Guatemala

Crossing into Guatemala at the border

To enter Guatemala from Mexico with a vehicle you will need to have the following documents:

• Passport
• Current Valid Registration
• Proof of Ownership
• Driver’s License and/or International Driving Permit (IDP)
• Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (available for free at the border)
• Valid Insurance for Guatemala

Most border posts and nearby towns have offices selling liability policies.

A general tip that you can try to make use of at any border crossing is to ask for a receipt. You may find that any non-legitimate fee is dropped. When in doubt, try to observe how much, if anything, other travelers are paying before it’s your turn.

Money

The USD is an official currency of Guatemala. At the time of writing (3/16/2011), another currency of Guatemala is the Quetzal (GTQ), which is valued at .13USD. The inverse of this is 1USD to 7.68GTQ. The Quetzal is extremely difficult to obtain outside of Guatemala or exchange after leaving Guatemala, so visitors are strongly advised to exchange local currency before departure or stick with USD.