Tikal: some thoughts on strategy

For those who haven’t started researching on Guatemala yet Tikal is one of the better preserved large scale Mayan sites. I will let you do the research but I’d just like to discuss a little on the strategy for Tikal. There are generally 3 product offerings out there, the sunrise hike (usually the guides wake you up at 3am), the regular day time experience, the sunset experience. I cannot speak to your own stamina on whether you want to be up at 3 am. but re sunrise there’s a few things worth bearing in mind 1) you get to beat the people to it before the hoards of tourists arrive (nothing spoils a pyramid picture more than having tourists on it), but 2) Tikal is on lowland Guatemala, it heats up very quickly by around 10 or 11am 3) you want to see your share of wildlife especially birds during your tour, and it’s best in the morning and 4) transportation: if you so decide to fly back from Flores to Guatemala City do remember TAG airlines have a rather patchy record in the event your flights are delayed or cancelled you want to have some room to be moved to your next flight. In either way the sunrise is awesome enough. The real cost here is you pay 150 quetzals (ie 150 Hong Kong dollars) more to do the sunrise experience vs the daytime experience. The second thing you want to think about is what guides to hire. Assuming you are going after those posted on getyourguide/Viator I do realise the more expensive ones (instead of the HKD373.00 one) tend to work a little more diligently in explanation. So be mindful of just how efficient the pricing system is. Finally as to leaving Tikal. It depends on who you are. Some people like to take the bus from Flores to Guatemala City. Very cheap like a hundred or two hundred quetzals max. 12 hour ride. Depending on which bus company you are taking the bus may end up dropping you off at zone one of Guatemala City which at night may not be perfectly safe. Of course that could be resolved if you take the bus to Antigua instead and make that your next stop. Otherwise flights from Flores are some one thousand hkd with luggage and hassle free. But as in everything in Guatemala you don’t want to have a back to back schedule as flight delays and accidents simply happen. Always budget for some flexibility. Enough said. Happy planning