If you’re planning a trip to Guatemala, I’d recommend pairing this with my Guatemala itinerary guide so you can see how these costs actually play out across a real route.
Quick Facts
- Trip length: 26 days
- Total spent: ~£1,350-£1400 (cash withdrawals make this impossible to know exactly)
- Daily average: ~£52-£54
- Travel style: Upper-end backpacking (comfort + convenience, not strict budgeting)
Guatemala Daily Budget: What You Should Expect
Based on my experience traveling across the country, here’s what a realistic Guatemala daily budget looks like:
- £40/day: Tight budget (street food, budget hostels, minimal alcohol)
- £50–60/day: Comfortable backpacking (what I spent)
- £70+/day: More relaxed travel with fewer trade-offs
Your actual daily cost depends heavily on how you travel — especially accommodation, food choices, alcohol, and how often you move between destinations.
What I Actually Spent (And What That Means)
~£53/day puts Guatemala in a slightly awkward middle ground.
- More expensive than Nicaragua / El Salvador
- Cheaper than Costa Rica
- Easy to overspend without realising
I wasn’t trying to save money:
- Ate out for every meal
- Drank regularly
- Took shuttles instead of local buses
- Chose well-known hostels over the cheapest options
So this is a realistic, comfortable backpacking number — not a stripped-down budget.
- Accommodation: £10–£20
- Food: £10–£25
- Transport: £3–£8
- Activities (avg): £4–£6
- Alcohol: £0–£10+
Accommodation Costs
Realistically, hostels fall into two categories:
- Budget hostels: ~£10 per night
- Well-known/social hostels: ~£15–£20 per night
I stayed mostly in the better-known social hostels, which pushes the average up slightly.
Spanish School Stay
I also did a 6-night Spanish school homestay for 2,584 quetzals (~£258), which included:
- 3 meals per day
- 4 hours of Spanish lessons daily
This actually worked out very good value and brought my daily average down slightly.
Overall, hostels were more expensive than I expected — especially compared to Southeast Asia — but still reasonable for the experience.
Transport Costs
I used tourist shuttles for my entire route, and overall they felt fairly priced. Local transport is available and much cheaper (sometimes as little as ~£2 per journey), but it’s not particularly reliable:- No fixed timetables
- No clear stations
- You often just wait for buses to show up
If you’re planning your route, I break down how to structure it efficiently in my Guatemala itinerary guide, which helps avoid unnecessary transport costs.
Food & Alcohol Costs
Food prices vary quite a bit depending on how you eat.
- Street food: ~£2–£5
- Typical meal: £8–£12
- Higher-end meals: £15+
Even if you try to eat cheaply, small costs add up quickly — drinks, snacks, coffees, and the occasional more expensive meal.
Alcohol also makes a noticeable difference. Even a couple of drinks per day increases your overall spend, and regular nights out push it up further.
I didn’t track this precisely, but it formed a significant part of my daily spend.
Even small things like my daily peanut m&ms sweet treat can have an impact on how much you spend over time.
Tours & Activities
- Acatenango hike: ~$140 (£110)
- Tikal entrance: ~200Q (~£20)
- Semuc Champey: ~50Q (~£5)
The Acatenango hike is easily the biggest single cost (~£110), but also one of the most worthwhile experiences in Guatemala.
If you’re considering it, I break down the full cost, difficulty, and whether it’s actually worth it in my detailed guide.
Other entrance fees and tours are relatively small individually, but they do add up across a full trip.
Cost by Location
Most places in Guatemala felt surprisingly similar in price.
The main exception was Semuc Champey, where:
- No street food options
- You’re essentially forced to eat at hostels
- Prices are slightly higher as a result
Elsewhere (Antigua, Lake Atitlán, Flores, El Paredón), costs were fairly consistent — but your spending depends heavily on your choices rather than the destination itself.
Biggest Cost Surprises
More Expensive Than Expected
- Hostels (especially compared to Asia)
- Food in remote locations
Not More Expensive Than Expected
- Tourist shuttles (felt fair for the convenience)
Hidden Costs
- ATM fees
- Card charges in smaller towns
Even ATMs labelled “free” aren’t always reliable, so you often end up paying anyway. Withdrawing larger amounts when possible helps reduce this.
Guatemala Trip Cost Calculator
Use this Guatemala travel cost calculator to estimate how much your trip might cost based on your travel style, number of destinations, and spending habits.
It’s based on real travel data from a 26-day trip, so it should give you a much more realistic estimate than generic budget guides.
Guatemala Trip Cost Calculator
Final Verdict: Is Guatemala Expensive?
Guatemala sits somewhere in the middle.
- Not ultra-cheap
- Not expensive
- Easy to overspend without noticing
A realistic range:
- Tight budget: ~£40/day
- Comfortable backpacking: ~£50–60/day
- More Luxury travel: £70+/day
It’s not about finding the cheapest possible way to travel — it’s about understanding where your money actually goes.
Where to look next
If you’re planning your trip through Guatemala, these guides will help you understand how costs vary across different routes and experiences:
Guatemala Itinerary
See how costs change depending on your route, trip length, and the destinations you include.
Acatenango Hike
The most expensive single activity for most travellers — here’s what it costs and whether it’s worth it.
Semuc Champey
A remote destination where costs can increase — here’s how to plan and budget for the trip.
