Navigating the Guatemala City Airport
Guatemala City is not all that bad.
Currently the airport is being remodeled and is a bit of a mess.
Many travelers arrive at the Guatemala
City airport, never planning to bother with the
many sights of Guate
and with only the thought of moving onward to Antigua. For those who arrive and
can be through customs by 8 PM, there are regular shuttles still running. A
shuttle there currently has a standard price of $10. Also you can take a taxi to
Antigua, but figure about US $25 or so from the airport itself, but try for
less. There are likely to be others on your flight who would be willing to share
a cab. Be sure to have the cab driver agree on a price ahead of time.
Getting through Customs does not usually take long. Except in those rare
situations that another flight just came in, the first one off the plane should
be done with immigration in about 5 minutes after exiting the plane. If another
plane has landed just before that one, everybody should add another 15- 20
minutes to the amount of time to get through. However, anyone with checked
baggage will have to wait about 15-20 minutes more. The last ones off the plane
should add approximately another 20 minutes to get through immigration. If you
have nothing to declare, customs will take about 30 seconds, unless you go by
mistake to the line for declarations and stand there without realizing you don't
have to. All in all, it is a small airport, and you can get through it quickly.
There used to be ATMs at the airport, a bank and money exchanges before the
current renovation started and likely there will be the same again, but right
now, the departures area has the only ATM.
If you have purchased
an online ticket onward to Flores, the notification you received may have stated
that you need to pick up your ticket at the ticket office, whether for TACA or
TAG. This would be a good time to do so, rather than
having to arrive extra early for what is generally a morning flight. Just go out
the main door and look to the right, where there is a stairway going up and back
into the airport. Go up and find the relevant ticket booth to get your ticket
and boarding pass.
If you are arriving very late in the evening and are flying to Flores the
next morning, there are hotels with shuttles hear the airport:
Note that the first four listed below are in a residential neighborhood where
there are no restaurants or bars, but most places are familiar with local
restaurants that deliver. Unless their website specifies otherwise, the
included breakfast probably starts at 8 am, which is after morning flights
leave. Most of the following offer luggage storage.
Dos Lunas. They are presently advertising $12, which may be for a shared
room and bath. Internet was Q8 (about $1) an hour. curfew being at
2300 and secure parking for Q10/night, if available.
The Hotel Aeropuerto Guest
House advertises being 150 yards away from the airport and is all private
rooms. No web price is currently shown, but it reportedly is charging $35 for
rooms, which the site previously stated were for up to three persons. Breakfast
starts at 5 am and is reportedly both good and filling. .
Hostal Los Volcanes. Internet included. Dorms $15. single room $25,
doubles or triples en suite $20 pp.
Patricia's B&B $10. Internet 10 Q per hour.
Xamanek Student Inn costs $14 for a dorm bed. Best of all is its location in the Zona Viva.
This would be the place to go if you want to be able to walk somewhere nearby to
eat or drink or you want a safe area to stay in from which to see Guatemala
City. It includes fast Internet, offers cheap foreign calls, and is
surprisingly stylish. It is close enough to the airport that if you walk outside of the airport
and hail a street cab, the
price is the lowest on a metered cab, which is currently 25 Q. Don't
consider this street cab approach after dark, though.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Taxis from the airport are generally safe, but be sure to agree on a price
before entering the cab. Many cabs now have meters.
Lonely Planet notes that there is a bus stop across the airport parking lot where a number 83 bus will take you through zones 9, 4 and 1. The latter is where a good number of affordable hotels are. I have ridden city buses there, but am ambivalent about recommending them to others. If you do ride them, keep your wits about you.
Note that these prices are likely to change before I am aware of it.