USA to Guatemala Transit Time Calculator: 6-27 Days (2026)

USA to Guatemala Transit Time Calculator: 6-27 Days (2026)

Free transit time calculator USA to Guatemala: instant 2026 rates and sailing days, no signup, no follow-up calls. Ocean transit runs 6-27 days port to port.

Guatemala · Ocean freight
November 1, 2026 22 min read AB Group Shipping Team ✓ Fact-checked

Quick Answer: Ocean transit from the USA to Guatemala runs 6 to 27 days port to port: Houston 6 days, Los Angeles 10, New Jersey 14, Miami 27. With AB Group Shipping, a 20 ft container from Houston starts at $810 (October 2026 quote). Air freight to La Aurora (GUA) takes 1-4 days.

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  • Ocean transit USA to Guatemala: Houston 6 days, Los Angeles 10 days, New Jersey 14 days, Miami 27 days, port to port on a full container.
  • Air freight from MIA, IAH, LAX or JFK to La Aurora (GUA) moves in 1-4 days; overland truck from Laredo to Tecún Umán runs 7-12 days.
  • Guatemalan clearance runs on the DUCA declaration under CAUCA/RECAUCA, filed with SAT; a CAFTA-DR certificate of origin is required to claim preferential duty.
  • The calculator on this page prices your exact origin and gives transit days in seconds — no email, no sales call.

Transit days on this lane do not follow the map. Houston sits farther from Guatemala than Miami in sailing miles, yet it lands cargo four times faster because the Gulf service runs direct while Florida boxes relay through a hub.

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Reference transit times: USA to Guatemala

6 daysFrom Houston, the shortest transit to Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Barrios or Puerto Quetzal Guatemala.
PortFull containerConsolidated
Miami27 days14 days
Houston6 days≈ 14 days
New JerseyPhiladelphia14 days≈ 14 days
Los Angeles10 days≈ 14 days

Port-to-port ocean transit days to Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Barrios or Puerto Quetzal Guatemala, as the carriers quote them, checked on October 26, 2026. Allow a few more days for customs and delivery. ≈ Approximate time: what our system quotes leaving from another port, or the median of the other ports for that shipment.

Shipping from another state? Which port to read

Each port in the table is the one that cargo from these states usually leaves through. Miami: Florida. Houston: Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. New Jersey: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia and West Virginia. Los Angeles: California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii. Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama ship through Savannah; Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota ship through Chicago (rail); Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska ship through Seattle / Tacoma: those ports are not in the table yet. We pick up in every state, and the calculator finds the best port from your city.

How Long Does It Take to Ship a Container from the USA to Guatemala?

Quick Answer: Port-to-port ocean transit from the USA to Guatemala runs 6 to 27 days on a full container. Houston clears in about 6 days, Los Angeles 10, New Jersey 14 and Miami 27 because of transshipment routing. Air freight to La Aurora takes 1 to 4 days depending on service.

Four verified figures define this lane. Houston reaches Santo Tomás de Castilla in 6 days. Los Angeles takes 10 days to Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios. New York/New Jersey runs 14 days, and Miami runs 27 days.

6-27Days port to port

The spread between the fastest and slowest US gateway on this lane is 21 days. Routing — direct versus transshipped — explains almost all of it.

Why is Miami slower than Houston to Guatemala?

Distance is not the answer. Miami cargo to Guatemala usually relays through a transshipment hub such as Caucedo, Kingston or Colón. Your box discharges, waits for a connecting vessel, then reloads.

Houston sits on a direct Gulf string to Santo Tomás. No relay, no second port call, no hub dwell. That is a 21-day difference built entirely from routing, not mileage.

Which gateway serves your state?

AB Group Shipping moves cargo from anywhere in the USA and Canada. Your region decides your gateway, and your gateway decides your transit days and your price.

  • Texas and the central states → Houston, the fastest option at 6 days to Santo Tomás
  • California and the Southwest → Los Angeles/Long Beach, 10 days to Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios
  • The Northeast → New York/New Jersey, 14 days
  • Florida → Miami or Port Everglades, 27 days on the transshipped routing
  • The Southeast → Savannah, priced approx. through the nearest listed gateway
  • The Midwest → rail to Houston or Chicago-rail connections, then the Gulf sailing

Every figure above is port to port. That means you deliver the cargo to the departure terminal and collect it at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios. Destination charges, inland trucking and Guatemalan duties sit outside the freight quote.

