How expensive is travelling through Guatemala? How much money to budget for Guatemala? The answer to these questions depends on the type of traveller you are, the activities you do and how long you will be travelling for. However, in this blog, I will tell you what we spend during our trip through Guatemala. Also, we will share with you what a realistic daily budget for Guatemala is and what the price levels in Guatemala are.
How much money to budget for a trip to Guatemala?
A realistic daily budget for Guatemala is 50 euros per person. If you are travelling through Guatemala for three weeks, then take into account a budget of approximately €1000 per person. This does not include flights and is a budget based on average expenses. It can always be cheaper or more expensive.
Disclaimer: we are no extreme budget backpackers. By this, I mean that we almost never sleep in a dormitory, do not cut down on activities and food. On the other hand, we certainly don’t travel luxuriously: we sleep in hostels, almost never take a taxi and try not to eat out too expensive. Everyone has different priorities and budgets while travelling. Just keep this in mind while you read this blog. It’s always possible to travel cheaper or more expensive than we do.
Is Guatemala a budget destination?
Guatemala is one of the cheaper countries in Central America. But it is certainly not as cheap as in Southeast Asia. We didn’t do extremely expensive things, but since we travelled a lot with other people, we were slightly easier than budgeted in advance. Meaning: we spent more money on eating out and Cuba libre’s than our budget allowed ;-). However, since we were in Guatemala during its shoulder season, some hotels were slightly cheaper than usual.
We combined this trip with a trip to Belize, from where we flew back to the Netherlands. Our plane tickets were therefore slightly more expensive than a return ticket to Guatemala. Are you flexible and not bound to a certain period then you already have flights from Europe to Guatemala starting at €350. Click here to directly see the current flights deals for Guatemala!
Guatemala expenses:
Total spend in Guatemala: GTQ 12708 / € 1454,46 / $ 1649
Average daily spending in Guatemala: GTQ 978 / € 111,88/ $ 127
Average dailing spedings per person: GTQ 489 / €55,94/ $63,5
Days on or below budget in Guatemala: 46%
Days above budget in Guatemala: 54%
All expenses are for 2 people and calculated on the basis of exchange rates during the trip. This amount is excluding our flights. The currency displayed are Guatemalateekse Quetzal (GTQ$), Euro (€) and USA Dollar ($).
How much money to budget for hotels in Guatemala?- 25% of the total budget Guatemala
Total spend: GTQ 3179 / € 363,80 / $412
Number of nights: 13
Average amount per room for 2 pers: GTQ 265/ € 30,32 / $ 34
We slept almost every night in a hostel, but always in a private room. A few times we have had some more luxurious ho(s)tels, such as in Lanquin, Tikal and Flores. The hostel we had in Lanquin, was really overpriced for what we got, not recommended. The last night in Flores was relatively expensive because I was sick and liked to sleep in a more luxurious air-conditioned room.
These are the hotels and guesthouses we stayed in Guatemala:
- Antigua: Casa Blomston
- Lake Atitlan: Casa Madera
- Semuc Campey/ Lanquin: Zephyr Lodge (not recommended!)
- Tikal: Jungle Lodge hostel
- Flores: Casa Ula
Hotel guide: Here you will find a Guatemala hotel guide with hotels we can recommend!
How much to budget for transportation in Guatemala? – 14,2% of total budget Guatemala
Total spend: GTQ 1803 / € 206,39/ $ 234
Taxi Guatemala airport – Antigua: GTQ 250/ € 28,03 / $ 32
We have almost always travelled with shuttle buses. This is faster than with chicken buses but is more expensive. Everywhere the transport costs were not that high in Guatemala.
How expensive is food in Guatemala? – 35,3% of total budget Guatemala
Total spend: GTQ 4484/ € 513,17 / $ 582
From which eating and drinking out: GTQ 3798/ € 434,68/ $ 493
Of which groceries: GTQ 617/ € 70,64 / $80
Other: GTQ 69 / € 7,85/ $9
Ha, as almost always, the biggest expense for us. We went out for dinner very often, have never cooked ourselves and almost never ate food at street stalls. But the restaurants where we ate, were generally not very expensive. We often chose simple meals.
Read more about our favourite village San Marcos at Lake Atitlan in this travel guide!
Are activities expensive in Guatemala? – 24,2% of the total budget Guatemala
Total spend: GTQ 3068 / € 351,12 / $ 398
Acatenango hike (inc tip & tax): GTQ € 1240 / € 139/ $ 158
Visiting Tikal: GTQ 1020 / € 115,32 / $ 131
Semuc Champey (cave and pools): GTQ 370/ € 41,82 / $48
Other: GTQ 480/ € 54,98 / $62
Especially our visit to Tikal was expensive. We paid for the guides and three times for access (we saw both sunset, sunrise and just during the day). However, this was more than worth it.
Will you also be visiting Tikal? Click here to read more about this beautiful Maya village!
Exchange rate fee at the bank: 1,4% of the total budget Guatemala
Total spend: GTQ 174/ € 19,97 / $ 23
What do food and general travel expenses cost in Guatemala?
Below you will find a selection of foods general travel expenses with corresponding prices.
- Cappuccino: GTQ 20 / € 2,31/ $2,60
Despite the many coffee beans that grow in Guatemala, most of the coffee served is not great. - 1 Kilo of banana’s: GTQ 7 / € 0,81/ $0,91
- 1 Big avocado: GTQ 3/ € 0,35/ $0,39
- Bottle of Coca Cola (3L): GTQ 15 / € 1,68 / $1,91
- Yoghurt (1L): GTQ 30/ € 3,43 / $3,90
- Bread (2pers): GTQ 15 / € 1,73/ $1,95
We often bought buns or a whole loaf in Antigua while hiking. Tasty and super cheap! - Bottle of water (3,3L): GTQ 10 / € 1,12 / $1,27
- Glas of wine in a wine bar : GTQ 35 / € 4,00 / $4,54
Guatemala does not produce wine itself but imports wine from Argentina and Chile. A good glass of wine is quite expensive. - Cuba Libre in a bar: GTQ 20 / € 2,31 / $2,60
The drink in Guatemala, delicious and especially during Happy Hour relatively cheap! - Local beer in a bar: GTQ 15/ € 1,73 / $1,91
- Simple breakfast (1 pers) eating out: GTQ 30 / € 3,43 / $3,90
We ate some delicious breakfasts consisting of beans, fried banana, egg and bread for this amount. And believe me, you’ll be full for all morning long! - Simple lunch / evening meal (1 pers) eating out: GTQ 60 / € 6.87 / $ 7.80
Usually a simple meal consists of rice, chicken and beans. In general, we ate a bit more luxurious because I don’t eat meat and like to eat a bit more vegetables.
Is Guatemala an expensive destination?
No Guatemala is relatively not expensive compared to the rest of Central America. We could have spent less money (and stayed within our budget) but well, this was a holiday and that’s why we quickly decided to let go a bit more.
Pay attention, negotiation is normal and sometimes people try to make you pay too much money. We found the latter not so pleasant, however other travellers told us this has not always been the case. It’s something from the last few years, probably due to tourism itself. A pity, but good to be aware of as a traveller.
I thought Guatemala was great and I can recommend everyone to visit this beautiful country. The country is great to travel by backpack. If you are looking for a budget destination in Central America, then you are in the right place in Guatemala.
What is a realistic daily budget for Guatemala?
A realistic daily budget for Guatemala is between 45 and 55 euros per person. With this amount of money, you travel by public transport, eat at local restaurants but you do all kinds of fun activities. For this budget, you will stay in private rooms in hostels or nice guesthouses.
All my other blogs about Guatemala.
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