Semuc Champey | Informal Campsite

August 6th, 2023 by poudredescampette.com

Convenient place to sleep before or after visiting Semuc Champey. There are toilets and cold showers. However, it is noisy and crowded. Until 6PM there are a lot of people in the parking lot, and you can hear several generators running after dark. On the other hand, the place for the tents is nice. Entrance costs 50Q/p (adult and child) for Semuc Champey, the ticket is only valid for one day and not 24 hours. Parking costs 10Q and sleeping is 10Q per adult (children are free). The road to come here is quite good, there are works in progress. Only the climb after the bridge requires a 4x4 (last 300 meters). Please note there are a lot of vendors in the car park, be patient because you will have to say to them 10 times "No gracias" ...

June 16th, 2023 by Tim

a very nicely done camping area for tents. it's down a few stairs from the parking with some fire rings, nice level grassy ground and 2 covered areas with tables. there's a shower and toilet as well. price is still 10q to camp per person, 10q for parking (we are 2 people with 2 motorbikes and had to pay 40q, even though I kindly explained that 2 bikes are still smaller than 1 car, anyways). overall the way they build the camping area is really nice and would have loved it, but sadly the hostel next door runs their generator from 6pm to 10pm, really ruining the jungle vibe. but for that price you still can't beat it for tent camping.

in regards to the road, no 4x4 necessary. high clearance only needed for the last 200m or so. on motorbikes it's a piece of cake.

April 27th, 2023 by IG:opusonthemove

All as described below. Arrived at 4:30pm, ticket lady was leaving and didn't want to open up shop again so we paid for everything the next morning. 50p/p entry + 10p/p camping + 10 to park, so 130 total for a couple.

Lots of cute local kids trying to sell you stuff and hang out very close if you are outside
we're fine with that, fun to chat with them and show them the truck, but worth knowing in advance.

Some updated road details if you are crazy enough to want to drive all the way to the visitor center. This road is quite an adventure. 4x4/high clearance/low range is very necessary at the moment. They are in the process of building a new 2 lane concrete road all the way down in there, but they are still working at the top. On our way in there were flaggers and one way traffic in several spots adding an hour of waiting time. Just over 2 hours for the 11kms from Languin to Semuc Champey. On the way out it was their lunchtime so no flaggers but you got to dodge the collectivo 4*4 cattle trucks bringing tourists down. We have a Toyota Tacoma, that was fine, but bigger rigs are going to have incredibly tight passing on this super steep rutted single lane road until they get the new one all finished. Looks like a multi-year project.

February 23rd, 2023 by souldope_overlanding

Drove up to the official campground- nothing biggie in this time of the year- with 4wd no problem
Clean toilets, shower, maintenance etc and light during the night - we parked backwards so we had the jungle for view
Lots of chocolate girls (worth to buy & try - make sure to bargain) and doggies
In daytime it is a normal parking lot but with the evening gets calm and “camp” styled
For 10 money? Best value campground ever

December 7th, 2022 by Journey Dog Training

Attempted the road on 12/7. There is NO WAY you are making it up there in 2WD in current conditions. We made it just past San Augustin Lanquin and the road turned to crap. Massive boulders, slick red mud, huge gutters of running water.

April 29th, 2022 by BTL

Good spot to camp, only 10Q to stay the night (displayed on price list of the park entrance). Very quiet. There is a guard that likes to chat. Toilets stay open during the night. Apparently there is also a spot for tents, but we didn’t check it out. To enter the park, you pay 50Q pp (no guide necessary).

December 9th, 2020 by eric_on_the_road

Got here after hours and asked to spend the night. One dude talked to another and opened the gate. After turning off the engine, inside their parking lot, a third dude came and after some talk among them, the leader asked for 300q for camping. I said it was too much and I knew people paid 20q usually. The guy didn’t even want to negotiate and I was going to find another place when my car didn’t start. They ended up letting me stay for free, as there was no other way, and asked me kindly not to tell the morning crew that they tried to get money out of me.
Beware of this behavior in case is the same personnel when you come.

January 17th, 2020 by casarodante

It is just a parking lot, but o.k. The river and the pozos are wonderful. The place is good for big rigs, but I think the road is not! When I drove it was raining and I really needed 4WD low! But it is worth to go here

September 5th, 2019 by true.dit

Arrived at sunset and the super friendly police guarding the gate let us in (even though the park was already closed) and showed us where we could camp. He even put his uniform back on. :) The parking spots are numbered and really only #2 was flat enough for us to sleep in our camper. Flush toilets and showers available. We wanted to go early to enjoy Semuc Champey and were told we needed a guide if we wanted to go in before it opened at 8. The guard got a guide for us and we met him at 6:30am, paid him 100q (maybe too much, but the experience was worth it!) to take us in until 8 when we could be on our own. 10q for overnight parking, 10q for day parking, and 50q pp entry fee.

