Guatemala, privately.
A small company built around one idea: the country deserves better than the bus.
Guate Private exists for travelers who want Guatemala without the compromises of group travel — the 5 a.m. shuttle roll call, the fourteen strangers, the itinerary nobody chose. We plan private trips: your own driver, your own guide, your own boat, and days shaped around the people actually taking them.
How we work
Every trip starts as a conversation, not a booking form. You tell us your dates, who's coming and what kind of travelers you are; we come back with a plan built from places we know street by street — Antigua, Lake Atitlán, the volcanoes, Tikal. Then we adjust it until it's yours. During the trip, you have us on WhatsApp.
What we won't do
We don't book shared shuttles or pooled boats. We don't promise volcanic eruptions, lava or perfect weather — Pacaya's marshmallow roasting happens when conditions allow, and we say so. We don't invent reviews, star ratings or "partnerships" with hotels we simply admire. And we don't pad itineraries to look busy; a rest day in an Antigua courtyard is often the best-planned day of the week.
The photography promise
Every photograph on this site is our own, taken in the places we take you. Where our own image doesn't exist yet, you'll see a clearly marked temporary slot — never stock, never a substitute passed off as Guatemala.
Who we're for
Mostly American couples and families who value their time: people who'd rather spend it inside a weaving cooperative in San Juan than waiting at a shuttle stop in Panajachel. If that's you, we should talk. Start with Plan Your Trip, or just message us on WhatsApp — a human replies, usually within a day.
One conversation is enough to start.
One conversation is enough to start. We reply personally, usually within a day.