Guatemala

Is Guatemala safe to visit?

Mostly, if you stay on the main tourist circuit and move around the way locals with money do: by shuttle, registered taxi or plane, and in daylight. Antigua, Lake Atitlán and Tikal draw large numbers of visitors, and most have no trouble. But Guatemala is more violent than its tourist towns suggest. InSight Crime puts the 2025 homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary at 17.4 per 100,000, up from 16.1 in 2024, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says armed robberies have happened on most tourist routes.

We score Guatemala 49, a little above Honduras and well below El Salvador (64). The US rates Guatemala Level 3, reconsider travel.

Gangs, extortion and the 2026 state of siege

Most killings in Guatemala are linked to two gangs, Barrio 18 and MS-13, and to drug trafficking routes towards Mexico. Their main business is extortion. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says gang attacks and extortion aimed at bus drivers have caused serious injury and death, one reason it tells visitors to avoid public buses.

In January 2026, after the government retook three prisons that had seen riots, gang members carried out coordinated attacks in Guatemala City that killed 11 police officers. The government declared a state of siege for about a month. Officials reported fewer homicides and extortions while it lasted, but violence picked up again: in late July the interior minister said there had been 24 killings on a single Saturday and that the security strategy had to change.

The US says do not travel to San Marcos and Huehuetenango departments, Zone 18 of Guatemala City and the city of Villa Nueva, citing crime and terrorism by cartels, gangs and criminal organisations. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel within 5 km of the Mexican border and to three towns in Huehuetenango. Neither list touches the main tourist circuit.

Crime on the tourist routes

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary is unusually blunt about Guatemala. It says armed attacks or robberies have taken place on most routes between Guatemala City, Antigua, Tikal, Petén and Lake Atitlán, that attackers have killed people who resisted, and that arrest rates are low. Express kidnappings, where victims are driven between ATMs, often start with a taxi hailed on the street. Criminals posing as police have robbed and assaulted people.

In Guatemala City, the FCDO says no zone is free of crime, including the Zona Viva in Zone 10, and that Zones 1, 6, 7, 8 and 18 to 25 need extra care. In Antigua and at the lake, the risks are mostly theft, but robberies on hiking trails and lonely streets happen too.

Volcanoes, quakes and storms

Guatemala sits on a chain of active volcanoes. Fuego, about 35 km from Guatemala City, is the most active in Central America. Its June 2018 eruption buried a community and killed 215 people, with a similar number missing. On 3 August 2026 it entered a new eruptive phase; authorities issued a red alert in three departments and evacuated at least 1,700 people, though the international airport stayed open. The overnight hike up neighbouring Acatenango to watch Fuego is one of the country's most popular trips, so check the alert level first.

Earthquakes are frequent, and the rainy season from May to November brings floods and landslides that the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says have collapsed poorly maintained roads and bridges.

Roads

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 12.6 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, about the same as Mexico and below Honduras. The national road observatory recorded 2,432 deaths in 2025, about 13 per 100,000, and 57% of the dead were motorcyclists, according to PAHO. Drink-driving is common, the "chicken buses" race on mountain roads, and US government staff may not drive outside Guatemala City at night.

How to stay safe in Guatemala

• Use tourist shuttles or private coaches between Antigua, the lake and the capital, never chicken buses.
• In cities, take Uber, yellow radio taxis or hotel cars; buy airport taxi vouchers at the INGUAT desk.
• Fly to Flores for Tikal, and take malaria advice for Petén and the lowlands.
• On the way to Lake Atitlán, use the Pan-American Highway, not the Godínez bypass.
• Carry a copy of your passport (the original in San Pedro La Laguna) and do not photograph children without permission.
• For help, dial 1500 for ASISTUR, 110 for police, 122 or 123 for an ambulance.

How we scored it

Natural hazards (35) and petty crime (38) are the weakest factors: an active volcanic chain and robberies on tourist routes. Road safety (62) is mid-range on WHO's 2021 estimate, though motorcyclists make up most of the dead. Violent crime (43) reflects a homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary of about 17 per 100,000 that went up in 2025. Health (55) and conflict (52) sit in the middle, the latter because of the Level 4 areas and gangs the US treats as terrorist groups.