Traveling to Guatemala during Covid is definitely possible. Things are mostly open and the country has a lot to offer. A lot of people looking to renew their visa for Mexico hop over the border, spend a little time here, and go back to Mexico. Which is exactly what we did. We spend 4 months in the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas and crossed over to Guatemala, 1. to hike up some volcanos and 2. to renew the visa upfront as we were close to the border. So hereby our experience and the answers to some questions you might have about traveling to Guatemala during Covid.
Is the landborder between Mexico and Guatemala open?
Yes. We crossed two different borders between Mexico and Guatemala and both were open. Not a lot of people cross at the moment however, making the process quick and easy. Do note that things change quickly while the pandemic is ongoing, so do make sure to check the current situation on the website of the government.
If you’re currently in Mexico and want to head to Guatemala overland, check out this article with our experience crossing the Mesilla border.
What do I need to enter Guatemala during Covid?
When we crossed, we only needed the results of a Rapid or PCR test from the last 72 hours and they checked our temperature at the border. When I last checked this was still the case, but things change all the time. For up-to-date information, check the website of the Guatemalan government here. Unfortunately the page is only in Spanish and the text is in an image. So if you don’t understand and you have the Google Translate app on your phone, use the camera function to scan and translate the text. Make sure to check the site again before leaving to double-check if nothing has changed!
Is there transport available in Guatemala during Covid?
Yes, there are two types of transport to get around Guatemala: shuttles and chicken busses. Chicken busses are the cheap way to get around. They are colorful remodeled school busses and the local public transport. Traveling on them is quite slow however and if you need to cover a large distance, you’ll probably need to change a couple of times. Shuttle busses are generally 2-3x more expensive than chicken busses, but quicker, direct and will drop you off at your accommodation.
The thing with chicken busses is that they don’t have actual prices. Since Covid they’ll charge you anything from the original price to double. We initially thought this was due to our “gringo-faces”, but speaking to locals the same happens to them. It’s good to get some prices beforehand and check if they take you for the cheapest quote. Some will go down a bit if they initially charge you more than the original price, others won’t.
Pro tip: There are no night busses in Guatemala, you’ll need to travel during the day. Keep this in mind to avoid getting stranded while traveling to your next destination or on your way back from a daytrip.
Are things open in Guatemala during Covid?
Yes, they are. Some tourism agencies are only working online, but tours are definitely going. Restaurants and bars are also open, but do note that things generally close early.
Are people traveling to Guatemala during Covid, will there be other travelers?
There are travelers in Guatemala, but not as many as in Mexico for example. You will definitely meet people though.
Antigua sees a fair bit of tourism and so do San Pedro la Laguna and Panajachel (on the other side of the lake) as well. I’d say there is more tourism in Panajachel than in San Pedro. Xela, which isn’t super touristy as it is, sees very little tourism at the moment, but there are travelers. Stay at Casa Seibel and you’ll find some :).
I want to renew my visa for Mexico, what is there to see in Guatemala close to the border?
This kind of depends on which border you cross. The most common border crossing is the Mesilla one, which will get you relatively close to Xela (Quetzaltenango).
When in Guatemala, you absolutely have to hike up Acatenango close to Antigua to see El Fuego (The Fire) spit its fire. Trust me, it is AMAZING! We visited Xela, Lago Atitlán, and Antigua, which make up for a nice 1-2 week itinerary.
Lago Atitlán - San Pedro la Laguna
We first made our way to San Pedro la Laguna. We were told this is the place to be around the lake and when we saw a hiking trail up volcano San Pedro we decided to stay here. One of our reasons to travel to Guatemala was to hike volcanos after all! Other things to do include kayaking at the lake, hiking the Nariz de Indio, visiting a beach, horseback riding or explore other towns around the lake. Note that the prices of the boat have increased as well due to Covid, we paid Q. 25 each to reach Panajachel.
If you want to use Laguna Atitlán as a base to explore more of the area around, I’d recommend staying in Panajachel rather than San Pedro. There are plenty of agencies offering tours of the surrounding area here, whereas San Pedro is more focussed on things to do around San Pedro itself.
Accommodation tip: Our favorite thing about San Pedro was probably our accommodation. Santa Maria del Lago is a gorgeous house more than a hotel right at the lakefront. Rooms are rented out separately, but as there are relatively few people traveling to Guatemala during Covid, we were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves during most of our stay. There is a fully equipt kitchen to prepare your meals, rooms are nice and the living rooms offers comfortable seats with gorgeous views over the lake. Breakfast is offered at a restaurant a few minutes down the road. Here the lovely Rosa will serve you a nice breakfast.
