Tik'al Travel Guide

Bring a flashlight for the sunrise tour, eat breakfast at their restaurant (best pina and plantains ever), and watch for soldier ants!

Get a hotel in Flores, if you did what we did this will really make the experience more enjoyable. We took the bus from Guatemala City, to Flores, then another bus from Flores to Tikal. The first bus ride is around eight hours. We left Guatemala City around 9:30pm got to Flores around 6 or 7am. The bus ride to Tikal was easy to find, their are drivers waiting for tourists right where the bus stops. Be smart check the prices of all the various drivers and make sure you get a driver who has flexible return times. We ended up having to stay in the park for close to 8 hours. Which was fine for us, but maybe not for everyone. On the return trip we arrived back in Flores around 5 or 6 pm and had to wait until around 9:45 pm for the return trip. We were exhausted. Next time we will get a hotel in Flores and return the following morning. Keep in mind sleeping on the bus is not for everyone. Try to get as much sleep as possible so you are ready for hiking in the park. There is a lot of hiking to do in Tikal. Everything is separated by a long walk, and there is a lot to see, also you can climb pretty much everything, unless it has a posted notice. Wear durable, comfortable shoes!

Go on the sun rise tour of Tikal to see the temples appear out of the mist. You can arrange this from Flores and they will pick you up from your hostel. Take loads of bug spray though because as soon as the sun rises you can get eaten alive! After the tour you can spend as long as you like exploring by yourself as they have buses back to Flores throught the day.  Another option is to camp in near to the ruins although Flores is a beautiful village in the middle of a lake so I recommend staying there and just booking a tour.