Guatemala Weather Guide

Temperature in Guatemala is a function of height above sea level, and it barely moves across the year. Rainfall is a function of the season, and it moves a great deal. Those two facts are independent, which is why a single national forecast tells you almost nothing.

The western highlands

Antigua sits at about 1,500 m, Lake Atitlan a little higher, Quetzaltenango above 2,300 m and the ridges above them higher still. Days are mild to warm and nights are cold, all year. In the dry months a highland morning can start close to freezing and reach shirtsleeve warmth by noon, then drop back within an hour of sunset. Many buildings, including some very good hotels, have no heating at all, because the climate does not usually justify it.

The sun at this altitude is strong through cloud. Sunburn on an overcast highland afternoon is one of the more common ways a trip here goes wrong.

The Peten and the Caribbean lowlands

Tikal, Flores, the Rio Dulce and Livingston are hot and humid throughout the year, with the heaviest rain from June to October. Humidity rather than temperature is what tires people out, and it is the reason an early start at any archaeological site is not just about the light.

The Pacific coast

Hot, humid and black sand. The surf is strong and the currents are serious. The dry months are the pleasant ones; the wet months are heavy.

The green season, in practice

From May to October the usual day is bright until the early afternoon and then wet for an hour or two. It is not a washout, and it is the most beautiful time of year in the highlands. What it does change is the reliability of roads: a landslide can close a route for a day, so an itinerary with no slack in it is the thing to avoid rather than the season itself.

Altitude, briefly

Guatemala is not the extreme case that the central Andes are, but altitude sickness is a real if mild risk above about 2,500 m. Acclimatize before you go higher, never during. Arriving in the highlands from sea level and immediately climbing a volcano is the pattern that causes trouble.

For the seasonal picture and the festival calendar, see best time to visit. For the layers this climate actually needs, see the packing list.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Guatemala travel advice: the standing warning that the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of Guatemala, and the index to the entry, safety, regional and health pages this cluster draws on. Accessed 17 September 2026.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Guatemala traveler health: the yellow fever vaccine recorded as not recommended, not required for direct travel from the United States, and required for travelers aged one year and over arriving from a country with transmission risk including airport transits or layovers of more than twelve hours; malaria transmission primarily in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Escuintla, Izabal and Peten with few cases reported elsewhere, no transmission in the cities of Antigua or Guatemala City, and no transmission at Lake Atitlan. Accessed 17 September 2026.