Our Guatemala Travel Cost: Is Guatemala Cheap?

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So you’re planning a trip to Guatemala and want to know what things cost? I got you! 

We spent five weeks in Guatemala as part of our 6-month trip around Central America and tracked every cent we spent.

So is Guatemala cheap? Yes, it is a very affordable travel destination, but I don’t think it’s as cheap as everyone says.

It is definitely on the lower end of the travel budget for Central America, and it’s certainly more affordable than Costa Rica, Belize or Panama. But we were surprised at how much we spent in Guatemala and we expected it to be much cheaper, based on everything we had read and heard about how affordable it was.

Our Guatemala travel cost averaged 973 GTQ ($125 USD) per day for two people, which is 487 GTQ ($63 USD) per day per person.

Everything in Guatemala can be cheap if you’re happy to sacrifice time, convenience and comfort. But there are faster transport options, luxe fancy hostels and amazing restaurants and cafes that are tough for anyone but the savviest spenders to ignore! The temptation was strong for us and we couldn’t resist many many splurges.

I’ve divided this post into two sections. The first is an overview of average costs in Guatemala for standard travel categories like accommodation, eating out, tours and activities and transport. I’ll share an array of random prices to give you an idea of typical costs. 

The second part is our Guatemala budget report, with our actual expenses and daily averages for each category. 

How much does a trip to Guatemala cost?

If you’re planning a trip to Guatemala, you probably want to know what it’s going to cost! 

I don’t like giving an exact daily budget, because it depends on a thousand factors and is completely personal to your travel style, interests, desired level of comfort etc. 

Instead, what I find more helpful is to share some actual costs for common travel expenses, to help you piece together a realistic budget for your trip, based on your preferences. 

These costs were accurate at the time of writing, but in a post-pandemic world, I’m sure you know how quickly prices can change, and how much costs are rising all over the world. Guatemala is rapidly growing in popularity, and prices rise to meet demand.

Chances are some of these costs will be outdated by the time you travel to Guatemala, but I hope it at least gives you a helpful baseline of what to expect. 

💰 Read more about Guatemala’s currency and managing your money in our Guatemala travel guide

Accommodation

Guatemala has all kinds of accommodations available. It is a very popular backpacker destination so there are a lot of very high-quality, luxe hostels. Equally, there are some stunning boutique hotels in Antigua, amazing eco-stays overlooking the volcanoes on Lake Atitlan, and some fantastic jungle-style hotels in Flores.

We always opt for a private accommodation with a private bathroom. Ideally, we would have access to at least a fridge and a coffee machine, if not a full kitchen, whether that be shared or private. Our budget is ideally $40 – $50 USD per night, but we can stretch it to $60 USD if it’s worth it.

We found plenty of suitable options in Guatemala, but the best ones with the nicest volcano views, the most stylish interiors, pools etc. were always just out of our budget.

I’m not talking hundreds of dollars more, sometimes just the difference between $10 – $20 USD extra a night was huge, and the things we could afford often paled in comparison to options that were just a little bit more expensive. We did splurge on a few occasions and it was totally worth it when we did.

We don’t stay in hostels but I can see the same pattern. The backpacker trail in Guatemala has become very popular and there are a handful of hostels that have become very famous on social media.

Instead of paying $12 – $15 USD for a dorm bed, the ‘fancy’ hostels are more like $18 – $22 USD, because they’re so popular. And of course, you’ve seen them online so many times you really want to stay there, so it can blow the costs out a bit.

Accommodation in Guatemala CAN be cheap, but there are so many amazing options that will always be just a little bit outside your budget. Most people can’t help themselves (guilty!) and end up spending more than they want to.

🛌 TYPICAL COSTS FOR ACCOMMODATION

*Accommodation is usually quoted in USD online, but if you book or pay directly, it may be in Quetzals (GTQ or Q)

• Dorm at luxe hostel Ojala in Antigua: $18 USD (~140 GTQ)
• Self-contained villa at mid-range boutique hotel Villas de la Ermita in Antigua: $70 USD (~540 GTQ)
• Glamping tent dorm at Free Cerveza in Lake Atitlan: $19 USD (~145 GTQ)
• Apartment with kitchen at Atitlan Sunset Lodge overlooking the volcanoes: $70 USD (~540 GTQ)
• Mid-range Airbnb cabin in Lake Atitlan without views: $40 USD (~310 GTQ)
• Private room with bathroom and breakfast at mid-range Hotel Villa del Lago in Flores: $80 USD (~615 GTQ)
• Private room with shared bathroom at Jungle Lodge Hostal in Tikal: $70 USD (~540 GTQ)
• Dorm bed at the famous Zephyr Lodge in Semuc Champey with the infinity pool: $22 USD (~170 GTQ)
• Riverfront cabin with private bathroom at Utopia Eco Hotel in Semuc Champey: $50 USD (~385 GTQ)
• Beachfront dorm bed at Cocori Lodge, the party hostel in El Paredon: $18 USD (~140 GTQ)
• Private room at Swell boutique hotel in El Paredon: $85 USD (~655 GTQ)
• Dorm bed at a fancy resort, Boatique Hotel & Marina, in Rio Dulce: $22 USD (~170 GTQ)

