{"id":11076,"date":"2014-05-18T22:50:37","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T05:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/pointssummary\/?p=11076"},"modified":"2014-05-22T00:12:11","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T07:12:11","slug":"guatemala-city-safe-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/pointssummary\/2014\/05\/18\/guatemala-city-safe-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Guatemala City Safe for Tourists?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was only in Guatemala City for two nights and three days so this isn\u2019t a comprehensive safety list. When you read online about the safety of Guatemala City, you will often hear that it\u2019s drug infested with gangs running the streets. While this may be true in some areas (none that I\u2019ve seen), I felt very safe in certain zones. Please be mindful that I only went out during the day time and avoided going out during the night.<\/p>\n

Introduction to Guatemala City<\/a>
\nDelta Air Lines LAX-GUA 757-200 Business Class<\/a>
\nWestin Camino Real Guatemala City Hotel Review Part 1<\/a>
\nWestin Camino Real Guatemala City Hotel Review Part 2<\/a>
\nRadisson Guatemala City Hotel Review Part 1<\/a>
\nRadisson Guatemala City Hotel Review Part 2<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of Centro Historico (Zona 1) in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of Parque Central (Zona 1) in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of the Mercado Central in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of Plaza Barrios in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of in Zona Viva (Zona 10) Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of Plaza El Amate in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of La Linea in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of El Trebol in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nIs Guatemala City Safe for Tourists?<\/a>
\nScam City: Guatemala City Edition<\/a>
\nThe Various Eats in Guatemala City<\/a>
\nLa Aurora International Airport Los Anejos Lounge<\/a>
\nDelta Air Lines GUA-LAX 757-200 Business Class<\/a><\/p>\n

Guatemala City is separated by different zones from Zona 1<\/a> to Zona 13. It\u2019s often said that the higher the zones, the safer the area is. Conversely, the lower number zones are the most dangerous. To tell you the truth, I spent a lot of time in Zona 1<\/a> which is the historic center of Guatemala City<\/a>. I didn\u2019t find the city-center dangerous at all during the daytime. Everyone was minding their own business and a lot of shops and restaurants have armed guards outside. It\u2019s common to see a Guatemalan security guard armed outside a McDonalds. It\u2019s even common to see a lot of Guatemalan police officers patrol the streets in their pick-up trucks.<\/p>\n

One of the safest zones for tourists is Zona 10<\/a> which is basically called \u201cZona Viva<\/a>\u201d or the Entertainment Zone (Live Zone<\/a>). This is where you would want to stay if it\u2019s your first time in Guatemala City. It\u2019s an easy cab ride to Centro.<\/p>\n

I will highlight some of safety concerns in Guatemala City.<\/p>\n

Airport Arrivals<\/strong> \u2013 There weren\u2019t any taxi hawkers trying to beg you for a ride in their taxi. I took a free hotel shuttle van since my hotel (The Westin Camino Real<\/a>) was in Zona 10<\/a> which is close to the La Aurora International Airport in Zona 13.<\/p>\n

Public transportation<\/strong> \u2013 I found the Transmetro bus system easy to use. Each station is also armed with a Guatemalan police officer. There are also chicken buses all over town and are considered \u201cunsafe\u201d because they can be randomly stopped and forced to pay gang money.<\/p>\n

Taxis<\/strong> \u2013 You will need to negotiate a fixed fare with the taxi driver before getting into the vehicle. It helps to speak Spanish because they won\u2019t know a lick of English. Take authorized taxis from \u201ctaxi stands\u201d in front of public places like parks, malls, and touristy areas. Sometimes I found it hard to find \u201ctaxi stands\u201d and I hailed a street taxi. There are some concerns about taking a street taxi, but I always look for the right decals, tags, and placard inside the taxi. It also helps to choose an older driver.<\/p>\n

Overall, I felt safe in Guatemala City during my short stay as there is a huge police presence. I\u2019m not sure if I would feel the same way if I went out during the night time. There are seedy areas in Zona 1<\/a> such as the red light district in La Linea<\/a>, but police often patrol that area. El Trebol<\/a> is another red light district area that I probably wouldn\u2019t wander around during the night time. As you would in any large metropolitan city, use common sense and don\u2019t carry valuables with you. Wearing flashy clothing, jewelry, and anything that sticks out as tourist is a great way to attract danger. There isn\u2019t much to do in Guatemala City, but it makes for a great base city for Antigua.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was only in Guatemala City for two nights and three days so this isn\u2019t a comprehensive safety list. When you read online about the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[205,49,50],"tags":[2979,2415,3099,3098,3102,3101,3100],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Guatemala City Safe for Tourists? - Points Summary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is Guatemala City Safe for Tourists?, Is Guatemala City Safe, Safety in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Safety in Guatemala, Is Guatemala Safe for Tourists, GUA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/pointssummary\/2014\/05\/18\/guatemala-city-safe-tourists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Guatemala City Safe for Tourists? 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