Guatemala is often listed as the backpacker’s favourite country in Central America and it’s not difficult to see why. This small country has a lot to offer from ancient temples, jungle treks, beautiful rivers, lakes and of course numerous volcanoes to explore. This is a country full of stunning scenery and you don’t have to go out your way to find it. All the main sites are on a well-worn tourist trail which is easily travelled (although the roads still need a bit of work in some areas).

As word has spread of the amazing sights to be seen in Guatemala tourism has become more popular and while it is still a cheap country to travel around the costs seem to have crept up in recent years. If you travel on public transport stay in hostel dorm rooms and eat from the street food vendors or in the comedor restaurants you could easily get by on US$20 per day. The main costs comes from taking part in the various excursions and day trips on offer. As you will see below we didn’t come to Guatemala to sit back and relax we went to experience all that was on offer which did increased our daily spends. It would be easy enough to pick out some highlights and adapt the trip to suit any budget.

Average Cost per Day for a Couple – Q760 (Quetzal)

Our average cost includes;

• Transport 
• Hotels/Hostels
• Daily spends 
• Treks/excursions
• Two weeks at Spanish School

In total we spent 39 days in Guatemala. Two weeks of that was spent in San Pedro studying Spanish as this is one of the cheapest places to attend Spanish school. The cost of the course and our hotel while we stayed there did increase the average daily spend.

Typical Costs

Hotels/Hostels: We opted to stay in hotels ranging from Q200 to Q300 for a private double room. Most of these had a private bathroom. There are cheaper options available for Q100 per night for a private room with shared bathrooms but we found that paying a few Quetzal more give you much better value for money. There are plenty of hotels and hostels in all the tourist areas so you are bound to find something in your price range but it’s always best to check out a few places as the standards and facilities offered may be worth paying a little bit more for.

Food: Tacos are popular throughout the country and offer the cheapest options costing between Q10 to Q25 for a meal. In a restaurant a typical meal for 2 with drinks will be about Q100-150.

Beer: In a restaurant a 330ml bottle of beer is Q15 with 1.2 litre bottle available at around Q$25-30. In places such as San Pedro and Antigua you can get drunk for very little if you head to the bars offering happy hour specials.

Entrance Fees and Activities

• Five day El Mirador trek - US$200 per person
• Rio Dulce boat trip – Q125 one way / Q200 return
• Two day Acatenango Volcano Trek - Q300 per person
• Yoga in San Marcos - Q40 per person
• Spanish School San Pedro – US$160 for one on two tuition 4 hours per day for 5 days. You also need to pay an additional registration fee of US$40 per person  

Transport

Although chicken busses are the nations icon we chose to travel by private shuttle buses which ferry tourists between all the major destinations. These cost considerably more but are a lot safer. Below are the prices we paid to get around.

• Flores to Rio Dulce – 4 hours - Q150pp
• Rio Dulce to Lanquin – 5 hours – Q150pp
• Lanquin to Antiqua – 8 hours – Q70pp
• Antigua to San Marcos – 3 hours – Q70pp
• San Pedro to El Tunco (El Salvador) – Q210pp 

Highlights

It’s difficult to pick a favourite place as everywhere we went offered something new and equally amazing.

• Flores, Tikal and El Mirador – Mayan history, ancient cities and jungle treks. 
• Rio Dulce – A gem of a place, relax in one of the tranquil hotels nestled into the mangroves and go bird spotting on the wonderful boat trip to Livingston. 
• Lanquin, Semuc Champey – A place of outstanding natural beauty and lots of fun. 
• Antiqua – A beautiful colonial city with the backdrop of two volcanos. Get up close and personal by trekking Acatenango to get front row seats of Fuegos amazing eruptions. 
• San Marcos – Chilled out hippy town by the stunning lake Atitlan, full of yoga and many alternative therapies. 
• San Pedro – Across the lake from San Marcos this is a backpackers favourite, plenty of bars and restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world. Perfect place to stay a while and learn Spanish at one of the many excellent schools. 
• Chi Chi Market – Marvel at Guatemala’s biggest market where the locals come from all over to sell there produce.

Trek Diaries