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foxypinklady
We had a really informative local Mayan guide called Miguel who has worked on the park for over 40 years. He was able to lead us through the park, taking short cuts through well worn jungle paths. He was extremely informative, telling us about the history of the ruins and pointing out different areas of interest. He showed us the air conditioned bedroom with a double bed which was amazing engineering ingenuity for that time. He was a keen bird enthusiast and was able to find two different types of local toucans, as well as other local birds. The heat and humidity is intense, wear lots of sunscreen and light clothing! Don't miss these ruins and try and find Miguel or another local guide for an amazing experience.
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CuriosaGirl
Tikal was a fantastic experience made even more special by our guide, Elmer, who is a Mayan studying tourism in Guatemala. His enthusiasm for his country, his heritage was contagious and his knowledge of Tikal second-to-none.We visited the Great Plaza, a smaller temple site, Temple IV and Temple V (which I didn't see on Trip Advisor - but you should make the effort to go there. Less crowded and at the top it feels like you are sitting on top of the jungle). If you have any interest in Mayan history - Tikal is a must visit.We also saw lots of wildlife in the park.
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553albertc
It takes a bit of energy to reach to the top, but it is well worth it.Just don't forget to bring insect repellent.
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HelenaGuerra
King Moon Double Comb, the builder of this temple is represented in stelae 16 here. The temple was build in the 8th century AD and is a representative of the late classic period. Amazing.
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NewportPam
Truly impressive! The majority of the excavation here was done by the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 1960s. From what our guide told us, only about 15 percent of the total site has been excavated. This will help you appreciate the enormity of the entire settlement, which was abandoned around 950 AD due to the Mayan's unsustainable jungle clearing and farming practices. There is one pyramid (stairs on 4 sides) which you can climb. The temples, which are much taller and larger than pyramids and have stairs only on one side, are the most dramatic structures. You cannot actually climb on the temples themselves; however wooden staircases go up the back of a few of these. Views from the top are awesome. There one can see the tops of so many more temples and can clearly distinguish the many mounds enveloped by the jungle, which hide pyramids and other temples underneath their thick, green canopy. I have to say that I was hesitant about booking a 12 hour day trip from San Ignacio, Belize to go to Tikal. However, given the magnificence of this site and that it is the largest Mayan ruin site in Central America, I highly recommend seeing it. We went through Cayo Adventure Tours. The guide and transfers were good. The trip there and crossing the border to Guatemala, is an adventure with all of the Guatemalan border guards and police check points on the road. There are lots of drugs being smuggled from Guatemala over the border. Surprisingly, the roads in Guatemala are much better than those in Belize, and the countryside is beautiful, lush and green. We also went to the Mayan ruins at Coba, about 1 hour east of Tulum in Mexico. These were pretty good, and you can rent bikes there to get around the park more easily. However, if you go to one Mayan ruin, go to Tikal.
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Ingeborg56
It is huge and impressive, but be prepared to quite a hike on uneaven terrain With a wonderful Wildlife of monkeys, birds and other animals before coming to temple IV. There are stairs to walk up to the top of temple IV. If you do not want to Climb the stairs, it is possible to sit Down and buy something to drink.
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The_Lombtinis
This review is for Tikal in general (the entire park). We visited it while staying in Belize for a day trip (through the tour company PACZ tours). We loved our trip and tour and enjoyed seeing the parts of the park we did. The park also has some great wildlife and we saw turkeys, birds, and a coati-barra (I think that's the name) - so when walking between temples, take some of the more "jungle paths" to run across wildlife. My husband and I really enjoyed all the Mayan sites we visited, but felt like we could have liked to see more of Tikal. If we go back, we would stay in Guatemala to be closer and be able to spend a full day there, since, by the time you drive from Belize and cross the border, you don't have a ton of time to wander the park! It also was crowded in the middle of the day (with tourists far more noisy than the other sites we visited), so we would have liked to get their earlier than we did with the tour. If you're into Mayan sites and want to explore more than just the "highlights" of Tikal, I would suggest staying close by rather than driving in from Belize.
