Tikal National Park
Tikal National Park things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Plan your stay
Posts
We spent two days visiting Tikal National park. Note you have to buy a day pass each day you visit (150Q) and that only includes daytime hours. If you want to visit for sunrise or sunset, you must pay extra to get in before 8am or after 5pm. To see all of Tikal, you need 3 days, but we felt 2 days was sufficient. Best to hire a guide to take you through. We used a guide from the Jungle Lodge ($15 per person for the archeological tour @9am to 1pm). He was okay, but there are better guides available - met a guide named Samuel the day we left and wish we had gotten him instead. After our guided tour, we went back to our room and watched a 60 minute documentary of Tikal on YouTube which was much more informative. Both days it rained so there was not a sunrise - I’d highly recommend checking weather forecast before booking a sunrise tour, if seeing the colorful sunrise is your main point of going. One of the highlights of our visit to Tikal was paying for a guided tour to watch the stars - it was 300Q for 2 people for 2 hours. We climbed the stairs of the temple that the Myans used to star gaze all those years ago - great star gazing!! It was a full moon the night we went, so once the moon rose, it lessened view of the stars. Overall, I do highly recommend visiting Tikal. Bring a lot of bug spray. Wear comfortable shoes as you will be doing a lot of walking and climbing stairs. They have stands that sell cold water and drinks. When you enter the park, the first stand you pass has the best priced drinks and souvenirs - a bit more expensive once you get into the main area of the park. There was also a guy selling chocolate coveted banana for 5Q that were phenomenal!
Shannon EShannon E
00
Incredible place - coming to Guatemala and not going to Tikal would be like going to Italy and not seeing the Colosseum or Pantheon in Rome. You can climb Temples IV and II. II is more central but its absolutely walking out into the jungle to get to Temple IV to get an incredible view above the Jungle canopy and see the other temples poking through the trees (as you can see in photo) Being immersed in the jungle, we saw a lot of wildlife while there too - albeit a lot of it was scared off by other people not knowing to be quiet and not to get to close to it. Coatimundis, Howler Monkeys, Iguanas, Toucans... Unlike a lot of sites in Peten, access is super easy by car - it's tarmac the entire way until you park so no need for a 4x4 and the access road is relatively free of potholes It also feels completely safe - no bandits or chance of being robbed like some of the less known/well patrolled locations. The only danger would be if you slipped and hurt yourself somewhere. The only downside: there is a LOT of admin before you even get there. You buy tickets at the entrance to the national park (Q150 each = £15 or $19) but you get a card that will need stamping by the guard that lets you in, and then stamped at the other end of the 22km access road (They are timing you to make sure you don't drive faster than 45km/h so be careful). Then once you're parked up, your tickets need stamping by 2 separate people before you can actually access the site. Don't let this put you off though, its worth the wait.
Benjamin CrossBenjamin Cross
00
Came here with my family a few days ago and it was fantastic. This is a must see if you get to Guatemala because it is very impressive. We managed to get tickets for a tour reserved the night before and I am so glad we did. Having a guide for the area was really good because the place is massive and unlike a museum, there is no written explanation for the buildings. Having a guide really helped. In particular I recommend getting a guide who speaks your language. I was initially sceptical about having an English tour but it was really helpful and meant that I understood everything. Our guide was called Nixon and he was excellent. Because he is Maya, he had a very good understanding about some of the finer details about the arrangement of buildings and engraving on the walls of pyramids. I highly recommend you get him as a tour guide if you can request it. But if not, I am sure that the other guides are similarly friendly and knowledgeable! This park is huge, so I recommend setting aside a whole day to explore everything. If you are a Star Wars fan, one of the pyramids featured in Star Wars IV “A New Hope”. So if you are a Star Wars fan this is obligatory sightseeing in Central America! The most inconvenient things are that food is expensive (and pretty average) and you have to pay for the toilets. But this should not detract from your enjoyment of the park. It is a great experience and you will have a great time.