Eating out

Eating out in Guatemala can be pretty affordable if you stick to the local options and street food, but the challenge is avoiding all the incredible international restaurants and funky cafes that are much more expensive.

I’ll admit, I didn’t like Guatemalan cuisine. There, I said it!

It had elements of Mexican cuisine and a dash of Salvadoran, but it didn’t do either as well as their origin countries and we had some pretty average meals here. I hate saying I didn’t love or eat a lot of the local cuisine, but it’s the truth.

It didn’t help that Brayden got quite bad food poisoning, and we both had other minor stomach issues throughout our 5 weeks here, so we were a bit put off by street food and small local restaurants when we usually wouldn’t be.

The food scene is still incredible though, it’s just focused more on international food than local options. The restaurants in Antigua were spectacular, and despite being more costly than street food, we still found it to be excellent value considering the quality. The restaurants in Flores were just as good, and even slightly cheaper.

But, it added up. A main meal at a nice, but not super fancy, international restaurant or cafe was usually 50 – 80 GTQ ($7 – $10 USD). Whereas the few local meals we had were more like 30 – 50 GTQ ($4 – $7 USD) or cheaper.

Coffee is another budget-blower, but so worth it! Guatemala produces some of the best coffee in the world and there are dozens of excellent cafes with amazing baristas all over the country. On average, a latte or cappuccino was 25 GTQ (just over $3 USD). We would normally try and limit going out for coffee, but we did it every day we were in Antigua – oops!

Alcohol was generally pretty affordable, maybe slightly more expensive than in neighbouring countries. A large bottle of local beer (Gallo) was around 25 GTQ (just over $3 USD). We found excellent value in cocktails, particularly at happy hour, and had delicious mojitos for as cheap as 15 GTQ (< $2 USD) at Sky Bar in Flores. Wine bars, cocktail bars and craft breweries in Antigua were a bit more pricey, but still good value considering the quality.

🍫 Read more about typical food and drinks to try in Guatemala

🌮 TYPICAL COSTS FOR FOOD

*Food was always priced in Quetzals on menus

• Tipico Chapin breakfast (eggs, beans, plantain): 20 GTQ (~$2.50 USD)
• Typical lunch plate (chicken, sides, tortillas): 40 GTQ (~$5 USD)
• Serve of Mexican tacos at Cactus in Antigua: 58 GTQ (~$7.50 USD)
• Pasta dish at an Italian restaurant in Antigua: 80 GTQ (~$10 USD)
• Fancy cafe breakfast dish from Maracuya in Flores: 60 GTQ (~$8 USD)
• Barista-made coffee: 25 GTQ (~$3 USD)
• Happy hour cocktail in Flores: 15 GTQ (~$2 USD)
• Glass of wine from a wine bar in Antigua: 30 GTQ (~$4 USD)

Tours and activities

We found Guatemala incredibly affordable for tours and activities.

Half-day tours, like guided hikes to Pacaya Volcano and Indian Nose, were as cheap as 110 GTQ ($15 USD). We sadly weren’t able to do the overnight hike to Acatenango Volcano (not for lack of trying! Twice!), but you can book tours for as cheap as $60 – $80 USD.

A handful of ruins and cultural sights around Antigua and the towns in Lake Atitlan had entry fees, between 20 – 40 GTQ ($2.50 – $4 USD). But there were a lot of free attractions too and many of the best things to do in Antigua didn’t cost a cent, like Cerro de la Cruz and sightseeing around the city.

The most expensive activity we did in Guatemala was a sunrise tour to Tikal. Entrance to the archaeological site is 150 GTQ, and if you want to enter early for sunrise, you have to pay an additional 100 GTQ. Plus, our guided tour from Flores was 230 GTQ, so it was 480 GTQ (~$60 USD) in total.