Rates on this lane change every month. The price table under the opening answer updates itself, and the calculator on this page prices your exact origin city, not a regional average.

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What Is a Transit Time Calculator and How Does It Work?

Quick Answer: A transit time calculator estimates the days your cargo spends from origin to destination using carrier sailing schedules, port dwell data and customs averages. Our tool asks for mode, origin and destination, then returns transit days and a price in seconds — no email, no sales call, no waiting for a broker.

Start with the definition. Transit time is the number of days between cargo leaving the origin port and arriving at the destination port. Nothing before, nothing after.

A calculadora tiempo de tránsito usa guatemala turns scattered carrier schedules into one number. It reads sailing frequency, voyage duration and hub dwell, then returns a usable estimate.

What inputs does the calculator need?

  • Mode — FCL, LCL, air freight, land freight or courier
  • Origin — your US or Canadian city, state or ZIP code
  • Destination port — Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios
  • Volume — container size for FCL, or cubic meters (CBM) for LCL

How accurate are the numbers?

The methodology is simple arithmetic over carrier data: sailing days plus transshipment dwell plus schedule gap. Accuracy bands run roughly ±2-4 days on direct services and ±5-7 days on transshipped routings.

Direct services hold tight because there is one vessel and one schedule. Transshipped routings widen because a missed hub connection costs a full weekly cycle.

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Pro Tip

The calculator quotes port to port. It does not include destination terminal handling, inland trucking to Guatemala City, or SAT duties and taxes. Build those into your landed-cost model separately — ask us for a destination estimate before you commit to a sales price.

We run the same tool on other corridors. The Free Moving Cost Calculator: USA to United Kingdom 2026 shows the identical logic applied to a transatlantic household move.

Transit Time vs Lead Time vs Delivery Time: What's the Difference?

Quick Answer: Transit time counts only the main leg — port to port or airport to airport. Lead time starts the day you place the order and ends when the goods reach your warehouse. Delivery time adds customs clearance and inland trucking. A 6-day Houston sailing can still be a 20-day lead time.

Importers lose money on this distinction every week. They quote a customer 6 days because the sailing is 6 days. Then the box sits at Santo Tomás waiting on a DUCA.

The same shipment, measured three ways

Take one 40 ft HC leaving Houston for Santo Tomás de Castilla.

  • Transit time: 6 days — vessel departure to vessel arrival
  • Delivery time: transit plus Guatemalan clearance plus the CA-9 run to Guatemala City
  • Lead time: everything above, plus supplier production, pickup, cross-dock and export filing

The working formula: transit days = sailing days + transshipment dwell. Total delivery = origin handling + transit + SAT clearance + inland leg.

Cut-off and ETD are not the same date

Booking cut-off is when the terminal stops accepting your box. Vessel ETD is when the ship leaves. The gap between them varies by carrier and terminal; check the dates on your booking confirmation.

Worked example from Houston: documentation cut-off Tuesday, cargo cut-off Wednesday, ETD Friday, arrival Santo Tomás the following Thursday. Six transit days — but your cargo left your warehouse ten days earlier.

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The classic planning mistake

Never promise a Guatemalan customer a delivery date based on transit time alone. A 6-day Houston sailing routinely becomes a 15 to 25 day door-to-door timeline once you add pickup, export filing, DUCA clearance and inland trucking. Quote delivery time, then add buffer days around Semana Santa and December.

Port-Pair Transit Times: Miami, Houston, LA and More to Puerto Quetzal and Santo Tomás

Quick Answer: Guatemala has two coasts: Puerto Quetzal (GTPRQ) on the Pacific and Santo Tomás de Castilla with Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean. Gulf and East Coast origins route to Santo Tomás; our Los Angeles service also arrives at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios. Transit ranges from 6 days out of Houston to 27 days out of Miami.

Per the Comisión Portuaria Nacional de Guatemala, Puerto Quetzal is the country's Pacific gateway and Santo Tomás its Caribbean one. Puerto Barrios sits beside Santo Tomás on the same Atlantic coast.

