Tips for visiting Tikal in Guatemala: an impressive place

Tikal is one of the most beautiful and impressive places in Guatemala. Not only the Mayan city and the temples themselves are very impressive, but the entire environment is beautiful. This ancient Mayan city is located in the middle of a beautiful green jungle. It is also full of wildlife, from spider monkeys and coatis, to toucans and jaguars. Enough reasons to visit this fascinating place when you are in Guatemala!

The History of Tikal

Tikal was one of the largest and most powerful cities of the Mayan civilization, reaching its peak between 200 and 900 AD. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its enormous pyramid-shaped temples such as the Temple of the Great Jaguar and the Temple of the Two-Headed Serpent, which is over 65 meters high. The city was an important religious, cultural and political center. 

Around 900 AD, Tikal was abandoned, the exact reason for this is still unknown. The city is located in the middle of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, a green jungle full of wildlife. Tikal was rediscovered in the 19th century and since then many archaeological excavations have been carried out, with new discoveries still being made. 

Visit Tikal yourself

You can visit Tikal yourself or with a tour. Are you visiting Tikal yourself? Then you need about 4 hours to admire everything. At the beginning of the park you will encounter enormous, impressive, tall trees. But it is not only wise to look up for the trees themselves. If you look closely, you will see the spider monkeys swinging from tree to tree above your head. Or if you are lucky, you will also spot a toucan. 

There are signs with maps everywhere in the park, so you can clearly see where you are and where you can go. The park is quite large, so these are very useful. If you follow the paths and walk the entire circle, you will come across a palace, various temples and entire villages. You can climb one of the temples at the back of the park. When you walk up the stairs, you will eventually come above the tops of the trees. Here you have a beautiful view over the green jungle. In the distance you can also see the tops of the other temples sticking out above the green oasis. You can also admire the sunrise or sunset from here.

There are several tickets you can buy for Tikal:

• Day ticket: This allows you to enter during normal opening hours, which is between 06:00 and 18:00. You pay Q150 for this. During these opening hours you can walk around the park without a guide.
• Sunrise ticket: This allows you to enter the park between 04:30 and 06:00 to see the sunrise. This costs Q100.
• Sunset ticket: This allows you to stay in the park longer than normal opening hours, so you can watch the sunset between 5pm and 8pm. This also costs Q100.

If you want to enter the park at sunrise or sunset and during the day, you will need two tickets, as well as a guide.

TIP: Bring enough water and snacks. There are a few tents in the park where you can buy something to eat and drink, but they do ask a lot of money for it.

With a tour

If you want to visit Tikal with a tour you have a number of options:

• Sunrise tour: You leave early to watch the sunrise from the top of the temple.
• Early Bird tour: Here you don't go for the sunrise, but to visit the park in the early morning, when it is not too hot yet.
• Daytour: You can choose from different times, so you don't necessarily have to get out of bed early.
• Sunset tour: Here you visit the park in the afternoon and end the day with the sunset on top of the temple.

Visiting an impressive place at sunrise or sunset is always a good idea. If you want to go on a tour, we definitely recommend the sunrise or sunset tour. During the tour you will of course learn more about the history of this fascinating place.

How do you get to Tikal?

From Flores you take a Tuc tuc to the bus station. Here you can take a local bus/shuttle for Q120 per person. The Q120 also includes your return ticket to Flores. If you visit Tikal with a tour, you will be picked up from Flores by a shuttle.

Where to stay and eat in Flores

Most people who visit Tikal stay in Flores. On the island of the city you will find many nice hotels, restaurants and bars. Some good restaurants:

• La casa de Enrico
• Restaurante Maracuya
• Maple & Tocino

We slept in hotel del patio a few minutes walk from the island. The rooms were nice and clean and the hotel had a lovely pool. When we were there it was super hot in Flores, so that was not an unnecessary luxury.