Casa Guatemala

Questions about travelling in Guatemala

Do I need a visa to get into Guatemala?
Where can I find more information about Guatemala?
Do I need a working permit?
Do I have to pay to come to Casa Guatemala?
How is the weather?
What kind of vaccinations do I need?
What kind of health insurance do I need?
What should I bring for myself?
How much money do I need?
Can I change money / traveller's cheques in Rio Dulce?
Is there internet in Rio Dulce?

Questions about Volunteering

What kind of volunteer work is there?
How much time do I have to commit for?
Can I stay less than 3 months?
How many hours per day do I have to work?
Do I need to be able to speak Spanish?
Can I work with the children?
Can we do construction work?
Where do I sleep?

Information for new Volunteers

Do I need a visa to get into Guatemala?

People from the following listed places do not need to apply for a visa.  A 90 day tourist visa can be obtained with just your passport when crossing the border, or at the airport.  People from countries not listed below should enquire at a Guatemalan embassy or consulate.

USA
Europe
Australia
New Zeland
Canada

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Where can I find more information about Guatemala?

You can contact the Guatemalan Embassy in your country and you can check the following websites:

U.S. Department of State Consular Information Sheet
FCO
Guatemala on Wikipedia
Guatemala Travel Information on WikiTravel

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Do I need a work permit?

No.  As you will not be employed you will not need a work permit.

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Do I have to pay to come to Casa Guatemala?

It depends on the type of work that you will be involved with.  Please see the volunteering page for more information.   

(Please note that if you wish to carry out an individual project, then you will have to provide the resources to do it.)

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How is the weather?

The climate in Rio Dulce is tropical, hot and humid for most of the year. 

The wet season is between January and June, and during this time it rains most days, sometimes for several days continuously.  The sun does still shine through at times.

In the winter the weather can become a little bit colder.

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What kind of vaccinations do I need?

You should consult your physician to get the latest information, but the following vaccines are usually recommended:

• Tetanus
• Hepatitis A & B
• Yellow Fever (if coming from a yellow fever risk area - i.e. parts of Central Africa, and South America)

You may wish to consider having the following vaccinations as well:

• Typhoid
• Rabies
• Tuberculosis
• Diphtheria
• Cholera

Malaria is a possibility in Guatemala.  However it is mainly the benign type of malaria here.  You should take the usual malaria precautions which are:

avoid being bitten, use a mosquito net and cover up at dawn and dusk, use mosquito repellant, and take appropriate anti malarial drugs.

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What kind of health insurance do I need?

You do not need any specialist health insurance - standard travel insurance should cover your activities here.  However you should read through your insurance policy before travelling.

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What should I bring for myself?

Clothes

• Lightweight clothes - t-shirts, shorts, cotton trousers.  The weather can get very hot and humid here.
• Long sleeved shirt and trousers - the evenings are a lot cooler than the days, and there are mosquitoes in the jungle.
• Boots, for the rainy season - some of the paths are muddy when it rains a lot.
• Sandals
• Sheets / blanket / sleeping bag
• Swimming shorts / bikini for swimming in the lake
• Rain coat

Toiletries & Medicines

• Towel
• Insect repellant
• Prescription or special medicines that you require
• Condoms and tampons are expensive and scarce here
• Anti-malarial drugs
• Mosquito net

Other things

• Music
• Book
• Torch - it gets very dark here after the sun goes down!

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How much money do I need?

For the time that you are working at Casa Guatemala you will probably spend very little, as your board and food are taken care of.  There is a small shop by the orphanage where you can buy drinks, etc.

Volunteers tend to go to Fronteras and to the Hotel Backpackers two nights a week to the bar and for a meal.  A bottle of beer costs around Q8, and a meal around Q20. 

You should probably budget for around $150 a month for the time that you are volunteering.  Volunteers usually work for three weeks and then take a descanso (a short break to travel), and so you will have to budget for this too.

