Transportation in Guatemala.

Ground transportation

Chicken bus

Chicken bus

A chicken bus is a colloquial English name for a colorful modified and decorated US school bus and transit bus that transports goods and people between communities in Honduras and Guatemala...

es, recycled and often colorfully painted former US school buses, are popular within cities and for short-distance trips. There are a number of Guatemalan bus and van transport companies that most travelers use to get from the airport in Guatemala City to Antigua, Lake Atitlan in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and Monterrico on the Pacific coast. Some first class bus operators (such as Litegua between Guatemala City

Guatemala City

Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

 and Puerto Barrios

Puerto Barrios

Puerto Barrios is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras at. The bay in which the harbour is located is called Bahia de Amatique. Puerto Barrios is the departmental seat of Izabal department and the administrative seat of Puerto Barrios municipality.Puerto Barrios was named after...

, Fuente del Norte between Guatemala City and Flores, and Monja Blanca to Cobán

Cobán

The city of Cobán is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guatemala City....

) run safe, modern air-conditioned buses for longer distances. In some parts of Guatemala City passengers on public buses are vulnerable to crime therefore it is not a good idea to take public buses in Guatemala City nor chicken buses from Guatemala City to other destinations. Shuttles and taxis (often tuk-tuks)are the better option. There are no passenger trains

Rail transport in Guatemala

Although Guatemala still has a network of narrow gauge railroads, no passenger or freight trains currently run, except for occasional chartered tourist trains.- History :...

.

Highways

• Total: 14,095 km
• Paved: 4,863 km (including 75 km of expressway
  Limited-access road
  A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
  
  s)
• Unpaved: 9,232 km (1999 est.)

Road conditions

An overcrowded bus plunged off a highway and rolled into a gully on February 29, 2008, killing 45 people and injuring 20 others.http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/03/01/guatemala.bus.ap/index.html

Railways

total: operated by the Railroad Development Corporation  until September 2007, now closed closed

narrow gauge:
884 km gauge (single track)

Railway links with adjacent countries

Mexico

Transportation in Mexico

Transportation and Communications in Mexico may refer to:* Communications in Mexico* Transportation in Mexico...

 - currently closed (since 1996 or before) - break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

 / Belize

Transport in Belize

- Public transportation :Most Belizeans travel the country using public buses as their primary form of transportation. In the larger towns and cities, such as Belize City or Belmopan, there are bus terminals. In smaller places, there are bus stops. However, the most common way of catching a bus is...

 - no Honduras - none in use - break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

 / (?) El Salvador

Transport in El Salvador

-Railways:*total: 602 km . Rehabilitation in progress*narrow gauge: 602 km gauge...

 - currently closedFERISTSA

FERISTSA

FERISTSA was the name of a proposed USD $3 billion privately owned commercial railroad going from the Panama Canal Railway Company through the entire length of Central America, linking with Mexico's rail system at the Guatemala border, and thus to the United States of America.- Description :The...

 Railway was proposed to connect Mexico with Panama via Guatemala using standard gauge rails

Waterways

260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season

Boats

Ferries

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 are available in certain regions, such as Sayaxché

Sayaxché

Sayaxché is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala, on the Río La Pasión river. In 2000, it had 47,693 inhabitants.The city was founded in 1874 to provide accommodation for forest workers of Jamet Sastré logging company. It obtain a municipal status in 1929.El Rosario National Park...

 or around Livingston

Livingston, Guatemala

Livingston is the name of a town in Izabal Department, eastern Guatemala, at the mouth of theRío Dulce at the Gulf of Honduras. The town serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name.It was Guatemala's main port on the Caribbean Sea before the construction of nearby Puerto...

. The best way to get to the various Mayan villages around Lake Atitlan is on one of the ubiquitous "shark" boats.

Named airports

• La Aurora International Airport
  La Aurora International Airport
  La Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil....
  
  
• Mundo Maya International Airport
  Mundo Maya International Airport
  Mundo Maya International Airport , also known as Flores International Airport, is an international airport located in the suburb of Santa Elena, in the city of Flores, Guatemala...
  
  
• San José Airport
  San José Airport
  San José Airport serves the city of Puerto San José, the recreative town of Monterrico, the port of Puerto Quetzal and the eastern Guatemalan pacific coast . It is operated and administrated by DGAC - Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil de Guatemala...
  
  
• Quetzaltenango Airport
  Quetzaltenango Airport
  Quetzaltenango Airport serves the city of Quetzaltenango also known as "Xelajú" or "Xela" and western Guatemala...
  
  
• Puerto Barrios Airport
  Puerto Barrios Airport
  Puerto Barrios Airport serves the city of Puerto Barrios, the port of Santo Tomás de Castilla and the Guatemalan Caribbean...
  
  

Airports - with paved runways

• total: 11
• 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
• 914 to 1,523 m: 4
• under 914 m: 2 (2006 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

• total: 439
• 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
• 914 to 1,523 m: 111
• under 914 m: 319 (2006 est.)