Costs in Guatemala

Though I'd like to visit Guatemala sometime this winter as I live in Mexico, and have never been there, it seems to be a relatively costly country concerning that it is even poorer than Mexico. I see videos online where "cheap" hostels are $11 a night (8 to a room), a breakfast is $5US. Guatemalan meals are $US7 with rice and beans. My Mexican friend was there for 5 days in late October, and everything was more expensive than in Mexico, including buying coffee beans, cocoa etc. It certainly looked beautiful enough, I can't deny that.
The entrance fee to Tikal for example is almost $21 US for a 1 day pass (Guatemalans pay one fourth the price). I remember years back that Guatemala was considered the cheapest place to go, and but even an American I met told me 2 years ago said that it no longer was. He said they've pegged the Quetzal to the US dollar. I didn't believe him at first but now I notice that it isn't the bargain it once was at all, and the other day the rate was still a poor 7.33 Q to 1 US dollar.

Cheap is all relative. Inflation is always a issue. Guatemala's economy is booming too. Its still cheaper than Costa Rica by 50%. You can get a private room/bath in Guatemala for $20...

Prices will depend on where you go -- the more touristy, the more expensive. Here are some real data points from Panajachel, San Lucas Toliman and San Antonio Palopó. Prices are in Quetzales -- exchange rate to U.S. dollars is between 7.2 and 7.4 to 1.

• Decent room with private bath, WiFi (Casa Lupita, Panajachel): Q60/night
• Nice room with lake view, TV, WiFi, breakfast (Casa Colonial, San Antonio Palopó): Q300 (for 1 or 2 people)
• Breakfasts: eggs, tortillas, queso, beans: Q10 to Q12 (near the Pana market is your best place to look)
• Great breakfast: eggs, tortillas, queso, benas, guacamole, fruit, oatmeal: Q20 (Riccasoli's Pizza, Panajachel)
• Tortillas: 4 for Q1
• Avocados: Q1 to Q3 each (seasonal)
• Strawberries, blackberries, beans, ...: Q5/lb.
• Broccoli: Q2 to Q3/head
• Burrito and enchilada meal: Q30 or Q35 (Mexican restaurant in Panajachel)
• Maguro Don (lots of raw tuna over rice) with miso soup: Q55 (Hana Japanese restaurant in Panajachel)
• Pupusas with assorted fillings: Q10/each, 2 minimum (Chero's Bar, Panajachel)
• 200g bags of decent coffee: Q10
• Fish fillets at Q13/lb, whole small fish at Q4/lb in the public market in San Lucas Toliman

These are all things I buy/eat. You can certainly spend more money but this is decent food in perfectly good places. Panajachel is not cheap -- you will find cheaper meals where there are less tourists -- but reasonable prices obtained by someone who lives here and has done their homework.

The U.S. dollar is low relative to the Quetzal because there are lots of U.S. dollars flowing into Guatemala. The Quetzal is not pegged to the US$, it is just supply and demand.

I've traveled extensively all over Mexico and Guatemala for decades. Mexico in general has always been more expensive than Guatemla. That's for lodging, meals, drinks and transportation, the bulk of traveling costs. True, the value of the quetzal has gone up a little and the peso has been going down, but things are still significantly cheaper in Guatemala. Keep in mind that costs can vary significantly in any country depending specifically on where you are.

Buen viaje!

You can't generalize. If so why don't you just compare Oaxaca or Chiapas to Veracruz?

Well, I hope to go to Flores/Santa Elena/Tikal in mid January or a little later. I do expect it be more expensive than where I live now (in the state of Michoacan, Mexico) but that lovely lake, endless forests, and a day or two in Tikal reall captivate me, even if it does cost $21 to get in. Phil_I56, thanx for the price breakdowns, but I am not going to live there, but just stay in a lodge and eat out and maybe bring back some Guatemalan coffee.

When are you planning to be in Tikal,as I'll be coming down from Cancun on the 18th Jan 2017

i also have traveled in Guatemala and Mexico for decades.. i find the prices too be about the same. If you eat too cheap you can run into problems. I love both countries. If you have a home and eat there of course much cheaper than eating out. You want to save money stay home. Travel is always of more cost.

Prices are about the same, although there are alot of variables- time of year, popularity of location, etc. The rate of exchange that you're getting and the currency you're carrying also have obvious effects.

You can travel cheaper in Guatemala because there are more bare-bones budget options- eating in basic comedores, chicken buses, super simple hotels. In my experience these are all much more rare in Mexico.

One of the few things that are seriously cheaper in Mexico are supermarket goods, electronics, etc but it doesn't sound like you'll be buying too much of those.

I'll be travelling from Cancun to playa del carmen,Tulum chitzen it's,Merida and Uxmal then back to take my G/f to the airport in Cancun 18th January,b4 setting off for 3weeks in Guatemala,
Suggestions on getting from the airport at CCn to Tikal,semuc champey,Antigua,Livingston I have to be back at Ccn airport on Sunday 12th Feb,
Regards Craig

Guate is Not as cheap as it was, been coming/and living here for 9 years. Average meal in Antigua now is about 60Q, or over $10 Canadian, for a lunch, w no drink. That is not high end, not low end, it's mid range.
We travel, average basic private room with bath for 2 people, is 300 Q a night (or $53 Cad) in Xela, the lake, Rio Dulce. No where near as cheap as it used to be, and Mexico is far cheaper IMO. We were there last month and maybe just the Peso is low...but all the same kind of stuff was 1/3 of the cost of Antigua easily.
You can do it cheaper, for sure, but even a (private) room in a Hostel at Lake Atitilan, a month ago, was 130Q. That is over $20 Canadian, for a crappy hostel...I was surprised. Seems to me its getting more expensive here all the time.

Yes, vancouvert, this is definitely the impression that I got from my Mexican friend who was there in October where he initially paid 60Q for a basic meal of chicken, beans and rice in Antigua, or just under 8.50 US dollars! Later he did find meals in the $6 range, but I gathered that from everything he bought there (coffee and cocoa), it was all a good 50% more than here in Mexico. And now "foreigners" pay close to $21 for a day to Tikal. I'm not really against that if it is good for the park, though. It's hard to believe that tourists pay so much in a country that is definitely much poorer than Mexico. I think it has something to do with the quetzal being pegged to the dollar. Guatemala used to be considered dirt cheap. I am still making plans to go to Flores, but I am already bracing myself to pay 50% more than I pay for anything here in Mexico.

I get clean, cute, safe, well-located rooms with friends owners for $20-30 US/double in Antigua, various towns on Lake Atitlán, Rio Dulce, Flores, etc. I generally pay closer to $3/meal for traditional food at locals places in Antigua and on Lake Atitlán. The places we've traveled in México were more, even though it's been 6+ years - various stops in Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas. Lots of cheap and plenty of spendy in both countries imho.

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