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Can I change money / traveller's cheques in Rio Dulce?

It is easy (though sometimes takes a lot of time) to change cash US dollars or travelers cheques at the banks in Rio Dulce. It is advisable to get American Express cheques (for US dollars).

It can be very difficult if not impossible, to change other types.  There is a Western Union in Fronteras, and at least three ATMs available along the CA13 heading north through Fronterras.

It is advisable to take a mixture of travelers cheques and US dollars in cash, and a VISA card for backup (don't keep them all in the same place!) It seems a trivial point, but cash US dollars need to be quite clean and new looking. A lot of people won't accept dirty notes and definitely not slightly damaged ones. This doesn't apply to the local currency though!

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Is there internet in Rio Dulce?

Yes.  There are computers available at the Hotel Backpackers, and there are a couple of Internet Cafes in Fronterras, both of which have headphones and mics for Skype.

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What kind of volunteer work is there?

Please see the volunteering page for information about the types of work that you can do.

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How much time do I have to commit for? / Can I stay less than 3 months?

It depends on what type of volunteering you want to do.  Long term volunteers have to commit for at least 3 months.  Other types of volunteering are more flexible if you want to stay for less time.

We ask that you stay for at least three months, as it is to the benefit of the children to have some consistency and not continually have new teachers / volunteers to get to know.

Please see the volunteering page for information about length of stay for different types of volunteering.

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How many hours per day do I have to work?
 

We ask that volunteers work for 8 hours a day, for 7 days a week.  Some types of work are divided into shifts.  Volunteers usually work for 22 days and then take 8 days off.

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Do I need to be able to speak Spanish?

For volunteers at the orphanage, all the posts need at least basic Spanish, an ability to be flexible, patient and to get on with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds.

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Can I work with the children?

Please see the question "What kind of volunteer work is there?". We have all kinds of work and which ever job you do, you will be helping the kids. This can also mean that you work in the hotel, on the farm or other jobs.  Not all our volunteers work with the kids, we try to have volunteers that stay for a longer period to work with the kids, to have some kind of consistency for them.

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Can we do construction work?

If you have a specific project involving construction, and can provide the resources to undertake it, then please contact us. 

We have several buildings that are currently in need of maintenance, and some that are in need of reconstruction.

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Where do I sleep?

If you are a long term volunteer, you will stay at Casa Guatemala.  Otherwise you will stay at the Hotel Backpackers and travel to the orphanage via a lancha.

Casa Guatemala is situated in a swampy / jungle area that is only accessible via a 20-minute boat ride.  It isn't actually that isolated, but it does mean that facilities are basic (lights out around 8pm when the generator goes off, no hot water, etc) and that wildlife can be a pain (lots of mosquitos, some snakes, large spiders and scorpions).

There is no television, no cold drinks, and when it is not raining the temperature can reach 100 degrees.  There is a volunteer house where 32 volunteers can sleep.  The rooms have bunk beds and there is a communal area and cooking facilities.  Check out the tour for some pictures of the volunteer house.

The food at Casa Guatemala is good, but basic.  A staple diet consisting mostly of rice, tortillas, meat and fruit and vegetables.  It is possible to buy your own food in town and cook in the volunteers house, if you wish to.
 

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What do I do when I arrive at the airport in Guatemala?

If you are arriving at the airport with the intention to come directly over to our Rio Dulce site, it depends on the time that you arrive. The bus ride from Guatemala City to Rio Dulce takes about 6 hours, so if you arrive late, you better sleep in Guatemala City for 1 night and take the bus the next day. Take a taxi from the airport to your hotel or to the bus station.   See the page 'How to get here'.
 

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Where should I stay in the City?

We recommend on your first night in the capital that you stay at The Spring Hotel, on 8th Ave, Zone 1.  It is clean, safe, moderately priced and within walking distance to the "Litegua" bus station.  Information can be found in all travel guides (ie Lonely Planet).
 

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Can I bring something for the children?
 

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