A country of raw wild jungle and mountains, feels like a less-developed Mexico (sharing language and food similarities, as well as overlapping Mayan cultural history).
Guatemala is an uncommon travel destination for casual tourists, but common destination for off-the-beaten-path hardcore travelers. Hardly no Americans here since they’re scared by its danger reputation, but super popular destination for British (especially in the 18-22 age range). It’s cheap and nice partying.
Guatemala is a small easy country to visit. You can see everything in a month, and some people even fall in love (with its chill wildness) and stay 2-3 months. You can go here because you love it or because you need to do a visa run to renew your Mexico visa. I also notice many people who like Guatemala also like Nicaragua (beautiful wild landscapes and super nice local people).
I’d say British find Guatemala’s wild undevelopedness more enchanting whereas Americans and others may prefer countries with more infrastructure and common 1st world luxuries like hot water, electricity, working internet.
Get the scoop on where to go and how to get around. Find out why going off the beaten path to Guatemala is worth it.
What makes Guatemala great (and unique) for travelers:
General tips for traveling in Guatemala:
- Expats Living in Guatemala (FB Group) – great if you got questions about places or things and want updated answers. Try searching before asking the same repetitive stuff over and over.
- Heart of the Mayan – Guatemala was part of the same ancient Mayan civilization so you may notice many cultural similarities with Mexico. Guatemalan spanish accent is very similar to Mexican spanish. Their food also has similar things. You also see women in skirts like in San Cristobal (Mexico). But the Mayan civilization was believed to have started in Guatemala.
- Guatemala weather – is cooler weather for Central America. Some people really like this when comparing it to Mexico or Costa Rica. Watch out for rainy season May-October which could make your days less fun or hamper your chances of seeing the volcanos with clear skies. The border months of May & October will probably have rain on many days but not all day. I climbed Acatenango during mid-May and was lucky to see the volcano.
- Unexpected English – English is spoken even in parts you wouldn’t expect. Even some local kids in remote jungle parts will speak some English. You don’t have to worry if you don’t know any Spanish.
- Easy Spanish – Guatemalan Spanish is very easy to understand. Slow calm clear speaking. It reminds me a lot of Mexican Spanish (my ear can’t hear the difference). It’s not crazy fast like Argentinean/Uruguayan or weird intonation like Chilean. Combine it with Guatemaya’s cheap pricing and you see why Spanish schools are very popular in Guatemala.
Safety tips:
- Stay indoors at night – this is a general tip for Guatemala. Don’t be outside at night. Of course, some busier areas and super touristy parts are more ok.
- Hike robberies – lots of gun/machete robberies happen on hikes. Check expat FB groups (for those towns) and you’ll learn which ones are safe or not. Probably best to go with a tour group if you don’t know the area. Or at least be prepared to lose your phone/camera.
- ATM card skimmers – careful of the ATM machines. Make sure it doesn’t look rigged, like with a card skimming device and extra keypad glued on top.
- Avoid Guatemala City – it’s just considered dangerous in general, and also not anything charmy/unique to see. It looks like a regular city.
- Don’t use chicken buses – many people have no issues but I wouldn’t recommend the risk if you don’t know the area yet. And especially if you’re carrying valuables.
- Ask locals – where the dangerous neighborhoods are.
Transportation tips:
- Shuttles – are the best way to get around from place to place. They are relatively more comfortable than chicken bus, much safer, and still cheap. You can get better prices by finding local sellers on the street. Rather than booking online or going through your hotel/hostel.
- Airport shuttles – shared shuttles are cheaper than private shuttles. You can always ask for shared shuttle option if you know where to ask, but they don’t run as frequently.
- Don’t use chicken buses – these are the repainted school buses used by local people. Many people say it’s fine and had no issues. But others got robbed on them and now swear to use only the shuttles. I personally wouldn’t take chances if you’re carrying valuables on you and don’t know the area well. You can try it later when you really know how things work. Shuttles are cheap enough anyway.
