Cheap flights to
Guatemala

While there’s no certain day of the week that’s best to book flights, there is a time period when prices tend to be cheaper. The Goldilocks Window—not too far away from your departure date, while also not too close—falls about 2–8 months before an international trip and 1–3 months before a domestic trip. If you plan to travel during a busy season, like December in Guatemala, start looking on the earlier end of that window. For instance, you should consider booking in June for a winter holiday trip or in January for a summer vacation.

It can be tempting to wait to book and hope for a better deal, but we’ve found that last-minute deals rarely exist, especially during busy periods. In fact, airlines typically raise prices at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day points before a trip, so don’t wait until the month before your departure date to book.

Even if you’re watching fares like a hawk, some flight prices just don’t budge. Before you give up on a trip to Guatemala, try our Greek Islands Trick. Despite the name, it can be used all over the world. If you really want to fly from San Francisco to Guatemala in December but prices are more than you’re willing to pay, look for flights to Mexico City or Dallas instead. If you find a great deal, from there you can look for a cheaper flight to Guatemala.

The point of the trick is to get close to your destination for the cheapest price possible, then find a regional or budget airline flight for the last leg. It requires more planning, but it could save you a couple hundred bucks that you could put toward your hotel.

If you live in San Francisco, you likely already search for flights out of Oakland, too. But sometimes you can save money by looking even farther away. If flights from the San Francisco area to Guatemala are too expensive, search for flights from LA or San Diego. If you see an amazing deal, you can then look for a cheap flight from San Francisco to one of those cities.

We see jaw-dropping deals every day, like $202 from LA to Japan or less than $100 from Atlanta to Chile. So if you see a deal like that—but for Guatemala—it’s likely worth adding an extra flight.

The more flexible you can be with your travel dates the better. While peak travel seasons sometimes have their advantages, like ideal weather, more people visiting a place means airlines can charge more for flights. The best way to save money is to travel during the off season, when airfare and hotels are cheap.

We love traveling during shoulder seasons, just before and after high season. In these weeks or months, like early December and late April in Guatemala, you get low prices and few crowds, plus nice weather.

Even if you are planning to travel during peak season, you can still save money by flying on less busy travel days. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are generally the least busy and cheapest days to fly. Fridays and Sundays, unsurprisingly, are the most expensive.

One of the easiest ways to save money on flights is to let technology do the work of searching for you. Set up fare alerts for your travel dates––or a few alerts if your dates or departure airports are flexible––and you’ll get an email when prices drop. It’s best to do this ahead of the Goldilocks Window we mentioned above to see the best deals roll in.

Guatemala is not the most well-connected country to the US, but there are nonstop flights from nine US cities. Most visitors coming from the US can reach Guatemala with just one stop.