Guatemala Driving Tips

This is everything I know about driving in Guatemala. I’ve lived in Guatemala for the past 4 years and this is what I’ve learned about driving in Guatemala within that time.

This is an excellent guide for tourists traveling to Guatemala that will want to rent a car and drive around and also it would be useful for anyone who is considering relocating to Guatemala.

I’m from the United States and driving in a foreign country can be intimidating. I’m here to say it isn’t as scary as you might think and driving in Guatemala is even fun! The first thing I would say is if you are nervous about driving in Guatemala do not drive in Guatemala City and I stand by that.

While I love driving in Guate I do not like driving in the city and avoid it at all costs. It is possible but not fun. The US equivalent would be driving around in a bad part of Pheonix, Arizona.

The Basics

Let’s start with the basics. A lot of driving laws here are more like loose guidelines, as in hardly anyone follows them and you will not get pulled over or stopped. So yea it is like a free for all.

The laws that are not followed and rarely enforced are,

The Speed Limit (yea there is a speed limit, do I know what it is.. no I don’t, I just wing it.)
Red Lights (Depending on where you are! Some redlight are meant to be followed more so, if you are driving in Guatemala City and some aren’t functioning more so if driving in Escuintla.)
Seatbelts (It is probably a good idea to wear a seatbelt but you really do not have to if you don’t want to.)
Child Carseats (This isn’t the US and kids, even infants and newborns don’t use car seats, it is not even a law here.)
Passing (People will pass you whenever there is no oncoming traffic. They do not care about solid white lines.)
Motos or Motorcycles (They drive however they want so you need to be extra vigilant.)
Insurance (You do not legally need to carry car insurance in Guatemala.)

Now that we have that covered. Yes, it is a good idea to use an infant car seat because driving in Guatemala can be chaotic and accidents happen but it isn’t a requirement and you won’t get into any trouble.

The police in Guatemala do not pull people over. Yea, read that again. The police really do not pull people over not for any reason, not for speeding, not for having a light out. nothing.

They do have police checkpoints around highway areas leading to other cities. When passing a police checkpoint you might be gestured by the policeman on the side of the road to stop.

What to do during a police checkpoint stop?

It really is no problem, they don’t typically try to extort you unless you are doing something very wrong or do not have the correct driving documents (this isn’t Mexico!)

You can drive legally in Guatemala with a US or foreign license as long as your passport tourist visa is valid and not expired. You are required to show your passport and foreign license if you are stopped at a checkpoint. You also need to provide your car’s documents.

There are two different kinds of car documents you need to carry in the car. The tags which are also called calcomanía. The second document is a circulation card which is a yearly tax also known as the tajeta de circulacion. Remember you do not need to show insurance.

After the police look at your documents they will wave you on. Pretty painless and in my experience police checkpoint rarely stop cars. They are more often looking to stop motorcycles, tourist buses, and chicken buses.

Insurance

I would highly recommend having insurance because accidents are bound to happen here and if you are a tourist and you’ve been in an accident the justice system in Guatemala is not “fair”.

Insurance is relatively inexpensive and it saves you a massive headache in the event of an accident because when in an accident, I’m sorry to say, the police and locals will try to extort you. If both parties do not have insurance and do not agree on a payoff both cars are towed and both parties go to jail. Avoid all of this by carrying insurance.

I personally have been in two accidents in Guatemala without having insurance and the first one was my fault and a small fender bender in which I agreed to immediately pay for the assumed damage. Which was a scratch and I paid $100. I still feel like this solution was reasonable and that I was not taken advantage of.

The second accident wasn’t as simple and it was with a newly bought mo-ped. The person and I didn’t agree on fault or on payment. We did not involve the police and I ended up settling by paying much more than I thought was fair but the other party did agree to lower her demanded price. Anyways the lesson is to just have insurance.

Driving Tips

Drive cautiously and at a moderate speed.
Keep an eye out for motorcycles.
A lot of roadways are one-way, it is very common.
The road signs are in Spanish (just wing it.)
Driving signs such as one-way road signs and stop signs can be found on the sides of buildings.
Obey all stop signs.
Carry your car documents + insurance in case of an accident.
Watch out for potholes, seriously, these potholes are no joke.
Be vigilant for oncoming cars in your lane and if you see one slow down, a lot of cars will pass without the proper safety distance which could mean a head-on collision for you if you are not careful.
Be ready to break, you can quickly come upon diesel trucks broken down in the roadway or stray dogs.
Do not drink and drive, the police do not care but if you are in an accident and someone is injured….you do not want to experience a foreign jail, and definitely not in Guatemala..plus Uber is cheap!
Use the Waze app to get around.
Speed bumps are not well marked or colored.
Do not park on the road at night, if you want to keep your car use paid private parking. (yea my car was stolen.)

Traffic

Traffic is not preventable and you will encounter it. Especially when driving from Guatemala City to Antigua or back. Just take along a book to bide your time because it is not uncommon to be stuck in traffic for hours, especially during the morning or 5 o’clock evening rush hour. It also isn’t uncommon especially in Guatemala City for drivers to force their way into the traffic line.

Small Communities

When driving in small villages oftentimes you will come across dirt roads, cobblestoned roads, and roadways that are two-way but that can only fit one car through at a time.

I travel one of these small roadways every day when going to pick up my son from school in our village. What I do is I turn onto the road carefully and I look up the entire length of the road and see if there are any cars coming down. If there is, the unofficial rule is that whatever car is closest to their entry needs to back up to allow the other car to pass, so I will back up to allow the other car to come down the roadway and pass me, then when it is clear I start up the road again and when I’m driving up the road if a car turns and sees me coming they, in turn, are closest to the exit of the road and will back up while waiting for me to finish driving the length of the road.

A small beep means thanks for letting me through! A loud and incessant beep means to get out of the way!

On small roadways, it is very common for cars to pass so closely to your car that you can reach out and touch the other person so do not be alarmed just pull your mirror in so it doesn’t get hit.

Why I Love Driving in Guatemala

After reading through this you are probably now terrified to attempt to drive in Guatemala but these are all of the worst-case scenarios and how to protect yourself from them happening.

I love driving in Guatemala because it is a small country. You can literally drive from the Pacific Coast across the entire country to the Caribbean Ocean in 15 hours or so.

I absolutely love driving the backcountry and exploring the region by car. I would highly recommend it. I’ve never been robbed in the four years I’ve traversed the country in my car. I’ve driven alone and I’ve driven at night with no problems.

I would rather drive in Guatemala than in the US! I do not like traveling via the interstate in the US and Guatemala does not have an interstate. The country consists of mountains, highways, and small towns. Everything including driving goes at a slower pace. You can relax and take in the views without the added stress of city driving.

Alternative Transportation

Driving in Guatemala is fun and I highly recommend it but that does not mean it is the only option. If you are traveling for a week or less there are plenty of other options besides renting a car and driving.

There is Uber which is very cheap. There are shuttles to get you from town to town. There are also the camioneta aka chicken bus and Tuk-Tuks.

I do not recommend using the camioneta/chicken bus, it is used locally by those trying to commute to work who have no other choice because it is the cheapest option of travel in Guatemala and it is also the most unsafe due to robberies and accidents.