USA → Guatemala port-pair transit times

6 daysHouston to Santo Tomás de Castilla is the fastest US gateway on this lane, 21 days quicker than Miami.
Houston6Los Angeles / Long Beach10New York / New Jersey14Miami / Port Everglades27New Orleans (approx., via Houston)6-8 approx.Gulfport (approx., via Houston)6-9 approx.Savannah (approx., via New Jersey)12-14 approx.
See the data
Origin portGuatemalan portTransit daysSailing frequency
HoustonSanto Tomás de Castilla6Weekly
Los Angeles / Long BeachSanto Tomás de Castilla / Puerto Barrios10Varies
New York / New JerseySanto Tomás de Castilla14Weekly
Miami / Port EvergladesSanto Tomás de Castilla27Weekly, transshipped
New Orleans (approx., via Houston)Santo Tomás de Castilla6-8 approx.Weekly
Gulfport (approx., via Houston)Santo Tomás de Castilla6-9 approx.Weekly
Savannah (approx., via New Jersey)Santo Tomás de Castilla12-14 approx.Weekly

Source: AB Group Shipping quoting system, port-to-port FCL · October 2026. Approximate rows route through the nearest listed gateway.

FCL 20'
US HoustonUSHOU
→
GT Santo TomásGTSTC
from · Oct 2026 USD$810 Quote this route →
FCL 20'
US Los AngelesUSLAX
→
GT Puerto QuetzalGTPRQ
from · Oct 2026 USD$1,512 Quote this route →
FCL 40'HC
US MiamiUSMIA
→
GT Santo TomásGTSTC
from · Oct 2026 USD$2,203 Quote this route →

Choose Puerto Quetzal when…

Your cargo originates on the US West Coast or transships from Asia. Quetzal also serves the western highlands, Escuintla and Retalhuleu better than the Atlantic side. Our Los Angeles service arrives at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios, not Quetzal, in 10 days.

Choose Santo Tomás when…

Your cargo leaves the Gulf or US East Coast. Santo Tomás and Puerto Barrios feed Guatemala City through the CA-9 corridor, roughly a one-day inland run. Houston at 6 days is the fastest combination on the lane.

Shipping from a city not listed above? The calculator prices it through the nearest gateway and labels the result approx. with the port it actually sails from.

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Compare FCL, LCL, Air, and Courier rates in seconds — no email required.

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Which Carriers Sail the USA–Guatemala Lane and How Often?

Quick Answer: Several container lines serve Guatemala from US ports. Gulf services out of Houston and New Orleans sail weekly to Santo Tomás. Frequency, not distance, is what usually decides your real door date on this lane.

Weekly departures are the norm. That sounds generous until you miss one. A missed cut-off costs a full 7 days, which on a 6-day sailing doubles your timeline.

Direct service versus transshipment

Direct strings load in Houston or New Orleans and discharge in Santo Tomás with no intermediate handling. Transshipped routings relay through Caucedo, Kingston, Colón or Manzanillo.

Each relay adds hub dwell. A short relay adds 3 to 5 days. A missed connection at the hub adds a whole weekly cycle, which is the main reason Miami runs 27 days instead of 12.

Carrier choice changes more than the ETA

  • Free time at destination varies by carrier contract — some give more days before demurrage starts
  • 40HC equipment is tighter than 20 ft on Gulf services during harvest peaks
  • Reefer slots compete with Guatemala's outbound produce flows on the same vessels
  • Documentation cut-offs differ by carrier, sometimes by two full days
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Pro Tip

Our calculator returns the fastest commercially available routing for your origin — not one carrier's published schedule. If a weekly Gulf string is full, the system prices the next viable option. Book 10-14 days ahead before Christmas, before Semana Santa and during the coffee export season, when southbound capacity tightens on every Gulf service.

How Many Days Does Air Cargo Take from the United States to Guatemala City?

Quick Answer: Air cargo from the USA to La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City takes 1 to 4 days. Express courier moves in 1-2 days; consolidated air freight takes 3-4 days because it waits for a build-up. Miami is the densest gateway, with daily lift to GUA.

Flight time is irrelevant. Miami to Guatemala City is about 2.5 hours in the air. The days come from cut-off, build-up, handling and SAT processing.

1-4Days to GUA

Express courier lands in 1-2 days. Consolidated air freight on an AWB takes 3-4 days because it waits for a full ULD build-up and a flight slot.

Origin airportExpress courierConsolidated air freightLift frequency
Miami (MIA)1-2 days2-4 daysDaily
Houston (IAH)1-2 days3-4 daysDaily / near-daily
Los Angeles (LAX)2-3 days3-5 daysSeveral weekly
New York (JFK)2-3 days3-5 daysSeveral weekly

Cut-off time decides your flight, not your hour

Cargo tendered after last acceptance does not catch a later flight that evening. It rolls to the next available service, which on a thin LAX or JFK routing can mean a two-day wait.

