Even small towns usually have a branch of Telgua , the national phone company, where you can make international phone calls. Most are open daily from 7am to midnight. Telgua tariffs are ridiculously high, however, starting at US$7 for a three-minute call to North America and US$11 to Western Europe. In many places, including Antigua, Flores, Panajachel and Quetzaltenango, you'll be able to find shops, hotels or travel agencies offering much cheaper rates, from as little as US$0.30 per minute to North America and US$0.50 to Western Europe. Webcall (phone calls via the Internet) facilities are also beginning to appear in some cybercafés, slashing international call rates to the price of surfing the net, though connections are usually extremely crackle- and delay-prone.

From Guatemala you can only make collect calls (reverse charges) to the USA, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Japan, Switzerland and other Central American countries - not to the UK. Dial 171 for the international operator . Calling Guatemala from abroad, the country code is 502. Local calls in Guatemala are very cheap, and phone boxes are quite common; it pays to get a phonecard if you plan to make a number of calls. Faxes can be sent or received from any Telgua branch in the country, or (often more cheaply) through travel agencies, some shops and languages schools. The cheapest method of all for sending a fax is via the Internet .

Outgoing Guatemalan postal services are fairly efficient by Latin American standards, and you can send mail easily from even the smallest of towns - though it's probably safer to send anything of importance through a private firm. The regular mail service is also extremely cheap but not very speedy; airmail letters generally take around a week to the US, a couple of weeks or more to Europe. Alternatively, UPS, DHL and Federal Express all operate in Guatemala. Sending parcels through the standard mail service is problematic as there are complex regulations about the way in which they should be wrapped. You may want to use a specialized shipping agency instead: see the Antigua and Panajachel listings for recommended companies.

Post coming into Guatemala is less reliable, and the poste restante (Lista de Correos) method of holding mail is no longer dependable. Letters and postcards are normally fine, but don't send anything valuable or bulky through the regular mail - use a courier service instead. American Express in Guatemala City at Diagonal 6 10-01, Centro Gerencial Las Margaritas, Zona 10 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; tel 339 2877) will hold mail for card- or cheque-holders. Alternatively, if you've studied with a language school they'll usually keep your mail for you.