Tikal Full Day with Dedicated Exploration of the Archaeological Monuments.
Overview
Guaranteed departure, we operate only with 1 guest. If we go over 9 guests, we make 2 groups
Premium tour visiting the best spots to photograph the monuments
Hassle free entry fees, those are not included because price varies according to nationality and age, but available in advance, we pay those for you, then you reimburse our guide during the service.
Excellent English-Spanish bilingual guide with deep knowledge of local history, flora and fauna and with a service attitude to give a meaning to each monument visited.
Enough food included: water refill and lunch at Jaguar Inn Restaurant (chicken, gluten-free and vegan options)
We will walk approximately 6 to 8 kilometers during this tour, but not consecutively. The longest walk between two stops is approximately 20 minutes.
Bring your camera! We love taking photos, we will show you the best spots.
Inclusions
- Mosquito Repellent Application
- Professional bilingual tour guide in Tikal
- Tikal Map
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Lunch - At Jaguar Inn Restaurant, chicken, gluten-free and vegan options available
What to expect
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Tikal National Park, Tikal National Park, Peten Department
Our driver pick you up at your hotel or at the airport, when booking, please choose the time according to the location where you want us to pick you up. In case you don't know the location of your hotel yet, just book the cheapest tour option, later you let us know your hotel location and if there is a price difference, you can pay it to our guide.
The walking tour begins at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park
DURATION OF EACH WAY OF TRANSFER BY LOCATION WHERE WE PICK YOU UP
a. Tikal: 00h: 05m
b. El Remate: 01h: 00m
c. San Jose, Peten: 01h:20m
d. San Benito, Santa Elena Flores or Flores Island: 01h: 30m
e. San Andres and Melchor de Mencos: 02h: 00m
f. San Ignacio, Belize: 03h: 30m
g. Guatemala City La Aurora Airport: 04h: 30m
h. Guatemala City hotels: 05h: 00m
i. Antigua Guatemala hotels: 05h: 30m
Tikal is cultural and natural heritage of humanity, we'll spend more than four hours exploring different archeological monuments, we'll use nature trails to spot some wildlife.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Central Acropolis, Tikal National Park Guatemala
We'll explore this complex with you, it was built as the residential area of the royal family of Tikal, it has 6 courtyards, 3 of them have been restored, this complex was also probably the place to host to all the royal visitors that came to Tikal from other mesoamerican cities for diplomatic reasons.
It has a palace with 5 floors and some of the lintels on the doors of this palace are still the original wooden lintels placed by the people who built it about 14 centuries ago and the wood is still in good shape.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple I, Tikal National Park Guatemala
We will walk around the most iconic monument of Tikal taking pictures of it from different angles.
The official name of this temple is Temple of the Great Jaguar because when the temple was discovered, it's original wooden lintel had a Great Jaguar carved on it, now, that beautiful carving in wood is in a famous museum.
Back in 1960's when archeologist excavated this temple, they found underneath this temple, the greatest treasure ever found in Tikal, it was the burial of Hasaw Chaan K'awil, the most famous king of the dynasty of Tikal, the jewelry over the skeleton of the king included 16.5 pounds of jade jewels.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Great Plaza, Tikal National Park Guatemala
The Great Plaza is the place in Tikal with the largest amount of energy, it's also the most restaured complex of this mayan site, it has multiple stelae, some of them with carving showing the portrait of some kings of the city.
This complex was excavated back in 1960's by the Museum of University of Pensinvania.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: North Acropolis, Tikal National Park Guatemala
This complex was used as a Royal Cemetery for the kings and queens of Tikal, it's compared with an onion, because of the multiple layers of interesting architecture it revealed, in some of these layers we can see the masks of the rain god and the sun god.
The guide communicates efficiently with all guests. During the tour, the guide accompanies you to climb the monuments to explain the most important details while you are above the monuments. We take you to the best spots to take pictures at the right times, this is ideal for photographers and we'll see many Mayan structures.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Templo II, Tikal, Guatemala, Templo II, Tikal, Guatemala
We'll climb this temple with you and enjoy the best view of the Great Plaza, looking at the masks carved on top of this temple.
The view from this temple is a great chance to take a picture of Temple I, North Acropolis and the Great Plaza.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple V, Pet 3, Tikal National Park 17001 Guatemala
We'll visit this beautiful temple, it has round corners, it's the only temple facing North, it was built around 650 a.D. and it was restored in 2002.
Temple V is the second tallest of Tikal, it's architecture is very different than the other temples of the city, this is the first temple discovered in Tikal back in 1848 because the back of it's roof comb as it's totally vertical, it was never covered by trees and it was visible from far away south, the direction of Flores where the discoverers of Tikal came from.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Plaza Of The Seven Temples, Siete Templos, Tikal National Park Guatemala
This Plaza has Seven temples in line, three ball courts and three palaces, which makes the number thirteen, a sacred number for the mayan culture.
It looks like a place for sports and for the aristocracy of Tikal to have fun.
It has the only triple ball court found so far in Mesoamerica.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Lost World, Tikal National Park Guatemala
The Lost World is the astronomical observatory of Tikal, it has the Great Pyramid as the point to watch the stars, the planets and the sun and it has three buildings on the east side to mark the seasons of the year.