Air courier shipments to Guatemala enter through La Aurora, per the FAA International Flight Information Manual. Guatemala City carries the UN/LOCODE GTGUA.

Express courier versus standard air freight

Express moves door to door with duties often prepaid by the carrier. Standard air freight moves on an Air Waybill consolidated by an IAC, cheaper per kilo but slower and airport to airport.

Air earns its price on spares, samples, perishables and urgent replacement parts. For brake components, filters and electrical parts, see Importing Auto Parts from USA to Guatemala: Full Guide.

How Long Does a Truck Take to Drive from Texas to Guatemala?

Quick Answer: Overland trucking from Laredo or McAllen through Mexico to Guatemala takes 7 to 12 days. The run follows the Mexican highway network to the Tecún Umán or El Carmen crossings on the CA-2. Border dwell at two frontiers, not road distance, is what stretches the timeline.

The lane is straightforward on paper. Laredo or McAllen → Mexican in-bond transit → Ciudad Hidalgo → Tecún Umán on the Pacific CA-2, or El Carmen on the northern crossing.

Two customs events, two sources of delay

Your truck clears Mexican transit documentation at the northern border. Then it files the DUCA for Guatemalan entry at Tecún Umán or El Carmen. Each frontier adds dwell.

Road time from Laredo to the Guatemalan border is a few days of driving. The other half of the 7-12 day window is paperwork and queuing.

FTL or LTL on this corridor?

  • FTL — one truck, one customs file, the fastest overland option
  • LTL — cheaper per pallet, but the trailer waits for other freight before it rolls
  • Consolidation can add 3-5 days at the Texas cross-dock before departure
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Plan for border and route risk

CA-4 queues, Mexican holiday closures and known cargo-theft corridors all change routing and timing. Carriers reroute without notice. For security context on the destination side, review the Guatemala Travel Advisory from Travel.State.gov before planning driver overnights or in-country delivery schedules.

Land beats ocean in two cases: time-critical Texas cargo below a full container load, and shipments that just missed the weekly Houston sailing and cannot wait seven days.

How Long Does Customs Clearance Take in Guatemala?

Quick Answer: Guatemalan clearance runs on the DUCA declaration, filed with SAT under the CAUCA and RECAUCA regional framework. Clearance days depend on documentation quality, inspection selection and the broker's filing speed. A clean commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading move fastest; missing paperwork is the single biggest delay.

Start with the declaration. The DUCA is the Central American customs declaration used by the CA-4 countries. CAUCA and RECAUCA are the regional legal framework behind it, per SAT's Temas Aduaneros guidance.

Which documents does SAT require?

  • Factura Comercial — the commercial invoice, with accurate values and descriptions
  • Packing list — piece counts, weights and dimensions matching the invoice
  • Bill of Lading — or Air Waybill for air cargo
  • DUCA — the customs declaration itself, filed with SAT
  • Certificado de Origen — required when claiming CAFTA-DR preferential duty

Per U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CA-4 countries use the DUCA form, and a certificate of origin is required for CAFTA-DR preferential treatment. Without it, you pay the standard rate.

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Undervalued invoices cause the longest holds

SAT can adjust the declared customs value when there is reasonable doubt about it (SAT, Temas Aduaneros, checked October 2026). A value dispute stops the clock while the box accrues storage. Declare real transaction values, attach supplier payment evidence, and keep HS classification consistent across the invoice and the DUCA.

Pre-shipment permits that cannot wait

Some goods need authorization before the vessel sails. Cosmetics require health registration or product authorization before the cargo departs, per the International Trade Administration's Guatemala import requirements guidance.

Filing that after arrival does not work. The cargo sits while the registration runs.

Guatemala's customs rules change, and product-specific requirements vary widely. For any rule, deadline, cap, exemption or permit not named above, confirm it with us or with a licensed customs agent before you buy or ship. AB Group Shipping is a freight forwarder, not legal counsel.

Door-to-Door Timeline: Every Stage in Days

Quick Answer: A full door-to-door move from the USA to Guatemala City typically runs 15 to 40 days. Pickup and consolidation take 2-5 days, US export filing (EEI in AES, when required) 1-2, the ocean leg 6-27, Guatemalan clearance several working days and inland delivery from Santo Tomás to Guatemala City about one day.

