Republic of Guatemala
Area: 108,890 sq km
Population: 13,000,001
Population density: 134.6 per sq km
Capital: Guatemala City
Guatemala country information
Passport & visa | Getting there | Cycling & maps | Cost of living | Accommodation | Food | Bike shops | Climate | Distances
Passport & Visa
| Passport Required? | |
|---|---|
| British | Yes |
| Australian | Yes |
| Canadian | Yes |
| USA | Yes |
| Other EU | Yes |
| Visa Required? | |
| British | No |
| Australian | No |
| Canadian | No |
| USA | No |
| Other EU | No |
Passports
Passport valid for at least
six months required by all nationals referred
to in the chart above.
Visas
Not required by all nationals
referred to in the chart above for stays of
up to 90 days.
Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).
Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).
Visa Note
For stays
longer than 90 days nationals will have to apply
to the directorate of migration in Guatemala for
an extension.
Note tour.tk: there is no such thing as a departure fee! Although the officials at the border may ask you for a small fee to leave the country, this is just a trick to lighten your wallet. Say no and move on!
Note tour.tk: there is no such thing as a departure fee! Although the officials at the border may ask you for a small fee to leave the country, this is just a trick to lighten your wallet. Say no and move on!
Getting there
Getting There by Air
The main airline is TACA
(website:
www.taca.com
). Iberia (website:
www.iberia.com
) flies direct from Madrid to Guatemala City.
Approximate Flight Times
From New
York to Guatemala City is 5 hours 10
minutes and from Madrid
is 11 hours 30 minutes.
Main Airports
Guatemala
City (GUA) (La Aurora) is 6km (4 miles)
south of the city. To/from the airport:
A bus runs to the city. Taxi services
to Guatemala City are available (journey time
- 20 minutes). Facilities:
Car hire, duty-free, shops, bars, restaurants,
post office, bank/bureaux de change and tourist
information.
Flores (FRS) is 3km (2 miles) from Flores and is located one hour from the UNESCO Tikal Archaelogical Park. Regular flights operate to Belize and Mexico. To/from the airport: Taxis and shuttles are available. Facilities: Snack bar and car hire.
Flores (FRS) is 3km (2 miles) from Flores and is located one hour from the UNESCO Tikal Archaelogical Park. Regular flights operate to Belize and Mexico. To/from the airport: Taxis and shuttles are available. Facilities: Snack bar and car hire.
Departure Tax
US$30, usually
included in the fare. 24-hour transit passengers
are exempt. A security tax of US$3 is payable
at the airport.
Getting There by Water
Main
ports: Santo Thomás de Castilla, Puerto
Quetzal and Puerto Barrios.
Further information is available from the Guatemala
Port Authority (website:
www.cpn.gob.gt
).
There are regular water taxi services between Punta Gorda, Belize and Puerto Barrios and twice-weekly boats between Punta Gorda and Livingston. There is also a service from Omoa, Honduras to Livingston. From Palenque, in the Chiapas region of Mexico, there are a number of routes to Flores involving a mixture of bus and riverboat travel. Travel agents in Palenque can make all the arrangements.
Several international cruise lines call at Guatemalan ports.
There are regular water taxi services between Punta Gorda, Belize and Puerto Barrios and twice-weekly boats between Punta Gorda and Livingston. There is also a service from Omoa, Honduras to Livingston. From Palenque, in the Chiapas region of Mexico, there are a number of routes to Flores involving a mixture of bus and riverboat travel. Travel agents in Palenque can make all the arrangements.
Several international cruise lines call at Guatemalan ports.
Getting There by Rail
Ferrovias
Guatemala (FVG) (tel: 2412 7200; website:
www.rrdc.com
) is an 800km (500-mile) railway connecting
Guatemala City with Mexico, El Salvador and ports
on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Restoration
of the railway is currently underway, but
the line is used mainly for freight. Two
steam trains are available for charter by tour
companies.
Getting There by Road
The Pan-American
Highway runs through Guatemala from Mexico in
the north and El Salvador in the south. Access
is also possible from Belize. You should exercise
particular care when travelling in the Belize/Guatemala
border area. Travellers are strongly advised to
use only the officially recognised border crossings.
Bus: There are bus services from all the neighbouring countries. Border crossings can be subject to considerable delays. The buses used by some companies are comfortable and air conditioned. Ticabus (tel: 2366 4038; website: www.ticabus.com ) runs international services throughout Central America.
Bus: There are bus services from all the neighbouring countries. Border crossings can be subject to considerable delays. The buses used by some companies are comfortable and air conditioned. Ticabus (tel: 2366 4038; website: www.ticabus.com ) runs international services throughout Central America.
