"Spanish and Adventure, Lago de Atitlan to the Ixil Triangle"
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I started off taking Spanish lessons with Pedro of Atitlan Tours & extended it to cycling through the villages above Lake Atitlan, visiting the lakeside villages, taking a fabulous 2 day trip to the Ixil Triangle, staying at a hacienda & cheese farm & horse-riding in the surrounding hills. Being the only tourist at the local market, and seeing the beautiful traditional clothing and textiles of the villagers was a highlight. Pedro's attention to detail & knowledge of the local area was outstanding and he was great company and an excellent Spanish teacher as well! If you want an adventurous, customised, off-the-beaten-track tour then I would highly recommend contacting Pedro.
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- Traveling with us since 2011
- Sydney, Australia
"Fabulous!"
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Since my wife broke her foot a couple of weeks before we left for a tour of Guatemala, we decided to make our trip more comfortable by taking private transport and a private guide for the first part of our journey. We found Pedro through Tripadvisor and believe me, we were so lucky we found him!
Pedro is a real gentleman, really taking care of his guests, and also very knowledgeable about many subjects, in the first place about breathtaking Lake Atitlan, but also about Maya culture and people, traditional Maya textiles, about the markets, about birdwatching, photography. He's teaching Spanish, learning French (his English is quite perfect)... A passionate young man, always trying to get even better. And especially passionate about trying to give you the best of what his beautiful country has to offer. This was even made clearer the day we were accompanied by another guide : also sympathetic, but what a difference! The difference between "oh well ok" and "woooooow".
Not only we had a wonderful week with him, full of jawdropping beauty, but his perfect planning also made it possible for us to experience much more than we could ever have if we would have organised everything ourselves. We visited the markets of Solola and Chichicastenango with him, and I can't imagine it would have been half as absorbing if we would have tried to find our way on our own.
And he helped us to reach the unreachable. We really were fascinated by the Ixil-triangle and the villages Nebaj, Cotzal en Chajul, northeast of Quetzaltenango, and I had spent hours trying to figure out how to include them in our itinerary, but I had to conclude we wouldn't have time to go there. Pedro not only succeeded fitting them in, but we had such wonderful and stressless two days visiting partying Solola, Fuentes Georginas, sleeping in a wonderful Hacienda near Acul, the traditional market of Chajul... Never in a hurry, always time to meet our needs or to do what seemed best at that time. I can't recommend enough the trip to Ixil with Pedro. Fantastic!
Concluding : at first sight it's not cheap for a couple to have your own driver and guide taking you around. But with Pedro it's worth every penny. Especially when you consider what you would have missed otherwise having only a couple of weeks to spend. It allows you to see much more, without stress and in a leisurely pace, and to enjoy the beauty of this really special country much more in depth. So it becomes a truly memorable experience. And what 's more : when you are 4 or more the price per person goes down dramatically, so I wouldn't hesitate to call it downright cheap!
My advice : don't miss Atitlan-Ixil Pedro style!
Erwin de Van , Belgium
“PEDRO IS THE BEST TOUR GUIDE I HAVE EVER HAD”
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I travel a lot - and I love to travel and feel like I'm truly learning about a new place. Pedro made this possible for me when I visited Lake Atitlan for 5 nights recently. What started out as a spanish lesson quickly morphed into something totally beyond this. Don't get me wrong - Pedro is a great spanish teacher, but he seems to be great at so many things. He loves nature and his country. He is passionate about Guatemala and helping people like me and you understand Guatemala in a way that would impossible otherwise. So, we took our spanish lessons on the road to a wonderful market in Solala, to a very interesting tour of a coffee plantation and artist studios in San Juan - he took us kayaking on the lake and went w/ us on a nature walk pointing out animals and plants along the way. Every day was new and interesting and he basically made our trip a success. Pedro has great ideas and the ability to make things all come together. He is a planner, teacher, naturalist and tour guide all rolled into one very charming and intelligent person. I'm just so impressed with him and you should let him help make your trip as special as mine was.
- Jennifer
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- Washington, DC
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