- Tuktuk – are the little 3-wheels vehicles for getting you around town. They’re great on uneven roads and hills (which is all over Guatemala). They’re pricing can change and fluctuate often so it’s helpful to ask a local what the price should be.
- Boat ferry/taxi – used to get you around in Lago de Atitlan. Similar as tuktuk, prices can vary. Generally they charge different prices for locals vs foreigners. Most people use the public ferry and save money. They go often enough (every 20-30mins to any destination).
- Airports – the 2 major airports are near Flores and Antigua. I would plan those as your main entry/exit points for Guatemala.
Guatemala cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):
- Flores (Tikal)** – I haven’t been but I heard it’s beautiful and lots to do. Definitely considered a must-see in Guatemala especially with the Tikal mayan ruins there. Unfortunately not located near anything else. All the other worthwhile cities are clumped in southern Guatemala. You could use Semuc as a convenient midway point to/from Antigua. I imagine this place is on a similar level as Antigua, 3-4 days is enough to “see” it but could easily stay 1-2 weeks without getting bored.
- Antigua** – beautiful colonial town. Definitely a must-see. Cute colonial town with many attractions…volcanos (Acatenango), restaurants, bars, boutiques, hikes and viewpoints. 3-4 days is enough to see (adding an extra day for Acatenango), but you could stay 1-2 weeks and still not get bored.
- Lago de Atitlan** – a beautiful lake (especially when sun is out) with cute towns surrounded by lots of nature and locals. The shuttle ride there isn’t that long. For many people, this is their favorite place in Guatemala. There are 3-4 popular towns here and you can easily spend 2 weeks visiting all. But if you don’t have time, can spend 4-5 days here splitting across 2 different towns.
- El Paredon* – nice beach town with surfing and other usual beach town things. Lots of partying. I didn’t go since I had a lot of that in Mexico already.
- Semuc Champey* – best part is the turquoise-water river pools. Candles in the cave was alright (nowhere as pretty as Mexico cenotes) and tubing down the river was fun but not life-changing. You’ll spend one whole day in Semuc and maybe another half-day revisiting the river pools…but most your time will be spent at hotel or hostel. It’s a long drive (9hrs Antigua, 12hrs Flores) so IMO not worth visiting unless you have 3 days (2 nights) to burn or are using it as a midway stop between Flores & Antigua. I’d rather put those days in El Paredon. I’m not a waterfall junkie and would say other places I’ve seen in Latin America were somewhat similar and much less of a hassle to get to. (I suppose you could say getting there was half the adventure.)
- Quetzaltenango – called “Xela” by its Mayan name. Most people say it’s too big and need at least 3-days to see anything. Maybe not worth the visit, possibly boring because it doesn’t have much atmosphere and tourist things. Also that it’s cold. Its best features are that it feels more local/authetic, nice surrounding towns, many beautiful hikes (more than Antigua/Atitlan), and bigger long-term livable city for foreigners. Some might treat this like a cheaper version of Antigua.
- Hobbitenango – on the hills of Antigua reachable 85% of the way via tuktuk or the entire way using the official Hobbitenango shuttle. I’ve been told it isn’t worth it and nothing special to see. Maybe only worth it if you’re going to stay in the hillside hobbit-houses (inspired by Lord of the Rings). Some people think it’s cool, hip, and nice eco-friendly mission. Others say it’s overpriced commercialized pseudo-spirituality. The Altamira area just 5mins below it is fun though and worth seeing IMO.
- Guatemala City – 1hr drive from Antigua. Generally considered dangerous and not worth seeing. Others say it’s just a typical big city, nothing special. Some like that it’s a big city and has typical city comforts. For the backpacker, I’d say it’s not worth going and nothing unique about it.
Main parts of Guatemala can be done in 2 weeks. 1 month is sufficient to feel like you saw everything but many people do fall in love and stay several months. I’ve also noticed people who liked Guatemala also really like Nicaragua (saying it’s their favorite and super nice local people).
Nearby countries:
- Mexico – huge and freaken awesome. Many places and things to see.
- Belize – haven’t been
- Honduras – haven’t been
- El Salvador – haven’t been