Tools
Driving in Guatemala
The rules of the road as our desk recorded them, native unit first.
Right
50 / 80 / 100 km/h · 31 / 50 / 62 mph
urban / rural / motorway
Recommended
A home-country licence is accepted for tourist stays; carry the IDP plus passport for police checks - it shortens every roadside conversation.
0.08 % - lower thresholds apply to professional drivers; checkpoints around cities and holidays
One toll road: the Palín–Escuintla autopista toward the Pacific coast (small cash toll in quetzales). Everything else is free.
Required at night and in fog; mountain fog on CA-1 through the highlands makes low beams essential by late afternoon.
No effectively enforced child-restraint law - bring your own seat; agencies in Guatemala City and Antigua rent them on request.
Defensive driving is mandatory in spirit: chicken buses overtake on blind curves, and highland fog closes in fast. Avoid night driving between cities. Real average speeds run 40–50 km/h on mountain routes regardless of the posted limit.