Survive - Guatemala - page 611

Telephone
Guatemala has no area or city codes. Calling from other countries, you just dial the international access code (00 in most
countries), then the Guatemala country code (502), then the eight-digit local number. Calling within Guatemala, just dial
the eight-digit local number. The international access code from Guatemala is 00.
Many towns and cities frequented by tourists have privately run call offices where you can make international calls
for reasonable rates.
Many travelers use an account such as Skype. If an internet cafe does not have Skype installed, it can usually be
downloaded in a matter of minutes. If you're planning on using internet cafe computers to make calls, buy earbuds with
a microphone attached before you leave - you can plug them into the front of most computers in the country.
The most common street phones are those of Telgua, for which you need to buy a Telgua phone card (tarjeta telefón-
ica de Telgua) from shops, kiosks and the like. Card sales points may advertise the fact with red signs saying ' Ladatel
de Venta Aquí '. The cards come in denominations of Q20, Q30 and Q50: you slot them into a Telgua phone, dial your
number, and the display will tell you how much time you have left.
Don't use the black phones placed strategically in tourist towns that say 'Press 2 to call the United States free!' This is
a bait and switch scam; you put the call on your credit card and return home to find you have paid between US$8 and
US$20 per minute.

Telgua street phones bear instructions to dial 147110 for domestic collect calls and 147120 for international

collect calls.

Cell Phones
Cell phones are widely used. It's possible to bring your cell phone from home, have it 'unlocked' for use in Guatemala
(this costs around Q50 in Guatemala), then substitute your SIM card for a local one. This works on some phones and not
others and there doesn't appear to be a logic behind it. Guatemalan phone companies work on either 850, 900 or 1900
MHz frequencies - if you have a tri- or quad-band phone you should be OK. Compatibility issues, and the possibility of
theft (cell phones are a pickpocket's delight) makes buying a cheap prepaid phone on arrival the most popular option.
Prepaid phones are available pretty much everywhere and cost around Q100 to Q150, often coming with Q100 or so
in free calls. Cards to restock the credit on your phone are sold in nearly every corner store. Calls cost Q1.50 per minute
anywhere in the country, the same for the US (depending on the company you're with) and up to five times that for the
rest of the world.
At the time of writing, Movistar had the cheapest rates (with coverage limited not much further than major cities) and
Tigo and Claro had the best coverage.

Time
Guatemala runs on North American Central Standard Time (GMT/UTC minus six hours). The 24-hour clock is often
used, so 1pm may be written as 13 or 1300. When it's noon in Guatemala, it's 1pm in New York, 6pm in London, 10am
in San Francisco and 4am the next day in Sydney. For more time conversions, see www.timeanddate.com/worldclock .