Route of the Maya (2012)

El Salvador • Honduras • Guatemala • Belize
  • 14 days
  • from only:
  • $2045
  • $147 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 14 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $204 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Route of the Maya
NEW-Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
El Salvador: Colonial Suchitoto & the Flower Route
Belize's Glittering Cays
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

4hrs

Boston, Denver, Detroit, Portland, OR, San Diego

8hrs

Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

9hrs

Miami

3hrs

Phoenix, San Francisco

10hrs

Seattle

12hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to San Salvador, El Salvador. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: El Salvador: Colonial Suchitoto & the Flower Route

4 nights from only $695
El Salvador

The smallest country in the Americas, El Salvador is a gem often overlooked by international travelers. Journey here early to discover its friendly people and flourishing culture, explore lush rain forests and towering volcanoes, and visit the traditional villages along the Ruta de las Flores.

Single Supplement: FREE

Please note: This extension is only available on select departures. Ask your Adventure Specialist for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 1 night on the Pacific Coast, 2 nights in Suchitoto, and 1 night in Ataco
  • 8 meals—4 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners
  • 6 small group activities
  • Services of an expert local guide, who speaks English and the native language
  • All transfers
Day 1
Depart U.S./Arrive San Salvador, El Salvador

Arrive in San Salvador today, where an OAT representative meets us at the airport and assists with the transfer to our seaside hotel just south of the city, on El Salvador’s tropical Pacific Coast.
Day 2
Morning at leisure/Overland to Suchitoto/Walking tour

This morning after breakfast, we’ll get acquainted with our fellow travelers and our surroundings during an orientation briefing with our local guide. Afterward, you’ll have some time to explore the grounds of our hotel, perhaps enjoying a stroll along the beach’s volcanic sands.

Then, we travel overland to Suchitoto, a beautiful colonial town brimming with Salvadoran history and culture. We arrive in time for lunch at a local restaurant, then set out to explore Suchitoto. We’ll stroll the town’s cobbled streets, stopping to admire the whitewashed façade of the Santa Lucia Church and enjoy views of Suchitlán Lake, the largest lake in El Salvador.

The balance of the afternoon is at leisure. This evening, we gather for dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 3
Suchitoto/Visit local school/Discover Hacienda Los Nacimientos

Following breakfast, we depart our hotel for a look into El Salvador’s recent past as we visit Hacienda los Nacimientos, the location of a former guerilla camp during El Salvador’s Civil War. This war, which lasted from 1980 to 1992, pitted El Salvador’s military government against left-wing guerillas. Today, the hacienda is the site of an organic farming initiative, dedicated to rebuilding the community by providing jobs to the war’s victims.

One of the farm’s key products is indigo, a blue dye harvested from the leaves of the xiquilite plant that has been in use since the time of the ancient Maya. We’ll have the opportunity to observe the process of its production, including its extraction, drying, and milling. We have lunch at the hacienda, and then return to our hotel, where the balance of the afternoon is yours to discover Suchitoto independently. Dinner is on your own tonight.
Day 4
Suchitoto/Cihuatán/Overland to Concepción de Ataco/Flower Route/Explore Ataco

We depart Suchitoto after breakfast to explore the archaeological site at Cihuatán, the ruins of the impressive capital city of a post-Maya, pre-Hispanic civilization. The city was founded some time around the year AD 900, after the collapse of the Maya empire. Cihuatán was burned to the ground by unknown invaders, and then lay forgotten until excavation began in 1925. We’ll spend some time this morning exploring the site, discovering its temples, ball courts, and artifacts.

We then head west into the Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountains to visit the villages of the Ruta de las Flores—the Flower Route—a scenic route that (contrary to its name) is focused less on flowers than on the traditional handcrafts and cultures of the five rural towns along its length.

We arrive at our hotel in Concepción de Ataco in time for lunch on your own. This afternoon, we’ll visit the village of Ataco, renowned both for the colorful weavings produced by the villagers, and the elaborate murals that adorn many buildings throughout the town. Enjoy some free time this evening to explore more of the village, or perhaps the lush mountain landscape surrounding our hotel before returning to Ataco for a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant with your fellow travelers.
Day 5
Ataco/Explore Cerro Verde National Park/Overland to San Salvador/Begin main trip

This morning, we enjoy breakfast at our hotel, then set off to explore Cerro Verde National Park.

Situated at an altitude of around 6,600 feet and nestled amidst three imposing volcanoes, Cerro Verde is home to an abundance of plant and animal life, especially birds—the park is a nesting ground for 17 species of hummingbirds alone. We’ll have some time to explore the rain forest this morning, and cap our stay with a discovery of Izalco Volcano, which—prior to entering a period of dormancy in 1966—was known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” due to its near-continuous eruptions for the previous 160 years.

Departing Cerro Verde, we travel overland to San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador and the second-largest city in Central America, arriving in time for lunch on our own. This afternoon, we meet the rest of our traveling companions and begin our adventure along the Route of the Maya.