Guatemala's most popular beaches are found on the eastern half of the Pacific Coast, beginning with Las Lisas and Monterrico, in the department of Santa Rosa. The Monterrico Natural Reserve includes a protected expanse of mangrove swamp and volcanic, black sand beaches where sea turtles lumber ashore to lay their eggs. Facilities at Monterrico include several hotels and restaurants, as well as an educational center with information on turtles and iguanas. Boats may be rented for a tour of the mangroves, where birders will find some local specialties such as Boat-billed Herons, Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures and Mangrove Warblers.

Beaches in the busy port town of San Josè are popular with weekend vacationers from Guatemala City, as are the beaches at Chulamar and Iztapa. A nearby, drive-through zoological park, known as Autosafari Chapìn, boasts a collection of exotic and local animals, as well as picnic areas, a restaurant and swimming pool.

Two important archaeological attractions in the East Pacific are the collection of Olmec sculptures in the town of La Democracia and the museum in nearby Finca Las Iluciones. At La Democracia and the short distance from the coastal town of Escuintla, 12 Olmec sculptures are arranged around the town’s small park. Carved from large boulders, the sculptures depict pot-bellied human figures, many with flat faces staring skyward. The ancient Olmec civilization predated the Maya and is believed to be the first to erect pyramids in Mesoamerica. Nearby, at the Finca Las Iluciones just outside Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, a small museum displays archaeological relics from the indigenous coastal civilization encountered by Spaniards when they arrived in the 16thcentury. The relics include ceramic figurines, human heads sculpted in full relief, mushrooms stones and square columns carved with ornate designs.