StageTypical daysWhat happens
Pickup / drayage1-3Truck collects from your facility to port or CFS
Cross-dock / CFS consolidation (LCL)2-5Cargo waits for the container to fill
US export filing (EEI in AES)1-2EEI filed in AES when required, for example when value exceeds $2,500 per Schedule B line; the ISF applies only to US ocean imports, not to exports
Cut-off to ETDVaries by carrierBox gated in, vessel loads and departs
Ocean leg6-27Houston 6, LA 10, New Jersey 14, Miami 27
Discharge and DUCA clearanceSeveral working daysSAT filing, inspection selection, release
Inland trucking on the CA-9~1Santo Tomás to Guatemala City

Two worked examples

Houston origin, FCL: pickup Monday, gated in Wednesday, ETD Friday, arrival Santo Tomás the following Thursday. Add clearance and the CA-9 run, and you land in Guatemala City around day 15 to 18 door to door.

Los Angeles origin, FCL: drayage and cut-off take a week, the ocean leg 10 days to Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios, then clearance and inland delivery. Realistic door-to-door: 20 to 25 days.

LCL adds destination days that FCL does not

An LCL box must be deconsolidated at the destination CFS before your pallets release. That is extra handling, extra queuing and extra days. Full costing sits in LCL Shipping USA to Guatemala 2026: Instant Quotes.

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A cheap rate plus a slow broker is an expensive shipment

Free time at the Guatemalan port is finite. Once it expires you pay demurrage on the container at the terminal and detention or per-diem once it leaves. Send your broker complete documents before the vessel arrives, not after. Neighboring lanes behave similarly — compare timelines in Shipping Times USA to El Salvador 2026: 1-25 Days.

FCL, LCL, Air, Land or Courier: Which Mode Fits Your Guatemala Shipment?

Quick Answer: FCL wins above roughly 10 CBM, LCL below it, air for anything urgent or high-value, land for Texas-origin cargo that misses the weekly sailing and courier for parcels. Transit ranges from 1 day by express to 27 days on a transshipped Miami container. Cost moves in the opposite direction.

ModeTransit daysBest use caseDocument
Ocean FCL6-27Above ~10 CBM, full loads, machineryBill of Lading
Ocean LCL10-30Below ~10 CBM, mixed palletsB/L or Sea Waybill
Air freight3-5High value, perishables, sparesAir Waybill
Land freight7-12Texas origin, missed sailingCMR / DUCA transit
Express courier1-2Parcels, samples, documentsCourier AWB

The 10 CBM breakpoint is the rule of thumb. Below it, LCL cost-per-cubic-meter wins. Above it, a 20 ft container is usually cheaper and always faster at destination. Full math in USA-Latin America FCL vs LCL: The 10 CBM Breakpoint.

Incoterms 2020: who absorbs the delay?

IncotermSeller controlsBuyer controlsWho absorbs delay cost
EXWNothing after the factory doorPickup through deliveryBuyer, from day one
FOBExport clearance and loadingOcean leg onwardBuyer, after vessel loading
CIFFreight and insurance to portImport clearance, inlandBuyer, at destination port
DAPDelivery to named placeImport duties and taxesSeller to arrival, buyer at customs
DDPEverything including dutiesUnloading onlySeller, all the way through SAT

Why DAP usually beats DDP here

Under DAP, who handles the DUCA and pays the duties should be set out in the sales contract. The local importer knows SAT, holds the tax registration and manages the broker relationship. Delay risk sits where the local knowledge sits.

Why DDP exposes the US seller

DDP looks clean on a quote sheet. In practice it puts the US seller on the hook for Guatemalan import liability, including SAT valuation disputes and any resulting storage. You absorb costs you cannot see and cannot control.

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Some cargo never fits a container

RVs and motorhomes, semi-trucks, heavy machinery and aircraft do not go in a box. They move on a flat rack or a RoRo vessel, and a specialist prices them after the calculator takes the request. Any quote that puts one of these inside a standard container is wrong. Import duties and taxes are set by Guatemala, not by us — they are never part of an AB Group freight rate.

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Get Your USA to Guatemala Transit Time and Price in Seconds

Quick Answer: The calculator on this page prices your exact origin and returns transit days at the same time. Port-to-port 20 ft rates from Houston started at $810 in October 2026; other gateways price higher because of routing. Rates change monthly, so the table above the calculator updates itself.

The tool asks four things: origin city or ZIP, mode, container size or CBM, and Guatemalan destination port. It returns transit days and a price together.

