Ground
Transportation for [Country/Region]
Options for traveling within [Country/Region] for a 21-day period
Outline
- Car
- Train / Bus / Air
- Other Options
- Estimate of total ground travel expenses
Car
According to my travel book The Rough Guide to Guatemala (Travel Guide eBook) (Rough Guides) “All the main routes are paved, but beyond this many roads are often extremely rough. Filling stations (gasolineras) are common. Fuel (gasolina) was US$3.67 per gallon at the time of research” (2019). Below is an attachment of what it would cost to rent a car for a three week period in Guatemala City as an adult under 25. The fuel policy is to return with same amount of gas as recorded when you picked it up or be charged at an inflated rate per gallon. An insurance policy can be obtained for around 80$ and this is recommended if you plan on traveling on tough roads and or plan on parking your car in a no secure lot.
Train / Bus / Air
Train
N/A
Bus
My Travel Book has several different kinds of buss options. The cheapest option is called chicken busses which are old school busses and are by far the cheapest form of transportation in most areas. Pullmans are first class busses and require a ticket. Although these pullmans are first class they only range from $1.00-2 an hour. The safest and most expensive form of bus transportation offered in the region is shuttle busses. The shuttle busses cost around $5-8 an hour but come with a more experienced and safer driver.
Example of Chicken bus
Example of Pullman
Example of Shuttle Bus
Air
Air travel in the region is relatively cheap but most of these cheap flights require odd lay overs. Below is an example of what it would cost to fly from Guatemala to Costa Rica one way. The duration of travel for this flight is around 10 hours because of the layover and this is pretty common for these cheaper flights.
Other options
Motorcycles and scooters can be rented depending on where you are. In Antigua there is a tour guide service called Simoon which rents scooters dirt bikes and other vehicles. For the sake of being street legal I have attached a screen shot of the cost for renting a motorcycle from Simoon.
Estimate of total
ground travel expenses
The cost for traveling with a rental car is around $10.00 per day not including gas which costs around 3.50 per gallon. I have estimated that I could travel using busses for a three week period for a little less than $200.00. If I chose to fly somewhere it will cost me a little over $100 but will be significantly cheaper than renting a car and paying for gas. I estimate the total cost of transportation in the region for a three week period to be around 500 if I travel a lot. If I chose to take a flight that number could significantly increase depending on time of year and location.
Submitted by [Zach Boll] on [03/13/2020].