SHIPPING

SHIPPING PERSONAL EFFECTS

You should try to ship as little as possible. Customs charges are exorbitant and are based on the declared value of the merchandise you ship. Customs charges are also very unpredictable and highly variable. Most household and personal items are readily available in Guatemala and the price of buying them new is less that the customs taxes you will pay for bringing your used items.

If you do decide to ship your personal belongings to Guatemala use the following guidelines:

  • Please check with your shipping company to have them try to deliver as close to your arrival date as possible.

  • Time your shipment. It will need to arrive after you do so you don’t incur warehouse or storage fees.

  • Usually in Guatemala to have your belongings enter the country with little or no tax you will need to ship it to yourself. The term to use is “Menaje de casa” - artículos usados sin valor comercial".

  • In order to get the boxes out of customs you will most likely need to obtain a tax ID number for Guatemala. This process needs to be done in person.

  • Check with airlines about limitations on the number of bags /weight and their charges for extra or overweight bags

  • Make sure you label your shipment as “menaje de casa” and clearly state your items are used and have no commercial value

  • You will need to provide an itemized list to your shipper by box. Be sure to keep a copy of your packing list for yourself.

  • Verify the type of service you are paying for: door to door, door to port, etc. It is usually better to pay for door to door so you do not have to do the customs paperwork yourself.

  • Make sure you list yourself, not the school, as the recipient.

Companies used by our teachers successfully in the past are:


Suggestions from teachers of what to bring include:

  • Sweaters and coats rainy season

  • Important books from your professional library

  • Laptop and/or personal electronic devices


Suggestions from teachers of what NOT to bring

  • Household expensive electronic equipment

  • Dishes, flatware, etc.

  • Furniture

  • Appliances

  • Small household items


About Computers and Laptops

Colegio Maya Provides Apple I pads for full-time teachers and maintenance is provided by the school technicians. You are welcome to bring your own laptop and the technicians will arrange for it to be configured for the school’s systems.

Guatemala uses 110V / 60 Hz electrical supply. Thus, you will be able to use North American 110V / 60 Hz equipment without any problem.

Clothing

Dress in Guatemala is generally conservative. The school is not air-conditioned but you will find there is really no need for it. During the working day, teachers are expected to wear clothes that would be appropriate in an office environment. A business casual attire is required.

Good quality clothing is available in Guatemala. There are a large number of international clothing brand shops in Guatemala, although they tend to be more expensive than in the United States

SHIPPING PETS

The school does not assume responsibility for transportation of pets and suggests that you do not travel with pets to Guatemala. If you choose to travel with your pet to Guatemala see the requirements below:

Requirements:

  1. Recent vaccination certificate by the Veterinarian.

  2. International Health Certificate signed by the veterinarian and authorized by department of Health

  3. All Documents must be original, photocopies will not be accepted.

  4. The Documents must be legalized by the nearest Consular Section.

The validity period for the documentation is 15 days from the day issued.

You need to call your airline and ask about limitation and embargoes on shipping pets. From past experience, it will probably very difficult to travel in June, July or August with a pet that needs to travel as cargo. Almost every airline has an embargo over the summer because of the temperatures. Those that don‘t have an embargo usually only allow animals in the cabin so it must fit in the compartment under the seat. They also usually require that any city the plane goes through has a lower temperature than what they consider safe, not just the point of origin and final destination.