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italybound15
I will review the Park and also talk about getting there and staying at a hotel in the area. The Tikal National Park is well worth the drive from Belize. You must have a special permit on your car to drive from Belize into Guatemala but our car from Crystal Auto Rental in Belize City had it so we did not have that hassle at the boarder. The Tikal site is huge and you can do it on your own but it is better with a guide. The trails are marked but I guarantee you will get lost if you do not have a guide. We were quoted $60 for a private guide or $40 for a group. They quickly decided they would give us a private tour for $40 total for 2 people. It was well worth the cost otherwise we would have wandered around and been lost and not know what we were seeing. There were lots of locals visiting on this Sunday but very few actual tourists. The site has over 9000 ruins most of which are still covered by the jungle and they are spread over 16 square miles or so. Lots of walking so be prepared. The entire tour at a leisurely pace took 4 hours and even then we did not see everything. I am not sure that you need the sunset or sunrise tour but that is up to you. We saw everything including some howler and spider monkeys and exotic birds. There are several lodges on site but we did not visit any of those. Parking is free and I felt safe leaving our rental car in the main area as we were on the tour. Ok so getting through the boarder from Belize into Guatemala and out again is an hour or longer experience. You have to pay to have the car fumigated each way (this is a total ripoff but there is no avoiding it). You have to pay $22 to enter Guatemala. They do not take dollars like in Belize but there are many money changers at both sides of the boarder. We found that the rate was firm on both sides at 7.2. (official bank rate about 7.6 so not too bad) There are young boys who show you where you must go. It is really like the wild west with almost no real order but we did not feel unsafe. I would not go at night though. Tipped the young boy $2 and he was very happy. When you depart Guatemala, you have to park your car and take your luggage thru customs and then go back and get your car. That was a hoot in itself. Just be flexible and roll with the confusion for it is certainly confusing. Once thru the boarder, it is about an hour and half drive to Tikal but definitely worth the trip. It is all paved roads the entire way. You stop just outside the park and pay your entrance fee in Guatemalian dollars; they do not take US dollars or any credit cards so exchange your money at the boarder. There are a couple of police check points on the way to Tikal but we just slowed down and waved at them and passed thru at 20 MPH...no problem. You can go and come back to Belize in one day but it would be a long day and I recommend staying the night in Guatemala at Hotel Camino Real Tikal in El Remate. This is down a 2.5 mile dirt/rock road and you need a 4 x 4 to get there. Once there, you will be glad you made the journey. I will separately review this hotel (5 star). There are other nice looking hotels in El Remante but know nothing abut them. There is a nice restaurant in the center of El Remante that is good and takes credit cards. It is on the main road to Tikal so recommend eating there before proceeding to the hotel. Back in Belize you feel that you have returned to civilization as everyone speaks English and they all exchange the dollar at 2:1.. The trip to Tikal was great and we were wishing that we had stayed more than one night as there are other attractions in the area of Tikal.
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jamesrF3588EJ
Went to Tikal National Park from San Ignacio and stayed at the tikal Inn. We visited during the day, and the following morning on the sunrise tour (about 8 hours total between two days). Our self guided day tour was neat, and allowed us to walk all over the park and take pictures according at our own pace. Highly recommend good shoes, as you'll probably walk 7-10 kms if you want to see the majority of the park. Next morning at 4 am we left Tikal Inn for sunrise tour. According to our guide, a clear sunrise is not typical, so keep your hopes neutral if your hoping to catch a non clouded sunrise photo. However, the experience is still phenomenal, as you walk through the park in the early morning and see the animal night life. We saw wolf spiders, night hawks, and some crazy poison bull frog.Tips for prospective visitors:The fee schedule is funky. You will pay 150 Q ($22 us) for entry. Tours usually include this, but if you go on your own expect to pay it. Sunrise tour prices vary from hotel to hotel. Park related sunrise tour fee will be another 100 Q ($15 us) for entry before 6 am. However it will be valid for the whole day if you don't leave the gate. If you leave the gate they will get you for another 150 Q upon return. We didnt re-enter as 4:30 am to 10 am on the second day was plenty of time. Sunrise tours that came from Flores did not make it early enough to catch first light. Definitely enough light to see the stairs without a Headlamp, and I would have been pissed if I scheduled one to get some first light pictures (assuming no clouds). All in all, we spent about $300 US on this 2 day excursion from San Ignacio, and it was totally worth it. Highly recommend.
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elianos2013
You might have to get up at 3:00 am but it's worth it. I recommend sunrise - after 11pm it starts to get really crowded with visitors. Although, it was cloudy when I was there - it was still worth it.
