Tikal Travel Guide

Getting There

By Plane -- TACA Regional Airline (tel. 502/2279-5821 or 502/2470-8222; www.taca.com) has two daily flights to Flores Airport (FRS) from La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City. Flights leave at 6:30am and 5:55pm, and return at 8:05am and 7:15pm. The 50-minute round-trip is around Q1,700 ($225/£119), and extra flights are sometimes added in the high season (Dec to early Apr, and sometimes July-Aug).

TAG Airlines (tel. 502/2360-3038; tagventas@turbonett.com) has one daily flight from La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City to Flores at 6:30am, returning at 5pm. The fare is Q1,650 ($220/£116) round-trip. Note: Travelers with fears of smaller, propeller-driven commuter craft will want to go with TACA, which flies an Airbus A-319 jet.

The Flores airport is on the road to Tikal, about 1 1/2 miles (2.4km) east of Santa Elena. A taxi from the airport into Santa Elena or Flores should cost you around Q15 ($2/£1.05), or you can take a local bus (usually an old Bluebird school bus) for around Q1 (15¢/10p). Collective taxis and minivans to Tikal are usually waiting at the airport and charge around Q30 to Q45 ($4-$6/£2.10-£3.15) per person each way. You can sometimes bargain, and can often get a slight discount if you purchase a round-trip fare right from the start. A private taxi can be hired for Q250 to Q400 ($33-$53/£18-£28).

By Bus -- Autobuses del Norte (ADN; tel. 502/2221-2515 in Guatemala City, or 502/7924-8131 in Santa Elena; www.adnautobusesdelnorte.com) has two daily buses between Guatemala City and Santa Elena/Flores departing at 10am and 9pm in each direction. The fare is Q165 ($22/£12) one-way, Q285 ($38/£20) round-trip on the first departure; and Q218 ($29/£15) one-way, Q375 ($50/£26) round-trip on the later bus. Children under 10 and adults over 70 pay half-price. The buses stop in Río Dulce in both directions. Their terminal in Guatemala City is Estación Central, 8a Av. 16-41, Zona 1. In Santa Elena, they arrive at and depart from the main bus terminal.

Línea Dorada (tel. 502/2232-5506 in Guatemala City, or 502/7926-0070 in Santa Elena; www.tikalmayanworld.com) also has two daily buses between Guatemala City and Santa Elena-Flores departing at 10am and 9pm in each direction. Their fares run Q225 ($30/£16) one-way, Q415 ($55/£29) round-trip. Their terminal in Guatemala City is at 16a Calle 10-03, Zona 1, and they also arrive at and depart from the main bus terminal in Santa Elena. Linea Dorada also has direct daily buses to Belize City.

The trip on either bus line takes around 8 to 9 hours. If you arrive by bus, you'll have to arrange a taxi, collective taxi, or minivan ride out to Tikal.

By Car -- To drive to Tikal from Guatemala City, you must first drive to Santa Elena. The best and fastest route is via Río Dulce. Take the Carretera al Atlántico (CA-9) out of Guatemala City to La Ruidosa crossroads at Km 245. From here it's 34km (21 miles) north on highway CA-13 to Río Dulce and another 180km (112 miles) from Río Dulce to Santa Elena. From Santa Elena, you'll need to drive 32km (20 miles) to the crossroads at Ixlú (El Cruce), and turn north toward Tikal, which is 65km (40 miles) away. The route and turnoffs are all well-marked, and the drive should take about 8 hours.

Warning: It's strongly advised that you do not drive at night. It's a sad fact that armed groups occasionally set up roadblocks along these isolated, yet frequently trafficked, roads. While this is a rare occurrence, it's better to be safe than sorry.

By Organized Tour -- Organized day trips leave daily for Tikal from Guatemala City and Antigua. Costs for these all-inclusive trips are approximately Q1,650 to Q2,250 ($220-$300/£116-£158) per person including round-trip airfare, ground transportation, park entrance fees, a guide, and lunch. These tours generally leave at around 5am and get back to Guatemala City or Antigua at around 6pm. Budget an additional Q375 to Q1,125 ($50-$150/£26-£79) per person per day for multiday excursions, depending on the level of accommodations chosen. In Guatemala City, call Maya Vacations (tel. 502/2339-4638; www.mayavacations.com), Clark Tours (tel. 502/2412-4700; www.clarktours.com.gt), or Grayline Guatemala (tel. 502/2383-8600; www.graylineguatemala.com). From Antigua, Via Venture (tel. 502/7832-2509; www.viaventure.com) offers a 2-day/1-night tour to Tikal, with a private 5-hour guided tour of the park, overnight at La Lancha, round-trip airfare, and all transfers, for Q4,455 ($594/£132) per person, double occupancy.

Getting Around

By Taxi or Minivan -- Minivans and collective taxis leave throughout the day plying the route between Tikal and Santa Elena/Flores, charging between Q30 and Q45 ($4-$6/£2.10-£3.15) per person. From Santa Elena, you can catch a bus back to the border. A private cab from Tikal to Santa Elena/Flores will run around Q250 to Q400 ($33-$53/£18-£28); between Tikal and El Remate, the fare is about Q100 to Q200 ($13-$27/£7-£14).

By Car -- Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131 in the U.S., or 502/7926-0415 in Flores; www.hertz.com.gt) has an office at the Flores airport, as well as at the Camino Real Tikal. There are also several local agencies at the airport of which Tabarini Rent A Car (tel. 502/7926-0277; www.tabarini.com) is a good choice. Most rent small jeeps and SUVs. Rates run from Q340 to Q675 ($45-$90/£24-£47) per day. Note: Be sure to get a 4WD vehicle; even though you may never need the traction or off-road ability, the extra clearance will come in handy.

Orientation

There is no village or town inside Tikal National Park. After having paid your Q50 ($6.65/£3.50) admission at the entrance booth 18km (11 miles) south of the ruins, you'll eventually come to a large central parking area and visitor center. This is where you'll find hotels and a campsite, as well as the two museums, a collection of simple restaurants, and the trail entrance, from which the ruins are about a 15- to 20-minute walk through the forest.

There's a post office and telegraph office on the left as you arrive at the parking area. You'll find a public phone in the Stelae Museum. There's no bank or ATM in Tikal, and most of the little restaurants and gift stands only accept quetzales. While some of the hotels here do accept credit cards, the phone connections are spotty, and they sometimes have problems getting the authorizations, so it's best to bring quetzales to pay for your entire stay. Also, be sure to bring plenty of insect repellent with you -- the bugs here are rapacious.

Tikal National Park is open daily from 6am to 6pm. If you'd like to stay in the park until 8pm (for sunset and nocturnal wildlife viewing), get your admission ticket stamped at the office behind the Stelae Museum. If you arrive after 3pm, your admission is good for the following day as well, and if you're staying multiple days, you must pay the admission fee each day. The best times to visit the ruins are in early morning and late afternoon, which are the least crowded and coolest times of day.

Fast Facts

There are no banks, medical facilities, laundromats, or other major services available at Tikal. All of these can be found in Flores and Santa Elena, some 65km (40 miles) away.

If you arrive by air, you can exchange money at Banquetzal (tel. 502/7926-0711) in the departure area of the small airport. It's open daily from 7am to noon and 2 to 5pm. You'll also find individuals offering to exchange money (which is safe), but you're better off heading into Santa Elena or Flores if the Banquetzal branch isn't open. Most of the hotels and restaurants in Tikal, in fact, will exchange dollars for quetzales, though they may give you a slightly less favorable rate than you would get at a bank.