CHICKEN BUSES & NIÑOS DE GUATEMALA SCHOOLS TOUR

Our tours make you experience the real Guatemala with 100% of profits going directly to Niños de Guatemala schools. Just by taking a tour, you are helping to support families in need in Guatemala!

Visit Ciudad Vieja and discover what everyday life looks like in Guatemala. With our guide you’ll catch a chicken bus, visit Niños de Guatemala schools  Nuestro Futuro and El Horizonte, and see two main industries of the town: A chicken bus factory and a coffin carpentry. While walking around Ciudad Vieja, our guide will tell you all about the city, its people and daily life here.

Ciudad Vieja

This tour begins with an exciting start -a ride on one of the colorful and chaotic chicken buses, an experience you cannot skip if you want to understand Guatemalan everyday life. After a short bus ride (15 - 20 min.) you will arrive in Ciudad Vieja, one of the former capitals of Guatemala. While walking towards your first stop and passing through the local market, your guide will tell you about this interesting place.

Local Workshops

After learning all about the school, you’ll visit workshops of the two principal industries here: Chicken buses and coffin carpentry. Chicken buses are a common form of transportation in Guatemala. These former U.S. school buses are repaired, modified and decorated locally to meet the needs of the Guatemalan bus companies. At the workshop, you’ll learn how the buses are transformed and the industry in general. Coffin carpentry is a prominent and important part of life in Ciudad Vieja. At the workshop, you will meet Don Cesar who owns a family coffin-making business. Here, you'll learn how the coffins are built and decorated according to Guatemalan tradition. Also, the guide will share with you more about the mayan beliefs, traditions and celebrations related to this part of life.

Niños de Guatemala Schools Nuestro Futuro and El Horizonte

In Ciudad Vieja, you will visit two schools of the NGO: Nuestro Futuro and El Horizonte. Nuestro Futuro is the first primary school of Niños de Guatemala, which opened its doors in 2009. Nearly 200 children, aged 4 to 12, who would otherwise not be able to go to school, attend Nuestro Futuro. You will get to see the school premises, meet the students and learn more about Niños de Guatemala, our programs and what education is like in Guatemala. After finishing primary school, some pupils of Nuestro Futuro and El Porvenir (a further primary school run by the NGO in the neighboring town) attend secondary school El Horizonte. After opening in 2015, the first class of El Horizonte graduated in November 2017. Here you will learn about additional programs of the organization and the future opportunities for our graduates.

After these fun and educational visits you will return to Antigua by chicken bus. A good way to observe all that you have just learned about these Guatemalan buses in real life!

Please make sure to wear closed-toed comfortable shoes and clothes suitable for a school environment (covered shoulders, shorts and skirts below the knee). Please be prepared to walk through Antigua and Ciudad Vieja. There is an uphill to reach the schools.

This tour takes 3.5 to 4 hours.