In 2019 a friend and I rented a car in Guatemala, for getting better around while exploring the country. With having the international driving license, nothing was standing in our way, but how was it?
How was the price?
It was cheaper than in European countries but not super cheap. We just didn’t have much time and wanted to see as much as possible. In comparison with the public transport cost, for longer distances, it was not much more, by checking the prices online. Maybe when taking the local buses, which are harder to find for tourists, it should be cheaper than online.
For some parts of the trip, we were also taking people with us, to share the gas price as well, this made it also cheaper.
What is important to know before?
It is important, what kind of car and how long you want to rent it. If you are above 25, you pay less as well. Even the website where you can rent your car is making a difference, so it is always important to check many different place.
- You need to have an international driving license.
- Check more than one website before booking.
- Better book the car close to the place you arrive, it makes it easier.
- When not having navigation included, download just in case the map of the country, to have it as an offline map.
- Having a credit card, usually without it, is not possible.
What to expect when driving in Guatemala?
The traffic in Guatemala is terrible, when comparing it to Europe, or in my case with Germany. The stronger one can drive!
Especially in the rush hours it is like being in hell. You need to concentrate well, to keep an overview of the situation and not to destroy your car. Many demolished cars are able to be seen while driving, which summarize the situation well.
When you are driving, the way you would drive in Germany, you will need for your distance way longer, then if you just try to go for it and try to be local. we realized that, when my friend or when I was driving.
The streets are often not good and at night, it is hard to see, due to the missing lights on the sides of the streets. The light of the high beam was sadly also not really strong, that is why, we tried not to drive during the night.
My experience
I had fun driving in Guatemala, because the way I was driving would not be possible in Germany. In Germany they would take my driving license many times for that.
At the beginning it was hard to get used to it, but after driving for several hundreds of kilometers it was fine. Nobody really cares about others on the road and the same way I was trying to drive.
With renting the car, we were able to see way more, then other people we met, saw in the same amount of time. We haven’t seen all touristic spots, but many of it and seeing the surrounding with always were able to stop, when we wanted, was a big bonus.
Summary
Renting a car is not cheap, compared to taking public transport or hitchhiking. When renting a car, you can obviously save money, for sharing the costs with other people. Reaching out to people can be for example in a popular hostel.
Driving in countries like Guatemala is not simple and you need to get used to it a little bit. The positive thing is, you are more independent, you can just always stop and drive wherever you want, without any issues.
Due to the fact that it is a rental car, of course you will be more careful driving, because you don’t want to pay extra for anything.
When you want to save money, then probably renting a car would not be your first choice anyway. Like it is often, with more comfort, you need to spend more money.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
Guatemala Stories
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