It’s a little out of town, offering peace and quiet. You can still walk to the center in half an hour or just grab a tuk-tuk. It might not fit a typical backbacker budget, but if you can spend a little more I can 100% recommend this place.
Volcano San Pedro - closed
When we got to San Pedro however, we found out that it currently isn’t safe to hike up the volcano.
Before Covid, there was security on the volcano. During the pandemic, the hike had been closed but has reopened since. The security hasn’t returned yet however, and lots of robberies have been reported. According to the locals in San Pedro it’s farmers from Santiago, on the other side of the volcano, that rob hikers at the top with heavy armor. Apparently, it is so common, that agencies have canceled the tour.
We only found one agency that takes people up there, leaving at 2:30 – 3 am. They’ll give you time to snap a couple of pictures quickly and take you back down before the robbers head up. Other agencies can arrange a guide for you, but won’t take any responsibility if something happens. Even hiking up without valuables won’t protect you, we’ve been told multiple people had to walk down barefoot because they took even their shoes. So, not worth the risk.
Nariz de Indio
Instead, hike up the Nariz de Indio. Lots of agencies offer the sunrise tour or you can DIY as well. You can walk here from San Pedro, or take a tuk-tuk to San Juan and start the trail from here. The entrance of the trail is well marked and there was a police officer here as well. To reach the first viewpoint, head up the stairs and you’ll pass a point where you have to pay Q. 10. From here continue along the stairs and you’ll reach the viewpoint.
As we started a little late and walked all the way from San Pedro, clouds started to come in once we reached the viewpoint, so we decided to stop here. The path continues on past the viewpoint to the Nariz, and we’ve been told it’s save.
Black sand beach
Just outside of San Pedro, in the other direction, you’ll find a black sand beach which makes for a nice (half) day out. Walk for about an hour or take a tuk-tuk to the start of the trail. You’ll have to pass a hacienda and search for the path heading down. If you want to see more beaches, there are boat tours taking you to some as well.
Antigua
Antigua is the place to be in Guatemala! It’s probably the most popular destination in the country and for good reason. The city has a beautiful colonial center and there are lots of things to do around town as well. You can hike volcanos, like Acatenango, El Agua, and Pacaya, do other hikes, visit coffee fincas, a macadamia farm, and the market as well. Pacaya is the easiest one to hike and here you can toast marshmellows on hot lavarock. Acatenango is by far the most spectacular one with views over El Fuego. There are many agencies taking you to the coast as well, but you’ll want to spend at least a night there to enjoy it.
El Fuego
Hiking Acatenango to see El Fuego spit lava during the night was the BEST thing we’ve seen. It is a tough hike up, I’m not gonna lie. And hiking to the viewpoint late afternoon to see the action from even closer is even harder. But it is all so, SO worth it. Just pack as lightly as you can and take it easy going up. It’s a steep hike up, from start, almost till the end. Only the last hour offers more variation in the trek. Antigua itself doesn’t lie on a very high altitude, so the altitude will likely affect you as well.
If you have the energy, I’d highly recommend doing the additional trek to the viewpoint on El Fuego. You’ll get to see the action from even closer and it’s just an amazing experience. Do note that it gets cold. And I mean, really, really cold… Pack plenty of warm clothes, gloves and a hat. It does have an additional cost, so check with your agency about prices.
You’ll need a guide to do this hike, so the easiest thing is to just go with an agency. They will provide you with camping equipment and food as well. Prices and whats included vary and agencies don’t seem to team up and group together. We found plenty of agencies that did not have a group on the day we wanted to go, but when we went, we came across some relatively big groups. So shop around a little until you find the agency that suits you and your needs best.
Corazon de Agua
This could be a good warm-up hike in preparation for El Fuego. Corazon de Agua is an Eco-park with some nice views over the surrounding area. It’s possible to camp here as well. Entrance fee at the time of writing is Q. 20 and Q. 25 if you want to camp. The Eco-park starts all the way at the top. So if you’re visiting on a cloudy day and just want to do the walk and don’t care about the views, you can also choose to just hike till the Eco-park and turn back from there.
In order to get here, take a bus from the terminal in Antigua to Magdalena Milpas Atlas. If there are no direct busses, you can also change in Santa Lucía Milpas Altas.
