Guatemala City eSIM
In Guatemala City you connect to Tigo or Claro, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 32 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Tigo and Claro
- Typical speed in Guatemala
- 32 Mbps typical, 7 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Guatemala City
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $9.89 | $9.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $6.63 | $19.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $5.98 | $29.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $4.89 | $48.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $4.69 | $93.89 |
How Guatemala compares across North America
- Regional typical speed
- 33 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Tigo, Claro
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- El Salvador, 34 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Costa Rica, 31 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Antigua, Guatemala City
Landing at La Aurora International Airport (GUA)
- Airport
- GUA / MGGT
- Distance
- 6.4 km from the centre of Guatemala City
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminal
Worth knowing about Guatemala City
- La Aurora sits inside the city in Zone 13, about 6.4 km south of the centre, at 1,509 m above sea level.
- It is the fourth busiest airport in Central America by passenger traffic, behind Tocumen in Panama, Juan Santamaria in Costa Rica and El Salvador International.
- Guatemala City is divided into numbered zones laid out by the engineer Raul Aguilar Batres, and addresses are given by zone, which is why the airport is known as La Aurora, Zona 13.
- The Transmetro bus rapid transit system started running in 2007 and now has five lines.
- The city stands at about 1,500 m in a mountain valley and its metropolitan area held roughly 3.23 million people in 2023.
- INGUAT, the national tourism agency, sells prepaid taxi vouchers at its office in the arrivals hall at La Aurora, so the fare is settled before you leave the terminal.
- For getting around the city, British guidance ranks radio-dispatched taxis, usually yellow, Uber where it operates and hotel taxis as the safest options. Taxis hailed on the street feature in many express kidnapping cases.
- Guatemala's public buses, repainted US school buses, are best avoided: gangs have attacked and extorted their drivers, and the buses are often overcrowded and poorly maintained.
- The municipality no longer lets some intercity buses into the centre, so those services set passengers down at points on the outskirts of Guatemala City instead.
- Transmetro fares are paid with the municipal Tarjeta Ciudadana, sold and topped up at machines in the stations, and the gates also take contactless Visa and Mastercard debit or credit cards from any bank.
- Zone 10, the Zona Viva, is where many visitors stay, while Zone 1 is the historic centre with cheaper hotels and the end of several bus routes, and tourists there have been targeted by opportunistic thieves.
- Protesters sometimes block roads and public facilities without warning, and British guidance names the international airport among the places that can be blockaded, so leave slack before a flight during unrest.
- PROATUR, the tourist assistance service run by INGUAT, answers 24 hours a day in English and Spanish on 1500 from any Guatemalan phone, or +502 2290 2810.
- Guatemala City's outer zones, 18 to 25, have higher crime levels, and zones 6, 7 and 8 also call for caution. Visitors staying there are advised to use reputable chain hotels.
- For volcano climbs near the city, check INSIVUMEH and CONRED for access restrictions first. Some summits drop below freezing at night, and Guatemala has no mountain rescue service.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Guatemala we cover
- Antigua
- 25 km from Guatemala City, nearest airport GUA