Hello all,

I just realized that something I planned on depending on may not be available in Guatemela... I lived in Puebla, MX while I was in school at UDLA and there were ATMs everywhere, so I kind of just assumed that it would be the same in Guatemala... is this correct? I have a Wells Fargo account, and I expect that I will be able to use any ATM I find (with fees of course) .

Are there ATMs in Antigua? How about the surrounding areas? Xela?

btw, I typically use ATMs becuase they tend to give the best exchange rates... debateable if that is accurate after fees, but they are easy to use anyhow...

BTW, if there are not ATMS, how would you recommend that I carry money? Trav checks?

Thanks.Generz.

There are Atm's in almost every major area now, though when I was there I didn't have the chance to use them.

There may not be any in say, very small towns on Lago Atitlan, but there was one in Panajachel.

Antiqua, yes.

Xela, there will be one.

When I was there my debit card didn;t have a pin number attached so I went around from town to town going to the one bank that converted credit cards to cash. Mind you, this was a DEBIT card, so I didn't have to worry about pesky finance charges, as you do with a regular credit card.

Todos Santos and small villages? Bring enough cash to survive on. Asking is always a good thing, whem you're in the area.

I always carry sufficient trav cheques, by American Express.

I use them for emergencies, and yes, in antiqua and larger areas, they do take them for cash. Some people do not, as banks charge a high acceptance fee to people who hand them in.

Yes. Most of the bigger towns have a Bank Machine. Santa Elena (connected to Flores) has several. SOrt of a trial and error process to figure out which system they use though. PLUS or CIRRUS or maybe some other one I don't know about.

This leads me to the point....You should know what system you are hooked up to.

By the way, Belize, next door, is not hooked up to international banking, as far as I know.

D

Antigua? Yes, there are several.

San Pedro la Laguna? No. I cashed AmEx travelers checks at a bank there.

Coban - i have found 1 but have searched the entire city.

belize bank in belize city works with cirrus

i want to ask about cirrus and maestro in south america but i´ll just put a post in the sth america section

Antigua : yes
Panajachel : yes

For Flores, I'don't really remember, I did not search for it, as I was carrying cash.

It's always best to carry cards with major signs "mastercard" or "Visa" or "Plus" or "CYRRUS". I had no problems using a Mexican HSBC bank card with a VISA sign on it all over guatemala. I believe that I also used my Canadian bank card with the "PLUS" system on it. It's always best to carry cash for excursions though.

Hope that helps..
Amanda

One note of caution: only use an ATM when during banking hours (ie: when the bank is open). If the machine eats your card it can be a real problem getting it back. Often there is only one person with access to the machine and I have heard stories of the banks returning cardt to the bank that issured them rather than giving it back to the owner the next day.

try atms marked 5B, yellow sign, blue letters, they handle most cards, and you can find them all over, even in cross roads like chima and los encuentros, coban has them also

Yeah...if your in a big town you shouldnt have much trouble finding one.....Good Luck

I have had no problems finding ATM< machines throughout CA
Some machines only take Visa Some only take MC.San Pedro on lake Atitlan does have a ATM. Notify your bank that you will be using your card in CA I had m,y bank cancel my card as they thought it had been stolen and was being used in Guatemala.
Happy Trails
Remember its not always the destination....Its the journey