How do you get from A to B in Guatemala?
For the longer distances from, say, Guatemala City to Flores (via Rio Dulce), there is a bus, both day and night. It takes about 10 hours and costs between €30 – €60 depending on the bus company and the type of seat you want (seated, semi horizontal or horizontal). If you take the night bus then a horizontal seat is recommended. You can book the bus locally in the city you are in. For example, if you come from Antigua and want to go to Flores, you go by minibus to Guatemala City and there transfer to the bus to Flores.
For the distances of about 8 hours, there are minibuses that you can book at local tourist office or hostels. Here, the distance and the number of people going with you will determine the price. The more people who come along, the lower the price will be. For example, a drive from Flores to Languín/Semuc Champey takes about 7 hours and costs about €25.
In addition, there are minibuses that run from Lago Atitlán to Antigua and they cost about €12 for a trip of about 4 hours.
For shorter distances between different drops around a larger town or village, local chicken buses run. Big brightened up old school buses that mainly transport the locals. Such buses can take you from Panajachel to Chichicastenango and back, for example. The buses run short distances between surrounding villages. These are also the buses that often leave very early in the morning, think 4:00 am. These buses stop frequently and thus take a comparatively long time, but are cheap and an ideal way to mingle with the locals. A half-hour ride often costs you less than a euro.
In the towns and villages, you can use cabs and motorcycle cabs (tuctucs). Uber also runs in Guatemala and in doing so the price is given in the app. With other cabs and mototaxis, it is wise to agree on a price before you get in. It is expected that you will need few cabs, as in Guatemala in the cities and towns many distances are fine to walk.