Halloween night in Guatemala, October 31, 2026, is a Saturday, and the day after it is the real holiday. Guatemala’s Labour Code gives no day off for Halloween, but it does for November 1, All Saints’ Day. The two run into each other: in 2025 the police treated October 31 to November 2 as one security period, the Sumpango giant-kite weekend starts on October 30 this year, and the Museo del Ferrocarril (Railway Museum) runs a Halloween-season night tour in the two weekends before.
22 days to go until Halloween, October 31 2026.Quick summary: Date: Saturday October 31 2026. Holiday? No; Sunday November 1 is (Labour Code, Art. 127). 2025 police plan: October 31 to November 2, covering Halloween night, All Saints and All Souls (AGN). Banned in 2025: the “rodada del terror” motorbike ride; traffic police said no such event was authorised. Estación del Terror 2026: Museo del Ferrocarril, October 16, 17, 23 and 24, rides at 19:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00, Q100 (AGN). Sumpango kites: scheduled October 30 to November 2 (Provial).
Quick facts
| Date | Saturday October 31, 2026 |
| Public holiday | No. The holiday is Sunday November 1, All Saints’ Day |
| US Embassy, Guatemala City | October 31 is not on its 2026 closure list; November 1 is |
| Police, 2025 | Security plan from October 31 to November 2; rodada del terror not authorised |
| Estación del Terror 2026 | October 16, 17, 23 and 24; Q100 per person |
| Sumpango kite festival 2026 | Scheduled October 30 to November 2 |
Halloween and Día de los Santos: which day is which
| October 31 (Halloween) | November 1 (Día de los Santos) | |
|---|---|---|
| Day in 2026 | Saturday | Sunday |
| In Article 127 of the Labour Code | No | Yes, a paid day off |
| US Embassy closed to the public | No | Yes (listed as a Guatemalan holiday) |
| What happens | Halloween night; in 2025 police banned a Halloween motorbike ride | Cemetery visits, fiambre, giant kites in Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez |
The legal side is short. Article 127 of the Labour Code (Decreto 1441), in the judiciary’s CENADOJ text, lists the paid days off and includes “el 1º. de noviembre”; October 31 is not on the list. The US Embassy’s 2026 list of days it is closed to the public has November 1, Sunday, All Saints Day as a Guatemalan holiday and does not list October 31.
For everything about November 1 itself, fiambre, cemeteries and the kites, see our Día de los Santos guide.
How the police handled Halloween night in 2025
The government plans for October 31. What happened in 2025, as reported by AGN, the state news agency:
- No rodada del terror. On October 31, 2025, the traffic department of the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) said that no “rodada del terror”, nor any other mass event of motorcyclists or cars, was authorised for that night, and that it would run strict operations to sanction anyone taking part under the traffic law. Its spokesperson, Brenda Santizo, said participants try to hold clandestine races, in costume and often under the influence of alcohol.
- The minister’s line. The same day, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said the government would not tolerate “la delincuencia disfrazada de diversión” (crime disguised as fun).
- A three-night plan. The PNC ran Plan SGO/43-2025, Día de las Flores y de los Santos, from October 31 to November 2, to keep the peace during “la Noche de Brujas o Halloween” (Witches’ Night, or Halloween) and during All Saints and All Souls. Leave, holidays and rest days were suspended for all officers, and checkpoints were set up on highways.
The results the Interior Ministry presented on November 3, 2025, as AGN reported them:
| Result, October 31 to November 2, 2025 | Number |
|---|---|
| Weapons seized | 57 |
| Motorcycles recovered | 16 |
| Vehicles recovered | 4 |
| People detained in the act | 421 |
| People detained on arrest warrants | 157 |
| Traffic tickets (boletas de remisión) | 1,673 |
| Motorcycles sanctioned | 1,135 |
| Driving licences held | 49 |
If you are driving that weekend, the practical point from 2025 is the checkpoints on the highways and the strict line on motorbike convoys. When we searched AGN on October 7, 2026, it had not reported a 2026 plan.
