Tikal
The ruins of Tikal are one of Guatemala's main draws, it's definitely a very cool place to explore though it's let down slightly by an inane and expensive ticketing system. Come prepared and bring lots of cash!
However, while we were at the St Elena bus station we had a chance to book a shuttle from Tikal to Belize City the next day for 150Q. We didn't get it but when we got to Tikal we found booking a shuttle was very expensive (50USD!?). We did it a lot cheaper in the end on local buses but it pays to be organised before you get to Tikal!
Entry in to Tikal is 150Q, for a sunset/sunrise ticket it is an extra 100Q, on top of that you'll need a guide if you go after sunset so that will be another 100Q at least.
When you get to the Tikal Entrance gate they ask you where you're staying. You can opt to stay at the Tikal Campground however you have to pay for it at the gate (which is a good 10 minute drive from the campground). I didn't want to part with money at the gate (not realising this is what you're supposed to do) and so said we'd camp at Jaguar Inn which I think ended up being nicer and safer.
I bought the tickets assuming I'd have another chance to sort out tickets at the entrance to the ruins. This turned out to be completely incorrect as they appear to have the most inane ticketing system where the ticket office about about ten kilometres away from everything else. At this point they also asked where we were staying. When I said we were camping they asked for an extra 50Q because again there was no where to pay at the actual site. I was so confused by this I said I was going to camp at the Jaguar Inn which turned out to be a very good decision as we were able to pick the brains of the helpful staff there.
Our plan originally was to get a ticket after 3pm - this allows you to use the ticket the next day. However we were very confused about whether it was to do with when they ticket was issued or when it was used. Again due to the very silly ticketing system it was pretty ambiguous. As our bus had got to the entrance just before 3pm we were suddenly very worried that we wouldn't have very much time at Tikal, two and a half hours max! For a place that was so big that didn't seem enough. Also because we hadn't managed to sort out our transport away we needed to make use of public transport which meant getting away early the next day if we had any hope of getting to Caye Caulker in Belize. Add to that the fact we were extremely low on cash due to hardly anywhere taking card payments and we were not very happy about the situation. Oh, and we were very hungry.
Luckily Jaguar Inn took card payments for food so we quickly ordered some sandwiches while I put the tent up. Next we planned to pretty much run in to the ruins and see as much of them as possible before it closed at 6pm. You can actually stay later than this if you have a guide and a sunset ticket but again these activities were cash only. As we were leaving we ran in to a guide who listened to our money issues and kindly agreed to guide us for 100Q each, and to ask the guards to turn a blind eye to our lack of sunset tickets so we could stay a bit later. We also got the added advantage of having a guide which we hadn't had at any of the other ruins we'd been to previously.
Jose - our guide - was great and very informative. He was very proud of Tikal and was especially good at picking out animals we would never have seen. At one point he heard toucans and I got very excited as they are one of my favourite animals. Sadly they were hiding somewhere in the jungle. He showed around some of the oldest temples and areas explaining all the history and the grizzly details of the Mayan human sacrifices which were all fascinating. As the sun began to set he showed us to one of the main squares where you can climb a wooden staircase build around one of the temples (so people don't fall down and, or break the steps of the very old building. Behind one of the temples the moon was beginning to come up.
We didn't stay too much longer as Jose didn't want to push our luck with the guards so slowly we made our way back to the entrance. At this point Jose took it upon himself to make sure I saw a toucan before the tour was over. He was stopping every now and then and listening and then looking up in to particular trees that they like to frequent. But still nothing. Eventually we came back to the entrance to the ruins and started to walk back to the Jaguar Inn. There was one last place he thought might harbour some toucans. We arrived under a tree that appeared to full of birds that definitely weren't toucans, Jose looked around at all of them and then suddenly pointed to somewhere up in the same tree. Right at the top, sitting perfectly still, was a rather large and very beautiful Toucan!
After snapping the Toucan for long enough to be eaten alive by mosquitoes we headed back to the Jaguar Inn for a small dinner. We also gave their fruit smoothies a go which are definitely worth a try. Jose also helped us organise what we needed to do in the morning to get the right bus. He spoke to one of the women at the hotel and asked her to make sure we didn't miss the bus which she very nicely made sure of. The bus would be coming past at 6:30am so we headed to bed early to make sure we could be up at 5am to pack up the tent. For the first time, we camped, and it didn't rain.
The fact that it didn't rain, and the humidity was also surprisingly low meant that packing up the tent in the morning was very easy and for the first time it wouldn't need drying after use. We packed up the tent just in time and the woman from the hotel came out to let us know the bus had arrived just as we'd shut and locked our bags. Perfect timing. The woman came out to make sure the driver knew exactly what we wanted to do. I'd done a bit of research too and knew we needed to get the bus to the junction in El Remate, and then another bus towards Melchor de Menos where we'd be able to cross the border in to Belize.
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| One of the Tikal temples |
Getting There
We paid 50Q for a one way ticket to Tikal with San Juan shuttles. As we were planning on staying the night and then heading on to Belize we didn't book a return journey.However, while we were at the St Elena bus station we had a chance to book a shuttle from Tikal to Belize City the next day for 150Q. We didn't get it but when we got to Tikal we found booking a shuttle was very expensive (50USD!?). We did it a lot cheaper in the end on local buses but it pays to be organised before you get to Tikal!
Entry in to Tikal is 150Q, for a sunset/sunrise ticket it is an extra 100Q, on top of that you'll need a guide if you go after sunset so that will be another 100Q at least.
