a good use of our time. The family are kind and welcoming but they speak zero English and so we could not communicate with them at all or even ask questions about them. This made the situation uncomfortable and awkward at times. I think the Mayan Homestay should be recommended only for Spanish speakers because the town they live in is so small that there is nothing to do other than spend the day with the family at the house. If you are not a Spanish speaker, do not do the Mayan Homestay. Transportation: The transportation all week was reliable, safe, clean and mostly punctual. The drivers always knew my name and either had a sign with our names or asked us at pick up so I always felt comfortable getting in the car/bus. The airport transfer is private and so is the transfer from the mayan homestay to panajachel. The rest are little buses that seat 10-14. Those buses offer the opportunity to meet many other lovely tourists doing similar trips to ours. My one complaint is the fact that occasionally we were last on the pickup route which meant we had to sit apart from eachother on several hour bus trips. However, more opportunity to make friends. Accomodation Great choices of accommodation. The hotels were both lovely. The hotel in antigue Is clean, centrally located, and has lovely staff. Both hotels and even the mayan homestay had wifi! Casa del Mundo is one of the most incredible places I've ever seen. I can't say enough positive things about it. Just WOW. I will treasure those photos forever and I hope to bring my husband back on an anniversary trip. The bedroom in the mayan home was clean and welcoming. However, the bathroom is shared with the rather large family and not entirely up to what you're probably used to. We did not feel comfortable showering there so shower in Antigua in the morning before you leave! Overall, excellent hotel choices. Meals There's quite little to say about the meals in general because the only meals included are at the mayan homestay. The hotels offer breakfast but we only ate breakfast at the Antigua hotel. It is a tiny bit more expensive than what you'd pay in town but the hygene and proximity made it worth it. They served eggs, toast, plantains, jam, orange juice and coffee. I recommend! The rest of the mornings were too early departure and we weren't hungry so we just skipped straight to lunch. One thing to note, Casa del Mundo is very remote so you have to eat dinner there. There are positives and negatives to this. First, It's more expensive than what you'd pay anywhere else. Second, the food was probably the worst we ate during our entire stay in Guatemala. They try to make it more 'haute cuisine' but we didn't enjoy the taste at all; maybe you'll get luckier. The positive is that they push all the tables together and all the guests in this rather small hotel get to eat together and meet. We had the best time having conversations with other travelers who were all fascinating and so friendly. it's worth it for that experience alone, but don't expect excellent food. Honestly, I think for the price of the tour, it's ok that there isn't many meals included. In sum, we loved this tour. Guatemala has forever earned a place in our hearts and we are excited to return to central America at the soonest opportunity. One tip: know that this tour is jam-packed. Don't expect much relaxation, understand that if you want to see a country as vibrant and unique as Guatemala in a mere 5 days, you'll be busy and have many early morning pick-ups. This is not a negative, just something to consider. Overall, I'd travel with Marvelus again anytime and for the price, it is undeniably the best way to travel through Guatemala. So easy and SO worth it; everyone on the mini buses was jealous of us that we did it with marvelus and not by organizing everything ourselves. Truly marvelous.Show more
  Traveled in February 2019
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  MAURO

  January 4th, 2019
  4.5
  Good price for a good quality tour. Suggested for people who wish to move in Guatemala without a group and a guide...
  Good price for a good quality tour. Suggested for people who wish to move in Guatemala without a group and a guide every day. Transportation good ... departures on time! One night with local family ... nice experience !Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Sing-Chi

  October 20th, 2018
  4.5
  Great tour for those who don’t want the hassle of arranging accommodations and transportation but wanting a little...
  Great tour for those who don’t want the hassle of arranging accommodations and transportation but wanting a little more independence and time to explore on your own. The night of the Mayan homestay my driver didn’t know where to drop me off and missed the town so I had to take public transport back up the hill to the town (it was an adventure). Otherwise everything was very smooth. Excellent tour!Show more
  Traveled in October 2018
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  Jean

  January 26th, 2018
  2.5
  No guide was provided on the tour, only the one payed for on the volcano treck. Transportation was late half of the...
  No guide was provided on the tour, only the one payed for on the volcano treck. Transportation was late half of the time; I had to call the agency 3 times to make sure it would come. No information was given on duration of the transportation or what to expect on the tours. The homestay was nice with the mayan family. The combination of the differents tours made the transportation too long. Tip: don't go to the Chichi market, it does no offer more than what you can get everywhere else.Show more
  Traveled in January 2018
  

  Reply from: Marvelus Travel

  Hi Customers, This service you book its clear whats included: Shared van for 15 passengers, all Pick up: its not punctual, its always wait 15 minutes after your time pick up, becuase the shared pick it up more passengers, this tours only include local guide what Itinerary mentions, we ussually give a every customers, an official itinerary where they can see the Duration of each transportation is taken. anyway we are happy to hear the negative reviews, so that we realize where have to improve the better services, sorry Jean for not given the travel services you wanted.. Saludos Daniel Jiatz MARVEVLUS TRAVEL

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  Silvia

  August 5th, 2017
  4.5
  We had a great experience with the tour this company plan for us. They accommodated us pretty quick. The experiences...
  We had a great experience with the tour this company plan for us. They accommodated us pretty quick. The experiences we had in each town and place we visit was amazing. Show more
  Traveled in July 2017