Spring (March to May). Spring is the perfect time of year to visit Guatemala as you won’t be hampered by the rainy season. This is the ideal time to visit Tikal and the ruins of Petén. Famous Mayan site El Mirador is perfect to visit in March and April, when the route is driest. The nesting season of the elusive quetzal starts in March and lasts until June - pay a visit to the Biotopo del Quetzal in Cobán and the Verapaces for the chance to catch a glimpse of one. During this time, you will also see a beautiful explosion of flowers and plants spread out beneath a towering canopy of trees.

Summer (June to August). July and August is peak tourist season. Summer is a fantastic time to experience the Guatemalan outdoors. River tubing is great fun - visit Chisec in Coban and the Verapaces to combine a river trip with a jaunt to the impressive painted cave of Bombil Pek, 3km north of Chisec. In Summer, you will have your pick of fiestas, particularly in the western highlands. Travel to the ruins of Petén in June as the rainy season starts in July. Turtle nesting season starts in July in Monterrico on the Pacific coast and if you’ve got the time, the turtle sanctuary in the tiny nearby village of Hawaii always needs volunteers, particularly between June and November.

Autumn (September to November). The rainy season is heaviest between September and October. Guatemala celebrates its Independence Day on September 15 with a nationwide public holiday and lots of fiestas and November 1 is All Saint’s Day, commonly known as the Day of the Dead. The best Day of the Dead celebrations include the pagan skull-bearing procession in San José, Petén on October 31 and the kite-flying festival in Santiago on November 1, one of the nation’s most spectacular. If you’re on the Caribbean coast in November, try to be in Livingston on November 26 to celebrate Garífuna day and be prepared to witness some of the best dancing you’ll ever see to the hypnotic drum patterns of Garífuna punta.

Winter (December to February). Visiting Guatemala in winter is ideal, as most of the country emerges from the rainy season during this time. While the days will be pleasantly warm, temperatures can drop to freezing at night in some areas. The Christmas season brings lots of fiestas, with the Caribbean town of Livingston holding a big carnival from Christmas Eve through to New Year’s Eve and the festival of Santo Tomás in Chichicastenango. In January the fiestas are in full force –the Rabinal fiesta in Coban and the Verapaces and January also sees the biggest pilgrimage in Central America to Esquipulas in Oriente and Izabel. In February there is the country’s largest pilgrimage to the colonial church in the village of Chiantla in the western highlands. February is also the earliest in the year you should attempt to visit the remote ruins of Petén. For surfers, the waves of the Pacific coast are most consistent from December to April, averaging 2 meters, though conditions are usually tough for beginners.

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