Shared shuttle - Panajachel to Guatemala City (airport)

Bait and switch. Booked shuttle to GUA and wound up in Antigua and switched vans. So much waiting in Pana, Antigua that. 3 hr ride turned into 5 hours. Luckily, I left early enough to not miss my flight. I thought I would give Viator a try even though it is more expensive than booking locally but learned my lesson quickly. Just use Uber.

As someone who has traveled all of Central America and most of South America, I can easily say this was by far the worst shuttle experience I’ve ever endured in my life. And I’ve taken 18 hour shuttles in the past. Those were a breeze compared to this nightmare! This trip started out with the shuttle company informing me they couldn’t pick me up at my hotel in Pana and instead to meet up at the Selina for a 9 AM pick up. I was happy to comply (cancel my current hotel and rebook at the more expensive Selina hotel/hostel for a smooth experience in the morning). I assumed this central meeting point would mean we would go directly from Salina in Pana to the airport within a 4 hour time period, as the ticket implies. However given my one star rating this was obviously not the case! After the Selina pick up, the shuttle bus continued around the city center to pick up other passengers and added about 20 minutes to the itinerary. Following this pick up we were on our way, however about 45 minutes into the trip our shuttle bus stopped on the side of the road, told everyone get out of the car, while we proceeded to wait for 30 minutes for a different shuttle to come, which we were then able to transfer to. Finally after this vehicle transfer we were on our way to what I assumed was the airport… however this was not the case. The shuttle proceeded to take us to the Antigua city center to a tourist office where we were told once again to get out of the shuttle and wait for about 40 minutes until the new shuttle came. Throughout this process I asked the tour operator when the shuttle was leaving because I had a 3:30 PM flight out of the international airport Guatemala back to Miami Florida. The tour operator insisted that the new shuttle would be here within one minute and I had nothing to worry about as I would be able to get to the airport within 45 minutes… once again, this was not the case. After about an hour and a half drive from the city center to the airport, the driver circled around the Shell station a few times and then proceeded to drop off passengers at the gas station instead of bringing the passengers that needed to catch a flight to the airport. The end result in all of This came to me missing my 330 flight and I’m now stuck in Guatemala from Sunday until Tuesday - when the next flight that departs for Miami. I have contacted Viator and the tour agency to explain my problem, however it looks like the tour company has no remorse nor has brought forth an apology. I now have to worry about accommodation, food, transportation, and finding clean clothes to last me the next three days until the next flight. Also keep in mind that if you miss a flight it’s up to the passengers responsibility to book and pay for a new flight, which has also added additional monetary stress to this traveling nightmare. I highly encourage anyone who is looking at this tour company to look elsewhere. The tour company also goes by the name of visatravel/ visatours. You’ve been warned!

We needed to get from Panahachel to Guatemala Airport for a 3:00 pm flight, leaving Pana at 9:00. Although the shuttle left 15 to 20 minutes late, the ride was smooth, and got us to the airport with time to spare. We did not travel through Antigua. The van was clean and in great condition.