How I traveled to Guatemala for free

Guate for the win

Many people may think that participating in an online giveaway is a waste of time.  I do not blame them, the majority of those giveaways are a scam with the only intention of gathering our personal information and sell it to third parties – who will then flood our inbox with unwanted e-mails!  I was not a fan of participating in these online “too good-to-be-true” deals, but this changed a few years ago when I decided to give it a try, and I won! What was the prize? An all paid trip for 2 to Guatemala.  It was the former TACA airlines the one running the giveaway.  They  had created a new Facebook page to promote tourism to Central America – and by the way, I just noticed the page is still there “Descubriendo Centroamérica“. Guatemala Airport I lived in Central America at the time, and was excited to participate.  In that particular giveaway I knew I had two advantages:

• Barely 2000 people had liked the Facebook page.
• I noticed they did not restrict the amount of times you could submit your entry.

So yes, I submitted like 300 forms! I knew I was going to win, and I did. After calling TACA (now Avianca) to book my travel dates, I was ready to leave in 1 week!  I was never skeptical on the process, and although I had never won anything in my life, I felt like the luckiest person ever! We traveled from San Jose (SJO) to Guatemala (GUA) on a Friday morning. The trip was a weekend getaway, so we really left early that day to make the best of it. What we won:

1. Round trip flight
2. Airport pick up
3. Hotel stay
4. Local transportation from the airport to close by locations

What we did:

1. Visit to Paseo Cayala
2. Visit to Antigua Guatemala
3. Visit to <mall>

What we enjoyed the most: The people! So kind, so humble, and attentive! What we enjoyed the least: It is notable the non safe situation on the streets. We were told to be careful in certain places and on our tour in Antigua, our tour guy never left our side. Plus, the cars were all polarized and you easily saw militants with their guns visible everywhere. Would I recommend a visit? Absolutely! Guatemala is an amazing and beautiful country, rich in culture and stunning landscapes. Go, explore its history, its nature! Always investigate before hand of course and be safe!