suggested itinerary for Mexico (Yucatan), Guatemala, Belize?

In March I'm heading off to central america for 3 weeks (exactly 21
days), arriving/departing from Mexico City.

I'm planning on taking in the yucatan region of Mexico, Guatemala and
Belize (mainly scuba diving here). Could someone give me an idea of how
much time to spend in each area considering I will be bussing it all the
way?

Here's a rough plan...

- Arrive mexico city - Day 1
- Take trip out to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids - Day 2
- Head down to acupulco - Day 3
- Make way down to Guatemala border - Days 4 - 6
- Spend 5 days in Guatemala - Days 7 - 11
- Spend 5 days in Belize - Days 12 - 16
- Spend rest of time go through yucatan region back to Mexico City -
Days - 17 - 21

Is this a reasonable timescale?
Should I allocate more time to Guatemala and Belize?
Any tips on stuff I must see in Guatemala and Belize (apart from the
diving)

Thanks in advance,
Peter
--

fiddlewidawiddum

"Stimp" <ren@spumco.com> wrote in message
news:slrndt1ef4.d12.ren@carbon.redbrick.dcu.ie...
> In March I'm heading off to central america for 3 weeks (exactly 21
> days), arriving/departing from Mexico City.
>
> I'm planning on taking in the yucatan region of Mexico, Guatemala and
> Belize (mainly scuba diving here). Could someone give me an idea of how
> much time to spend in each area considering I will be bussing it all the
> way?
>
> Here's a rough plan...
>
> - Arrive mexico city - Day 1
> - Take trip out to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids - Day 2
> - Head down to acupulco - Day 3
> - Make way down to Guatemala border - Days 4 - 6
> - Spend 5 days in Guatemala - Days 7 - 11
> - Spend 5 days in Belize - Days 12 - 16
> - Spend rest of time go through yucatan region back to Mexico City -
> Days - 17 - 21
>
> Is this a reasonable timescale?

Define reasonable. You're trying to cover so much territory that you're
going to spend a big portion of your time on the bus. You could easily spend
three weeks in any of your three planned major destinations and still only
see a fraction of it. I could and have spent the amount of time you allotted
for the Yucatan just diving off of Cozumel. Three weeks is a drop in the
bucket for that area alone. With your time frame I'd save Teotihuacan for
another trip, and why you are bothering with Acapulco completely escapes me.
I would suggest concentrating on quality time in a smaller area than what
you are considering. If you don't your main memories of your trip will be
hustling around, arranging and moving into lodging, and bus rides.

TB

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 Technobarbarian <Technobarbarian-ztopzpam@> wrote:
>
> "Stimp" <ren@spumco.com> wrote in message
> news:slrndt1ef4.d12.ren@carbon.redbrick.dcu.ie...
>> In March I'm heading off to central america for 3 weeks (exactly 21
>> days), arriving/departing from Mexico City.
>>
>> I'm planning on taking in the yucatan region of Mexico, Guatemala and
>> Belize (mainly scuba diving here). Could someone give me an idea of how
>> much time to spend in each area considering I will be bussing it all the
>> way?
>>
>> Here's a rough plan...
>>
>> - Arrive mexico city - Day 1
>> - Take trip out to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids - Day 2
>> - Head down to acupulco - Day 3
>> - Make way down to Guatemala border - Days 4 - 6
>> - Spend 5 days in Guatemala - Days 7 - 11
>> - Spend 5 days in Belize - Days 12 - 16
>> - Spend rest of time go through yucatan region back to Mexico City -
>> Days - 17 - 21
>>
>> Is this a reasonable timescale?
>
> Define reasonable. You're trying to cover so much territory that you're
> going to spend a big portion of your time on the bus. You could easily spend
> three weeks in any of your three planned major destinations and still only
> see a fraction of it. I could and have spent the amount of time you allotted
> for the Yucatan just diving off of Cozumel. Three weeks is a drop in the
> bucket for that area alone. With your time frame I'd save Teotihuacan for
> another trip, and why you are bothering with Acapulco completely escapes me.
> I would suggest concentrating on quality time in a smaller area than what
> you are considering. If you don't your main memories of your trip will be
> hustling around, arranging and moving into lodging, and bus rides.

hmm.. it's true we're limited on time, but it's the best we can do
without quiting our jobs.

