Guatemala

Tikal: A vast ancient Maya city in the Peten jungle, where temple pyramids push up through the canopy. Entry is 150 quetzales, sunrise from the top of Temple IV costs another 100, and a shuttle from Flores runs 8–12 USD.
Acatenango: The overnight trek up this volcano is the single strongest experience the country offers. From the top you watch neighbouring Fuego throw out lava roughly every fifteen minutes. A guided tour with gear included is 25–40 USD.
Lake Atitlan: Ringed by three volcanoes, it offers kayaking and the climb up Indian Nose for 10 USD. Public boats shuttle between the lakeside villages for 15–25 quetzales a crossing.
Semuc Champey: Stepped turquoise pools sitting above an underground river, hidden away in Alta Verapaz. Park entry is 50 quetzales; a full tour including the candle-lit caves runs up to 25 USD.
Chichicastenango market: The largest indigenous market in the country trades on Thursdays and Sundays. Go into the Santo Tomas church, where Maya descendants perform syncretic rites with incense and sacrificial birds.
Yaxha: Ruins in the Peten jungle often pitched as the alternative to Tikal. Far fewer people come, and at sunset you get howler monkeys in numbers plus panoramic views over the lake.
Livingston: A Garifuna settlement on the Caribbean coast reachable only by water. What to see here is a different country entirely: African rhythms, coconut-milk cooking and not a single car.

Currency: The quetzal (GTQ) is stable, trading at roughly 7.65 to the US dollar. Notes run from 1 to 200 quetzales. Tourist towns like Antigua will take US dollars, but in the provinces and at markets it is cash in local money only.
ATMs: Use machines on the 5B, BI or Banrural networks and only in well-lit places. Fees: Each withdrawal carries a 2–5 USD machine charge, so take out the maximum in one go and keep a stock of small notes for transport.
Cards: Visa and Mastercard work in chain hotels and the restaurants of Zona 10 in the capital; Amex much less so. Markets, chicken buses and the Atitlan villages have no terminals at all. A Wise or Revolut card avoids the worst of the conversion spread.
Daily costs: Guatemala is one of the cheapest countries in the region for an independent traveller. A daily budget of 35–45 USD covers the basics; a comfortable trip with internal flights and good hotels needs 110 USD a day and up.
Tipping: Restaurants expect around ten per cent, often itemised on the bill as propina. Guides and drivers usually get 5–10 USD after a tour. Haggling is fine at markets and when hiring a private boat, but not in supermarkets.

Item	Price (USD)
Lunch at a comedor	4.50
Dinner for two at a restaurant	32.00
Street taco or tamal	1.00
Cappuccino in Antigua	2.50
Beer 0.5l in a bar	3.00
Hostel dorm bed	12.00
Room in a colonial house	50.00
Tikal entry ticket	20.00
Tikal sunrise supplement	13.00
Acatenango volcano trek	40.00
Shuttle Antigua to Atitlan	15.00
Flight Guatemala City to Flores	140.00
Chicken bus, short hop	1.20
Uber ride across the centre	5.00
Litre of Super petrol	1.15

Chicken buses: Repainted American school buses, the camionetas, are how most Guatemalans move around. Short hops cost 3–10 quetzales, long runs up to 50. They are cramped and loud, luggage goes on the roof, and the ayudante collects the fares.
Tourist shuttles: For town-to-town legs, most travellers take the scheduled minibuses. Antigua to Panajachel is about 15 USD; Semuc Champey takes nine hours and costs 35. Faster and safer than the public alternative.
Flying: TAG Airlines links the capital with Flores in 45 minutes, with one-way fares of 100–160 USD. That saves ten hours on the road. La Aurora airport is inside the city, fifteen minutes from Zona 10.
Boats: On Lake Atitlan the public lanchas are the only link between villages, at 15–25 quetzales depending on distance. From Rio Dulce to Livingston, motor launches run for 20 USD through a spectacular canyon.
Car hire: A small car is around 95 USD a day with basic insurance. The roads between the main sights are paved, but the mountain sections are all switchbacks and speed bumps. For remote Peten or Alta Verapaz, take a 4x4.
Getting there: From Europe the usual routings are via Madrid or Istanbul; from North America you connect through a US gateway or Mexico City, and Panama City works well from South America. Note that a US transit still needs American clearance even if you never leave the airport.

