- Summary
- Immigration Declaration Required
- Guatemala City
- Antigua
- Panajachel
- Flores / Tikal National Park
Country in Central America just south of Mexico that uses the Guatemalan Quetzales currency.
Skip Guatemala City and go straight to Antigua if you can as that's where the tourism and attractions are, or perhaps a one night stopover just for travel purposes.
You will need to complete a "DJRV" Regional Traveller Affidavit which is basically just a customs declaration on the goods you are bringing in to the country - your personal clothing, laptop etc and up to $10,000 are exempt.
This will be emailed to you and must be presented to a customers officer after immigration control, so there was a huge queue to get out of the baggage reclaim area after immigration control at Guamatala City's La Aurora airport - they actually check this and may direct you to a full baggage scan like usually only done on departure.
You can fill it in in advance at this website, which will save you time having to do it at one of the kiosks upon arrival:
https://en.portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/declaracion-jurada-regional-de-viajero/
The capital - it's not very big, there isn't much in the way of attractions to see here - the real novelty is the nature outside of the city, so most people don't spend more than a day or two here on stopover to Antigua, Panajachel or Flores / Tikal National Park.
You'll probably want to stay someone between zone 1 and zone 4, which is walkable - about a half hour from zone 1.
Zone 9 is a bit further to the south, perhaps nearer an hour walk, but there is the nice Avenida La Reforma which has a central green corridor running north to south with monuments along it.
Afternoon traffic was heavy, it took me nearly an hour in the taxi from La Aurora airport - what should be a 20 minute drive according on Google Maps.
There are some others like Yango but I haven't used them.
I was charged 32 GTQ ($4) for a withdrawal by Industrial Bank ATM in the centre.
Apparently some others are worse, asking for $8 withdrawal fee.
There are a handful of nice architectural buildings, but that's about it.
- Palacio Nacional de la Cultura
- Plaza de la Constitución
- Iglesia San Francisco
- Palace of the National Civil Police
- Mr Taco - good and cheap - 3 tacos or 2 gringas for 35-40 GQT ($5). They have a good selection of toppings, from chilli sauces to onions to tiny pineapple cubes to finely chopped salad. This seems like a chain so you may be able to find others, this is the one I know is good. Their Jamaica water (sweet hibiscus drink) is good too. Even the street food in the centre was more expensive. This place was so good that I ate there every day I was in Guatemala City, and even ran out at 1am for one final hurrah before it closed at 2am. I recommend the asada (beef) tacos or gringas (40 GTQ) and then load them up with onions, pineapple, salad and drenched in lime for maximum flavour and filling - make use of the free toppings! Counterintuitively, the orange chilli sauce is more spicy than the red one, and the finely chopped salad topping is even more spicy than that due to the green chilli pieces in it. Has wifi
- San Martín • Zona 4 - probably the best coffee shop / restaurant / bakery in the area - full and buzzing with locals. This is a chain across the city, and it shows with how polished the menu and delivery is. If the other ones are this good, they are well worth a stop. This one is a bakery at the front and a large restaurant at the back. It has a surprisingly good menu selection of both food and drinks, reasonably priced. Drinks include lots of variations of coffees, juices and milkshakes with both ice cream and milk varieties, good burgers, pastas with chicken and shrimp and tequila reduction, pizzas and lighter "pinsa" variations of pizzas, salads, soups, and very tempting selection desserts from the bakery. Get there 3-6pm for a cake and coffee for only 29 GTQ deal. The Centenaria burger was exquisite - a good quality thick burger with bacon, salad, and a sweet sauce of Ron Zacapa Centenario rum (this sauce must have lots of sugar in it to taste so good). If this isn't the best burger in Guatemala City I'd be surprised. This is what I wish Jack Daniels Texas burgers were in other places. The papas fritas is an extra 3 GTQ and are freshly baked thin crisp chips which I loved dipping into that sweet Ron Zacapa Centenario extra side sauce. This was totally worth the 75 GTQ. The vanilla milkshake (ice cream base) had just the right amount of sweetness, not too sweet as it first appeared when I saw it arrive with the rim of tiny candies glued with syrup and whipped cream on top - this was worth the 36 GTQ. To top it all off, the pineapple strudel was only 8 GTQ ($1), I just had to, and it was also good. Overall all of this was all completely worth the damage and I'd do it again. Forget your diet, be good tomorrow, when presented with these options, live for today's food. Wifi 83/81 Mbit/s
TODO:
- Hwasanjung - Korean fine dining - 3, 5 or 8 course menus for 150 / 250 / 395 GTQ ($20 / $33 / $50) - expensive by local standards considering your can eat for 40-80 GTQ ($5 - $10) at places like Mr Taco
Antigua would normally be a 1-2 hour drive from Guatemala City.
However, I encountered heavy traffic between 10am-12pm so it took 3 hours, arriving just after 1pm.
The best option is to arrange a tourist shuttle from your accommodation for 100GQT ($13).
You can go on an autobus for something in the region of 40GQT ($5) but this is apparently a hassle (and you'd have to take a taxi to the autobus collection point).
Taxis in Antigua would be similar to Guatemala City, but while I saw lots of InDrive cars on the map, I didn't see any Uber ones.
I'm not even sure where you'd take a taxi to here to be honest, Antigua itself is small enough to walk around, perhaps to some attractions outside of the city.
- Mr Taco - in the courtyard of the LemonTree hostel so not obvious to find as it's not directly on the street, but worth the find. It's different to the one in Guatemala City, 50% more expensive but good quality and flavour. The tacos are ordered in a group of four. The "land & sea" tacos for 65GTQ are mixed shrimp and pork with finely chopped onions and pineapple chunks, and a slightly sweet sauce to drizzle on as you see fit. They will also give you a more spicy sauce if you want it. The birria (stewed pulled beef) taco for 45GTQ is very good too. Has wifi
- Steak House El Cafetal - excellent and affordable menu, especially for mains. There is a custom burger composition menu too, and both small affordable and large medium priced steaks. There are only 2 desserts. The tortilla soup with shredded chicken was good, especially for 25 GTQ, and the churrasquito de vacio steak meal was decent, especially for its price of only 59 GTQ. The dessert of 3 fried plantains in a slightly sweet mole of spices was decent, but I could skip it, but then for only 20 GTQ why would you want to, it's a decent little calorie and flavour boost to top off the meal if you need recovery calories. Wifi 16/4 Mbit/s
Panajachel is known Lake Atitlán and the San Pedro, Tolimán and Atitlán volcanoes.
This is a 3-4 hour drive from Guatemala City.
From Guatemala CIty or Antigua the options are similar to Antigua above, arrange a tourist shuttle via your accommodation.
Tikal National Park is a jungle containing the ancient Mayan city of Tikal.
TODO