If you are planning a trip to Central America and want to spend time at its Mayan ruins, tropical jungles, nature reserves, beautiful old towns and idyllic seashores, you may be wondering which international airport in Guatemala is best to fly into. In this post, we will give you valuable tips before you travel to this country with a Caribbean coast and sharing borders with Mexico, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador, namely which airlines operate flights to Guatemala and to which airports, where to stay, how to reach its main attractions, and what to see and do while you are there.
Flights to Guatemala and its two main international airports
There are two main international airports in Guatemala, Central America: Guatemala City or La Aurora and Mundo Maya International airport, commonly referred to as Flores airport. The former is the largest and nearest one to the capital city, while the latter is a much smaller yet busy terminal located in the suburb of Santa Elena, and closer to Belize and its coast.
You can fly to La Aurora airport in Guatemala all year round from Bogotá, Los Angeles, Miami, San José in Costa Rica, San Salvador, Washington Dulles, Tegucigalpa and New York-JFK with Avianca; from Atlanta and LAX with Delta; from Managua and Panama with Copa Airlines; from Madrid in Spain with Iberia; from Miami with Frontier, from John F. Kennedy airport with JetBlue, From Fort Lauderdale, Houston International and Orlando with Spirit; from Belize, Cancun, Flores, Merida, Puerto Barrios and Oaxaca with Transportes Aereos Guatemaltecos; and from some of the cities above also with United and Volaris.
If, after reading our recommendations below, you prefer to fly into Mundo Maya airport in Guatemala, know that you can only book flights to this airport or else make a connection from Guatemala City-La Aurora, Cancun and Merida in Mexico or Belize with carriers like Aeromar, Transportes Aereos Guatemaltecos and Tropic Air. Note that some airlines operate seasonal and chartered flights to both air hubs in the country, so there might be other routes not listed here that suit you better.
Which airport in Guatemala should I fly to?
If you fly to Guatemala from abroad, it is highly likely that you will land in La Aurora (Guatemala City), but in order to reach the parts of the country you would like to see or where you would like to stay, you can catch a connecting flight to Flores airport (Mundo Maya), or even travel by air from Mexico or Belize as part of your Central America tour.
From La Aurora International airport, you can reach Ciudad de Guatemala in just 20 minutes by car, and the charming colonial city of Antigua, with its cobbled streets and a chocolate museum near the Pacaya volcano, after a 56-minute drive from the terminal. Less than 2 hours driving from it is the Iximche Mayan site as well, while it takes a little bit more than 3 hours to drive to Lake Atitlán. The Monterrico Nature Reserve, home to mangrove forests and sea turtles and a perfect destination for travelers who want to take boat tours and enjoy bird and wildlife spotting, lies about 3 hours away by car from Guatemala City airport.
After your flight lands in Mundo Maya airport in Guatemala (Flores), you may commute to the Tikal Mayan ruins in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and explore small towns, active volcanoes and tropical jungles. The beaches and coral reefs in Livingston are accessible from Flores airport in approximately 6 hours, although this journey may require entering Belize (that is, crossing the border) and taking a ferry boat. Another landmark worth exploring, the Lanquín Caves are halfway between the two main airports in the country, so it would make no difference if you catch a flight to one or the other.
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