The mall of Malacatan, San Marcos is located right at the town entrance / exit. You can find the largest supermarket in Malacatan along with a food court with many fast food spots. Banks, several stores to shop at and even an arcade. If you need to get there by taxi, tell them "La Trinidad" or "Centro Comercial" which means mall.
"La Torre" supermarket
The largest grocery store in all of Malacatan where you will find many American imported items you won't find anywhere else. Some items to note, American sliced bread, sliced American cheese and ham, cigarettes, beer and alcoholic beverages domestic or imported, beauty supplies, pet food, packaged and canned goods. Common "junk foods" like chips and dip or even frozen pizzas and TV dinners.
This is where you want to go for things that are similar to those back home. If you are looking for local goods you should visit the town market. You can find all of the seasonal local produce and many crafty Guatemalan items.
Banking
Banrural gives you the best exchange rates for your dollars and euros. Which is located right in the mall, and throughout Malacatan, San Marcos.
Food Court
Inside the food court you can find:
Domino's Pizza - The best pizza place in the city. They make the same great pizza as always, but they do have some nice different flavors or toppings from what you find in the U.S. or Canada that make dining here a new experience. Maple syrup on your pizza? They have it!
Pollo Campero - Similar to Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popeye's Chicken, with a Latin American Flavor.
Que Dely - Variety of burgers and hot dogs with fries.
Sarita's - Ice cream shop with many different flavors like Cookies and cream, Mango, and Pineapple. I recommend their ice cream, really really good.
Restrooms
Also located inside the food court of the mall, and they are free to use! Most places will charge you a small fee for using the restrooms unless you are a customer, even public restrooms will charge you between Q1-Q3. This is a way for the city to raise money.
Pay less Shoe Source
I would have to say this is the best place in town to find footwear. Considered high end here. It's a reliable name that is trusted for having decent merchandise. Prices are generally the same as they would be in the U.S. plus a little more which might be to cover costs associated with importing their product.
Cell phone service Tigo, Claro, Movi star
If you would like to communicate back home, your AT&T Cingular and T-Mobile will work fine. However your bill will be run up really really high depending on your plan.
I recommend a Tigo cell phone during your stay, you can buy one inside the mall or at any of the mobile phone shops in town. It will cost you about Q150 ($20) for a basic one with about an hour airtime. Deals may vary at different locations but that is a general price.
If you need to reload some time onto it, you're looking at about Q2 a minute to the United States and Canada. I've never called internationally to anywhere else so you would need to ask the representative in the store as far as pricing goes.
Arcade
Right by the food court there is a small arcade with a couple dozen different games. They have Air Hockey, Basketball, a few small amusement rides for toddlers (an airplane), and other entertaining classic arcade games.
Gas Station
Directly across from La Trinidad mall is a gasoline station if you're running low. Price is about Q35 a gallon for regular, which is like $4.50. They also have super and diesel available. Other than these Gasoline stations, some people sell gas smuggled in from Mexico, about Q10 cheaper per gallon.
Even though it is considered contraband, it is sold openly and freely with no consequences for the salesmen. This gas is fine for your vehicle and will save you much money per gallon. You can randomly find them on the sides of the main roads. Usually there will be a gallon of gas with a number on it, this is the price per gallon.
Private ATM
There are two private ATM's in the mall, A security guard from any entrance can direct you to one if you are unable to spot them. They are behind closed doors for privacy. Any Visa or Mastercard works fine but remember you will be charged an international exchange fee at the current day's rate which may vary. Along with your bank fee.
I use Visa and they charge me like 3% for the exchange rate and about $7 in international fees. I guess if they are having a bad day at Visa they sometimes charge an additional 10%, but I am not sure where it comes from or why it is randomly charged at times.
The best thing you can do to avoid these fees is take out enough money once for what you plan on spending, and some extra in case you go over. The fees will add up very quickly if you're not careful.
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