Guatemala Travel Notes – February 2023

For the fourth straight February, we ventured to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala to escape the cold, relax a little, and battle loads of sailfish. This kind of brought it full circle: our first trip occurred just before COVID shut the world down; our second and third required various testing protocols; and now we’re back to “normal,” although I was exceptionally cautious the week before we left, mostly because I didn’t want to get sick and lose out on what has become one of my favorite places in the world.

As has become the norm, we took a different path to and from Guatemala – part of that was flight economics, part of it was because we had to spend a few days on the way back in Nashville for the Safari Club International Convention. I don’t know if any of the following information is immediately useful to you, but if it helps you on your next trip to Guatemala, or convinces you that it’s not an onerous trip, I’ll consider it worthwhile.

Here are some notes, in no particular order:

Flights

• Because of the oddball DC to Guatemala, Guatemala to Nashville and Nashville to DC nature of our trip, it was most cost efficient to book the first two legs of the trip on American Airlines and the final one on United.

• The international flights included one checked bag a piece, and we booked the United flights on my United credit card, so we did not pay for luggage.

• Our total itinerary came out to about $800 a piece.

• All five of our flights were either on time or early.

• Thanks to Hanna’s Platinum status on American, we were able to get “preferred” coach seats and board relatively early, although we were not able to take advantage of any complimentary upgrades to business class.

Lounges

• Going to and from Guatemala, we are able to use our AmEx Platinum card to get into the Centurion Club in Miami. It is not as spacious as the one in Dallas, nor is the food as good, but it was more than adequate.

• On the way there, we landed at D33 in Miami and with a relatively short layover before boarding at D36, we decided to walk to the lounge at D12. That was a mistake – it was a long haul. On the way back we took the SkyTrain.

• Both times we walked right in, but as we left on the 17th a line had formed and it looked like there was a 5-10 minute wait to get in.

• The breakfast choices were extensive, but the late afternoon options were subpar.

• In Guatemala’s La Aurora International Airport, our Priority Pass membership gave us access to two lounges – the sterile Copa Lounge, which had just a bar, coffee machine, and light snacks, or the Casa del Ron Aeropuerto, where we would have been entitled to a full meal. Since we were not hungry, we chose the former, which was effectively empty and therefore peaceful.

Customs and Immigration

• Coming into Guatemala, the flight attendant told us that we’d only need one customs form PER FAMILY, so we only filled out one. That proved to be wrong and I had to go back and fill out a second form. Luckily the line was minimal and we breezed right through.

• Leaving Guatemala we had to fill out another form, one apiece.

• Going through Customs in Miami was easy, thanks to our Global Entry cards. There was a glitch in the machines, but it still took less than two minutes. Otherwise it looked like it would’ve taken at least 20-30 minutes. Unfortunately, after rechecking our bags for our connecting flights there was a 30 minute wait to go through TSA security, with no PreCheck or Global Entry option.

Miscellaneous

• When we arrived at DCA at 4am for our 5:20 flight to Miami and then on to Guatemala, CLEAR was not open. Our PreCheck was fast at that time, but not quite as easy as the other option would have been.

• On the morning we came home from Nashville, we arrived at the airport at 6:30 for an 8:40 flight (the alleged Uber shortage failed to materialize), only to find at least a 25-40 minute line for both regular and PreCheck. Fortunately, Hanna saw that there was a CLEAR line at the far end and we breezed right through. It continues to be a godsend.

Once again, we are thankful for a low-stress journey that allowed us to enjoy Antigua, Casa Vieja Lodge and the Safari Club show without any real hassles. We’d love to have you travel with us, although I’m confident that this is a journey even inexperienced travelers could manage.