31 Things To Know Before Visiting Guatemala

I know people always say it’s difficult to pick favourites, especially when travelling through multiple countries. But Guatemala quickly stole the win for my favourite country on our Mexico to Colombia adventure and is up there as one of my favourite countries in the world.

Guatemala is home to many beautiful places, welcoming locals and a variety of differing cultures. Although you will often read about safety concerns when travelling to countries in Central America, I advise travelling with an open mind. My experience in Guatemala was nothing but a positive one and even in some dicey situations, the good in people always shone through.

I wholeheartedly loved the 6 weeks we spent in Guatemala and strongly advise choosing Guatemala as your next adventure. You can travel in Guatemala on a range of budgets, at any age and have many different adventures.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, maybe I will after you have read the 31 things to know before visiting Guatemala.

31 Things To Know Before Visiting Guatemala

Shall we start with a brief history of Guatemala? It’s believed the first evidence of human settlements dates around 9000 BC. The Mayans dominated Guatemala’s history between 250-900 AD. Fast forward to the 16th Century when the Spanish invaded and fought the largest group called the Quiché for control. Guatemala declared its independence from Spain in 1821.

A more recent dark past for Guatemala was between 1960 and 1996 there was an internal armed conflict between the army and guerrilla groups. More than 200,000 men, women and children were murdered or disappeared during this 36-year-long civil war, most of them were indigenous.

The national currency of Guatemala is Guatemalan Quetzal and cash is king in Guatemala. You will find some places accept cards but it will likely be in the bigger cities, so always have cash on you.

Talking of cash, most ATMs worked with our bank cards. However, be sure to always decline the conversion they offer you and be prepared for an ATM fee. I recommend a Monzo or Starling card for travel as you can withdraw cash up to £250 a month all over the world.

There are 25 official languages in Guatemala, but 93% of the population speaks Spanish. Of these 25 languages, 22 of them are official Mayan languages with 2 other indigenous languages spoken- Garífuna and Xinca.

The K’iche people are the largest group of Maya people in Guatemala and make up more 11% of the population. The IWGIA states there are 24 indigenous groups in Guatemala who still face a number of challenges with the Guatemalan government.

I would advise brushing up on some basic Spanish phrases before travelling to Guatemala:

gracias (thanks)
buen día (good day)
para aca and para llevar (to stay and to go) helpful when ordering coffee
cuánto cuesta (how much)
dónde está… (where is…)

Guatemala has two seasons, the rainy season is typically from May to October and then the months of November to April are the dry months. Due to varying altitudes temperatures can really change from destination to destination so my top tip would be to pack layers.

Guatemala is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is home to 30 volcanoes and trust me you’ll see plenty. You will be relieved to know out of the 30 only 3 are active, Volcano Pacaya, Fuego and Tacaná.

The plug sockets are type A and B which is the same as the US, so unless you have US chargers you will need a travel adaptor.

Our average daily spend per person in Guatemala was £37 and we weren’t always choosing the most budget option, so you can definitely class Guatemala as an affordable country to travel to.

The country’s main airport for international flights is Guatemala City. There are land borders connecting Guatemala to Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.

It’s perfectly safe to travel to Guatemala, keep your common sense about you, so no flashing valuables and avoid walking alone at night. Also, I would personally stick to tourist destinations unless with a tour group/guide. At the time of writing this October 2023, there are currently political protests in which road blockades have halted the transport of both people and supplies through the country. Be sure to check the latest travel advice on your government’s website.

The time zone in Guatemala is Central Standard Time (UTC/GMT-6)

With a British passport, tourists don’t need to prearrange a visa on arrival you will be given 90 days. Guatemala is part of the CA-4 agreement with Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador meaning you can move within those countries freely. You have 90 days from first entry to one of the 4 countries, meaning you can’t spend 90 days in Guatemala and 90 in El Salvador.

Don’t panic when you see security guards with guns, or police or military for that matter. It’s always an adjustment coming from a country without guns, but in Guatemala, it’s totally normal. We saw a security guard at Mcdonald’s with a shotgun and whilst in Xela on certain days of the month the military personal was guarding banks.

It is not safe to drink tap water in Guatemala, some accommodations have filtered water you can refill bottles.

You can’t flush toilet paper down the toilet or anything other than the obvious in Guatemala, the pipes aren’t built for that.

If you are allergic to foods or carry an Epipen for anything make sure you bring it with you, you won’t be able to find any here. Also, they won’t disclose when allergens are in food on a menu so always ask. ‘nueces’ means nuts in Spanish and peanut in Latin American Spanish is ‘mani’

Don’t be worried if you hear fireworks or loud bangs at ALL times of the day in Guatemala. They have these firework strips called ‘bombas’ and yes they sound like bombs going off. It’s sort of like giant fun snaps. They set off fireworks and bombas for all sorts of celebrations and they LOVE celebrations in Guatemala. One morning we woke up at 5 am to birthday celebration fireworks.

You can find a lot of tourist shuttles running between the main destinations in Guatemala. Also, there are plenty of shuttles heading to and from nearby countries, you can search online or ask at your accommodation.

The cheaper option for in-country transport is the chicken buses, it’s just the name of public buses I didn’t see any actual chickens. I won’t lie these can be chaotic and I would advise against it if you don’t speak basic Spanish or it’s late at night, they are best for short journeys.

The supermarket that is the easiest to navigate in Guatemala is LaTorre and you can find this in the bigger destinations of Flores, Antigua, Panajachel (Lake Atitlan) and Xela.

One of Guatemala’s biggest export is coffee as its geological makeup is ideal for growing high-quality coffee beans. As a coffee lover, it would be a crime to not at least taste a cup, you’ll also find plenty of farms offering coffee tours.

One of Guatemala’s most treasured Mayan sites is Tikal. Which is the first UNESCO World Heritage site to be recognised for both its cultural significance as well as its extraordinary biodiversity.

Xela or Quetzaltenango is the second largest city in Guatemala and in my opinion very underrated. We spent 2 weeks at Utatlan Spanish School and I couldn’t recommend it more, not only did we improve our Spanish, I felt we got to see the whole everyday life side of Guatemala.

Don’t skip the popular Volcano Acatenango hike, it’s an overnight trip where you spend 1 day climbing up and the next morning descending back down a volcano. But the ultimate prize is seeing the sunset above the clouds and watching Fuego shoot lava into the starry skies whilst at camp.

Antigua is the former capital of Guatemala and an absolutely gorgeous travel destination, with vibrant buildings, stunning courtyards, cobbled streets and even glimpses of an erupting volcano, it’s no wonder it’s such a tourist hotspot.

Lake Atitlan was actually formed from a volcanic eruption many moons ago and today you will still see the 3 volcanos surrounding the lake: Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro, it’s also the deepest lake in all of Central America, be sure to add it to your itinerary.

Semuc Champey is one of the most beautiful natural destinations in Guatemala, the cascading turquoise pools are not to be missed. Don’t be put off by the long bus journey it’s well worth it.

Expect colour and beauty from the town of Flores, located in Northern Guatemala it’s only a short bus journey away from the Belizean border. A small island based on Lake Petén Itzá, it literally only takes about 10 minutes to walk around Flores.