Where we Stayed
To save money we camped at the Jaguar Inn for 50Q. They also have the option of using one of their tents but they really don't look very comfortable. The food was ok and at least you could pay on card for everything there.When you get to the Tikal Entrance gate they ask you where you're staying. You can opt to stay at the Tikal Campground however you have to pay for it at the gate (which is a good 10 minute drive from the campground). I didn't want to part with money at the gate (not realising this is what you're supposed to do) and so said we'd camp at Jaguar Inn which I think ended up being nicer and safer.
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| We camped at the Jaguar Inn |
Top Tips
- Bring Cash - We didn't find ATMs and all the tours and tickets need to be paid for in cash (and they aren't cheap either)
- Buying tickets at the gate - the main gate of the Tikal National Park is about 10-15 minutes drive from the main area. You need to purchase your tickets (including sunset and sunrise) at the gate. If you don't and you want one you need to go all the way back, which if you don't have your own transport is going to be a taxi or some other from of expensive transportation.
- You can get a public bus away from Tikal (one heads towards Flores at 6:30am) it's best to check with the locals what time it goes - we got a girl at our hotel to let us know so we wouldn't miss it.
- If you want a shuttle out of Tikal definitely book it before you get there - you may get ripped off if you try to do it from Tikal.
Journal
The bus from St Elena (Flores) took about two hours. The roads are pretty good and straight compared to the roads we'd experienced in the highlands and we enjoyed looking out the windows and taking in the scenery. When the bus got to the Tikal National Park entrance the bus stopped and I had to get out and buy our tickets and present our passports. At this point I was a little confused about what we were actually buying as on several occasions we've bought tickets to parks only to find you have to buy another ticket to get into the ruins (which happens at Palenque). |
| On the collectivo to Tikal, not much leg room |
I bought the tickets assuming I'd have another chance to sort out tickets at the entrance to the ruins. This turned out to be completely incorrect as they appear to have the most inane ticketing system where the ticket office about about ten kilometres away from everything else. At this point they also asked where we were staying. When I said we were camping they asked for an extra 50Q because again there was no where to pay at the actual site. I was so confused by this I said I was going to camp at the Jaguar Inn which turned out to be a very good decision as we were able to pick the brains of the helpful staff there.
Our plan originally was to get a ticket after 3pm - this allows you to use the ticket the next day. However we were very confused about whether it was to do with when they ticket was issued or when it was used. Again due to the very silly ticketing system it was pretty ambiguous. As our bus had got to the entrance just before 3pm we were suddenly very worried that we wouldn't have very much time at Tikal, two and a half hours max! For a place that was so big that didn't seem enough. Also because we hadn't managed to sort out our transport away we needed to make use of public transport which meant getting away early the next day if we had any hope of getting to Caye Caulker in Belize. Add to that the fact we were extremely low on cash due to hardly anywhere taking card payments and we were not very happy about the situation. Oh, and we were very hungry.
Luckily Jaguar Inn took card payments for food so we quickly ordered some sandwiches while I put the tent up. Next we planned to pretty much run in to the ruins and see as much of them as possible before it closed at 6pm. You can actually stay later than this if you have a guide and a sunset ticket but again these activities were cash only. As we were leaving we ran in to a guide who listened to our money issues and kindly agreed to guide us for 100Q each, and to ask the guards to turn a blind eye to our lack of sunset tickets so we could stay a bit later. We also got the added advantage of having a guide which we hadn't had at any of the other ruins we'd been to previously.
Jose - our guide - was great and very informative. He was very proud of Tikal and was especially good at picking out animals we would never have seen. At one point he heard toucans and I got very excited as they are one of my favourite animals. Sadly they were hiding somewhere in the jungle. He showed around some of the oldest temples and areas explaining all the history and the grizzly details of the Mayan human sacrifices which were all fascinating. As the sun began to set he showed us to one of the main squares where you can climb a wooden staircase build around one of the temples (so people don't fall down and, or break the steps of the very old building. Behind one of the temples the moon was beginning to come up.
We didn't stay too much longer as Jose didn't want to push our luck with the guards so slowly we made our way back to the entrance. At this point Jose took it upon himself to make sure I saw a toucan before the tour was over. He was stopping every now and then and listening and then looking up in to particular trees that they like to frequent. But still nothing. Eventually we came back to the entrance to the ruins and started to walk back to the Jaguar Inn. There was one last place he thought might harbour some toucans. We arrived under a tree that appeared to full of birds that definitely weren't toucans, Jose looked around at all of them and then suddenly pointed to somewhere up in the same tree. Right at the top, sitting perfectly still, was a rather large and very beautiful Toucan!
After snapping the Toucan for long enough to be eaten alive by mosquitoes we headed back to the Jaguar Inn for a small dinner. We also gave their fruit smoothies a go which are definitely worth a try. Jose also helped us organise what we needed to do in the morning to get the right bus. He spoke to one of the women at the hotel and asked her to make sure we didn't miss the bus which she very nicely made sure of. The bus would be coming past at 6:30am so we headed to bed early to make sure we could be up at 5am to pack up the tent. For the first time, we camped, and it didn't rain.
 |
| Kate falling asleep at the table at the Janguar Inn |
The fact that it didn't rain, and the humidity was also surprisingly low meant that packing up the tent in the morning was very easy and for the first time it wouldn't need drying after use. We packed up the tent just in time and the woman from the hotel came out to let us know the bus had arrived just as we'd shut and locked our bags. Perfect timing. The woman came out to make sure the driver knew exactly what we wanted to do. I'd done a bit of research too and knew we needed to get the bus to the junction in El Remate, and then another bus towards Melchor de Menos where we'd be able to cross the border in to Belize.
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