Search hotels in Tikal

I stayed on the grounds so there was not much around the area. Tikal was so rich with history and culture of the Mayans. Going to the museums in the park first is helpful to prepare you for what you will see at the ruins and why. The ruins were beautiful despite a lot of them not being excavated yet . Climbing to the top of the dome the ruins was breathtaking to be able to see what they saw. My tour guide was excellent and knew so many things outside of what the signs explained which made the trip more enjoyable.

Tikal is amazing. The structures and views are incredible. The history is unique and interesting. The area is confusing, but just walking the paths is delightful. Listen for the wildlife. Learn to recognize the structures that are not yet excavated. Align the maps they give/sell you, to navigate more easily. Guided tours have two costs: tour fee and guide fee. This was a surprise when we settled up at the end. Be sure to ask for total costs.

BEWARE OF THE TOURIST GUIDES (Tikal or the rest of Guatemala)!!! they propose some very expensive visit on Tikal ($70...50....more or less) there is no published rates....so they do what they want...and they want money. ticket to Tikal is 150 Quetzal if you are a foreigner and 100Q if you are from Guatemala, that you must pay in cash to a bank ( BANRURAL).... and you get no receipt for that!!!

Tikal Was amazing. The ruins were very cool. Many people like to rent a tour guide and they do give you some cool history and educational facts but I loved going in free solo. I was able to explore the ruins on my own time and go to all the different ones I wanted. It might be a good idea to buy a map of the place because there is not a lot of direction signs.

Avoid the middle of the day, 11 am to 2 pm. That's when it can be oppressively hot and when there are the most tourists. We took an early morning flight from Guatemala City, then a shuttle from the airport at Flores to the Jungle Lodge. But instead of going directly into the park, we had lunch and took a nap. That way we missed the heat and the people and could wander through the park until sundown. Then we did the reverse in the morning: we got going at 6 AM (no breakfast available that early, so plan ahead) and had the park to ourselves and saw it in morning fog and light, and then returned about noon for another nap before taking an evening flight back to Guatemala City. We had several hours at the Flores airport, so we took a Tuktuk to the city itself and a quick boat ride around the island at sunset. Lovely!

Extraordinary ruins. Saw plenty of wildlife, one of my favorite parts. The dawn walk begins at 4:30 am and lasts 4 hours. Mostly wildlife viewing and sunrise. The evening walk which requires a guide involves climbing a big pyramid in the dark and watching sunset and star viewing. For the elderly or less physically capable, the park operates a truck every 15 minutes from a tienda just inside the gate. It operates 9-3 and takes you to Central Plaza (and back).