Most offices, shops, post offices and museums are
open
between 8.30am and 5pm, though some take a break for lunch. Bank hours are extremely convenient, with many opening until 7pm (and some as late as 8pm) from Monday to Friday and until 12.30pm or 1pm on Saturdays.
Archeological
sites
are open every day, usually from 8am to 5pm, though
Tikal
is open from 6am to 6pm (until 8pm with permission). We've listed the principal public holidays, when almost all businesses close down; in villages, most shops shut during fiestas.
Fiestas
Traditional
fiestas
are one of the great excitements of a trip to Guatemala, and every town and village, however small, devotes at least one day a year to celebration.
Guatemalan fiestas can be divided into two basic models:
...
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Guatemalan festivals
JANUARY
1-5
Santa María de Jesús
, near Antigua (main days 1st and 2nd)
19-24
Rabinal
, in the Verapaces (main days 23rd and 24th)
22-26
San Pablo La Laguna
, Lago de Atitlán (main...
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Public holidays
January 1
New Year's Day
Semana Santa
Easter Week
May 1
Labour Day
June 30
Army Day, anniversary of 1871 revolution
August 15
Guatemala City fiesta (capital only)
...
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