Guatemala?
 

Planning a trip to Guatemala for next month and as I couldn't find any thread on Guatemala, I was wondering if anyone has any tips.

What would be the best method of carrying currency?
I was told that CAD is not widely accepted, so I would have to exchange it to their currency at home paying 8~10% exotic currency exchange fee or exchange it to USD then exchange it again in Guatemala, taking double hit on exchange fee.

I also have an option of using ATMs, but I've read it that TD bank card often doesn't work in Guatemala for some unexplained reason. I am thinking of opening a bank account for travelling as a back up. Does anyone have any recommendation?

Apart from money, if anyone has any other tips in regards to travelling on Guatemala, I would be very much appreciated!

i have been there. It's a colder and wetter place.
Cobble stone roads.

At their main plaza, there are TONS of street food; fresh cut fruits, Corn Horchata, sandwiches (instead of subway with big slices of ham, they mix minced ham + mayo).. just interesting street food.
Night view of the city is nice as well as the church there.

You have to carry cash there; none of those places will be using credit card. Honestly, there is not much to buy, and stuff you want to buy will most likely be street stuff, that's why.

Not too many banks and if you do find them, line up are crazy. It is not convenient to just go and get cash. It's not going to be a lot of ATM around either. At least that was my experience from a few years ago.

Nice shoes, rain gear, bring napkins and tissues.

I do remember when I took the shuttle from Nicaragua to Guatemala, those dude turned the air con so cold i felt like I was in Canada. People were blasting music on their cell phones (no idea why they don't have head phones).

CAD is worth as much as toilet paper anywhere else you go
when you request USD, make sure they are the newer one with the security stripe
I like to keep some in the daypack for emergency
I would have some of their local currency so you can get around/food, the rest I would exchange there on a need basis with your USD
have fun and stay safe

how long and where do you plan on going

not much to see in Guatemala City, plus not all that safe

Antigua is nice, you can hike the nearby volcanoes

Make sure to get up to see Tikal (Flores), really the best thing to see in the country

You can go to Lake Atitlan, San Agustin

really depend on how adventurous you are, expect long bus/van rides

take USD and there will be ATM's (major areas)

Planning 12 day trip and as you suggested, I will likely skip Guatemala City. Antigua, semuc champey, and atitlan are on my list at the moment but I am flexible. How much should I be bringing between two of us, in laid back backpacking style travelling?

i'd take maybe $1000? use ATM's when you can, like when you arrive, in antigua, flores etc

I did Antigua and I did go hike the volcanoes. It does get pretty darn hot. I also hired a guide and horses were avaiable if you get tired half way.

At the volcano; the guide took out a bag of mashmellows and we toasted them. Pretty legit.

we didn't hike the volcanoes near antigua as we were coming down/getting over typhoid fever.....GET YOUR SHOTS, it's probably the only reason i'm still alive

we hike the volcano ouside of Xela, Santa Maria. was super cool looking down at the active volcano and watching it shoot ash etc up into the sky

Just came back from Guatemala. I didn't want to spend too much time travelling, so my main focus was on Antigua and Lake Atitlan.

A quick recap for those who might want to travel to Guatemala in future

Currency
Bring USD. We changed $200 worth of GTQ in Canada for almost 8% commission at TD (cheapest I found in Vancouver, unfortunately), but this was unnecessary as if you bring USD, you can get by with USD until you can find exchange place outside Guatemala airport. Exchanging CAD to USD will typically cost you less than 1% in Vancouver if you use decent currency exchange place(VBCE, Charlie, etc..) and exchanging USD to GTQ in Antigua will cost you ~1.5%.
I recommend using one of two banks in Antigua near central park for best rate. Please note that each bank will only exchange up to $500 USD per person per month. We brought USD in all high denomination, but do bring some smaller USD. Surprisingly, there were few shuttles/tours/hotels that charges you less in USD.

People
I find Guatemalans much more friendlier than Mexicans. 99% of the people I met on the street greeted me with a smile. They also don't hustle you nearly as much as Mexicans do. Typical haggle went like this:
me: How much do you charge for a trip from x to y?
driver: 20 GTQ.
me: Too expensive. How about 10 GTQ?
driver: ok, let's go
me: ..... wow that was easy..
I never had to haggle back and forth. Either they quote you very fair price or when you tell them what you think it should be, they usually accepted the offer right away. Many shop owners and travel agency gave me discount even before I asked for one. Even when the deal didn't go through, they always smiled and thanked me.
Although almost everyone you meet will be extremely friendly, be cautious and always be respectful. Tourists have been attacked, and even burnt alive by angry mobs in the past when they felt threatened.

Restaurant
TBH, food sucks in Guatemala. Don't expect top notch service from fine dining restaurants. Although they might charge you the price for the fine dining (~$100CAD for lunch), their service was worse than ones you would normally get in a cheap Chinese restaurant here. Pricier restaurants also tends to includes tips in your bill, so be sure to check bills whether tip was added automatically before adding extra tips on top of your bill. Local food tastes were mediocre at best as I find them lack flavors.

Hotels
Depending on when your trip is, if you plan to travel during off season, there is no need to book hotels in advance. A hotel I stayed in Antigua that was considered popular (9.2 rating on booking.com) was completely empty during my two days of stay and I virtually had the whole place on my own. Cheaper hostel style accommodation had few more people, but still, there were plenty of rooms available. It is usually cheaper if you go in without booking in advance and haggle your price.

If you are visiting Antigua and Lake Atitlan like I did, do shop for your souvenirs at Lake Atitlan. Many stuffs were twice the price in Antigua when compared to towns around lake Atitlan.

Below are costs of items I can remember. Hopefully, this will help future travelers to plan their budget a bit

Antigua
Sliced mango sold on street - 10 GTQ
Charcoal grilled corn - 6 GTQ
Typical private 2 bed room with shared washroom - 200 GTQ
Typical private 2 bed and private washroom and balcony - 425 GTQ
Handmade leather bag - 90 GTQ
French bistro - Lunch special 65 GTQ, dinner 130~200 GTQ per order
Other typical western/oriental restaurants - 80 ~ 150 GTQ per order
Bottle of water 2L - 12 GTQ, Coke - 6 GTQ
McDonald ice coffee (ones that sells for $1 in Canada) - 25 GTQ ($4.50 CAD)

Lake Atitlan
Sliced mango sold on street - 5 GTQ
3 big avocado on the market - 5 GTQ
2km rides in Tuktuk - 10 GTQ
30 min boat ride from one town to another - 25 GTQ
Typical hotel with private bathroom by the lake - 120~150 GTQ depending on length of stay
Typical hotel with private bathroom on the hill - 60~80 GTQ depending on length of stay
Typical western restaurant - 30~80 GTQ per order
Local charcoal BBQ meal - 20 GTQ per order

very cool review; i enjoyed antigua much more like you said than Mexico. I did like the fun and partying in cancun, cozumel and playa de carmen and then Antigua was super chilled.

the weather was night and day difference too.

As to the food; 100% correct, it was the street food, the local home made stuff that made an impact on me than the standard fine dining or $50+usd meals.

food all throughout central america (except mexico) sucks

the fried chicken is pretty good though

this song legit makes me want to go lmao

Clarify your point on the differences in weather, I'm kind of curious?

It's a lot cooler in Antigua than in PDC/Cancun not to mention less humid.

This was Volcan de Fuego 3 days before the eruption...
so crazy.... deepest condolences to those harmed by the eruption..