guatemala

Video: Colonial style hotel in Antigua, Guatemala

This video shows the beautiful guesthouse where we stayed in Antigua, Guatemala. The guesthouse is in a beautiful colonial style with a courtyard and spacious rooms with high ceilings. Would you like to stay here? Comments are most welcome.

Antigua is by far the most expensive city to visit as a traveller in Guatemala. This is both due to its beauty, popularity and facilities. I was quite shocked about the prices when we arrived: 30 $ for a cold, damp, double room with semi hot shower that is a lot. But after a day of looking around I accepted that it is just expensive and there is nothing to do about it. Furthermore, on the second day we found a beautiful colonial style hotel (as you can see on the video) which had six spacious rooms surrounding a beautiful courtyard. The bathroom was communal (which doesn’t bother me) and it cost 25 $ per night which, considering the location, was fine. We enjoyed our stay there a lot.

The guest house we stayed in is called Posada Asjemenou on Calle Del Arco #31. Their email is asjemenou1@yahoo.com, and you can telephone them at 7832-2670.

You can also listen to a Podcast we made in Antigua, Guatemala here.

Podcast: La Antigua, Guatemala

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Antigua is a stunningly beautiful town in Guatemala in Central America. It was founded in 1543 by the Spanish conquistadors and is famed for its Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture and spectacular ruins. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tina & I spent 3 days in Antigua having arrived in Guatemala from Madrid. You can listen to the Podcast we made in Antigua by clicking the play button above.

Antigua, Guatemala

Arrival in La Antigua, Guatemala

We arrived in Guatemala City a few days ago, and came straight to La Antigua Guatemala – also known simply as Antigua. It sounded like the perfect place to relax & explore whilst the jetlag subsided, having flown directly in from Madrid.

Tina in La Antigua, Guatemala

Another reason we chose to immediately travel the two hours straight from the airport was that Guatemala City is not such a friendly place. It seems tourists are advised not to go out after dark due to the risk of robbery (and worse) and too many travel warnings about the one place led us to devise our swift exit strategy.

Antigua is a stunningly beautiful town. It was founded in 1543 by the Spanish conquistadors and is famed for its Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture and spectacular ruins. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Three huge volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua, although at the time of writing in early October, the peaks are unfortunately almost constantly covered with cloud.

Although we’ve been more than content to wonder the cobbled streets soaking in the atmosphere and visiting the plethora of art galleries and restaurants, there are plenty of day trips that can be undertaken from here. From horse riding, to climbing the volcanoes (one of which is still active), Antigua Guatemala has been a fabulous beginning to our trip. We’ll be publishing an additional video and a podcast we made in Antigua shortly.

Further info

Price-wise we were a little surprised by the expense of accommodation and food in Antigua – simply furnished double rooms, with a shared bathroom cost between US$20 and US$30 a night. We’re under the impression though that with it being the ‘cultural centre’ of Guatemala, things should be considerably cheaper when we reach Lake Atitlan.

You can view our Antigua photos by clicking here.
You can read more about Antigua at the Wikipedia website.

The guest house we stayed in is called Posada Asjemenou on Calle Del Arco #31. Their email is asjemenou1@yahoo.com, and you can telephone them at 7832-2670.

Video: Antigua, Guatemala

This video shows the beautiful city Antigua in Guatemala.

We spent 3 nights in Antigua when we first arrived jet-lagged to Central America. It is a great place to just relax and settle in to the rhyme of Guatemala (although most people will say that Antigua is not real Guatemala). We had been advised beforehand to NOT (under any circumstances) go into Guatemala City when we arrived because it is a very dangerous place. Therefore, we took a pre-booked shuttle (with Atitrans) straight from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua.

Antigua offers many things to do: Spanish lessons, climbing the three volcanoes surrounding it, looking at the beautiful colonial architecture and churches, eating in some of the amazing restaurants and just enjoying the tranquil atmosphere. It is definitely worth a visit.