7:30a
San Ignacio > Benque Viejo del Carmen (Border Town)
The day started out grey and overcast, so I fretted that we’d get rained on during our trip to Tikal, but the Weather Gods were with us, and we ultimately ended up with beautiful blue skies filled with puffy cumulus and wispy cirrus clouds (okay, I could be wrong about the cloud types as I’m not up on my cloudology nephology – yes, I had to look that one up).
7:30a
San Ignacio > Benque Viejo del Carmen (Border Town)
The day started out grey and overcast, so I fretted that we’d get rained on during our trip to Tikal, but the Weather Gods were with us, and we ultimately ended up with beautiful blue skies filled with puffy cumulus and wispy cirrus clouds (okay, I could be wrong about the cloud types as I’m not up on my cloudology nephology – yes, I had to look that one up).
We had originally planned on driving to Tikal ourselves, with hopes to visit another Mayan site: Yaxha; however, online research seemed to imply a lot of little headaches. From the border-crossing process (including insecticide fumigation of the car, paying multiple fees that may or may not be official, and paying random people to help you cut in line at the immigration office) to Guatemala not believing in car insurance (which means you are responsible if anything goes wrong with the rental car), it all seemed like a pain in the butt, so we decided it was worth paying for a day tour instead. We opted for PacZ Tours, which was a little on the pricier side but ran like a well-oiled machine. (By the way, if you’re interested in crossing with your own rental car, I liked this well-documented write-up by Parenthood and Passports.)
On to the tour! This is one long day tour that includes about 5 hours of driving time (round trip) as well as an hour and a half or so at the border crossing, so be prepared to get up early and return after dark – and bring snacks!
8:00a
Getting through the Belize/Guatemala Border
You’ll start in Benque Viejo del Carmen on the Belize side. When you’re done, you’ll be in Melchor de Mencos in Guatemala. You will find food vendors and money exchangers in the parking lot on the Belize side. Our tour bus didn’t stop once we crossed into Guatemala, so if you need some food or want to get Guatemalan Quetzales, do it before you leave the parking lot.
8:00a
Getting through the Belize/Guatemala Border
You’ll start in Benque Viejo del Carmen on the Belize side. When you’re done, you’ll be in Melchor de Mencos in Guatemala. You will find food vendors and money exchangers in the parking lot on the Belize side. Our tour bus didn’t stop once we crossed into Guatemala, so if you need some food or want to get Guatemalan Quetzales, do it before you leave the parking lot.
The money changers seem to be fairly legit – just make sure you know the exchange rate for Guatemalan Quetzales. If you’re going for the day, you may not actually need any Quetzales if you limit your purchases to the larger souvenir stores, which take credit cards. If you’re planning on buying some snacks or souvenirs from the small vendors at Tikal, you may want a little Guatemalan pocket change, although I believe I paid in BZ$ and received change in Quetzales.
A note of caution: the snack vendors at Tikal are not above ripping you off with your change, particularly if you don’t seem to be aware of the exchange rate. Hearing the customer ahead of me complain put me on my guard, and when it was my turn, the vendor tried it on me as well. I looked at my change and asked in Spanish, “That’s all?” He then busted out with the rest of my change without batting an eyelid. You have been warned.
Back to crossing the border. Regardless of whether you go on your own or with a tour group, you’ll have to get in line at the Belize immigration office – actually, two lines: one to pay the exit fee then a second one to get your passport stamped. (Note: Even if your tour company is handling the exit fee, you still have to stand in line.)
Once you finish exiting Belize, you walk over to the next building outside that is the Guatemala immigration office. There are no fees in/out of Guatemala, so you’re just getting in line for more passport stamping. Once that’s done, you’re on your way. For us, the total process took about an hour, but times can vary depending on time of day and season.
9:00a
Chugging Along to Tikal National Park
The drive to Tikal was uneventful. If you have your own car, you can stop off at the more secluded and less-visited Yaxha either before or after your Tikal visit. Unfortunately, our tour didn’t include this site. I hear you can catch an amazing sunset from Yaxha. For you TV/film trivia buffs, Yaxha is where much of the Survivor: Guatemala season was filmed.
9:00a
Chugging Along to Tikal National Park
The drive to Tikal was uneventful. If you have your own car, you can stop off at the more secluded and less-visited Yaxha either before or after your Tikal visit. Unfortunately, our tour didn’t include this site. I hear you can catch an amazing sunset from Yaxha. For you TV/film trivia buffs, Yaxha is where much of the Survivor: Guatemala season was filmed.
Coming from Belize, the route just skirts by Lake Peten Itza and through the tiny town of El Remate. At this point, I was excited because the dreary grey morning turned into beautiful blue skies.
About halfway through our drive, we were unloaded at a rather large Guatemalan souvenir shop to use the restrooms, get snacks, and stretch our legs for a bit before finishing up the two-hour drive. The souvenir shop is undoubtedly hoping you’ll be bit by the shopping bug as well.