We'll probably try to fly to Guatemala from Mex City in that case, which
will save us another 4-5 days, and then pick and choose some spots in
each country rather than trying to cram everything in.. it's supposed to
be a holiday after all :)

Got any recommendations on must-see spots in Guatemala?.. in
Belize I plan to dive and chill out on the beach, so will probs head for
the coast as soon as we leave Guatemala.

cheers
--

fiddlewidawiddum

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 Richard Ferguson <fergusonOMITsculpture@omitthisatt.
> I agree, you are trying to pack way too much into one trip. You need to
> drop one or two countries or areas, or you will spend most of your time
> on the bus. The first class buses in Mexico are pretty good, but not
> how I prefer to enjoy my vacation.
>
> A better plan would be something like this:
<SNIP>

great, I'll take the advice on board.. although I would really like to
visit Lago de Atitlan in Guatemala.. maybe instead of going back through
Mexico I'll go through Guatemala on the way back to Mex City.

I suppose flights will be my best option.. although the costs will add
up.
--

fiddlewidawiddum

Why fly to Mexico City if all you are going to do once you get there is get
on a bus to somewhere else?
Go direct to Cancun and work back to Guatemala through Belize from there.

--
Please respond to this as soon as possible.

Capt Gene Kelly
Tropical Fishing Adventures
800 280 5565
631 668 2019
fax 631 6682040
"Stimp" <ren@spumco.com> wrote in message
news:slrndt1ef4.d12.ren@carbon.redbrick.dcu.ie...
> In March I'm heading off to central america for 3 weeks (exactly 21
> days), arriving/departing from Mexico City.
>
> I'm planning on taking in the yucatan region of Mexico, Guatemala and
> Belize (mainly scuba diving here). Could someone give me an idea of how
> much time to spend in each area considering I will be bussing it all the
> way?
>
> Here's a rough plan...
>
> - Arrive mexico city - Day 1
> - Take trip out to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids - Day 2
> - Head down to acupulco - Day 3
> - Make way down to Guatemala border - Days 4 - 6
> - Spend 5 days in Guatemala - Days 7 - 11
> - Spend 5 days in Belize - Days 12 - 16
> - Spend rest of time go through yucatan region back to Mexico City -
> Days - 17 - 21
>
> Is this a reasonable timescale?
> Should I allocate more time to Guatemala and Belize?
> Any tips on stuff I must see in Guatemala and Belize (apart from the
> diving)
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Peter
> --
>
> fiddlewidawiddum

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 Gene Kelly <captgenekelly@> wrote:
> Why fly to Mexico City if all you are going to do once you get there is get
> on a bus to somewhere else?
> Go direct to Cancun and work back to Guatemala through Belize from there.

tickets already purchased dude.. plus we got 4 days extra by flying to
Mex City instead of Cancun (unless we wanted to pay 400 euros extra to
go the same days)

I don't mind spend the extra 4 days trekking across mexico to get back
to the capital :)
--

fiddlewidawiddum

I have tried a similar trip in a similar time frame and my advice to you is
to cut back some if you are planning to travel by commercial bus.

Buses in the Yucatan can be booked well in advance and we found ourselves
overnighting in unexpected places (wasting time) and fighting to get on
certain buses. It was almost like an episode from the Amazing Race! In
fact, we ended up ditching most of our Belize and Guatemala plans and stayed
in Mexico longer. We spent almost a week in Mexico City which had much to
offer in terms of sightseeing.

My advice is to develop a reasonable plan and be very flexible if you are
using public transportation.

John

"Stimp" <ren@spumco.com> wrote in message
news:slrndt1ef4.d12.ren@carbon.redbrick.dcu.ie...
> In March I'm heading off to central america for 3 weeks (exactly 21
> days), arriving/departing from Mexico City.
>
> I'm planning on taking in the yucatan region of Mexico, Guatemala and
> Belize (mainly scuba diving here). Could someone give me an idea of how
> much time to spend in each area considering I will be bussing it all the
> way?
>
> Here's a rough plan...
>
> - Arrive mexico city - Day 1
> - Take trip out to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids - Day 2
> - Head down to acupulco - Day 3
> - Make way down to Guatemala border - Days 4 - 6
> - Spend 5 days in Guatemala - Days 7 - 11
> - Spend 5 days in Belize - Days 12 - 16
> - Spend rest of time go through yucatan region back to Mexico City -
> Days - 17 - 21
>
> Is this a reasonable timescale?
> Should I allocate more time to Guatemala and Belize?
> Any tips on stuff I must see in Guatemala and Belize (apart from the
> diving)
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Peter
> --
>
> fiddlewidawiddum