Vital statistics
Mexico City (Mexico); Belmopan (Belize); Guatemala City (Guatemala); San Salvador (El Salvador); Tegucigalpa (Honduras) At its peak (600–800 AD), the Mayan civilisation topped 10 million people. Spanish is spoken across Mexico and Central America; there are around 30 Mayan languages, with Yucatec (Mexico/ Belize), K’iche (Guatemala) and Tzeltal (Mexico) among those heard today. Yucatán/Chiapas/Quintana Roo in Mexico: GMT-5 +52 (Mexico); +501 (Belize); +502 (Guatemala); +503 El Salvador; +504 (Honduras) Not required by UK nationals for stays of up to 180 days (Mexico), 90 days (Guatemala and El Salvador) and 30 days (Belize and Honduras). The Mexican peso is currently around MXN25 to the UK£; Guatemalan quetzal is GTQ9.60; Belizean dollar is BZ$2.50; Honduran lempira is HNL30.50. Since 2001, El Salvador has only been using US dollars (US$) after it scrapped its own currency; currently US$1.23 to the UK£. US dollars are accepted widely across Central America and are easy to exchange for local money. This can be useful, as ATMs are common in the larger cities of Honduras and Guatemala but more sparse in rural areas.