Cycling & Maps
Cycling
in Guatemala There are two extremes in Guatemala when it comes to road conditions: the main highways (carretera) are busy truck and bus thoroughfares with a decent sized shoulder for most of the length; though not always in the condition a cyclist would like them to be. That said at least the safety lane is at hand, because in Central America larger vehicles rule the road. With a honk of their horn, they'll come blasting through at an unstoppable speed leaving you no other option than to dive down into the potholed gravel pit on your right. At least if there is enough space, they generally try to take a wide girth. Watch out for the notorious speed humps (túmulos) which often come without warning and the metal drain covers with gaps wide enough to catch even the knobbliest of mountain bike tyre. The smaller roads on the other hand are much more friendly as far as traffic and population is concerned. The downside to this scenario is you will meet more often with terracería or pista (unpaved surfaces) that slow your travel time down immensely. Still, with all the exertion it takes to push through rocks, gravel, mud and sand, it is a far nicer picture of Guatemala in every aspect. You'll feel safer; the people are incredibly friendly; and you'll slow to a pace where there is plenty of time to look around at the true Guatemalan way of life.
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Waterproof |
Guatemala map |  online map of Guatemala |
Cost of living
Guatemala:
all prices in Guatemalan Quetzales (GTQ)
A couple of extra tips:
| drinks and snacks | food: local markets; restaurants; and stores |
||||
| water (drinking) |
3.78 litre(1gal) 1.5 litre 200ml 1 litre 330ml 600ml 2 litre |
6.50-10.00 5.50-10.00 2.50 9.00 3.50-5.00 3.75-6.00 11.50 |
bread roll-small, white |
each 535g 594g 10 small 3 small |
1.00 12.75 15.50 8-10.00 1.00 |
| street food plato típico dinner: rice beans-plantano-chicken pizza-takeaway |
one serving one serving large family |
7-13.50 30.00+ 110.00+ |
|||
| beer-local wine |
330ml 1 litre pack |
10.00 20.00+ |
|||
| tea coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee-ground |
24 bags per cup 50g 350g |
8.25 5.00+ 12.00 8.75 |
rice (white) pasta eggs tinned tomato paste |
kg |
8.75 2.75-3.25 6.00 4.75 |
| milk yoghurt / curd cheese-cheddar Magnum icecream |
½ gallon 150g 227g each |
18.50 |
potatoes onions tomatoes cabbage |
kg kg kg kg |
11.00 4.50-10.00 8.75 13.25 |
| chips salted almonds salted cashews sultanas |
150g pack 80g 80g 125g |
11.50 14.75 8.25 6.50 |
apples oranges bananas avocados |
kg per piece per piece kg |
17.50 1.00 1.00 24.50 |
| cornflakes chocolate bakery cakes biscuits-plain biscuits-chocolate |
350g pack 80g block per piece 115g pack 250g pack |
14.75 6.75 3.00 3.25 7.00 |
pineapple (can) oil (soya) honey |
485g can 500ml 390g |
15.00 9.00 12.00 |
| peanut paste jam |
245g jar 550g jar |
17.00 12.00 |
|||
| * Majority of prices obtained from the budget supermarket chain: Despensa Familiar. | |||||
| accommodation | personal | ||||
| budget hotel budget hotel |
25-50 p. person (share bathroom) 70-100 double with bath |
deodorant - roll-on |
50ml 125g bar 200ml each 75ml 5 pack each |
15.75 4.75 19.00+ 6.00+ 17.00 11.25 1.50 |
|
| camping | not really recommended, though
you can ask to camp at ranches or local village
houses. Use your intuition. |
||||
| internet | 5.00-10.00 per hour | ||||
| *
tba = price to be announced * May 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 8.06 GTQ all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Guatemala. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury. |
A couple of extra tips:
| * | Bargaining
at markets, for souvenirs and where prices are
not fixed is widely accepted |
| * | Tipping
is not expected in local eateries or budget hospitality
establishments. The more upmarket hotels and restaurants
could add a 10-15% service charge on top of the
bill . This is often displayed in the lobby or
on the menu. |
| * |
Taxi drivers
do not expect a tip and prices are usually arranged
before accepting the ride. |
Accommodation
In and around the
tourist areas in Guatemala, there is an array of accommodation
to choose from. The price tag will pretty well depict
what you get. Outside these well frequented spots, the
choice is narrowed down considerably. Small villages
may have only one option, which could well resemble
a barnyard shed with a couple of iron beds and dusty
mattresses. Chickens are an added bonus and more often
than not, you'll be sharing the bathroom with your hosts
and sometimes the local community as well. Running water
and electricity are not always a sure-fire facility.
Hotels, Posadas and Hospedajes
Budget accommodation (Hoteles Economicas) in Guatemala
is more often than not, bottom of the barrel pickings.
Hotels can be dirty with unchanged linen and bathroom
facilities that are irreparably out of order. It pays
to have a checklist in mind when viewing a room and
systematically go through it. All registered hotels
and accommodation places are legally required to display
room rates, though these are more likely to be way and
above what you will be quoted.
In the bigger cities and touristy spots there is a much better choice and standards do seem to pick up somewhat, though your 100 Quetsales for a double room (2009), may not be all you pay. Inside robberies, where cleaners or management take small denominations of cash and or your credit cards are common place. Quite often travellers are booked on a day tour through the hotel and the staff have plenty of time to search through yours and other guest's luggage. Even more regular, is that you won't notice that you have been robbed. This is definitely something to watch out for, not only in Guatemala, but while travelling through the whole of Central America.