Colonial houses: In Antigua, look for hotels set inside old houses built around a courtyard. A dorm bed at a good hostel such as El Hostal is 12–15 USD; a private room with antique furniture starts around 60. All of it within walking distance of the central plaza.
Eco-lodges: Lake Atitlan runs on wooden cabins and glamping right at the water's edge. San Marcos leans yoga, San Pedro leans budget. A secluded lodge with a volcano view is 70–100 USD a night and needs booking a month ahead.
Safe districts: In the capital, confine yourself to Zonas 10 and 14, where the international chains and guarded apartment buildings are. Zona 4 suits people who like lofts, but check exactly which street the building sits on. Skip the cheap hotels in Zona 1.
Flores island: The best rooms are on the island itself, joined by causeway to Santa Elena. Guesthouses with lake-facing terraces go for 35–50 USD, and staying on the island makes it easy to grab a boat or a Tikal shuttle at short notice.
Inside the parks: Lodges within the Tikal park boundary start at 80 USD. Expensive, but it lets you be inside the ancient city at five in the morning and on a pyramid for sunrise without the crowds. Campsites near the entrance charge about 10 USD a pitch.
One catch: Cheaper places rarely have heating, and highland nights drop to around 5C. Choosing a guesthouse in Xela or Antigua, check there are proper blankets. A step up in price usually includes breakfast and unlimited local coffee.

National dishes: Pepian is the country's culinary emblem, a thick meat stew in a sauce of ground pumpkin seed and chilli, about 40 quetzales at a comedor. Desayuno tipico is the standard breakfast: eggs, black beans, fried plantain and hot corn tortillas.
Street food: Tamales of corn dough and meat, wrapped in banana leaf, sell everywhere for 7 quetzales. Hygiene: Stick to bottled water and skip ice in drinks at cheap places, which is the simplest way to avoid stomach trouble and parasites.
Coffee: Guatemala grows some of the best arabica anywhere, and the Antigua region especially. A cup at a specialist cafe is 2–3 USD. Buy beans at the farms or fresh-roast shops rather than the supermarket, where the coffee is industrial.
Caribbean cooking: In Livingston, order tapado, a seafood soup in coconut milk. This Garifuna dish costs around 80 quetzales and tastes nothing like highland food. Cassava bread, casabe, replaces tortillas here.
Drinks: The country is famous for Zacapa 23 rum, roughly 50 USD a bottle or 7 a measure in a bar. Local Gallo beer is everywhere at 15–20 quetzales. Livingston has gifiti, a strong herbal infusion locals treat as medicine.
Eating hours: Most comedores shut after 19:00, restaurants in tourist areas run until 22:00, and family places often close on Sunday. Tortillas arrive free with any order; they stand in for bread and anchor every meal.

City zones: Guatemala City needs real attention because of gang activity. Crime: Avoid Zonas 6, 18 and 21 outright, where armed robbery is a daytime risk. Zona 1 is fine in daylight only, and not while flashing expensive kit or jewellery.
Taxis: Use Uber or official yellow taxis booked through the app or your hotel desk, nothing else. Unmarked white cars are frequently tied to crime. Never get into a vehicle that already has someone else in it besides the driver.
Volcanoes: Pacaya and Acatenango may only be climbed with certified guides. Travellers who go up alone are regularly robbed on the trails. The tourist police, POLITUR (+502 5578-9836), can assign a free escort to groups.
After dark: Finish every intercity leg before nightfall. Highways carry a genuine risk of roadblocks and bus holdups at night. In towns, take a taxi after 21:00 even for a few blocks.
Natural hazards: This is a seismically active country. Follow CONRED alerts on road conditions and volcanic activity. During the rains from May to October, landslides on mountain roads can cut routes for days at a time.
Health: In the lowlands, Peten and Izabal, mosquitoes carry dengue and zika; use a repellent with a high DEET content. Take out insurance that covers serious treatment, since good care exists only in the private clinics of the capital, and read your own government's travel advisory before booking.

