Banks and exchange Banco Inmobiliario, at C Santander and C Principal (Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm), or Banco Industrial, on Calle Santander, which has a 24hr ATM for Visa card holders. Try the AT travel agency or Hotel Regis , both on Calle Santander, for MasterCard transactions.

Bicycle rental Moto Servicio Queche, C de los Árboles and C Principal, rents mountain bikes for US$1 an hour, US$5 a day.

Bookstores Delante, down an alley off Calle Buenas Vistas, has a friendly atmosphere and a very comprehensive selection of secondhand books. The Gallery, on Calle de los Árboles, stocks a reasonable choice of secondhand titles and a few interesting new books in English.

Laundry Lavandería Automatico, C de los Árboles 0-15 (Mon-Sat 7.30am-6pm), US$3.50 for a full load washed, dried and folded.

Medical care Dr Edgar Barreno speaks good English; his surgery is down the first street that branches to the right off Calle de los Árboles (tel 762 1008).

Motorbike rental Moto Servicio Queche, C de los Árboles and C Principal (tel 762 2089), rents 185cc bikes for US$6 an hour, US$25 for 24 hours, US$100 for the week.

Pharmacy Farmacia La Unión, Calle Santander.

Police On the plaza in the old village (tel 762 1120).

Post office In the old village, down a side street beside the church (Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm), or try Get Guated Out on Calle de los Árboles (tel 762 0595, gguated@c.net.gt ) for bigger shipments.

Telephone To make a phone call or send a fax, check first with businesses in Calle Santander for the best rates; many advertise discounted calls. Otherwise, Telgua (daily 7am-midnight) is near the junction of C Santander and C 15 de Febrero.

Travel agents Rainbow Travel, C Principal near the junction with C Santander (tel 762 1302), is a good all-rounder, with competitive international flight prices; Sevicios Turisticos Atitlán, C Santander, near C 14 de Febrero (tel 762 2075, fax 762 2246, www.atitlan.com ), is another recomended agent.