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Program Costs & Money Questions

English Program Cost

There are four costs involved in participating in the English Program:

Travel to Guatemala - approx. $600/round-trip ticket
Enrollment in one-week intensive Spanish class (including room and board) - $135
Living with host family - $125/month or the equivalent in Quetzales
- One meal (supper) each day:.........................$2.50 ea. or $75 per month
- Electricity, water, and other services:.................................$20 per month
- Miscellaneous expenses*..................................................$10 per month
- Rent for furnished room......................................................$20 per month

* these are expenses related to the volunteer participating in family activities like family outings, extra meals, etc. Host family does not cover cost of personal toiletries, such as shampoo, body soap, toilet paper, etc.

Additional personal expenses - varies

If you want to travel or purchase souvenirs and art, we recommend bringing an additional $150 in cash or Travelers Cheques to change into quetzales.

Exchanging Money (Dollars to Quetzales)

You can exchange money or cash a Travelers Cheque at just about any bank in Guatemala. You will need to show your original passport. The exchange rate varies, but it’s usually around 8 quetzales to 1 US dollar.

The basic unit of currency in Guatemala is the quetzal (named for the national bird).

Coins:
5 cents (small and silver)
10 cents (medium and silver)
25 cents (big and silver)
50 cents (small and gold)
1 quetzal (big and gold) Bills:
5 quetzales (purple)
10 quetzales (red)
20 quetzales (blue)
50 quetzales (orange)
100 quetzales (tan)

Accessing Money from the US

The easiest way to get money from the States is to bring a debit card that you can use to access funds in an account in the States. ATMs are readily available in Chimaltenango and Quetzaltenango. Most ATMs charge between $2-4 for the transaction.

You can also send money using a private secured mailing/transfer system (e.g., Western Union, UPS, DHL, etc.). These systems charge a percentage of the total amount for this service.