Is El Quetzal safe? Guatemala travel risk
Is El Quetzal safe right now? Checked 16 October 2026
El Quetzal scores 69/100 on our travel risk index (Elevated). The US State Department rates Guatemala Level 3 (Reconsider Travel, updated 12 Mar 2026); the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country (updated 13 Aug 2026); Canada says: exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
El Quetzal scores 69/100 (Elevated). The score combines security, crime and scams, health and medical access, natural hazards and current alerts measured for this location and Guatemala (how it is calculated). The sections below are specific to El Quetzal: nearest emergency and transport facilities, local climate normals, 5-year natural hazard history within 100 km.
Driven by: security (70/100) and crime and scams (78/100).
A score of 69 is higher than the scores of 90% of the 241 countries we cover.
Consult the Guatemala travel risk page for nationwide security advisories, entry protocols, and consular warnings.
Location & Spatial Data
Geographically located in San Marcos (14.7667° N, 91.8167° W), El Quetzal sits inside Guatemala at 941 m elevation.
San Marcos
14.7667° N, 91.8167° W
941 m
America/Guatemala
25,888
Transit Links & Medical Facilities
Proximate Regional Communities (Guatemala)
Climate by Month
Hottest: March (30 °C avg high); Wettest: September (719 mm).
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 28° | 29° | 30° | 29° | 28° | 27° | 27° | 27° | 26° | 26° | 26° | 27° |
| Low °C | 18° | 18° | 19° | 20° | 20° | 20° | 20° | 20° | 20° | 20° | 19° | 18° |
| Rain mm | 33 | 31 | 63 | 172 | 437 | 567 | 625 | 665 | 719 | 694 | 285 | 82 |
Normals: Coatepeque (9.2 km away).
Natural Hazard Calendar & History
5-Year Hazard Calendar (100 km Radius)
| Hazard | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| Tropical Cyclones | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| Volcanoes | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Earthquakes (M5.5+) | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | — | 5 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Most earthquake events within 100 km of El Quetzal happened in July (5 of 14 in five years).
Source: GDACS, USGS; five years to October 2026.
Significant Earthquakes (USGS M5.5+ within 150 km)
14 major seismic events recorded within 150 km over the past 5 years.
- Largest: M7.3 on 17 Jul 2026 (125 km away) — USGS details
- Most recent: M5.6 on 2 Sep 2026 (138 km away) — USGS details
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the Guatemala travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the Guatemala entry requirements.
Surrounding Places with Full Dossiers
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