Health
Reference only, not medical advice. Use bottled/treated water, avoid ice of uncertain source, and favor hot, freshly cooked food. Mosquito-borne dengue, chikungunya and Zika are risks; malaria risk is mainly in Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Escuintla, Izabal and Petén, not Antigua, Guatemala City or Lake Atitlán. Use repellent and screened/AC rooms. Expect heat on coasts/lowlands, strong sun and cooler nights at highland altitude; pace hikes/volcanoes and hydrate.
Vaccinations
Consult a doctor or travel clinic at least a month before travel. Be up to date on routine vaccines, including MMR, polio, Tdap, flu, varicella/shingles as applicable, plus COVID-19. CDC recommends hepatitis A for unvaccinated travelers and hepatitis B for many travelers; typhoid is recommended for most visitors. Rabies pre-exposure vaccine may be considered for animal/outdoor exposure or remote travel. Yellow fever vaccine is not recommended for Guatemala and is not required for direct travel from the U.S.; proof is required for travelers age 1+ arriving from, or transiting over 12 hours in, yellow-fever-risk countries.
eSIM / connectivity
eSIM is practical for many visitors via international travel-eSIM providers, usually roaming on Guatemala’s main networks, Tigo and Claro. Direct local eSIM offers for short-stay tourists are less consistently advertised than physical prepaid SIMs, so keep a physical SIM slot or roaming backup if connectivity is critical. Tigo and Claro sell prepaid data bundles/recargas; coverage is strongest in cities and major tourism corridors and weaker in mountains, villages and jungle areas.
Health/vaccine info is reference only, not medical advice — consult a doctor or travel clinic; defer to CDC/WHO and official sources (as of 2026-06-20).