On arrival at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, you will be met and transferred to El Convento boutique hotel in Antigua, less than an hour’s drive away.

After enjoying breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up for the short drive to the local ONG Niños de Guatemala school, which provides education for disadvantaged children. During the day you will have the opportunity to help with tasks that are greatly beneficial to both the pupils and staff at the school, such as assisting teachers to prepare for lessons, helping to teach English or computer classes, and playing with children during their breaks. After the school visit, you will be driven back to your hotel to enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure.Overnight stay in Antigua.

You will be picked up from your hotel up at 6.30am for the two and a half hour drive to the Guatemalan Highlands. On arrival in the region, you will visit one of the largest and most popular markets in Guatemala, Chichicastenango, where local people offer handicrafts, masks, pottery and brightly coloured textiles at numerous stalls. In the afternoon, a visit to a local cook’s house for a culinary demonstration involves the preparation of a number of traditional dishes and drinks made from seasonal, regional vegetables, flowers, meat and insects. You are welcome to help with cooking the food, and of course, to taste it. Dishes are prepared according to ancient Mayan methods based on drying, toasting, and processing with ashes or limestone, while traditional grinding techniques using volcanic stones obtain essential oils from plants and seeds. A 90-minute drive takes you to Panajachel where you will check into the lakeside Hotel Atitlan.

After an early breakfast in your hotel, you will take a boat ride lake to visit San Juan Atitlan, a village of the Tz’utuhil people, one of the Maya ethnic groups in Guatemala. A tour of a women’s weaving cooperative will reveal the skills required to make huipiles, the garments traditionally worn by women. The process is carried out by hand using an ancient technique known as tejido de cintura. You will be taught the technique and have the opportunity to make your own fabric belt, and learn about traditional methods of dying thread using indigenous plants. In the afternoon, you will travel to a nearby plantation, to witness a Mayan ceremony and receive an explanation of your nawal (animal spirit guardian) according to the Mayan calendar, with a shaman who will read your Mayan horoscope. Transfer back to your hotel for an overnight stay in Panajachel.

After breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up for transfer to Antigua. On the way back, you will stop at the expansive archaeological site at Iximché, which was the last capital of the Mayan kingdom until 1524, and subsequently the first capital of Guatemala. On arrival in Antigua, you will spend the afternoon at a coffee plantation to enjoy a guided tour, taking in a 19th-century, water-powered mill which is still in use today, as well as a museum detailing the history of the cultivation of coffee in the region. After sampling some freshly brewed, fragrant coffee, you will continue the drive back to El Convento boutique hotel.Overnight stay in Antigua.

A very early start will ensure you are at La Aurora International Airport before sunrise to take the short flight to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores. From there, you will continue by road to Tikal National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tikal was one of the largest cities in the Mayan kingdom. The archaeological site’s landmark structures include the monumental Temple of the Grand Jaguar, imposing Lost World Pyramid and towering Temple IV. A guided tour reveals the history of this fascinating former Mayan citadel, before you enjoy lunch in the park.After lunch, you can explore the park at your leisure before experiencing the Sunset Tour from 3pm onwards. You will see the sunset from Temple XXII, surrounded by the tropical forest teeming with howler monkeys, coatis and abundant colourful birds. Afterwards you will drive to the upscale Las Lagunas boutique hotel to check in and enjoy a relaxing dinner.Overnight stay in Flores.

OPTIONAL:After breakfast in the hotel, you will be driven to the Mundo Maya International Airport to take a 45-minute helicopter flight to the remote pre-Columbian Maya settlement El Mirador. Set in the rainforest of the Mirador Basin in northern Guatemala, this spellbinding destination is only accessible by air. Your guide will take you on a tour of the fascinating, expansive Danta complex, taking in the central acropolis, sacrificial site and one of the largest temple pyramids in the world. A lunch box and cold drinks will be provided. After the tour, you will take the scenic helicopter flight back to Flores and transfer to your hotel to relax.Price on request.Overnight stay in Flores.

Having enjoyed breakfast in the hotel, your driver will transfer you to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores to take a flight to Belize City. On arrival in Belize City, you will take an onward local flight to Placencia, and drive to the jetty, from where a one-hour boat ride will take you to the beautiful Hatchet Caye private island resort.Overnight stay on Hatchet Caye.

You are free to spend the day at your leisure, on the beach, or enjoying water sports, snorkelling or diving the reefs in the clear waters surrounding the island.

A guided snorkelling tour will take you to the shallow waters of a nearby marine reserve, where you will see loggerhead turtles, eagle rays, stingrays, barracudas and nurse sharks in their natural environment.

You are free to spend the day at your leisure enjoying water sports, snorkelling or diving in the clear waters surrounding the island, or relaxing on the beach.

After breakfast, a boat will transfer you to Placencia jetty, from where you will be driven to Placencia Airstrip Terminal for your flight to Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City.