Guatemala – Exploring the Tikal Ruins
The Tikal Ruins in Guatemala are massive Mayan structures that reach above the treeline in the Peten jungle. When we found out they are 2 hours from the Belize border and saw the pictures…. I knew a trip needed to happen. Although close by, most Belize visitors only stay for the day. After only having one day at Machu Picchu, I wanted to spend more time than a day-tour would allow. Instead, we arranged our own transportation, so that we could visit for the majority of one day and then a sunrise tour on the next. I LOVED the afternoon, when the crowds thinned out, animals emerged, and the sun began to set (we did not buy tickets to watch the entire sunset). Then having a guide in the morning was the perfect balance for exploring the Tikal Ruins.
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Exploring the Tikal Ruins – How Best to Experience It
One thing to note about entering Tikal is that you have to buy your tickets at the ticket booth before driving to the gates. The ticket booth is something like 7 miles from the entrance to the ruins. I am not sure why it is set-up this way, but you need to know which tickets you will need before you enter. Ticket prices are clearly listed on the Tikal National Park website. We knew we were going to explore that day (arrived about 11 am) and then do a sunrise tour the next morning. This meant we needed two entrance tickets. When you purchase the tickets, they will ask for your passport to write down the number. There are guards with guns nearby, which made it more intense than it needed to be.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 4 (out of 4) stars, would do it again.
- Location: In the far north in Guatemala, about 2 hours from the Belize Border
- Cost: 150 GTQ for normal entrance, 250 GTQ for sunrise entrance, $35 for the sunrise tour
- Restrooms: Throughout the park
- Duration: 4 – 8 hours (depending on you!)
- Don’t forget: Suncreen, bugspray, water, and snacks.
Highlights:
- Spending as much time as we want each of the structures.
- Seeing monkeys, birds, and racoon-like animal come out at sunset.
- Knowing the rough lay of the land for our sunrise tour.
- Insights from the guide on the sunrise tour.
Lowlights:
- Mosquitos!
- Getting to Tikal
The second thing to note is that you will be unable to go on the sunrise or sunset tour without a guide. This might sound restrictive, but I also understand that they do not want people in the park and unaccompanied in the dark. We signed up for our tour through the Jungle Inn. Because we wanted to save money, we did not pay for the breakfast.
Lastly, before we get into the jungles, I wanted to mention how grateful I am that we got to spend so much time here. I loved being able to explore on our own and discover the different areas ourselves or spend time chilling on Temple V for a half hour, if we wanted. Then pairing it with a guided tour to educate us on what we were looking at the next morning was perfection. *finger kiss*
Exploring the Tikal Ruins During the Day
On the first day, it was too early to check into our hostel room (the nicest hotel in Tikal has a hostel room block with shared bathrooms for a very reasonable price – check it out, if you are staying the night), so we stored our bags and headed straight into the park.
Walking into the park is pure magic. It is about a 10 minute walk to the main plaza. Before you reach the plaza, you walk through dense jungle on a dirt trail. After a slow, but steady climb, the trees open up to a large open area and you see the backside of one of the main temples. Walking around to the front of this temple puts you in the middle of the main plaza with matching large temples on each side. Absolutely stunning. You can climb one of the temples (highly recommended) for a view from the tree tops.
After meandering around, we ended up at the largest temple – Temple V. We sat on the top of Temple V for a good half hour to 45 minutes and just relaxed for a moment. It is a stunning 180 or 270 degree (if you walk around a bit) view over the Peten jungles. From here you can also see a few of the other temples and get oriented from the map. Sitting on Temple V for so long made me realize how fast people visit things. Also, how even in the middle of the day with all the day-trippers, the crowds ebb and flow. We had small chunks of time with complete silence at the top.
Exploring the Tikal Ruins at Sunset
We did not buy sunset entrance tickets, but after a short break and change of clothes, we re-entered the park around 3:30 pm, meaning we had an hour and a half before we had to leave the park. This time around was dramatically different. The light and shadows were different and the park had emptied with the day-trippers heading back to Belize or Flores. It was quiet and on the way in we noticed the sounds of birds everywhere.
For our second entrance on our day-ticket, we made our way to the areas we hadn’t visited. On our way to the Pyramid, we froze with sound of something in the trees. High above us was a spider monkey swinging from tree to tree. Shortly after, another monkey passed by, then one more. They were agile, furry, and so darn cute. We could also hear the howler monkeys, which seemed not too far away.