Maya heritage: Around forty per cent of the population are direct Maya descendants speaking 22 languages. This is living culture, not museum culture: women wear the huipil daily, and its embroidery patterns identify the village they come from. Always ask before photographing anyone.
Religious festivals: Semana Santa in Antigua is a world-class event. The streets are carpeted in dyed sawdust and flowers, and huge processions walk over them. Accommodation needs booking six months out, and prices triple or quadruple.
Market etiquette: Bargaining is expected in Chichicastenango and around Atitlan. Open at sixty per cent of the asking price and work towards the middle. In pharmacies and supermarkets prices are fixed, and haggling reads as rude.
Syncretism: Catholicism here is woven through much older rites. In Santiago Atitlan you can visit Maximon, a Maya deity given cigars and alcohol as offerings. Do not be startled by the smell of copal resin in churches or shamans working on the steps.
Manners: Guatemalans are conservative and courteous. Greet the room when you walk into anywhere, with Buenos dias or Buenas tardes. Loud arguments go down badly, and modest dress is appreciated in indigenous communities and religious sites.
Time: Punctuality is a relaxed concept, what locals call hora chapina. Buses run late and meetings slide. Build slack into your plans, especially where mountain switchbacks are involved.

Operators: Tigo has the best coverage and reaches remote villages and volcano slopes. Claro is the main rival and sells useful bundles for roaming across Central America. A SIM is about 5 USD and you need your passport to buy one in a shop.
Mobile data: A 1 GB package costs 1.30 USD, and you top up at any shop displaying a Recargas sign. Cities have solid 4G and patches of 5G, but signal can vanish entirely for days in the Peten jungle and around Semuc Champey.
eSIM: If you want to be online the moment you land, Airalo and similar services cover Guatemala. A 1 GB virtual plan is around 1.50 USD and activates through the app in a couple of minutes before departure.
Wi-Fi: Free internet is standard in the hostels of Antigua, Flores and Panajachel. In budget guesthouses expect enough bandwidth for messaging and not much more. If you need to work, base yourself in Zona 10 or central Antigua.
Messaging: WhatsApp is the backbone of communication here. Shuttles are booked on it, hotels answer on it, food is ordered through it. Save the POLITUR number and the INGUAT helpline 1500 before you travel.
Language: Outside the tourist towns, almost nobody speaks English, so signs and menus are Spanish only. Basic Spanish or an offline translator is what you need for chicken bus drivers and market stallholders. On the plus side, Guatemalan Spanish is reckoned among the clearest and slowest in Latin America.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation
Hello	Hola	OH-la
Thank you	Gracias	GRAH-syas
Please	Por favor	por fa-VOR
How much is it?	¿Cuánto cuesta?	KWAN-toh KWES-ta
Stop here	Parada	pa-RA-da
Help!	¡Ayuda!	a-YOO-da
The bill, please	La cuenta	la KWEN-ta
Bus	Camioneta	kam-yoh-NEH-ta
Beer	Cerveza	ser-VEH-sa
Water	Agua	AH-gwa
Where is the toilet?	¿Dónde está el baño?	DON-deh es-TA el BAN-yo
Delicious	Rico	REE-ko
Goodbye	Adiós	a-DYOS
I don't understand	No entiendo	no en-TYEN-do
Breakfast	Desayuno	de-sa-YOO-no
Market	Mercado	mer-KA-do
Dangerous	Peligroso	pe-lee-GRO-so
Mate, buddy	Cuate	KWA-teh
Cool, great	Chilero	chee-LEH-ro
Let's go	Vámonos	VA-mo-nos

If something goes wrong: Police answer on 110, ambulance on 128, fire on 122. The Guatemalan tourism institute INGUAT runs the 1500 helpline, where operators speak English and will help with thefts or lost documents.
Consular help: Most countries keep an embassy or consulate in Guatemala City, generally in Zonas 10 and 14. Look up the address and the out-of-hours emergency number for your own nationality before you fly, and keep it somewhere other than your phone.
Power: Sockets are the American flat-pin types A and B, running at 110 volts. European kit needs an adapter, sold for a couple of dollars in any hardware shop signed Ferreteria.
Opening hours: Grocery shops trade from 08:00 to 21:00. Banks close at 19:00 on weekdays and at midday on Saturday. During Semana Santa and on national holidays such as Independence Day on 15 September, government offices and small shops shut.
Reference sites: Internal flight schedules are on tag.com.gt, and GuateGo is the easiest platform for booking intercity shuttles. INSIVUMEH publishes weather and mountain road conditions on its official portal.
Healthcare: Decent medical care means the private hospitals in Zonas 10 and 14 of the capital, where a consultation runs 30–50 USD, with 24-hour pharmacies nearby. Check expiry dates and buy only from the large chains such as Galeno.