Camping
Camping in Guatemala is pretty well restricted to official
camp areas in and around the National Parks and volcanoes.
Facilities border on primitive to very basic, but a
safer alternative to camping wild, which due to much
of the land being fenced off with barbed wire is almost
impossible. There may also be an opportunity to camp
in someone's yard in a village.
| Acommodation we used while in Guatemala (May 2009): (prices based on two people sharing) | ||||
| Star system explained: from 0 to ***** where 0 is a total disaster and ***** is luxurious (and out of our price range) | ||||
| City / town: | Name accommodation: | Our experience: | Price: | Stars: |
| Bethania | Posada Don Maco | hovel | GTQ 50 | 0 |
| Chiquimula | Hotel Hernandez | finally a decent place | GTQ 100 | **½ |
| Flores | Hotel Casablanca | watch out, thieves ! | GTQ 90 | 0 |
| Puerto Barrios | Hotel Miami | floods, bed bugs, no electricity | GTQ 70 | 0 |
| Quirigua | Hotel Royal | nothing royal about this one | GTQ 100 | * |
Food & drink
| Guatemalan cuisine is deep rooted in tradition and ritual customs. Certain day's of the week can depict which food is typically consumed and therefore present in local market places. The tamale is one of the most renowned dishes and it is reported that over 100 variations exist in the Guatemalan kitchen. Differences are seen in: the masa or the dough which can be made from either corn, potatoes or rice; what type of filling is used; and whether is it wrapped in banana, mashan leaves or corn husks. Corn used for masa is not as sweet and known as maize; the sugary variety is called elote. Many traditional dishes from Guatemala are also found in throughout the rest of Central America, This stands to reason seeing as all these countries have there roots in the Mayan-Lenca culture with further culinary influences from Spain and Mexico alike. Still, it is interesting to note that even though dishes from neighbouring countries may have the same name they may not necessarily be the same food. Two of the most obvious examples are the enchilada or quesadilla of Guatemala and El Salvador, which are not at all similar to their Mexican counterparts. Key ingredients in the Guatemalan kitchen are corn, beans, rice, and chillis. Markets and supermercados have a limited variety of fruit and vegetables. Making matters worse, the quality of fresh produce in Guatemala is not at all high and it is not unusual to see mouldy cauliflowers, broccoli or tomatoes while perusing round a marketplace. Fruit tends to be of a little better standard. |
|
As a vegetarian, your only real option in Guatemala is to self cater for most meals. Luckily the bigger supermarket chains like Despensa Familiar have enough products on their shelves to keep you in a varied diet.
It is not recommended to drink the tap water in Guatemala and you can purchase cold one gallon bottles for around 10 Quetsales (2009) in service stations along the most frequented highways and roads. Smaller bottles are found at all roadside stalls. If you intend to go off the beaten track, then it would be advisable to take some sort of water purification system with you. Accommodation is basic and running water and electricity are not always available.
| Why not try these
for starters? |
Tamales De Elote Literally translated as sweet corn tamales, the typical masa also contains whole kernels of corn and rarely meat. More often than not, they are used as the starch content for a more extensive meal. |
| Chuchitos Even though chuchitos are also known as little dogs this very typical Guatemalan tamale is generally safe for vegetarians. Made from a firmer than normal corn masa and wrapped in tusas (corn husks), they are used to dip in soup or salsa. One of the most traditional ways of serving chuchitos is accompanying a tomato sauce sprinkled with the hard salty white cheese found locally in Zacapa. |
Tortilla Con Quesillo A local snack food found in most city food centres. Tortillas filled with a salty quesillo (cheese) and deep fried until the centre is oozing. Served with tomato sauce, its definitely one of those hot treats that needs a napkin. |
Tamales Dulces Sweet tamales filled with raisins and almonds, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, are a pleasant change to the usual savoury version. |
Antiguan Candy Guatemala's famously popular sweet treat makes use of the wonderful flavours of local fruits, nuts and seeds. Sweetened with honey, sugar or condensed milk there are many interesting combinations to choose from. See if you can't resist eating it all before you get back to your hotel room. |
Horchata de Arroz Like their Mexican neighbours, Guatemalans also enjoy Horchata [or-CHA-tah]. Originally made from tiger nuts, the Moors first introduced the drink to Spain. Since these are not so readily available in Latin America, pulverised rice was used as a substitute. On a hot day, this sweet milky beverage ladled over ice is all you need for a quick refreshing pick-me-up. |
Bike shops
| Guatemala | Bicimania Blv. Los Procceres 26-53 zona 10 . Local 2. Guatemala City Tel: (502) 2367-3865 or 2367-3868 / 70 website |
| Bicimania Las Plazas Outlet, local 47, Majadas, zona 11. Tel: (502) 2474-5724 / 37 website |
Road distances
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