The best and cheapest option is to take a minibus with San Juan. Two way tickets cost Q 50 and are available at this hostel.

You can leave from Flores to Tikal at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 am and at 14.00 pm. It is recommendable to book your ticket one day before to make sure you have a seat on the bus.

The bus to Tikal leaves from the office of San Juan which is located on the front of the island at 50 meters distance of the bridge across the street of ¨El gran Hotel de La Isla¨.

You can come back from Tikal the same day or any other day at 12:30, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00 and 18:00. You can just choose between any of these times by showing up at the parking lot.

The ride from Flores to Tikal takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes. The entrance fee to Tikal is Q 50. Make sure you get the official entrance ticket so your money doesn`t go into the wrong pocket (straight away).

Day trip

Most travellers doing the daytrip leave to Tikal with the first bus at 4:00 am. It is nice to be early in Tikal because you see and hear how the jungle awakes and you can see the sunrise from the top of the temple. Besides, it is still fresh in the morning and the light is soft for pictures.

Most visitors need at least 6 hours inside of Tikal to get a good impression of the ruins.

Staying overnight

If you want to stay overnight at Tikal it is recommendable to take the bus at 14.00. Arriving the park after 15.00, the staff will stamp your entrance ticket (worth Q 50) with the date of the next day. This means you can enter the ruins two days by paying just for one.

Staying overnight inside of the ruins of Tikal is not allowed but a night of playing hide and seek with the guards can be quite an adventure and fun! ( Don`t stay at the most logical places, stay at one place, don`t make fire or use flashlights and have Q 100 on you to bribe the guards if they catch you)

If you don`t wanna take the risk you can stay right in front of the entrance at a great camping place!. Here you put your hammock up for Q 30 a night! If you don't have a hammock you can rent a very good hammock with special hammock mosquito net here at Los Amigos for Q 25.

You can sling this hammock up at the camping space for an extra Q 30. This way you are 100 % sure of a cheap place to stay for Q 55 a night. Hotel Jaguar Inn has lockers available but you need your own lock.

Alternative is to sleep in a hammock at Hotel Jaguar inn for Q 40. Their hammocks however are limited (7) and are often booked out. A second option is the dormitory at Jaguar Inn for Q 80 a night. Again, beds are limited and might be full leaving no other option as the expensive $ 45 dollar rooms.

Day guides can be arranged at the entrance of the parc for $ 10 per person. All guides speak English, have years of experience and offer a very good service.