Border problem Belize-Guatemala
 

A friend of mine left Guatemala on his bike with Canadian license plates, he went to Mexico, then on to Belize and then he wanted to reenter Guatemala .
At the border in Melchor de Mencos he was denied to enter the bike to Guatemala, because apparently there is a new law , forbidding reentry to Guatemala in a period shorter then 90 days .
Has anybody out there had the same problem before ?
Any advice is highly appreciated !!!

That doesn't sound right but if he got the same fat bugga that hoped up half way through our paperwork and left us standing for hour for his lunch then came back and completed it in less than 3 minutes I can understand, not a nice guy.

To the formal part my understanding is you have to be out for more than 72 hours which we was so I don't know, I did a Gooooooooogle on it and could not find a thing.

Sjoerd ??????

Hey Guaterider
 

It's bullshit as I have entered Guatemala with my British Columbian Plate on March 17 from Mexico and exited 3 days later to enter San Salvador, I then reentered Guatemala on April 16 and exited on the 17 th at Melchor de Mencos. It was a breeze going through as a matter of 45 mn in and out.
Either your friend has to enter through another border or wait for this border agent to be off, this exactly what happened to me trying to reenter Costa Rica few weeks ago, I had to do a detour of 750 km in the end.
Good luck to your friend, I know how he feels right now.

I believe this has been the case for some time, just not always enforced. I met an American couple who live in Pana that keep a second car in Mexico for this. When they do their 3 month visa run, they switch cars and come back.

I second Chefonabike' s assessment . The border worker is just
trying to be miserable. I seriously doubt that there is any such new
rule as it would make border crossings nearly impossible for business
travel.
This year I made only a one way transit of GT through Melchor de Mencos
to GT City and to Mexico so did not have cause for encountering this kind
of problem. On other trips though , even in 2012, I have frequently crossed through GT on an Ontario plated bike going south , then north within the span of days noted and within the valid period for their tourist card a nd TVIP. They even made it clear to me that retaining the TVIP and receipts would speed up and simplify the return trip entry process. In fact on the return leg the TVIP was considered as valid an d only a new tourist pass was required.
Once however when I had misplaced these papers from the first transit it took
an hours long frustrating wait in Puerto Barrios after coming from Honduras as they tried communicating with SAT office in the capital.when I finally did discover my lost documents the problem evaporated.
If one were to have CANCELLLED. the TVIP when leaving Guatemala then it might indeed be a source for a problem . Perhaps the mentioned new rule if it exists is an attempt to stop people from moving too many vehicles into the country to sell for profit on the black market .

The original TVIP was cancelled indeed when he exit Guatemala a few weeks ago . And yes , the rule exists .

Guatemala entry fees
 

I am a Canadian citizen and just contacted the consulate with regards to official charges enterin Guatemala, from Belize, not sure if that even matters.... Here's a quoted reply .... Hope this clears up confusion as to how much we should be paying!!!

Mr. William Teichroeb
Dear Mr. Teichroeb:
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Thank you for your message dated May 23rd.
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Following up to your enquiry, I would like to inform you that our office contacted the information call center of the Border Control Agency at Guatemala (local speed dial 1550) and received confirmation that the standard fee that applies for your case is GTQ 45.00 (roughly US$6.00) which entitles you to a Tourist Permit for foreign vehicles (Perimso de Turista para Vehículos Extranjeros, in Spanish). This perimt would allow you to travel within Guatemala along with your motorcycle for 30 days. No further charges should apply to you when entering Guatemala.
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I hope this information is useful to you. Please do not hesistate to contact us for any additional doubts or enquiries. it will be a pleasure to assist you.
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Kind regards,
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Stefano Guillén Solares
Consular Assistant*/ Assistant Consulaire
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stefano.guillen@international.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone (502) 2363-4348 ext: 3340*
Facsimile | Télécopieur (502) 2365-1216
13 Calle 8-44 Zona 10, Edificio Edyma Plaza
Ciudad de Guatemala
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Embassy of Canada*in Guatemala
Ambassade du Canada au Guatemala

Hope this clears it up for you - when you cross the border depending on how good your Spanish is they might offer you the option to cancel your TVIP or just temporarily export the bike. When I crossed into El Salvador it was explained to me that if I didn't want to cancel the TVIP I didn't have to, but if I did I would have to stay outside for 90 days before returning. Not cancelling it would mean coming back to the border to properly cancel it, or dealing with the fallout next time crossing the guate border.

Its pretty easy, just NEVER cancel your permit when leaving, they will just mark it as temporary leaving the country.

It would be interesting to know if this is indeed the "official" price to enter Guatemala with a bike. The last two trips of mine, I paid something near the 45Q quoted for a tourist permit, and also a separate procedure and charge of ~160Q for a permit for the bike. Also my permits were both for 90 days. Maybe there is a different procedure for shorter stays that I don't know about, or maybe I got ripped off, or maybe the reply from the consulate below is wrong. $20 more or less won't make or break my next trip, just curious.

Update
 

Hey. An update. I crossed into guatemala from Belize about 2 weeks ago, and only paid 25 quetzals. No hassle, about 5 minutes and I was through! Belize charges a fee to leave which I believe was 12.50 American. Don't remember though. Cheers !