Ciudad Vieja
We were looking for something to after our hike to Acatenango/El Fuego which did not include hiking up anything. We found la Ciudad Vieja. It’s a short bus ride from Antigua and just outside you’ll find the macadamia farm Valhalla. Here you can do a tour, where they will explain you all about the process and the benefits of the macadamia nut. The tour is based on tips and afterward you can buy all kinds of macadamia goodies and/or eat at the restaurant on site. There are lots of coffee farms in the area as well if this is more to your liking.
After a nice day out, check out Brewery Catorce. Here they have live music and good craft beer. If you’re not up for the brewery itself, you can also grab one of their beers in Antigua or in the restaurant of Valhalla.
San Pedro la Laguna to Antigua – I’d say just pay for a shuttle. We thought we’d be better off going from Panajachel, so we took the boat there (Q. 25) and were then told that the last direct transport was at 7:30 am. Others had told us there was direct transport at 11 as well, but as we wanted to visit some friends we wanted to leave later than that anyway. Our options in the afternoon included several changes and the trip would cost us around Q. 50 according to locals, which in our experience would probably end up closer to Q. 70. So we decided to take a shuttle instead. They’re usually 125 but we managed to get seats for Q. 100 each. This way we got dropped off in front of our hotel without any hassle.
Xela (Quetzaltenango)
Xela is the least touristic of the places listed here. It makes for a great stop on your way to or from Mexico as it’s the closest to the border. Top attractions include the Volcanos Chicabal, Tajumulco, Santa Maria and Santiaguito and the hotsprings of Fuentes Georginas. Volcano Chicabal is famous for its sacredad lake. Tajumulco is the highest volcano in Central America. From Santa Maria you’ll have views over Santiaguito which is active. Unlike El Fuego, this one doesn’t spit lava (generally at least, it is still an active volcano) but impressive clouds of ash. If hiking Santa Maria is a little too much for you, but would still like to see this, there is viewpoint you can hike too as well. This is less demanding than hiking Santa Maria.
Pro tip: If you’re not going back to Mexico, Xela would be your first stop. If you are going back to Mexico, you could do Xela – Antigua – Atitlan, or Atitlan – Antigua – Xela. If you’ve got a long trip coming from Mexico, make Xela your first stop. There is no transport during the night in Guatemala, so if you’re arrving late in Xela, you’ll need to spend the night. In Mexico there is plenty of transport during the night. Do check the ADO page, or ask at a terminal before leaving Mexico.
Volcano Chicabal
Volcano Chicabal is an inactive volcano with a sacred crater lake, which is what makes it special. The hike is a bit of a climb, but other than that super easy and you don’t need to join a tour. When you get to the entrance, you pay your entry fee (Q. 50 at the time of writing) and the park rangers will point you in the right direction. Hike up to the viewpoint and from here you can go down to the lake.
In order to get here, you can take a bus from the Minerva terminal in Xela to the town of San Martin. Ask to be dropped off at the entrance of Chicabal. Note that this is not the actual entrance of the trail. So you have two options: walking or a taxi. Taxis are rather expensive as it’s a bit of a drive and it’s fairly cheap. But walking is a sacrifice as well for the same reason. We were lucky enough that 2 park rangers just passed the bus stop as we got off and they offered us a ride. I’d recommend taking a taxi up if you can and you can just walk down. It’s possible to camp here as well.
Fuentes Georginas
If you’re tired of volcanoes but still looking for something to do, check out these hotsprings. Take a bus from the Minerva Terminal in Xela to the town of Zunil and ask to be dropped of at the entrance to the hotsprings. Like with Chicabal, this doesn’t mean you’ll actually be at the entrance. The walk to the hotsprings is quite long, 8k, making taxis quite expensive if you’re only 1 or 2. The good news is that it’s not steap and that there are plenty of farmers going up and down with pick-up trucks. We managed to hitch a ride both to and from the hot springs after we started making our way.
A general entry ticket for foreigners is Q. 60 (as a foreigner). This will give you access to technically 5 pools, but 2 of them are attached to others and where basically empty when we got there. So actually 3 pools. You can also choose to pay an additional Q. 25 for entrance to private pools. We actually quite liked the first pool you come across and didn’t bother paying more for other pools.
This was Traveling to Guatemala during Covid – Things you need to know
If you want to know more about traveling neighbouring Mexico during Covid, click here.