Contemplating how to get all your belongings to Guatemala? The answer might be driving them there. No, it is not the easiest, nor the safest thing to do, but it could work for you. Especially if you speak Spanish and live a little bit closer than say… Maine.
To get a car packed full of stuff into Mexico, you’ll want to take a trip to Transmigrantes Mireya, a company who arranges all the paperwork for bringing a car, loaded down with personal belongings into Mexico. This is a crazy experience in itself, as you can read from the personal travels shared by our fellow blogger at this link. You actually have to give away your title and have Read more
Outside of Guatemala but looking to buy some Guatemala coffee that hasn’t been processed by The Man (Starbucks)? Check out the new online shop from La Azotea.
La Azotea uses the Arabica variety of coffee, and actually reserves some of the good stuff for local and internet sales, unlike most companies which send the good stuff to their major suppliers and leave the not so tasty coffee for the local crowd. Azotea is an environmentally friendly plantation that uses an organic pest control system, if you are worried about pesticides.
La Azotea is hosting their coffee selling online endeavors through www.AroundAntigua.net. You can currently purchase ground Guatemala coffee as well as whole bean coffee. In addition, they also Read more
Tourism may be down around the world, and although some businesses in Guatemala are suffering, the outlook isn’t as dim here as it is in other Central and South American countries. Why? Well, Guatemala is seen as a cheaper option for vacation than the ever popular Costa Rica and Panama. And to be honest, Guatemala is less expensive.
Nowadays, flights to Central American countries from the United States all hover at about the same price, so picking your destination, if guided by your budget, may mean choosing a country that has cheaper accomodations and activities. (For a search of international flights, try www.kayak.com.)
Guatemala not only offers high quality tourism, it does so at better prices. There are the Read more
The Guatemalan visa system is pretty simple if all you want to do is come here on vacation: tourists are given a 90 day tourist visa, which generally covers even extended vacations. If you want to stay longer than that you have a couple options.
Your first option is to renew your tourist visa. The visa can be renewed once in the capital before you actually have to leave the country. Once you leave the country, you are again granted a 90 day visa that can be renewed once before having to leave again. So, basically about every 90 days you have to hike back to the States or up to Mexico (El Salvador doesn’t count as leaving the country, Read more
Nowadays many people prefer to carry cards over cash, but in Guatemala, it just doesn’t work that way. Very few establishments accept cards, and those that do charge a high fee for the card processing, anywhere from 5% – 20%, with the average being 15%. Most places don’t mention the fee beforehand, if at all, you will just see it on your receipt.
If you are only here for a few days, using a card in some places may work for you, but if you live here, it isn’t the best option. Those fees add up! In addition, it is only the major stores, tourist places, and a few random establishments that accept cards at this point, making it inconvenient if you Read more
As far as internet service goes in Guatemala the most popular choice is Telgua. It is the largest telecommunications provider in the country, and although there are plenty of other options out there, Telgua seems to dominate the market.
Telgua offers a package that includes phone, TV, and internet for $60 a month. The TV plan is digital and includes 200 channels, the digitial phone line has unlimited calls to other Telgua customers, as well as Claro lines. The internet speed is about 1MB down and 500K up, as done by a speed test. (I am not sure what the technical up/down are on the package, but those are the average speeds you will be receiving.
To obtain a bank account in Guatemala you need to have permanent residency in the country. At least that is the official answer, and the answer you will get if you try and open an account with Banco Quetzal.
However, if you try at Banco Reformador you will be asked to only present your passport and a copy of your utility bill, and possibly letters from two Guatemalans that know you. If you can’t produce two letters, then you may want to try Banco G&T, as all they require for you to open a bank account is a copy of your passport and a utility bill.
Foreigners are often told that they cannot open accounts in Guatemala, and while that Read more
Los Cebollines is part of a small chain of Mexican eateries with a number of locations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras.
The place is clean and serves up good, authentic Mexican food. It is a real simple restaurant and the service is slower than we expect as North Americans, but it was pretty average speed for Central America.
The price is about average for a specialty sit-down place, with a full meal being about $11–20 per person.
The Zona 1 location is on 6th Avenue 9–75. No reservations are needed, but the phone number is +502 2232 7750. Los Cebollines also has wireless internet.
Los Cebollines also does catering, delivery and franchising.
This article was published by The Independent and highlights the history, culture and nature of Guatemala. Alessia Horwich brings out the best of Guatemala for the budget traveller.
Why Guatemala?
This chunk of Central America, wedged beneath Mexico and washed by both the Atlantic and Pacific, is scenically beautiful, rich in history – and very cheap.
Guatemala is the only Central American country where indigenous Indian people are in the majority, and their culture is vividly conveyed in their bright, hand-woven textiles. Before the Spanish Conquest, the Mayan civilisation was arguably the most advanced in the Americas. It began to crumble before Columbus arrived, but bequeathed an array of exquisite cities, which are still being uncovered from within the Read more
We interrupt this tour of Guatemala City to share with you an important update from the Guatemala Gringo and his other Gringo affiliate sites (see the blogroll)…
The Gringo has worked to create a system that puts readers in touch with valuable people in Guatemala and other Latin American countries. If you need an English speaking driver, real estate information, legal services and so on, all you need to do is this:
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