Lachlan PerryLachlan Perry
00
Different prices for tourists vs nationals. 150Q for tourists. You buy tickets at gate, from gate to park parking lot is about 20 minutes or so. We did not get to explore much, just the main temples because the park is huge and we took our 4 children. Definitely takes about 3 days of exploring to really see and enjoy everything. There are plenty wildlife, it's the jungle so makes sense. We saw and heard howler monkeys, spider monkeys, spiders, sompopo ants, different birds, nasua and peacocks roaming around. There is a museum we unfortunately didn't get to see and gift shops. We went in beginning of June and it was pretty warm and some humidity. We had just been to Rio Dulce and the humidity was uncomparable. Rio Dulce was significantly more humid. Our guide Cecilia was absolutely wonderful and patient. I did however overhear some of the other guides being quite rude to tourists, hurrying them or rushing them hardly allowing them to take sips of water. Cecilia was neither inpatient nor unpleasant. There is a restaurant by parking lot and also 2 lodges that do not have a/c due to being inside the national park property. There is a restaurant at the gate as well, a bit overpriced. Unable to find it on Google maps however.
Nidia OrellanaNidia Orellana
60
We flew to Flores early in the morning and joined a tour to visit Tikal National Park. The park is huge, and please be prepared to walk! We visited four major pyramids (temple 1, 2, and 4 plus the flat-top pyramid know as the observatory), and the history, architecture, tradition wowed us. The “main court” is the highlight of the tour, where temples I and II are located. Tips - 1. Wear sneakers or tennis shoes. Don’t be like me who walked the whole day on flats 🥿. Great pictures but painful feet after. 2. Bring water or buy at the park (10 GTQs a bottle). Keep yourself hydrated in the June heat. 3. Bring snacks. I work out everyday at home and was still tired and hungry by mid-day. 4. The restaurant at the park is great but the portion is on the smeller side. I was about 75% full after devouring my plate. 5. Join a tour with a tour guide if possible. Our tour guide explained the history very well and pointed us to many local wildlife, including different kinds of monkeys, parrots, toucans, spiders and other animals. You may miss them if not pointed out by a guide. Consider stay overnight at one of the three hotels near the park or in Flores. We flew back to Guatemala City and were exhausted after a 16-hour tour.
Ruoqing Wang-CendejasRuoqing Wang-Cendejas
00
Very impressive place to explore. I would advise you to come without a group, possibly slapping in the park or nearby and enter the park at 6am or a few minutes earlier should be possible. Sunrise or sunset I think it's not really worth the effort. I was 6.15am by myself as the first person on the Grand Plaza and it was amazing. The pyramids were still covered in fog and the sun was coming up behind Temple 1. You can watch that from the platform accessible from behind Temple 2. I think this was better than sunrise from Temple 4. Then you can go to Mundo Perdido's Great Pyramid to see the top of Temple 3 and 4 still in the fog. Temple 5 is also a great place to be without the crowds. It should take 4-5 hours including Zona Norte and Temple 6 to see the park. By 10am the park is getting super crowded so it's best to exit and relax. Then come back at 2pm when ppl start leaving and see the main square with different light conditions. Only in the afternoon climb Temple 6 because the sun will be behind it for the best light. Around 4-5pm the main square is deserted again. After that they'll probably kick you out unless you have sunset tickets and a guide.
Petr VasicekPetr Vasicek
40
Nearby Attractions Of Tikal National Park
Templo IV, Tikal
Templo del Gran Jaguar
The Lost World
North Acropolis, Tikal
Templo II
Tikal Park
Templo II,Tikal,Guatemala
Templo V
Palacio de las Acanaladuras
Seven Temples

Templo IV, Tikal
4.9
(832)Click for details

Templo del Gran Jaguar
4.9
(497)Click for details

The Lost World
4.9
(296)Click for details

North Acropolis, Tikal
4.8
(39)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
Tikal, Guatemala
Map
Phone
+502 2239 5000
Call
Website
mcd.gob.gt
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.9
(3.6K reviews)
Ratings & Description
attractions: Templo IV, Tikal, Templo del Gran Jaguar, The Lost World, North Acropolis, Tikal, Templo II, Tikal Park, Templo II,Tikal,Guatemala, Templo V, Palacio de las Acanaladuras, Seven Temples, restaurants:

- Please manually select your location for better experience