$81020 ft from Houston · Oct 2026

Port to port to Guatemala, general cargo, on the 6-day Gulf service. Rates move every month — check the self-updating price table for current figures on every gateway.

What is quoted, and what is not

  • Quoted: port-to-port ocean freight for your container size and origin
  • Not AB Group freight: destination terminal charges at Santo Tomás or Puerto Quetzal
  • Not AB Group freight: inland delivery to Guatemala City on the CA-9
  • Not AB Group freight: Guatemalan duties and taxes assessed by SAT

How to read the output

Transit days are commercial estimates drawn from current carrier schedules. They are not carrier guarantees. Add buffer days around Semana Santa, December and the coffee export peak, when Gulf capacity tightens.

With thousands of shipments processed across the USA–Latin America corridor, our quoting system reflects what actually sails — not a published schedule that nobody can book.

Stop emailing three forwarders and waiting two days for a spread of numbers you cannot compare. Use the calculadora tiempo de tránsito usa guatemala on this page: enter your origin, pick your mode, and see transit days and a real port-to-port price in seconds. No email required, no follow-up calls, no sales pressure. If your cargo needs a flat rack, RoRo or a project-cargo specialist, the same form routes your request to the right desk.

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Compare FCL, LCL, Air, and Courier rates in seconds — no email required.

Go to the calculator →
How long does it take to ship a container from Miami to Guatemala?+

About 27 days port to port on a full container, because Miami cargo to Guatemala usually routes through a transshipment hub rather than sailing direct. Houston is far faster on the same lane at roughly 6 days. Use the calculator on this page to see the transit days and price for your exact origin.

What is the transit time from Houston to Puerto Quetzal?+

Houston sails to Guatemala's Caribbean side, Santo Tomás de Castilla, in about 6 days port to port, which is the fastest US gateway on this lane. Our Los Angeles service also arrives on the Caribbean side, at Santo Tomás de Castilla or Puerto Barrios, in about 10 days. The calculator shows the routing it has priced for you.

How many days does air cargo take from the United States to Guatemala City?+

One to four days. Express courier from Miami, Houston, Los Angeles or New York reaches La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in 1-2 days, while consolidated air freight takes 3-4 days because it waits for a build-up and a flight slot. Missing the airline cut-off time, not flight length, is what usually adds a day.

How long does customs clearance take in Guatemala?+

It depends on your documentation and whether SAT selects the shipment for inspection. Clearance runs on the DUCA declaration under the CAUCA and RECAUCA framework, and you need a commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading; a certificate of origin is required to claim CAFTA-DR preferential duty. Confirm any specific requirement with us or a licensed customs agent before you ship.

What is the fastest way to ship from the USA to Guatemala?+

Air freight to La Aurora (GUA) is fastest at 1-4 days, with express courier at the quick end. For containers, a Houston sailing to Santo Tomás de Castilla at about 6 days beats every other US gateway. Land freight from Laredo or McAllen through Tecún Umán takes 7-12 days.

What is the difference between transit time and total delivery time?+

Transit time counts only the main leg, port to port or airport to airport. Total delivery time adds origin pickup, export filing, Guatemalan customs clearance and inland trucking to Guatemala City, which usually turns a 6-day sailing into a 15-25 day door-to-door timeline. Plan your customer commitments on delivery time, never on transit time alone.

Sources

We checked the rules and figures in this guide against these sources on October 31, 2026.

  1. Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT) Guatemala: Temas Aduaneros – Preguntas Frecuentes
  2. U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) · 2023-06-01
  3. International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce: Guatemala - Import Requirements and Documentation · 2026-03-03
  4. U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB): International Trade Resources for Guatemala
  5. U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Importer Security Filing '10+2' · 2018-11-28
  6. Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT): Ubicación y horario de Aduanas
  7. Comisión Portuaria Nacional de Guatemala: Enlace Portuario – Edición Bicentenaria 28 (2021) · 2021-01-01
  8. UNECE / UN/CEFACT: UN/LOCODE for GUATEMALA(GT) (2020-2) Vocabulary
  9. U.S. Federal Aviation Administration: GUATEMALA ISO Country Code – GT (International Flight Information Manual) · 2014-09-21
  10. U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs: Guatemala Travel Advisory

✓ Fact-checked by AB Group Shipping on October 31, 2026. Prices come from our own rate system. How we check our guides · Spotted an error? [email protected]

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