It is an unfortunate reality that many perceive Guatemala as too dangerous for a yoga retreat. SolSeed has been travelling to Guatemala since 2016. In that time, we have brought over 200 travelers through this beautiful country. We boast a record of zero instances of personal safety concern throughout that time. Our record is a result of intentional planning for safety; as well as, a by product of an overwhelmingly kind, receptive, and peaceful populace in the areas we visit.
Guatemala Travel Concerns
The ever changing US State Department website on travel safety in Guatemala paints a very bleak picture. As of the publishing of this post, the site ranked Guatemala’s Travel Advisory Level at Level 2: Exercise increased caution. Interestingly, this is the same level of caution recommended for travel to Mexico, although US tourists don’t seem to perceive Mexico to be as dangerous. The site goes on to outline any number of bad things that might happen to someone who is not exercising caution, or common sense when travelling abroad. The job of the US State Department is to be very conservative with their outlook for their citizen’s safety, so this sort of warning is to be expected, but not feared. SolSeed takes our traveler’s safety very seriously, and we certainly pay attention to the recommendations of the US State Department. The biggest areas of risk we address are: transportation risk, accommodation risk, and location risk.
Transportation Risk
Just like in the US, riding in a vehicle is the most dangerous thing most people do any given day. We mitigate the transportation risk by following all the best practices for safety. We hire private, reputable transportation companies to transport our groups directly from destination to destination. This ensures that we have drivers who know the way, have seat belts for everyone, and are operating safe vehicles. All our group transportation, and recommended travel itineraries, are arranged so that the ground transport happens during daylight hours. The routes we travel are not subject to gang activity, tourist van robbery, etc. However, the roads in Guatemala are not as well lit or policed, as the roads in the US. Therefore, travelling by day is the safest way. Finally, we include this private transportation for all yoga retreat participants who follow our recommended flight parameters. If someone cannot meet the flight parameters, we’re happy to provide expert guidance, and vetted vendors, to allow for safely meeting up with the retreat group.
Accommodation Risk
It is always smart to stay at reputable hotels and resorts. SolSeed’s yoga retreat groups are only housed at locations we’ve personally vetted for quality and safety. There is always a lock box available, 24 hours attendee, very high reviews from past guests, and a security protocol that we’ve reviewed and approved. SolSeed assists with check-in and check-out, and can assist when something is left behind. Fortunately, we’ve never had an instance of petty theft, nor any other aggravation at any of our hotel partners. In most cases, the resorts at Lake Atitlan are private to our yoga retreat groups, making the off chance of petty theft even slimmer. Finally, we provide the contact information at all hotels to the yoga retreat group, so that they may share them with their friends and family in case people back in the US need to reach them while they are in Guatemala.
Location Risk
SolSeed makes sure that the locations to which our yoga retreat guests travel are all superbly safe. Specific to Guatemala, we leave the densely populated and less safe capital city directly from the airport. We head down to Antigua, a former capital, and a location the New York Times agrees is a very safe and interesting tourist destination. We stay in the city center, which is well lit, heavily policed, and frequented by many tourists and the Guatemalan middle and upper classes. This is a very fun night, safety quickly fades to the back of people’s minds as they stroll among the vendors, restaurants, shops, and historical sites.
From Antigua, we travel directly to Lake Atitlan. Once again, the Department (like a US state) of Solola, where Atitlan is found, is ranked among the safest in Guatemala. Even more tranquil and safe are the villages around the lake’s edge, which are where we stay, explore, shop, and volunteer. We chose this destination not only for its natural beauty and deep cultural significance, but also because it poses very little location risk. Just to be extra cautious, we hire local guides for all of our excursions to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests. Once again, we have never had an instance of traveler safety concern in this location.
A final note on SolSeed
To conclude, SolSeed is a fully licensed and insured International Tour Operator, and we take our guests safety very seriously. Any location can be dangerous if you don’t take appropriate precautions. As part of holding International Tour Operators Insurance, we’ve written out best practices and emergency protocols for all our yoga retreat destinations. We are always aware of who to call, and where to go in the worst case scenario. These plans are generally simple (all good plans are), but the practice of creating and maintaining them gives us, and should give you, added confidence that you’ll be well cared for while on a SolSeed Retreats yoga retreat.
We’ve been fortunate to have past guests leave some incredible reviews wherein they specifically mention safety, please feel free to review them at the bottom of one of our upcoming Guatemala Yoga Retreats registration pages.