Safety in Guatemala

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.

Guatemala is a country of outstanding culture and high crime. The tourist triangle of Antigua, Atitlán and Tikal works and is relatively calm; beyond it, caution is needed.

Guatemala City. Zone 1 and most of the city are not places a tourist needs. Zones 10 and 14 (the Zona Viva) are calmer. Nobody walks the capital.

"Chicken buses". The painted school buses are colourful transport and also the main location for robberies on the routes. Between cities, use tourist shuttles or Pullman coaches.

Taxis. Apps or a hotel car only. Street taxis in the capital should not be taken.

ATMs. Skimming is widespread. Withdraw inside banks in daylight.

Lake Atitlán. Boats between villages are overloaded and short of life jackets, and the afternoon wind raises a swell. Travel in the morning.

Markets. Chichicastenango and the Antigua markets: haggling is compulsory and the opening price is inflated.

Drugs. Guatemala is a transit country and the law is strict.

Roads. Do not drive between cities at night under any circumstances: highway robberies are real and there is no lighting or marking. This applies particularly to the roads to Petén and the Caribbean coast.

Volcanoes. Climbing Acatenango and Pacaya is popular, but groups have been robbed on the trails. Go with established operators and in a group.

Antiquities. Exporting Maya artefacts is a criminal offence in Guatemala and at home.

Drones. Permission is required and they are prohibited over archaeological zones.

Photographing people. In Indigenous communities, only with permission. This is historically a sensitive subject, and there have been serious confrontations when locals suspected visitors of ill intent toward children. Never photograph children without their parents' permission.

Mob justice. Lynchings of suspects occur in remote communities. Another reason not to create misunderstandings.

Altitude. Guatemala City at 1,500 metres, Quetzaltenango at 2,300, and volcanoes above 3,900. An overnight on Acatenango means 3,700 metres, cold and with altitude sickness for some.

Vaccinations. Hepatitis A, typhoid and rabies are advised. A yellow fever certificate is required from arrivals out of endemic countries.

Malaria and dengue. Malaria in the Petén lowlands and on the coasts; dengue everywhere.

Water. Bottled only.

Stomach. Upsets among visitors are frequent. Street food is safe when hot.

Volcanoes and earthquakes. The country is seismically active and Fuego erupts regularly. The 2018 eruption was catastrophic. Follow INSIVUMEH warnings.

Healthcare. The capital and Antigua have acceptable private clinics. Inland, provision is thin. Insurance is needed.

Emergency numbers: 110 police, 122 fire and ambulance, 1500 for Asistur (tourist assistance).

Guatemala sits in the lower part of the Corruption Perceptions Index, the police are overstretched, and clearance rates are low.

ASISTUR — tourist assistance. Number 1500. A dedicated service under the INGUAT tourism institute that escorts tourist groups, helps with incidents and speaks English. It is the most useful number in the country.

Convoy escorts. On certain routes, including the roads to the volcanoes and to Petén, police escort tourist buses. This is working practice.

Reporting theft. Reports are taken and certificates issued. Going through ASISTUR is faster.

Do not resist a robbery. Attackers are armed.

Geography. Antigua, Atitlán (Panajachel, San Pedro, San Marcos), Tikal and Flores are tourist places with a police presence. The capital outside zones 10 and 14, the Honduran and Salvadoran border areas, and the surroundings of Puerto Barrios are not.

Emergency number is 110; tourist assistance is 1500.