🥾 TYPICAL COSTS FOR TOURS AND ACTIVITIES

*Most tours, unless very costly, were priced in Quetzals, the same goes for entrance fees

• Guided sunrise tour to Tikal, inc. entry fees: 480 GTQ (~$60 USD)
• Semuc Champey pools and cave tour: 185 GTQ (~$24 USD)
• Entrance to Hobbitenango in Antigua: 50 GTQ (~$6.50 USD)
• Entrance to Jorge’s Rope Swing in Flores: 25 GTQ (~$3 USD)
• Surfboard rental 24 hours in El Paredon: 125 GTQ (~$16 USD)
• Pacaya Volcano hike tour: 120 GTQ (~$15.5 USD)
• Pacaya Volcano National Park entry fee: 100 GTQ (~$13 USD)
• Entrance to the Ruinas del Catedral in Antigua: 20 GTQ (~$2.5 USD)
• Cerro Tzankujil swimming spot in Lake Atitlan: 40 GTQ (~$5 USD)

Transport

Transport can be cheap in Guatemala if you stick with local options like chicken buses, but unless you’re on an extremely tight budget, you won’t want to do this for the majority of trips.

Guatemala is BIG and has pretty average roads, so getting anywhere takes a long time. I’m talking 8+ hours for many journeys, and even a short Guatemala itinerary will most likely involve at least 2 days completely written off for travel.

Tourist shuttles are the most common way to get around the country. They are minivans that run directly from point A to point B and often include hotel pick-up and drop-off. They are much quicker and more convenient than using the chicken buses, which usually require multiple changes even for short journeys, and are very slow and stop frequently.

Shuttles are a lifesaver for lengthy trips to and from Semuc Champey in particular, but they’re the quickest, easiest option for any journey throughout the country. They come at a cost though!

Shuttle trips ranged from $15 – $50 USD depending on the length of the trip, which added up quickly.

Transport for shorter trips wasn’t too expensive, and Uber was very cheap in Antigua. The few times we used local colectivos and tuk-tuks they were cheap too (< 20 GTQ for short trips).

The lancha boats around Lake Atitlan don’t seem that pricey at first glance (10 – 25 GTQ), but they did add up quite quickly, and we racked up more than 400 GTQ ($50 USD) on boat costs during our 7 days at Lake Atitlan.

🚌 TYPICAL COSTS FOR TRANSPORT

*Tourist shuttles were most commonly priced in USD if booking online, but in Quetzals if arranged in person at a hostel or travel agent. Local transport was always priced in Quetzals

• Tourist shuttle Flores – Semuc Champey: 175 GTQ (~$23 USD)
• Tourist shuttle Lake Atitlan – Antigua: 100 GTQ (~$13 USD)
• International tourist shuttle from Rio Dulce – Honduras: $50 USD (~385 GTQ)
• Short Uber ride in Antigua city: 20 GTQ (~$2.5 USD)
• Lancha boat from Panajachel – San Pedro on Lake Atitlan: 25 GTQ (~$3 USD)

Our Guatemala travel cost

🗺️ Copy our exact Guatemala itinerary

Accommodation

💰 Total: 13,407 GTQ / $1,730 USD
🛌 Average: 372 GTQ / $48 USD per night

• 36 nights of accommodation
• We did 3 nights in a dorm in a resort, and 1 night in a private room with a shared bathroom, the rest were private rooms with private bathrooms
• Never with breakfast included
• We splurged on a few accommodations in Guatemala and had some amazing stays at Lake Atitlan, in Antigua and El Paredon
• It was my birthday while we were there, and we were also both very sick (I was hospitalised with dengue fever) so we really didn’t feel like average, sub-par accomm and went for nicer options than usual, which was still great value compared to other countries

Eating out

💰 Total: 9,501 GTQ / $1,227 USD
🌮 Average: 264 GTQ / $34 USD per day

• We ate out quite a lot in Guatemala and there were many days we ate out for all 3 meals (we usually try and cook at least once per day)
• We didn’t have access to a fridge or kitchen facilities at a few of our accommodations, and the restaurant choices in Flores and Antigua in particular were way too good to skip, so we didn’t cook much in those places either
• We actually didn’t eat that much local food, which meant the prices were a bit higher
• Not for lack of trying, there were just so many amazing cafes and international restaurants in most of the places we visited, plus Guatemalan food isn’t my favourite cuisine

Tours

💰 Total: 2,375 GTQ / $307 USD
🥾 Average: 66 GTQ / $8.5 USD per day

• We classified tours as any organised experience with a tour company/guide (not things like entrance fees or self-guided activities)
• There were a handful of experiences in Guatemala where booking a guided tour was mandatory or the easiest way to do something with transport included
• This cost includes activities like a guided sunrise tour of Tikal, Semuc Champey pools and cave tour, Pacaya Volcano hike, coffee farm tour, Indian Nose hike and a few more experiences
• We found tours to be very very affordable

