My next and final stop in Guatemala, after Semuc Champey, was to the famous ruins of the ancient Mayan city, Tikal, tucked away in the jungle of north Guatemala.
In its day, Tikal was a hugely powerful empire and one of the largest Mayan cities ever with around 100,000 people living there. Despite not being the biggest ruins fan, I was keen to see Tikal’s extensive ruins!
The town of Flores is the closest base for exploring the ruins which are just over an hour drive away. I stayed in Flores for three nights and on my second day I went to Tikal.
Visiting the Tikal Ruins
Visiting Tikal is very straightforward from Flores. Every day there are several shuttle buses going to and from the site.
Shuttles leave from the ‘I love Petén’ sign at 2.30am (for the sunrise visit), 4.30am, 8am, and around lunchtime (for the sunset visit). They return from Tikal at 11am, 12.30pm, 3pm and around 5.30pm (please check!).
We took the shuttle at 4.30am and, whilst early, I’m glad we went then as as the day progressed it got really hot! I was happy we got the cooler morning there!
Note: Going to Tikal for sunrise is popular. In the rainy season, cloud free sunrises are hard to come by and we were recommended not to go by an agency. That said, I spoke to several people who went for sunrise and, despite not seeing the sunrise, they said hearing and seeing the jungle awaken was cool.
Note: For sunset, it’s a similar cloudy problem during the rainy season. I was originally thinking of going for sunset, but then decided to go early in the day for the best chance with the weather.
The drive takes 1-1.5hrs. If you’re just booking transport, you’re looking at 60-70Q return. If you’d like to have a guide at the ruins, then 90-100Q is the going rate. I went with Eva and Ties, a Dutch couple I’d visited Semuc Champey with and we just paid for transport.
The guided tour group the day we went was big – 29 people! Too many! You can hire a guide at the entrance to Tikal too and they usually charge 50Q per person.
Good to know: The Tikal Ruins have an entrance fee of 150Q. If you’re visiting at sunrise or sunset, there is an additional charge of 100Q as you’re visiting outside of hours. Take cash as cards aren’t accepted!
Note: Passports are needed to buy tickets so do take it with you! That said, when we went, we were told on the bus that if we didn’t have our passports it was fine and other ID’s could be used. People without passports were able to buy tickets and get in. Still, better just to take the passport with you!
Fun fact: Tikal is where a scene from Star Wars was filmed. You might recognise the views from Temple IV from A New Hope when the millenial falcon emerges from the forest fleeing the rebels.
We spent around five hours walking around Tikal, entering just before 7am and leaving on the 12.30pm shuttle.
At first, we were all thinking a guide would’ve been better, but very quickly (almost as soon as we started walking), we changed our minds and loved the freedom that came with walking around as 3 people and not 29! We could choose which temples to visit first and go as fast or as slow as we fancied. That said, a guide would’ve given us more information!
Route wise, we started with the outer temples first, then temple IV and finished at the central complex with temples I and II.
On our walk around, we saw more wildlife than I expected – spider monkey, coatis, pizotes (small mammal foragers), wild pigs, small toucans (yay!) and some howler monkeys on our way out – which was great!
Tip: Take suncream, it’s hot! And insect repellent for the mosquitos!
Several of the temples (temple II, IV) you can climb. The views from the top are fab, green jungle with the occasional ruin rising out the canopy. It’s amazing how well hidden some of the temples are.
From above we could see the tops, but walking around, the bases were covered in plants and trees. It’s easy to see how only a small section (15%) has been recovered. An estimated 3000 temples are believed to still be hidden in the jungle!
How to get to Flores
Visiting Tikal is easiest done from Flores. Within Guatemala, you can reach Flores from Semuc Champey, Antigua, and Lake Atitlán on a shuttle. I took the 8hr shuttle from Semuc Champey to Flores for 100Q*.
*Note: These journeys can take longer! My shuttle from Semuc Champey took around 11hrs, instead of 8hrs, because of the river crossing and ferry. The queue to cross was huge and we waited 2.5hrs to get on the small barge.
You can also arrive from Guatemala City which is around a 9hr journey. The bus companies Fuente del Norte, Autobuses del Norte and Linea Dorada drive the route with Fuente del Norte’s Maya de Oro bus being a popular choice.
Flores is also a first stop for many coming from Mexico and Belize as it’s close to both borders.
From Belize, you’ll likely be coming from Caye Caulker. Once off the boat in Belize City, take a bus to Flores for 140Q with the company Maya de Oro. The journey is around 5hrs and usually departs in the morning. There are travel agencies selling the journey from Caye Caulker to Flores including the boat and bus.
From Mexico, Palenque and San Cristobal are both options. You can get more details from the travel agencies in these two towns. It’ll most likely be a day of travel on a shuttle.
Final thoughts
I’m not the biggest fan of ruins, a bit like waterfalls, I do feel like they all end up looking the same! Yet, I couldn’t pass on visiting Tikal – I’d heard good things and they were right in the middle of jungle which got my interest!
Tikal really impressed me! It’s a huge complex and amazing to walk around in the jungle. I loved climbing one temple, and seeing the tops of others emerge from the jungle tree line. I could totally see how Tikal remained undiscovered and hidden for so long!
It’s a worthy addition to any Guatemalan itinerary!
Flores is also a nice little town and I enjoyed staying there. I recommend going to San Miguel for the viewpoint over Flores and the nearby beach. It was a fun first day (aside from being hunted by mosquitos in the forest!). Jorge’s rope swing is another place that was recommended for spending an afternoon – next time!
Short story: Being in the rainy season, it’s prone to suddenly pour down. After showering, I went back in my dorm and found the biggest puddle under the open window and of course my bags and charging phone was in it. Thankfully it looked worse than it was – nearly all my belongings inside my bag were dry. The fans in the room were good for drying my bags so it all fixed pretty quickly. I am slightly worried about charging my phone as it doesn’t always recognise when it’s plugged in but I hope it’s ok!
Note to self: Don’t leave bags and electricals under an open window in case of torrential rain.
I’m now off to my last country in Central America, Belize, and the island life on Caye Caulker!
