Health, vaccinations and medical care in Guatemala

Altitude

• Much of the country you will visit is high. Guatemala City and Antigua sit above 1,500 m, Quetzaltenango above 2,300 m, and the volcano summits far higher.
• Altitude sickness is a real risk here and it catches people who flew in from sea level and went straight up a volcano on day two. Give it a day.

Care

• Private hospitals and clinics in Guatemala City and Antigua are good; outside them, facilities thin out fast.
• Take insurance covering treatment and medical evacuation. Semuc Champey and the Peten are a long way from a hospital that can do anything complicated.
• A prescription written abroad is not valid in Guatemala. Bring what you need, in original packaging, with the prescription as documentation rather than as an instrument.
• Pharmacies are good and everywhere: Meykos, Cruz Verde, Galeno and Batres are the chains the FCDO names.

Food and water

• Do not drink the tap water. Bottled or filtered water is universal and cheap; most hotels provide a refill dispenser.
• Street food is part of the point of Guatemala, and the usual rules apply - busy stalls, hot food, fruit you peel.

Mosquitoes

• Dengue, Zika and chikungunya are present in the lowlands, and the mosquito bites during the day.
• The highlands are high enough to be largely free of it, which is one of the compensations for the cold nights.

Numbers

• 122 or 123 for an ambulance.