Country Info
- Guatemala
- Capital
- Quetzal (GTQ)
- Currency
- 12,974,361
- Population
- GT
- Country Code
Guatemala Slideshow
Top Hotels in Xela
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Marriott Guatemala City
197 reviews -
Intercontinental Hotels Real Guatemala Guatemala City
57 reviews
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The Westin Camino Real Guatemala Guatemala City
124 reviews -
Holiday Inn Guatemala City
44 reviews
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Crowne Plaza Hotel Guatemala Guatemala City
54 reviews -
Grand Tikal Futura Hotel Guatemala City
74 reviews
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Clarion Suites Guatemala City
52 reviews
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Hotel Vista Real Guatemala Guatemala City
67 reviews
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Radisson Hotel And Suites Guatemala City
42 reviews
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Biltmore Express Guatemala Guatemala City
40 reviews
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Hotel Princess Guatemala Guatemala City
43 reviews
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Hotel Museo Casa Santo Domingo Antigua Guatemala
257 reviews
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Porta Hotel Del Lago Panajachel
40 reviews
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Mercure Casa Veranda Guatemala Guatemala City
32 reviews
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Villa Antigua Resort And Conference Center Antigua Guatemala
62 reviews
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Ramada Conquistador Guatemala City
19 reviews
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Antigua Hotel Antigua Guatemala
97 reviews
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Del Patio Tikal Peten
2 reviews
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Pan American Hotel Guatemala City
19 reviews
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Hotel Casa Concepcion Antigua Guatemala
30 reviews
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Green Bay Hotel Livingston
7 reviews
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Peten Esplendido Flores
24 reviews
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Hotel Atitlan Panajachel
132 reviews
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Howard Johnson Inn Guatemala City, Gua
32 reviews
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Soleil Pacifico Resort San Jose
11 reviews
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Westin Camino Real Tikal Tikal National Park
65 reviews
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Hostal Dona Victoria Coban
9 reviews
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Best Western Stofella Guatemala City
53 reviews
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Legendario Porta Hotel Esquipulas
2 reviews
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Amatique Bay Resort & Marina Puerto Barrios
28 reviews
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Las Farolas Hotel Antigua Guatemala
14 reviews
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Hotel Regis Panajachel
38 reviews
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Hotel Ciudad Vieja Guatemala City
7 reviews
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Hotel San Carlos Guatemala City
14 reviews
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El Convento Boutique Hotel Antigua Guatemala
80 reviews
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Hotel El Carmen Antigua Guatemala
25 reviews -
Santander Plaza Hotel Guatemala City
4 reviews
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Hotel Real Santander Panajachel
5 reviews
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Bambu Santiago Atitlan
26 reviews
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Hotel Rio Azul Quetzaltenango
Xela
Travel Blogs from Xela, Guatemala
A typical day at the dinner table.
This is a top pick! So my graduation speech probably won't go down in history, other than for maybe being the shortest ever. I also think I impressed my Spanish teacher the other morning when he asked me.. "¿De donde eres?" (Where are you from?) Where I quickly ...
Back to school.
This is a top pick! ... first proper sentence. Most gringos come to Xela either to attend a Spanish language school or to do volunteer work, and although it's Guatemala's second city there isn't actually much to do or see in the city itself. It's a place to study, drink ...
Why am I always cold?!?!
This is a top pick! ... she´s a law student here, and is very politically aware, which is great. We chatted for a while about the current political regime in Guatemala, and about the past. We also did so much work with verbs! I learned more in two hours than I did in six weeks ...
Yet ANOTHER bus ride...
This is a top pick! ... one place with the most lovely woman (Celas Maya) and we all decided to do four days of classes. So I´m in Guatemala until Saturday at least! The school is great...the proceeds go to support local indigenous students who otherwise would not be able to ...
I guess it was bound to happen.....
This is a top pick! Last night was pretty rough. I have no idea what it was, but I ate something that didn't agree with me, and ended up throwing up for a good portion of the night. However, this morning I felt tons better, and have been doing okay ever since. Guess it ...
Studying Spanish in the Mountains
This is a top pick! ... and they are extremely friendly. They also go out of their way to help us with our Spanish studies. Wherever we travel in Guatemala, it's by chicken-bus. They're old North American school buses with old being the key word. During any given trip they ...
School's Out Forever
This is a top pick! With two days of Spanish school remaining, I´m capable of conversing at a very basic level. The person I speak with however, must use very short words, in very short sentences. He or/she must also be prepared from time to time for a response that is ...
The art of being stupid (Vol. 1).
This is a top pick! ... history. Today I heard this funny story about a 35 year old Norwegian, possibly from the small town of Elverum, currently in Guatemala (just like me). This very morning, the Norwegian guy was in Panajachel down by Lake Atitlan. He ran out the door and ...
Guns 'N Guatemala
This is a top pick! It seems that if you have a business in Guatemala with any value to it at all you´ll need people with guns to guard it for you. Banks of course, are businesses that have value. Some banks have as many as five guards. Some guards carry big shotguns. Some ...
A prisoner in my hotel room.