At the top of the Pyramid, we watched for parrots with one of the National Park caretakers who leant us his binoculars and taught us a few Spanish words. He seemed so happy to be working there, it was darling. As we were about to head down the Pyramid, a group was heading up, there is a large platform at the top, which makes sense that this is likely the sunset viewing location. We had to stop by the main plaza, of course, which made us a little late getting out of the park. Luckily we did not get in trouble.
Exploring the Tikal Ruins at Sunrise
The next morning came super fast as the call time for the sunrise tour was 4:00 am. Also, the Jungle Inn had a little tiki-torch area with coffee for everyone. Our guide passed out lunches to those who bought them and then around 4:20 am, we headed down to the entrance. The same gentlemen who checked our tickets the afternoon before were at the gate (what are their hours?!) and we began the long walk to Temple V. I recommend a headlamp for the walk. Chatting with other tour guests made the walk to the plaza fly by.
At the main plaza, it was barely light enough to tell it was extremely foggy. My hopes for a clear sunrise lowered tremendously, but it was still quite magical to see the ruins appear through the mist. Before climbing the stairs to Temple V, our guide said that we must remain absolutely silent. Because the seating area of Temple V is compact, it felt crowded with all the sunrise tours.
When all the groups were present, I appreciated the silence of the morning. The fog moved around a bit, but not enough to give a clear view of the other temples over the trees. We were up on the foggy cold stones for about 45 minutes again, so I recommend bringing a scarf or jacket to keep warm.
We tried not to let the foggy morning get our spirits down and enjoyed the tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and patient. He taught us not only about the structures, but also the flora and fauna. We had to leave the tour at about 10 am, but had a lovely morning. I do wonder if there is a time of year, when you would have a better chance at a clear sunrise.
Getting to Tikal
As I mentioned in the intro, the way most people visit Tikal from Belize is through a day tour, which includes 5 hours of driving and only about 4 hours in Tikal National Park for over $135/per person. We knew we would want more time. Some of these tour companies were willing to do transport-only to Tikal, but we would have to wait till the tour the next day was over before heading back to San Ignacio, which would be late for us. Instead we arranged transportation through Maya Heart Tours for $35 to get to Tikal and $45 to get back (I have no idea why there was a price difference!).
This was the only company I could find that would provide transportation at the rough times we aimed for. Maya Heart Tours was fine, but they did arrived an hour late on our departure date and seemed annoyed that we called them to ask where they were.
Transportation
It’s tough to find transportation due to the border crossing, where tour companies either have cars that can drive in both countries, or have cars in both countries that guests switch between. Maya Heart Tours is the latter, with vehicles in both countries. The drivers were helpful with the hand-off and border crossing information (check out the post I have dedicated to border crossings). It is only a short half hour drive from San Ignacio to the Guatemala border, but a 2 hour drive to Tikal after that. The Guatemalan countryside is lovely, which will keep you awake for the drive. You also drive next to Lake Peten Itza, which is nice to stop for a photo.
We met a couple who rented a car for the day and drove themselves from San Ignacio to Tikal, but I didn’t look into the cost of this method. Alternatively, I read about taking a bus from the border to Flores, then taking a bus from Flores to Tikal. If we were going on a multi-week trip, I would have done this method because Flores and some of the small towns surrounding the lake seemed peaceful and a good place to slow down.
Pack this for Tikal
Staying and Eating at Tikal
Like the National Parks in the US, Tikal is not near any other city. This means the accommodation and restaurant options are limited near the entrance. There are three hotels to choose from, each of which have restaurants and a couple comedors (local eateries) nearby. We ate at a bland comedor that I wouldn’t recommend… so maybe just go with a hotel restaurant or bring enough snacks. We found out that the Jungle Inn had a hostel section, which was clean and minimal with nice shared bathrooms. We were able to enjoy what the property had to offer, without the price tag.
Overall Thoughts
Even though we stayed longer than a day-trip, there was still more ruins that we didn’t get to explore. I loved the combination of free exploring on the first day, then the guided tour on the next to give historical context and significance. It is not the easiest or most inexpensive place to visit, but we found a way to pay a similar price to the day-trip, but a much longer stay.
Have you ever put in extra time and effort to be able to stay at a location longer than the normal tours? Was it worth it? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
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