Sightseeing and tickets

💰 Total: 1,225 GTQ / $158 USD
🎟️ Average: 34 GTQ / $4.5 USD per day

• This was basically every other activity that we did that didn’t require a guide
• It includes things like entry fees to archaeological sites and ruins, swimming spots, national park fees, kayak rental, Hobbitenango in Antigua etc.
• The Tikal entry fee and extra sunrise entrance cost make up the bulk of this (250 GTQ pp)
• There were a lot of days where we didn’t have to pay entry for anything and many things we did were free (beach, exploring towns/cities etc.)
• Guatemala was super affordable for tours and activities

Transport

💰 Total: 5,278 GTQ / $682 USD
🚌 Average: 147 GTQ / $19 USD per day

• Transport was a killer in Guatemala and we spent way too much on it!
• We booked a lot of tourist shuttles, which added up quickly
• This is definitely the quickest and easiest way to get around the country, and we paid for the convenience of it because we had multiple 8+ hour travel days
• I was also very unwell for many days and could not bear hauling my backpack around on the chicken buses which were never direct
• We also paid for a pretty pricey international shuttle into Honduras which we don’t regret, it made the day as easy as it could have been (although still a nightmare and very stressful!)
• The lancha boat transport around Lake Atitlan also added up, and we spent about $50 USD on boat trips during our week at the lake

Other expenses

🍍 Groceries – 1,258 GTQ / $162 USD – 35 GTQ / $4.5 USD per day

• We didn’t cook a lot, but we did do a few really big grocery shops when we were sick. When Brayden was ill I did a big cook-up for him and he did the same for me when I got out of the hospital, so that was the bulk of groceries

🍹 Alcohol – 1,497 GTQ / $193 USD – 42 GTQ / $5.5 USD per day

• If we had a drink or two with a meal, we didn’t include it here
• This category was for if we were specifically going to a bar or brewery
• Almost 50% of this cost was spent one day in Antigua when our Acatenango hike got cancelled for the second time and we drowned our sorrows!

📱 SIM cards – 420 GTQ / $54 USD – 12 GTQ / $1.5 USD

• We both bought Tigo SIM cards on day 1 in Guatemala with a 30-day plan including 13 GB data plus unlimited social media usage
• We topped up for another month before we left Guatemala, as our SIM cards also worked in our next destination, Honduras, so this is essentially two months’ worth of phone fees for both of us

🧺 Laundry / personal care – 51 GTQ / $7 USD – 1.4 GTQ / $0.2 USD per day

• We had a few big loads of laundry, which were quite cheap in Guatemala
• Thankfully our travel insurance covered the thousands of dollars of medical and hospital expenses we racked up in Guate! We had 2 claims, I spent 3 days in the hospital and Brayden had to go to the doctors, plus dozens of pharmacy visits!
• Other costs here were some additional medicines and toiletries we couldn’t claim

🛂 Visa and travel costs – N/A

• Guatemala has no visa or entry/exit fees, so we didn’t spend anything in this category

Is Guatemala cheap? Final thoughts

All in all, yes I’d say Guatemala is a cheap country to travel to. 

If you’re comparing it to neighbouring Central American countries, Guatemala falls into the lower-priced category, with countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

It is much, much cheaper than countries like Belize, Costa Rica and Panama, which sit at the higher end of the budget spectrum. 

If you’re a strict budgeteer and have the willpower to ignore the amazing international restaurants, and cute cafes and choose your accommodation based on price, not style then you will spend a lot less than we did.

But if you easily give in to the finer things in life, Guatemala probably won’t be as cheap as you expected. The temptation is just too strong! The splurges are worth it though, in my opinion.

Any time we spent more than we should have on food, coffee or accommodation, it was good quality and still very good value compared to other countries.

I hope this Guatemala travel cost report is helpful for planning your own trip there. I love seeing the juicy money details from other travellers and find it really helpful to at least get an idea of what to expect. 

Prices change quickly these days, so not everything will be exactly the same, but hopefully, this is a good baseline for you to calculate how much to save or what a realistic budget is for your trip to Guatemala. 

MORE GUATEMALA POSTS

• Complete Guatemala Travel Guide (Not Just Antigua & Atitlan)
• Best 1 Month Guatemala Itinerary: Highlights & Hidden Gems