Estación del Terror at the Railway Museum, October 2026
One Halloween-season event with published 2026 dates is the Estación del Terror at the Museo del Ferrocarril de Guatemala (Railway Museum). AGN reported on September 25, 2026:
| Nights | October 16, 17, 23 and 24, 2026 |
| Train rides inside the museum | 19:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00 each night |
| Price | Q100 per person |
| Tickets | Through Fegua’s WhatsApp, 39941310 |
AGN describes it as a tour through the old carriages after dark, aimed at people who want to “vivir el ambiente de Halloween” (live the Halloween atmosphere) in one of the country’s historic spaces. AGN advises watching the museum’s official channels; it did not publish an age limit or capacity.
Halloween weekend is also kite weekend
Sumpango’s Festival de Barriletes Gigantes is scheduled from October 30 to November 2, 2026, according to a Provial (highway patrol) bulletin of August 28, 2026, which said Provial was reviewing the entry and exit routes into the town. In 2025 the festival programme opened on the night of October 31 itself: La Hora reported that activities would start that Friday at 19:00 with a Lunada at the town stadium, a night event where the kite groups assemble their kites. The 2026 programme had not been published in any source we had captured as of October 7. Full logistics are on our Sumpango giant kite festival page.
On November 1 there is also the Todos Santos Cuchumatán horse race in Huehuetenango.
Related
- Día de los Santos, November 1.
- Todos Santos Cuchumatán horse race.
- Fiambre recipe, the November 1 dish.
- Guatemala’s public holidays, October ferias and events and every event on the calendar.
Sources: AGN, October 31, 2025 (two articles), November 3, 2025 and September 25, 2026; Provial bulletin on prensa.gob.gt, August 28, 2026; La Hora, October 31, 2025; Código de Trabajo, Decreto 1441, Art. 127 (CENADOJ edition updated to April 30, 2014); US Embassy in Guatemala, 2026 list of holidays when the Embassy is closed to the public. Read on October 7, 2026. Spanish quotations are left in the original with an English gloss outside the quotation marks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Halloween celebrated in Guatemala?
It is marked, though it is not a holiday. Guatemala’s police and Interior Ministry plan for it: in 2025 the national police ran a security plan from October 31 to November 2 that, in the state news agency AGN’s words, covered la Noche de Brujas o Halloween as well as All Saints and All Souls. In 2026 the Museo del Ferrocarril (Railway Museum) is running a Halloween-season night tour, the Estación del Terror.
Is October 31 a holiday in Guatemala?
No. Article 127 of the Labour Code lists the paid days off, and October 31 is not on it. November 1, All Saints’ Day, is. In 2026 October 31 is a Saturday and November 1 a Sunday.
What is the difference between Halloween and Día de los Santos in Guatemala?
Halloween is the night of October 31 and has no legal status in Guatemala. Día de los Santos, November 1, is a paid public holiday under Article 127 of the Labour Code; it is the day families visit cemeteries, and the day of the giant kites in Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez. In 2025 police treated the three nights as one security period, October 31 to November 2.
What is the rodada del terror?
A Halloween-night ride by groups of motorcyclists called on social media. On October 31, 2025, the traffic department of Guatemala’s national police said no rodada del terror or any other mass motorbike or car event was authorised that night and that it would sanction participants under the traffic law. The Interior Minister, Marco Antonio Villeda, said the government would not tolerate it.
What is the Estación del Terror?
A night tour of the Museo del Ferrocarril de Guatemala (Railway Museum), with train rides inside the museum. According to AGN, in 2026 it runs on October 16, 17, 23 and 24, with rides at 19:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00, at Q100 per person, with tickets through the WhatsApp number of Fegua, 39941310.
What is on around Halloween weekend 2026?
The Estación del Terror’s last two nights are October 23 and 24, the weekend before. Halloween itself is Saturday October 31, and Sumpango’s giant kite festival is scheduled from October 30 to November 2, according to a Provial bulletin of August 28, 2026. November 1, a Sunday, is the All Saints holiday.