11:00a
Tikal National Park
Tikal is a large and beautiful park that attracts much of Guatemala’s tourism, but because of the size, it doesn’t feel too crowded – at least not until you get to the Grand Plaza with their main attraction: Temple of the Jaguar (Temple I). Even then, it’s manageable. If you’re looking for a moment of peace, you can hop over to some of the other smaller structures that are nowhere near as crowded.
11:00a
Tikal National Park
Tikal is a large and beautiful park that attracts much of Guatemala’s tourism, but because of the size, it doesn’t feel too crowded – at least not until you get to the Grand Plaza with their main attraction: Temple of the Jaguar (Temple I). Even then, it’s manageable. If you’re looking for a moment of peace, you can hop over to some of the other smaller structures that are nowhere near as crowded.
The park offers early entrance (for an extra fee) for those wanting to catch the sunrise from one of the temples (climbing is prohibited on Temple I). Our day tour didn’t include a sunrise so I can’t speak for the experience, but there seem to be differing opinions. Some claim that you can’t really catch a good sunrise due to the fog and that it’s a bit of a local scam on the tourists, while others have said that they had a magical time. It seems to be a bit of a crapshoot whether or not the fog lifts in time, so try at your own risk.
Check out the Sights of Tikal post for more details on the park.
3:00p
Grumbling Bellies
Lunch was at the end of the 4-hour tour, which meant we were ravenous by 3pm! The food was certainly nothing to boast about, but we were all so hungry we would have been happy filling our bellies with pulped cardboard. As with most tours, they took us to a local restaurant set up to feed the tourists with mediocre food, so don’t expect a fancy feast.
3:00p
Grumbling Bellies
Lunch was at the end of the 4-hour tour, which meant we were ravenous by 3pm! The food was certainly nothing to boast about, but we were all so hungry we would have been happy filling our bellies with pulped cardboard. As with most tours, they took us to a local restaurant set up to feed the tourists with mediocre food, so don’t expect a fancy feast.
4:00p
One More Go at Your Wallet
After lunch, it was one last visit to the same souvenir store we had visited earlier on the way to Tikal. I know the title of the section sounds jaded, but I do get it. The local economy is reliant on tourism and every Quetzal counts. It just gets a bit tiring is all.
However…if not for this second visit, I would not have discovered this …erm… unique souvenir that I might have taken home were it not so large.
4:00p
One More Go at Your Wallet
After lunch, it was one last visit to the same souvenir store we had visited earlier on the way to Tikal. I know the title of the section sounds jaded, but I do get it. The local economy is reliant on tourism and every Quetzal counts. It just gets a bit tiring is all.
However…if not for this second visit, I would not have discovered this …erm… unique souvenir that I might have taken home were it not so large.
5:00p
Back at the Border
Returning to Belize is not the lengthy affair that it was to get out. It did require standing in lines again to get stamped at both immigration offices, but it was handled quickly and we were soon on our way back to San Ignacio.
5:00p
Back at the Border
Returning to Belize is not the lengthy affair that it was to get out. It did require standing in lines again to get stamped at both immigration offices, but it was handled quickly and we were soon on our way back to San Ignacio.
Would I recommend this tour? Overall, it was professionally and efficiently handled: our tour guide, Hugo, was very nice and knowledgeable and the cost of the tour conveniently included transportation, all fees related to the border crossing in both directions, the handling of the paperwork, and lunch. If you only have a day to see Tikal, I would recommend it, keeping in mind that since it’s just a day, you may feel a bit rushed.
If I wasn’t pressed for time, I would give myself 2 or 3 days to go on my own without a tour company. I would spend one day visiting the surrounding area of Lake Peten Itza and it’s main town, Flores. The second day, I would try for a sunrise at Tikal and wrap it up with a sunset at Yaxha before returning to San Ignacio at night. That’s right. Bribery fees be damned, I’d drive on my own and deal with whatever comes my way.
8:00p
Dinner at Serendib
After scrubbing off the day’s dirt, we met up with Nic again for dinner, and this time we were joined by Marty, one of our fellow travelers on the Tikal trip.
We had lucked out with the weather as it started pouring rain as soon as we returned from the tour. Thank you again Weather Gods!
8:00p
Dinner at Serendib
After scrubbing off the day’s dirt, we met up with Nic again for dinner, and this time we were joined by Marty, one of our fellow travelers on the Tikal trip.
We had lucked out with the weather as it started pouring rain as soon as we returned from the tour. Thank you again Weather Gods!
Most restaurants were still closed for the holiday, so we ended up at the central touristy part of town, and having only three restaurants to choose from, decided on Serendib, a mix of local, Western, and Indian cuisine.
The food was pretty much what you would expect of a restaurant set in a great location that doesn’t need to work hard to get customers – meh.
The conversation, on the other hand, was excellent and a good time was had by all. Being that it was our last night to hang out with Nic, we stayed up way past our bed time which led to a late start for Day 4, but was worth it.
Bye Nic! We’ll see you in Colombia!
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