Belize and Guatemala

Travel tips

Here you can find some handy tips about traveling in our destinations. If you have any specific questions we will of course be more than happy to assist you.

•   open all close all
  
• Local time - Guatemala read close

  Guatemala operates on Central Standard Time and does not observe daylight saving time so in winter time there will be a 7 hour time difference and in summer time there will be an 8 hour time difference with Europe.

• Local time - Belize read close

  Belize operates on Central Standard Time and does not observe daylight saving time so in winter time there will be a 7 hour time difference and in summer time there will be an 8 hour time difference with Europe.

• Practical tips read close
  • Drinking water; do not drink water from the tap. Drinking water offered by the hotel, whether bottled or in a (glass) can, is safe of course. Some hotels offer “garrafons” (blue plastic vessels of 20 liters) with drinking water in the reception or corridors, which are safe to use. We advise you to buy bottled water, which you can buy at local stores everywhere in town.
  • Toilet paper; do not throw any paper in the toilet but use the baskets beside it. Outlet-pipes are not designed for toilet paper and get blocked very easily.
  • Be careful in the sun! The sun here is stronger and therefore you can get a sunburn or even a sunstroke much faster. Wear a hat, drink a lot of water and stay in the shade where possible.
  • Use mosquito repellent and try to avoid being bitten by mosquitos by wearing long sleves. Not only is it uncomfortable to get bitten by mosquitos, there is a risk of diseases transmitted by mosquitos, such as dengue fever.
  • To prevent yourself from dehydrating you should drink a lot of water anyway, but especially if you get diarrhea. And keep in mind you can use ORS (salt/sugar solution) not only with diarrhea, but also in case you feel a bit faint. Mexican ORS = Pedialite (suero oral in Spanish), is available in ‘farmacias’.
• Safety read close

  Always keep an eye on your luggage. Carry a copy of your passport with you and make sure it has your picture. We do advise you to always carry your money and valuables with you. Never leave anything valuable in the hotel room, unless there is a safe or that you can lock your luggage. Don’t wear expensive jewellery and keep a low profile with your video and photo cameras. At busy places, be aware of pickpockets and we advise to carry your bag in front of you or to carry your money in a money belt under your clothes. Don´t leave anything unattended at the beach or waterfalls when you go for a swim. If you travel with a rental car, don´t take any hitch hikers.

• Tipping Guidelines read close

  It is customary to tip money for services provided by a hotel, guides, drivers and restaurants. Giving a tip is a way to show that you are satisfied with the service that you have been offered. The wages are low, so a little extra is always good. There are no fixed rules when you give a tip. You are the one who will decide how much you want to give, however at some tourist places a tip is already added automatically to your bill. In case that happens, you pay the end amount on your bill and don’t leave any additional tip.

  Just to make it a little easier, we will give you some guidelines. You can give porters who help you with your luggage about 2 USD. For hotel services like cleaning you can give about 2 USD per day. In restaurants it is normal to tip between 10 and 15%. Drivers and guides you can tip around 5 USD per person per day or tour, depending the travelled distance and duration of the tour.

• General Information - Guatemala read close

  Official Name:                 República de Guatemala
  Measure system:            Metric System
  Weight unit:                    Gram
  Predominant religion:     Catholic
  Official language:           Spanish

• General Information - Belize read close

  Official Name:                 Belice
  Measure system:            Imperial Units
  Weight unit:                    Pounds
  Predominant religion:     Catholic
  Official language:           English

• Money - Guatemala read close

  The currency in Guatemala is the Guatemalan Quetzal, with bills of 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1 and 0,5 and coins of 1 quetzal, 0,50, 0,25, 0,10, 0,05, 0,01 cents.

  Exchange rate:

  • USD: 8.00 Quetzals
  • Euro: 8.80 Quetzals

  Paying with Euros is not possible in Guatemala. USD can be changed to Quetzales in large towns.
  In some places it can be a bit difficult to get money for that reason we advise you to always hold an extra amount of about 100 USD pp, just in case. With bankcards that have a Cirrus / Mastercard or Visa logo it is usually easy to cash money from an ATM machine in Guatemala. Never choose the option “retiro rapido” because then you can only get 400 Quetzales at a time. With “retiro normal” you can choose how much money you want. At the border it is possible to change your Quetzales when you leave Guatemala. Outside Guatemala Guatemalan Quetzales are not accepted!

• Money - Belize read close

  The local currency is the Belizean Dollar (BZD), with bills of 100,50,20,10,5 and 2 and coins of 1, 0,50, 0,20, 0,10, 0,05 and 0,01 cents.

  Exchange rate:

  • USD: 2.00 BZD
  • Euro: 2.29 BZD

  At several places in Belize there are limited amount of ATM machines and these don´t accept all types of bankcards. Most of the ATM machines do accept Visa and/or Mastercard. In case of an emergency, major banks provide cash money showing your bankcard and passport. It happens on regular base that cash machines are (temporarily) out of money/order. You can pay anywhere in Belize with USD. If you would like to change USD to Belizean Dollars you can do that at Casa de Cambio´s (exchange house) which are open almost the entire day. They usually only have a little less exchange rate then at the bank. In big hotels it is also possible to exchange money. Belizean Dollars are not accepted outside Belize so if you don´t return to Belize, make sure you use your last Belizean Dollars or change it at the border or at a casa de cambio!

• Money - general tips read close
  • Make sure that your bankcard is activated for being able to use it in these countries!
  • It might be necessary to increase your credit card limit for the duration of your trip. This is especially important if you travel by rental car, as a deposit will be blocked on your credit card for the duration of the rental contract.
  • As a backup to cards, it is a good idea to take enough USD cash which can come handy at the border, for entrance fees that are not included and in little towns where you will not be able to exchange money or find an ATM machine!