10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO GUATEMALA

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With this list of tips for traveling to Guatemala We want to help you make preparations for this trip much easier and above all clear, so you only have to worry about the really important ones: enjoy.
And it is that Guatemala awaits you with a unique culture, incredible landscapes, unforgettable people and exquisite cuisine that, together with the rest of its attractions, we are sure, will end up becoming one of your favorite countries in the world.

Based on our trip to Guatemala and Honduras we leave you what we believe, are the best tips for traveling to Guatemala.

1. What is the best time?

Although as we always say, any time can be ideal for a trip to Guatemala, there are certain months that for different reasons, are much more suitable.
Do not forget that if you plan your trip in high season, it is highly recommended to make reservations in advance, both flights and accommodation, to avoid high prices and lack of availability.

High season (from December to April and June-July): This is the perfect season to visit most tourist places in Guatemala such as Flores, Río Dulce, Quetzaltenango, Antigua and Lake Atitlán.
Mid season (October and November): These two months are complicated since it is a time of hurricanes and the weather can be unstable.
Low season (May, August and September): These three months are usually the rainiest of the year and also the coldest. The advantage of travel to Guatemala At this time it is that prices are much lower and there is no need to book in advance.

2. Security

Probably when you say that you are going to visit Guatemala, the first thing you receive are looks and unpleasant comments. Even, they will probably tell you that they will steal, kidnap you or worse, you will not come back safe and sound.
Don't pay attention. In Guatemala, the only thing that will be stolen from you is the heart and although it is logical to take precautions and follow certain unwritten rules such as not carrying valuables in sight or going to places you do not know at night, any problems you have read or heard about the country, tourists do not usually have as protagonists.
In the same way, it is always important to be cautious and in the accommodation ask about the dangerous areas of the city, so that they inform you and thus avoid any unpleasant situation.

About transport, we were recommended to use buses and private transport to move around the country, avoiding the famous chicken bus, as these are more dangerous in driving.
Likewise, if you want to rent a car, from what we were told, the safe area would be Flores, being the rest of the country less recommended to travel in this way by a tourist.

Chicken Bus in Guatemala

3. Entry requirements to Guatemala

The Spanish citizens do not need a visa to travel to Guatemala for a duration less than 90 days. The only documents that must be presented are the passport with a minimum of 6 months of validity and pay 20 quetzales when they leave the country, which must be included in the plane ticket if your departure is by air.
If you do not have Spanish nationality, we recommend you check the entry requirements on the official website of the Embassy.
Remember that you should not pay to enter Guatemala or to get your passport stamp, even if they ever ask you to. Make sure this is stamped to avoid problems at the exit.

In addition to this, another of the tips is to always carry a copy of the important documentation such as passport, driver's license, insurance policy ... etc, in the cloud so that if necessary, you have a copy at hand and the paperwork is more simple and agile.

Passport

4. Vaccines and travel insurance

First thing and more important is to go to an international vaccination center so that a professional determines according to your medical history, duration of the trip and sites to visit, which with the necessary vaccines for your specific case.
Having said that, to travel to Guatemala there is no mandatory vaccine, except that of the Yellow Fever if it is from an endemic country.
Those that are recommended are tetanus, diphtheria, triple viral, hepatitis A and B, and typhoid fever and rabies, depending on the type of trip.

In addition to this, it is very important to hire the best travel insurance for, if necessary, have the best assistance and attention.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip.
Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

5. Money exchange

The Guatemalan currency is the quetzal and currently its equivalence is 1 euro = 8.67 quetzales. Although many travelers go to the exchange agencies, we, after many trips, always recommend paying as much as possible with a card and withdrawing money from the ATMs, in order to have the best exchange and not pay commissions.

For this reason we always recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

In addition to the cards, on a trip to Guatemala it is also necessary to carry cash to make payments in places where they are not accepted, such as some Semuc Champey accommodations, and for the usual tips in restaurants.

Semuc Champey

6. How to have internet in Guatemala?

If you want to have internet in Guatemala, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:

Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Guatemala much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

7. How to start the trip to Guatemala

The first and most important when travel to Guatemala It is to be clear about what you want to visit and the days you count for the trip. In our experience, with 10-12 days is enough time to make a route through the places to visit in Guatemala essential.
If you have one more week, it is very interesting to make a trip to Honduras, where you can pay a visit to Copán Ruinas, the Ceiba in the Honduran Caribbean and the impressive and paradisiacal Cayos Cochinos, and then fly back to Spain from San Pedro Sula in Honduras.

