---
title: "Living in Flores (Petén) as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/flores-peten
description: "Island town on Lake Petén Itzá, an hour from Tikal"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Flores (Petén), Guatemala

Flores (Petén) scores 43.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 963 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,250 per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 16.8 Mbps.

Flores is a tiny island town linked by a causeway to Santa Elena on Lake Petén Itzá, the base for Tikal 65 km north and the other Maya sites of the Petén, with an airport flying to Guatemala City. The island's pastel lanes are walkable in minutes and lake sunsets are the evening's event, but the town is small and tourist-facing, the lowland heat is intense and internet is uneven.

Known for: Tikal 65 km, Lake Petén Itzá, Pastel island lanes, Hot jungle climate.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 43.5 |
| Cost of living | 51 |
| Safety | 35 |
| Healthcare | 51 |
| Internet | 55 |
| Visa ease | 46 |
| Getting there & around | 20 |
| Climate | 25 |
| Air quality | 72 |
| Quality of life | 36 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,250 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 22.76 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 61.9 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 58 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 16.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 7.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (FRS) | 1 | city | 2026-07 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 59 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 5 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 3 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 17.4 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.662 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 21.9 | 88 | 84 | yes |
| Feb | 23.8 | 51 | 77 | yes |
| Mar | 26.2 | 47 | 65 | yes |
| Apr | 28.9 | 41 | 58 | no |
| May | 28.8 | 137 | 66 | no |
| Jun | 26.3 | 263 | 85 | no |
| Jul | 25.8 | 171 | 87 | no |
| Aug | 26.1 | 224 | 87 | no |
| Sep | 25.7 | 275 | 91 | no |
| Oct | 24.7 | 247 | 91 | no |
| Nov | 22.8 | 148 | 90 | no |
| Dec | 22.2 | 109 | 88 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mundo Maya International Airport | FRS | 1 | 0 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 1, of which 0 international (Wikipedia, 2026-07).

## Similar cities

- [La Ceiba](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/la-ceiba) (43) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-la-ceiba)
- [Utila](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/utila) (46.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-utila)
- [Roatán](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/roatan) (46.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-roatan)
- [Quetzaltenango](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/quetzaltenango) (43.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-quetzaltenango)
- [León (Nicaragua)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/leon-nicaragua) (51) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-leon-nicaragua)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Flores (Petén) as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,250 per month in Flores (Petén) (a country-level estimate for Guatemala). That is a 51/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Flores (Petén) safe for digital nomads?

Flores (Petén) scores 35/100 on safety. Guatemala records 22.76 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 61.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Guatemala have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Guatemala as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Flores (Petén)?

Measured median download speed in Flores (Petén) was 16.8 Mbps (upload 7.8 Mbps) across 26,970 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Flores (Petén)?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Guatemala (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Flores (Petén). Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Flores (Petén) and how many nonstop flights are there?

Flores (Petén) is served by Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS) with 1 nonstop destinations, of which 0 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-07.

### When is the best time of year to be in Flores (Petén)?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar. Mean temperatures range from 71°F (22°C) in Jan to 84°F (29°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Flores (Petén) or La Ceiba: which is better for digital nomads?

La Ceiba is the city with the closest factor profile to Flores (Petén) in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Flores (Petén)](https://navoy.io/hotels/guatemala/flores) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/flores-peten