I have experience of driving in Guatemala and of being driven by other extranjeros, Basically if you get into an accident it is going to be all your fault no matter who caused it, also the Guatemalan driver is going to claim for every sngle thing wrong with thier car - caused by the accident or not, they will also have a large group of family and friends who will also claim to have seen everything and then of course you may have the police involved - not good for you,
I have been in this situation twice, on once occasion a car crashed into the back of our jeep and then claimed the accident was our fault, police were called and inclined to agree, much $$$ was wanted by both, luckily we had everthing in order, spoke
spanish and more importantly worked for a large NGO with plenty of Guatemalan staff who were with us in no time, also we had a great legal department - so it was all sorted.
On the other occasion a drunk driver crashed into the front of our car which was parked and somehow this was our fault as well - a large group of friends were called and the police who again were up for a multa at least and what better from some non guatemalans who might have cash, (the driver was so drunk he fell out the car) we had the same back up as the first case and got it sorted - after a few wasted hours and much checking of all our documents and international drivers license, and residents permit etc etc....
Rules are different for Guatemalans on the road, also if you were even thinking of drivingin the city the danger of getting lost and ending up somewhere you shouldent be is also a risk.
My advice is don't, public transport is cheap and easy and you meet great people, in a car without back up in certain areas can lead to problems - theft of course with the high excess, having to park it inside, etc etc......
Blue
You will have a great time in Guatemala, whether you rent a car or not, but I can assure you that you will enjoy your trip more if you use shuttles and 1st class buses.
I drive in Guatemala almost every day, and hate it. The roads are fine, but the drivers are horrible. As stated above, if anything happens it is automatically your fault.
I think that as tourists, it is nice to try and minimize the negative impact that you have on a country. I don't know what percentage of Guatemalans have cars, but I think that it is pretty tiny, and that if every single one of us tourists rented a car to drive around in, it would have a pretty big impact on their road system, and the pollution in their country. So why not take the bus?
Nonsense Pedro... a true hippie would be driving down from California in a '73 VW van.
dcarson, we rented a car in the Peten region for a week. We went with Tabarini, www.tabarini.com/ which cost us about $40/day. I'm from Los Angeles, so I'm used to bad drivers and drive very defensively. I had no interest in driving south in Guatemala City, so up north was just fine. We had absolutely no problems with the other drivers or the paved roads. However, the road to Belize border from Tikal is really crappy, full of large potholes and rutty dirt for the last 10 miles or so to the border. We did get stuck in the mud outside Yaxha on the way to Naranjo, but that was after a massive deluge of rain. Our poor little KIA car took a lot of abuse on the dirt roads, but held together thankfully.
We parked our car in hotel lots, especially at night. Since we were in one spot for a week, renting a car made sense for us. In El Remate, minivans were rather hard to come by. The flexibility and ability to explore Mayan ruins on OUR time was worth it for us. If you go to Tikal on a tour, you have to leave very early in the afternoon whether you're done or not.
Thankfully I had no bad experiences or close calls with other drivers, but I attribute that to the relative lack of cars in the north compared to Guat City or Antigua. LatinaAlma, of course, lives in Guatemala, so she's more experienced. This tourist had no problems, though. I can see how some people might be intimidated by driving in a 3rd world country and so was I. The experience was pleasant, but be wary.
There was no way I would drive in big cities. Santa Elena was the biggest city I drove in, but that wasn't too bad. As I said, I'm an experienced California driver and also drove a lot in San Francisco, a very dense city.
I would recommend taking public transportation for a day or so to get a feel for traffic and your comfort level in driving in Guatemala.
Thank you to everyone for your opinions and advice, we've decided to take the "wait and see" but to also (thank you zaxinc) spend our Antigua time sans car. I've been really please with this amazing resource. We've travelled all over Asia and Africa (without car I might add - well, except for South Africa we had a rental) and I wish I had put more stock into this sight, would have helped a lot I'm sure. Thank you again,
Dawn
dcarson, please give us updates on your trip. We enjoy reading people's experiences in Guatemala. I really wouldn't recommend driving in Antigua. First, the cobblestone streets will rattle your teeth off. Second, I saw a LOT of broken window glass on the streets. Third, the city is so small you can easily walk from the mercado to the other side of the city in about 15 minutes.
In 2003 we rented a pickup from Tabarini, who have an office in both Antigua and at Guatemala Airport.
Driving a pickup with a bunch of hitchhiking locals in the back was very fun
and has some advantages. Allways someone in the back who knows the good direction.
They knock on the roof when they want to get off and then ask "how much?".
Allways smiling faces for the free ride of course.
Driving a car in Guatemala in no problem. You will gain a lot of time
and you can visit remote places like wonderful Semuc Champey or El Ceibal.
According to safety, don't forget to park your car in a guarded "parqueo" when visiting a town.
Look at the pictures on my website
and enjoy your trip.
Greetings from Belgium
Dirk
There is absolutely no need for a car in Antigua! THe whole town, at least the historic part which is all you will want to explore on foot anyway, is a walkable 10 by 10 blocks...delicious, and I LIVE here! Many gringos live in Antigua partly so they can avoid owning a car and driving. It would only get in your way in Antigua. THen you can take shuttles or if you decide, can rent a car to go to Lake Atitlan or other spots. Driving in the city is NOT fun...it is doable, I do it but a previous poster was right when they said there are parts of the city you DON"T want to end up in, even in broad daylight.
Guatemala is so beautiful, the countryside is so distracting, you will not want to keep your eyes on the road.....
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