Booked! Country 74 & 75 Guatemala & El Salvador
For those who don't know anything about me, I am a full-time student living in Southern California. The reason I bring this up is that this presents a problem with taking long-review trips like the last one I took. However, I decided I want to tick off South America/Central America by May/June which presents more challenges. All good since I have found a solution for my next two countries, El Salvador and Guatemala.
First Leg- Los Angeles To Guatemala
Originally I spent some time browsing around Central America to see the best deal I could get for a country I haven't been to. I came across a direct fare from LAX-Guatemala for 79$ nonstop which is a steal. While I should have paid the fare, I decided to use Delta miles for 10,000 miles+5.60$ which allowed a window seat selection for free. I never use delta miles, on top of that they are valued horribly so might as well use them while I can!
For those wondering about the right dates, good prices can be found!
Now that I am in Guatemala what's the plan?
This, I am unsure of at the moment. I have a couple of ideas but I think I will head to Antigua using the bus you can book in advance. I understand the traffic is quite bad in general so I'm going in with the motto "It is what it is and everything is as it should be". Looking at Airbnb I have found a few places to stay at. I think I will head out for the day and hike Pocaya as well, looks gorgeous!
Second Leg Guatemala- El Salvador
For this segment, I will have to take the drive back to the airport. I might end up leaving 5 hours before departure 😂. While nothing is booked at the moment I am thinking of the Avianca flight on Sunday afternoon which puts me in at 4:25 into El Salvador. I can grab a bite to eat, walk around, and head back to the airport. I do wish I had more time in El Salvador but I will have to come back! Definitely booking this segment with cash.
Third Leg El Salvador- Los Angeles
While I wanted to tick off two new countries on this trip, I had to find a way to get back for an 8 am class in SoCal. So this got me thinking, I want enough time to enjoy the countries I'm going to, nor do I want to pay for a hotel (traveling broke this trip) so why not take a red-eye? I was able to find a red-eye out of El Salvador returning to LAX. To put it frankly this flight is horrific timing, I am going to need a lot of coffee. Taking off at 3 am is brutal, especially with 10 hours of class on Monday. I booked this leg for 16K United Miles which I earned through my new credit card bonus (more on that in a separate post).
Final Thoughts
While I have to take an Uber straight after class at 9:30 to LAX and I land an hour and a half before my class on Monday, I am super excited to visit these countries. I wish I had more time to hike up some of the other mountains in Guatemala and perhaps do some exploring in El Salvador. Expect reviews coming soon from the whole trip!
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