April 8th, 2019 by viagemfamilia11

We arrived at 5 PM at a monday. The entrance was already closed but the guys where gentle and opened for us to park and camp rooftent at the parking lot.
Bathrooms available and showers also. Electricity till 9 PM. Generator source.
We cooked at eat with total privacity.
You can use the tables and chairs to make your meals.
Tomorow we will visit the park.
Parking lot Q 10.
Entrance Q 50
Permission to camp Q 10.
The road to come here is very bad. Do not come with a normal car. Only 4 x 4. Preview if it will rain Than even with a 4 x 4 you can have problems.

April 2nd, 2019 by travellingredwoods

came in a 2wd Ford e150 with no problems although weather was clear and dry. we arrived at 10.30am and bought tickets for the day and parking. after a nice day in the park, they let us camp overnight and use the bathrooms, showers, and we cooked on the tables in their shelter. there are a decent police presence who are very friendly and this was extra reassuring for us because the guy who was working for semuc champey overnight seemed a bit drunk and dodgy. that said, nothing bad happened. we think he just wanted to sell us sneaky beers and/or drugs. we re-entered the park at 6am the next morning before anyone else arrived and had the place to ourselves for 2 hours which was wonderful! they didn't charge us to re-enter or to camp, although camping should have cost 10per vehicle I believe.

August 2nd, 2018 by levandsuzy

An ok space to camp (dirty showers but showers none the less). Very secure as it had police presence through the nice. Not a very relaxing space but it meant that we were the first in and had a 6am swim with the entire Semuc Champey to ourselves. Just as the crowds arrived, we departed.

July 17th, 2017 by globalhoneymoon.com

Information in previous posts is pretty out-dated. There are toilets with running water and cold showers now. Also big shelter with tables and benches. A bit challenging to find level spot, we slept well close by the bins.

They put on the generator and have a couple of sockets but that's so the guys that spend the night here can charge their phones. So no electricity for you :)

You're sleeping in a parking lot so don't expect anything fancy, but perfect to sleep one night.

By 5.30 - 6pm all tourists are gone and you're left with just the couple of guys who sleep here. Super chill.

Price is still 50Q for park entrance + 10Q for the parquadero. They should have charged us 10Q pp extra for the camping, but didn't.

The park is really beautiful btw. Start with the climb to the mirador, pretty steep but the fresh dive afterwards is very rewarding :)

May 11th, 2016 by Lenka&Heiko

We paid 50pp plus 10 per car. Toilet but no water. Lot of children around offering guide, chocolate, food. If you go up Mirador, you can buy there fruit. It's open from 7am to 5pm. On the way here children blocked the road with a rope and wanted money 10qz, we gave only 1qz to the first one and then we just drove through.

April 25th, 2016 by ycgfwcge

parking lot of Semuc Champey. Charged us 20Q (10 for parking and 10 for camping). Lots of kids trying to sell you stuff and playing soccer in the parking lot till it gets dark. The workers sleep on the tables in front of the rest rooms. Quiet at night.

April 8th, 2016 by facebook.com/megamacaqueiros

Good. 10Q to parking and we can stay during the night.

October 5th, 2014 by nonurbia

It's worth mentioning that the road to this beautiful site may be a bit challenging for some vehicles. It's unpaved and quite rocky. In some steep sections I had to resort to low 4wd because the standard gears were too high to pull us up on our Tacoma especially when we were stopped by the oncoming traffic on the single lane. If you are in a big rig, you may want to stay in the nearby town down below.

January 30th, 2014 by Neli's Big Adventure

PROS: Almost in the park so you can get in before the tour groups show up, the guides sleep there so fairly secure, small mayan children will sell you ‘chocolate’ – CONS: Electric to run the bathrooms is on a generator so most of the time there is no lights or water, no hookups – 50 GTQ/person entry into Semuc plus 10 GTQ/person to park/camp

January 8th, 2013 by pawsontour.com

We have stayed here in the parking lot to the park. It took for sleep 10QZ/Person. While they wanted the next day still require a parking fee, but had then defended myself vigorously and finally only paid the 10QZ/Person!
Admission to the absolutely beautiful river is 50QZ/Person. It has several cool caves in the lower part, which you can discover at the Pozas.
The place was very simple, since it rained at night even muddy. WC were very ugly and had only manual "flush. Showers no. Flow only in the evening with a generator for a short time. Evening hang very many men around

January 1st, 2012 by fromatob.org

Parking lot of Semuc Champey – can camp here. Lots of room and level BUT large vehicles cannot get over bridge to get here. Also road in bad condition after days of rain, check forecast before leaving, may be wiser to join a tour from Lanquin.

January 1st, 2011 by abenteuertour.de

Camping in the parking lot of the Visitor Center. Clean toilets. The parking lot is located in the area of Semuc Champey, therefore Quetzal 50 / person admission fee is added.