The majority of trips to Guatemala begin in Guatemala City, where you can fly from the main cities, in most cases making stops, from there start the route through the country.
To find the best flight and the one that best suits your needs, we recommend using this flight search engine.
As we mentioned earlier, the most appropriate is to have an agency that deals with booking all the transport in the country, whether by buses, shared vans or private transport, since these are the most common forms of transport among travelers , both for comfort and security.
In case you want to visit Flores for free, it may be advisable to rent a car, because from what they say this is a totally safe area to do so.
Once you have these formalities covered, we recommend you make the reservation of the accommodation, especially in high season, which you can look in this search engine with the best prices and options and if necessary, find the best options for tours and excursions in Guatemala .

Tikal

8. Route through Guatemala

As we mentioned before, at travel to Guatemala You probably land in Guatemala City, from where we directly advise you to go to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Antigua, where you can go directly with this private transfer and where you can make a route through the places to see in Antigua in one day .
From here you can not miss a visit to the Chichicastenango Market in Guatemala on the way to visit the towns of Lake Atitlán, among which Panajachel, San Marcos la Laguna and Santiago de Atitlán stand out.
After this visit, we suggest you return to Guatemala City and take a night bus to Flores, to visit Yaxhá in the morning, the least known Mayan ruins in Guatemala.
After this impressive visit and being in Flores, how could it be otherwise, comes the icing on the cake, visit Tikal, the treasure of the Maya, which is one of the most fascinating places in the world.
After this intense day, we suggest you go from Flores to Semuc Champey, another of the most magical places in the country.
In Semuc Champey, the most beautiful place in Guatemala, you can enjoy a day in paradise and then go from Semuc Champey to Río Dulce and enter Livingston, the Caribbean of Guatemala, where an incredible trip through Guatemala will end.

9. Travel to Guatemala for free or organized

Although you can make a travel to Guatemala for free, we believe that due to security in the country, it is interesting to book transportation between cities with an intermediary agency, in order to ensure any setback, save time.
In this country, this way of moving is one of the most common of travelers, who directly in a local agency or in the accommodation itself, reserve a place in shared vans, of 10-12 people, to move around the most tourist places from Guatemala.

In addition to transportation, another option is to organize organized tours to the main attractions, such as this 4-day tour of Guatemala or this 5-6-day tour of Guatemala.
In addition to the above, we highlight:

- Excursion to Tikal from Flores
- Excursion to Yaxhá
- 2-day tour of Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango
- More tours in Guatemala here

Yaxhá, an essential in Guatemala

10. Gastronomy in Guatemala

Another of the best tips for traveling to Guatemala It is without a doubt, enjoy its incredible cuisine. Although there are hundreds of options, we want to leave you the ones that were the most outstanding and tasty for us and we believe, you should not miss:

Enchiladas: A kind of toast, to which minced meat, cheese, egg, sauce and sometimes beet are added.
Kak-Ik: Broth to which meat, vegetables, spices and chili are added in addition to rice that serves as a side dish.
Cold meat: Chicken stock with sausage, vegetables and cheese.
Tamales: Corn dough stuffed with different ingredients.
Tortillas: Made of white or black corn, they are what bread would be for us and usually accompany all meals.
Hilachas: Beef crumbled and cooked with tomato sauce over low heat.
Chapín Breakfast: this is the traditional breakfast consisting of starry or scrambled eggs, avocado, beans, fried plantain, cheese and tortillas.

Guatemala

More tips for traveling to Guatemala

Other of the best tips for traveling to Guatemala are:

In Guatemala there are 3 companies with which you can buy a SIM card to have internet: Claro, Movistar and Tigo.
If you have any tourist doubts in the country, you can call the phone number 1500, 24-hour service, where they will give you all the information you need.
In Guatemala they told us that prices tend to triple. Our experience was not so bad, seeing on most occasions that we could haggle up to about 20%.
Among the most recommended bus companies are Maya de Oro or Hedman Alas, which are among the safest.
Whenever you can, it is best to travel with a backpack to Guatemala, since in case of traveling in shared vans, it will be much easier to adapt them to space.
The voltage is 120V, frequency 60Hz and the plugs of the plugs are type A / B / G / I.

If you want to expand this advice section, you can consult this post of practical suggestions for Guatemala.

Livingston

Do you want to organize a trip to Guatemala?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Guatemala here
The best hotels at the best prices in Guatemala here
Book the best tours and excursions in Guatemala in Spanish here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Rent your car to travel through Guatemala at the best price here