Adoptees often wish to reconnect with people and places important to their adoption story. As we prepare to travel we'll invite you tell us about important people and places you are hoping to connect with. Working with our Guatemalan partners, private searchers, and sometimes your U.S. adoption agency, we will try to locate the people and places you wish to see. There are times when significant people cannot be found or are not available. Similarly, there are times when places you would like to visit are closed or cease to exist.

Adoptees can search for foster family and or birth family in Guatemala. Not all adoptees search for birth or foster family; deciding to search for either or both is a very personal decision. Hired searchers often search for foster family or birth family, not both.

About birth family searches: Not all adoptees search for birth family; deciding to search is a very personal decision. Adoptees can access a free birth family search at CNA (this program has limited funding by the Guatemalan government and processing times can be lengthy) or utilize private searchers. Birth family searches are most often done via in-country searchers with fees paid directly to the searcher. Our team will provide you with information of searchers adoptees have utilized in the past and have had positive experiences with (this does not mean that the searches are always successful). Birth families can be located about 30% of the time in Guatemala. Searchers in Guatemala may advise a higher percentage, but we note that about a third of Ties adoptees who search meet their birth family. Roughly, 75% of birth family searches culminate in a reconnection visit during a Ties trip. For safely reasons reconnection visits most often happen in Antigua. Fees for a birth family search can range significantly depending on how extensive the search needs to be (if the birth family lives in a Red Zone or a remote community, for example, the costs are, generally, increased). Fees to anticipate include search fees, transportation for you and the birth family to travel to Antigua (may include an overnight stay), a meal for those who attend, translator, gratuity, and gifts. Should you need customized transportation and/or translation services, we will discuss those options and costs as they are available.

About foster family searches: Foster families can be located about 40% of the time in Guatemala through our searching partner. It has gotten more challenging over the years to find foster family in Guatemala. If located, typically the foster mother and/or family will travel to Antigua for a meal with the adoptee and their loved ones. Fees can range significantly depending on how extensive the search needs to be. Fees to anticipate are search fees, transportation for you and foster mom/family to come to the meal, lunch for those who attend, translator, gratuity, and gifts. Should you need customized transportation and/or translation services, we will discuss those options and costs as they are available.

Note: If you are planning to do a birth family search, and doing the LITE (shorter) program, we suggest you fly to Guatemala at least one day early to allow enough time for meeting.

For more information about searching in Guatemala please reach out to Rebecca Blessing.

Inclusions:

• Comprehensive pre-travel materials to help prepare logistically and emotionally for the journey, a very important part of each traveler’s readiness for this amazing, life-enhancing experience
• A team of adoption specialists available before, during, and after the trip who build bridges, facilitate activities and discussions, create community, and attend to details enabling you to focus on the meaning of the journey 
• Optional group discussions for adoptees and siblings (Connect & Chat) and adult loved ones traveling (Talk Time) led by an adoption specialist
• Assistance thinking through the significant people and places you'd like to visit related to your adoption and how visits might impact the adoptee's birth country experience
• Welcome and airport transfers upon arrival and departure, and transportation for all inclusions
• Double or triple occupancy in moderate or first-class accommodations with private bath, including tax and service fees
• Transportation between locations (Guatemala City, Lake Atitlán, and Antigua) included in the journey
• Orientation gathering to help travelers get to know one another and understand the journey ahead
• All sightseeing, inclusions, admissions listed in the information packet (click to request)
• (B)reakfasts, (L)unches and (D)inners as shown in the information packet (click to request)
• English-speaking guides who will enrich your experience by sharing local customs, lifestyle, and humor
• A day doing enrichment activities with the children and staff at El Amor de Patricia (Flagship)
  
• Coffee plantation tour and lunch in a coffee farmer’s home (Flagship)
• A day of serving Guatemalan families and children in rural Guatemala (Flagship)
• The opportunity to visit UNESCO World Heritage Site Tikal (extension, additional travel days and fees apply. See extension tab)
• The most in-depth experience in Guatemala for adoptees and their loved ones.
• Tips for drivers and excursions (only tips not included are the group guides and when you're doing individual activities)
• Livable income for our Guatemalan counterparts. We consider our work with the team in Guatemala a partnership that is essential to best care for adoptees and their loved ones. Therefore, we make sure we pay team members livable, sustainable wages.
• Donation to our partner organization, El Amor de Patricia

Exclusions:

• International airfares
• Passport and/or Visa fees
• Tips and Gratuity for national guides and individual activities
• Personal expenses, spending money
• Any meals that are not included on the information packet itinerary
• Excursions or Extensions that families opt into during their time in-country including travel to the adoptee's province or city of birth.
• Optional activities
• Transfers between the airport and the hotel before or after the main tour itinerary (unless previously discussed)

Joining our Guatemalan Ties Flagship trip opens the door to a unique experience not included in our regular itinerary, visiting UNESCO World Heritage site, Tikal National Park. The extension is tailored to seamlessly complement your trip, departing the day Flagship participants leave for home (additional three days in Guatemala required). You'll immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring ruins of Tikal, where towering pyramids and temples reveal the fascinating history of the Mayan civilization. Extend your stay and discover the secrets of this ancient civilization in the midst of Guatemala's natural beauty.

Tikal Itinerary

Day 12: Travel from Antigua via private car to Guatemala City Airport, hop a short 40 min TAG Airlines flight from Guatemala City to Flores. Breakfast, boat tour, visit ARCAS, and sunset tour of Tikal National Park

Day 13: Private Tour of Tikal National Park, afternoon flight to Guatemala City, stay in Guatemala City for the evening

Day 14: The Journey Home

Inclusions:

• Luggage storage while you travel to Tikal
• Transfers from Antigua hotel and Guatemala City Airport
• Roundtrip air transportation Guatemala City to Flores
• Roundtrip ground transportation from Flores to Tikal
• Meals as shown by B (Breakfast), L (Lunch) and D (Dinner) in information packet itinerary
• Boat trip on Lake Petén Itzá
• Entrance fees to ARCAS
• Sunset Tour Tikal –please bring flashlight
• Services of a professional bilingual tour guide
• 1-night hotel in Jungle Lodge Hotel or similar
• 1-night hotel in Guatemala City Barcelo Hotel or similar
• All taxes and service fees

Exclusions: Admission to the National Park, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, tips, and services detailed on our information packet itinerary.

Prefer to travel to Guatemala without a larger group? For some adoptees and their loved ones private travel is the best fit. Visit our page on Private Travel to learn the reasons private travel may be for you, or contact our Guatemala Ties Program Manager, Rebecca Blessing, to discuss the possibility of private travel (please include details like dates, length of visit, reconnections you'd like to make, why you think private travel is right for you, and any other information you'd like us to know). While we excel in individualized trips, we generally recommend group travel for adoptees and their loved ones. Whatever your preference, a transformative heritage journey awaits – let us help you create memories that last a lifetime.