This is a top pick! ... to read was my book (Kerouac) and a Cosmo. I really liked the spanish school (for the short time that I was there) and Xela was a really fun city, although quite cold...and apparently it gets worse in the winter. However, one of the things I will ...
flying spew on an antiquated US school bus
This is a top pick! ... the guatemalan currency and the national bird... Tenango literally means "place" chilled first arvo; people place Xela between Antigue (heaps of tourists) and Guatemala city (crazy/violent place) Hit up some food-stand snacks on the southern edge ...
Xela and surroundings
This is a top pick! ... felt so close to death than in this ride having to think about a remark i read in a guidebook which states that on Guatemala's road, "many have gotten their last glimpse of Guatemala" riding a chicken bus on those mountainous roads. But alas, I made ...
Yet Another Country!
This is a top pick! ... and went in search of a bus the final 13km's to Xela. Total spent: $37. If our first experience of finding local transport in Guatemala is anything to go by then it's going to be a piece of cake. Local buses seem to run constantly all day and the ...
Leaving Xela
This is a top pick! ... half a day in school and the other half visiting several community projects the school is involved in. Since 80% of Guatemala's population are Maya, many community project focus on education and artisan development in the maya communities. All of these ...
Taking Spanish lessons
This is a top pick! I came to Xela because I heard it was cheap and a cool place to learn Spanish. After shopping around for an hour I decided to go with the cheapest school. Later I found out that this was actually a good school ...
Blowin out of town again
I've decided it's time to keep movin .... on to the next espanol school and a warmer climate. It is so cold here that we are dropping out of class like flies! I knew it was going to be cold here in the mountains but I didn't realize it would ...
The first week of school!
... schools on the lake so, we plan on taking another 2 weeks to study spanish before traveling ALL around Guatemala. Jenna and I have been having a GREAT time exploring Xela and meeting new people. It is hard to believe we have only been here for 6 ...
SICK OTRA VEZ y Lago de Atitlan
... in pain and I am expected to take a 30min. walk to the doctor´s office!? So I started crying (apparently during my trek to Guatemala I am getting really in touch with my feelings!). I guess he felt bad, called to make sure the doctor was there. Another ...
Quetzaltenango
... in a smaller town right outside the city, Villa Nueva, and the drive to get there was insane. First of driving in Guatemala period is insane. There are lanes but people completely ignore them, there is no use of turn signals, and people are crossing the ...
Finally an update!
... stayed in one of the most beautiful hotels any of us had ever frequented), and for the first time, travelled outside of Guatemala to Honduras where we toured an expansive Mayan ruin site that had been excavated by some prestigious schools in the ...
Guatemalan Highlands and Xela
... ; We all bought some souvenirs although I was very restrained thinking of the weight of my pack. The fabrics here in Guatemala are amazingly beautiful. The traditional costumes are breathtaking. Once we left Antigua we began to see more and ...
Where are we??
... have been in Guatemala for a about 5 days, after spending 3 days in gringofied Antigua we came to Quetzaltenango yesterday. I like Guatemala and the indigenous culture is beautiful and fascinating, but I am glad that I served in Peace Corps Nicaragua. I ...
Some thoughts as I go to the finca...
... to how to make changes in their lives. Part of the learning here at Celas Maya includes talks about various issues here in Guatemala. We have covered aspects of the history, economic, environment, Mayan culture, life after the peace accords of ´96, ...
An unassuming mountain city
... other direction through construction zones...each time, it was very much like the start of an F1 race. As I arrived in the city, Xela was a bit of a ghost town as I understand that many locals head for the Pacific coast on weekends which is ...
Back to school
My first real destination in Guatemala was to be Quetzaltenaggo or Xela as it´s called by everyone here. It was time to get back to school and brush up on the old Spanish, a fairly essential thing to have in Latin America. I´d been getting on ok with my ...
Now there are photos to see
I have uploaded some photos for you to view. They are unfortunately not in the right order, and the ones of Guatemalan Women mistakenly got called Cemetary....well, enjoy the images, I{ll try to send more. There are photos in every entry, some have more ...
The end of our first adventure!
... close to each member of the family and for that I am grateful. Tomorrow morning we head out to the beach!!! Montericco, Guatemala is located on the southern pacific coast. Black sand beaches, nature reserves, and from what we've heard, great native ...
irregular verbs
... who wants to know things about what happened after the US did a military coup here. Its a wonderful movie, made in Guatemala by Swedish producers, and almost everything in the movie looked very much like now, except for the military, open coffins ...
Studying in Xela
... of singing, loads of fireworks and firecrackers, a band playing songs and we attempted to join in but made up our own words! Unfortunately Xela were beaten 1-0 (they were robbed!) but we had a great time anyway. WEEK 2 AT SCHOOL - It was a lot less ...
Estamos en Xela or Quetzaltenango
HOLA! We made it safely to Quetzaltenango, or better known as Xela at about 5pm today. It took a 5 hour bus ride to get here. This morning we got up really early so we could go take the Gandala ride. As it turns out, the ride was really short and ...