Travel Tips

How do I get there? Which documents do I need to enter Guatemala? Is it safe? Find answers to these questions - and more - in this section!

How to get there

The national airline TACA, as well as most major U.S. airlines, runs flights between Guatemala City and Dallas, Houston, Washington DC, Orlando, Miami, New York City and Los Angeles. For a full list of TACA’s destinations and services, please visit www.taca.com

Once you are in Guatemala, there are three options to get to Pasac, Sololá:


Visa requirements

All individuals wishing to enter Guatemala must be in possession of a valid passport. Nationals of the United States and Canada do NOT require a visa when entering the country for the purpose of tourism and are permitted to extend their stay for up to 90 days.

Nationals of the following countries do NOT need a visa to enter Guatemala as tourists:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela.

If you have any doubts, please check with the Guatemalan Consulate before you leave your country or visit the site of the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish).


Health and safety

Guatemala does not require an international certificate of vaccination upon entry. Only travelers entering Guatemala from a yellow-fever infected country need to produce a proof of vaccination before being admitted. However, a number of vaccines may be recommended, depending on your medical and travel history. Please ask your doctor and consult with your medical insurance for abroad coverage at least 4 weeks before your planned departure date. Medical facilities are available in Guatemala City, but bear in mind that attention may be harder to get in more remote and rural parts of the country. It is a good idea to bring a small supply of the medicines you may need – such as painkillers, antidiarrheals, steroid cream or antihistaminics. For more information on health precautions, please visit the international travel section of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is very unlikely that you will experience any hassle during your visit to the indigenous communities that we serve. However, there are a number of considerations you need to take into account for all the branches of your trip, since the urban centers of Guatemala do not have the best of reputations when it comes to safety. While it is impossible to deny that there are risks, there are a number of common sense precautions you can take to reduce them – not any different from the ones you would follow at any unknown place in your own country. Be careful with your belongings; do not leave your purse or wallet within sight in public places; do not show off valuable items such as cameras or laptops; don't wander alone after dark; avoid gatherings or demonstrations that may become violent.If you are the victim of a crime, you should report it both to the local authorities and your national Consulate or Embassy in Guatemala City.


Cultural awareness

Have you ever heard that "there's no place like home"? Well, we believe it’s true - but in a different sense than usual. Every place is unique in its own way, and Guatemala is no exception. You are about to visit a country loaded with indigenous and colonial traditions - with an enormous linguistic diversity and a colorful variety of landscapes, foods, and rituals. But there are two sides to every coin, and the dark side of Guatemala’s is its crushing poverty. The comforts of electricity, hot water, and wireless connections for your gadgets will not be available in many parts of the country, but in return you will taste a life whose flavor was probably unknown to you.

Reports of stolen children and organ trafficking continue to be rumored in remote rural areas, and it is strongly advised that travelers do not approach or take pictures of young kids without the explicit permission of their families.

Although the mother tongue of the villagers of Pasac is K’iché, a Mayan dialect, it is recommended that travelers carry a Spanish conversation guide as most people are bilingual in their native tongue and Spanish.. We will provide our visitors with a guide that is conversant in English, though!


Public Transportation To Pasac

Taking public transportation can be an exhilarating adventure in and of itself. If you chose this mode of transportation, you may get lucky and witness locals travelling with boxes holding live chickens or other farm animals. Guatemalan buses get the nickname "chicken bus" because of these chirping chickadees that come along for the ride. Some would argue that the nickname comes from passengers being packed in so close together that they feel like a chicken in a coop.

If you chose to take public transportation, you should be comfortable enough in Spanish to ask questions to strangers along the way. People will be very helpful, so never hesitate to ask. Usually if you ask for the next town or village listed below, people will help you get there. Once at that town or village, ask for the next one. The total cost of the bus rides should be approximately $6.

  1. From any major city in the country you can take a "pulma" (the nicer Greyhound type buses) or a "camioneta" (the converted school busses often referred to as "chicken buses" ) to the city of Mazatenango (also called “Mazate”). The bus will stop near the town's market and Pollo Campero. This ride is approximately 2.5-3 hours from Guatemala City to Mazatenango. The bus fare should be approximately $5 (Q40) in a pulma and $3.75 (Q40) in a camioneta.
  2. In Mazate you will transfer busses and ask for the "camioneta" to Santo Tomas La Union. The Sto. Tomas bus departs from a gas station parking lot across the street from Pollo Campero. This ride is approximately 1 hour from Mazate to Sto. Tomas. The bus fare should be approximately $0.60 (Q5)
  3. In Sto. Tomas you will need to ask for the stop for Xejuyup (pronounced "shay-hoo-yoop"). This stop is located one block up hill from the central park in Sto. Tomas. The mode of public transportation from Sto. Tomas to Xejuyup is either a van or the back of a pick-up truck. You can take whatever vehicle is present. If you don’t feel comfortable in the bed of a pick-up you can just wait for the next van. The bus fare should be approximately $0.25 (Q2).
  4. You will ask the driver to let you out at Pochol (pronounced "poh-chole"), which is about 10-15 minutes from Sto. Tomas to Pochol. The road changes from a dirt road to cement pavers on two occasions. Pochol is a small village located at the second stretch of cement pavers.
  5. In Pochol you will ask for the road to Pasac (pronounced "puh-sock"). There is only one road, and it will be about a 15-20 minute walk uphill to Pasac. If you walk past the town center and Catholic Church for about 1 minute, you will arrive at the Roots & Wings building (Raíces y Alas will be painted on the facade).