The lower plaza is part of The Lost World, this plaza has a podium in the center with the architecture of Teotihuacan, a clear evidence of the cultural interaction between these two ancient cities.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Temple IV, Tikal National Park Guatemala
The official name of this temple is Temple of the Double Headed Serpent, as when the temple was discovered, it had a wooden carved lintel with the sacred double headed serpent carved on it, now this wooden carving is in a famous museum.
The nickname of this temple is Temple of Star Wars as back in 1977 the movie director George Lucas came to Tikal to film part of the original Star Wars Movie, Episode IV "A New Hope"
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Tikal National Park, Tikal National Park, Peten Department
The walking tour ends at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park at 02:00 pm and we offer you a hot meal and a cold drink at the Jaguar Inn Restaurant, after eating you can walk around the visitor center to see more wildlife, visit the scale model or buy souvenirs.
The activity ends when we drop you off at the location we picked you up, or it can be to a different location, but for this, you need to let us know in advance.
This tour is ideal for passengers flying from Flores Airport (FRS) that day on the flight:
TAG 5U111 leaving to Guatemala City at 19:15
Duration: 5 minutes
Additional information
- Infant seats available
- Stroller accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Wheelchair accessible
- Seat belts available
- In case you don't know yet the location of your hotel, just book the cheapest tour option, later you let us know your hotel location and if there is price difference, you can pay it to our guide.
- If you are the only adult in your group and you pick a small group option and at least one more adult reserves for that same schedule, we’ll include the cost of the entry fees for you, which reduces the price for USD21.
- Bring the best walking shoes
- Bring a raincoat just in case
- Bring the best clothes for hot weather
- Bring a canteen to refill water (in Tikal the entry of disposables is not allowed)
- If you have a Guatemalan local ID (DPI) send us a picture of it, in this event your entry fees will be only USD 4
- We operate with 50% of the normal capacity of our vehicles to prevent COVID-19 and safety of our customers.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 9 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
We had the best morning tour with Carlos! He met us at our hotel in Tikal around 6:30am and then myself and our 3 friends had a private tour of Tikal! We arrived the day before and had walked ourselves around the park the day before. It was a total game changer to have a knowledgeable guide. Carl...
We had the best morning tour with Carlos! He met us at our hotel in Tikal around 6:30am and then myself and our 3 friends had a private tour of Tikal! We arrived the day before and had walked ourselves around the park the day before. It was a total game changer to have a knowledgeable guide. Carlos was a very nice guy and was very knowledgeable of the park as well as the plants, he also had some great personal stories he shared with us. He was not on a rigid schedule and let us spend more time in areas we were more interested in but also let us know that there was more ahead. Carlos is also a great photographer and was happy to take pictures of the group. We were done with the tour around noon that day which was perfect because it was starting to get very hot and the crowds were pouring in. We had arranged with Gem Trips a ride back to the border and had a very nice driver and a very nice van drive us to the border. I would highly suggest this company and I would highly suggest going to see Tikal! Thank you Carlos!Where do I even start! My girlfriend and I have travelled around the world and sought out some of the most amazing experiences the world has to offer- this may actually top the list! It was seriously one of the most meaningful, spiritual and all around eye opening experiences we have ever had the...
Where do I even start! My girlfriend and I have travelled around the world and sought out some of the most amazing experiences the world has to offer- this may actually top the list! It was seriously one of the most meaningful, spiritual and all around eye opening experiences we have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Tikal is stunning and you cannot go wrong visiting at any time of day, however, the sunrise in the park was hands down the most breathtaking part. Our guide, Carlos, was friendly and his knowledge and passion for the Maya culture was spectacular. Not only did he guide us through the structures and provide us with info, he would take us off the beaten path to point out animals, leaves, let us eat nuts, berries and even termites straight from the jungle! After we got home, I realized that I had lost my wallet and Gem went ABOVE AND BEYOND to assist us in finding it and returning it to us. This was the first of a 7 day trip, which would have been very difficult without a wallet. Gem Agency was on the phone with us, our driver, the restaurant at Tikal trying to help us locate it. When they found it, they drove it all the way to us in Flores. Thank you to everyone that was a part of this experience!! We cannot recommend this experience enough :)O M G a must do if you ever visit Guatemala. The sunrise Tikal tour was absolutely a true GEM. Marlon arrived early got us situated with packing up drinks and snacks and off we went. Marlon was very patient as I am a slow walker with a prosthetic leg. At no time during this adventure did he ev...
O M G a must do if you ever visit Guatemala. The sunrise Tikal tour was absolutely a true GEM. Marlon arrived early got us situated with packing up drinks and snacks and off we went. Marlon was very patient as I am a slow walker with a prosthetic leg. At no time during this adventure did he ever pressure me to move faster or give that look of dissatisfaction. Marlons tour and knowledge of the mayan culture and the surrounding ruins was more than i could have expected. Thank You Marlon and Gem Trips for making this day truly a day to remember. Keep up the good work....Marlon and Iris were very responsive providing multiple itinerary options with quotes to my many inquiries. We settled on the Sunrise Tikal tour and we were fortunate to be the only two who booked for the small group tour. Marlon met us our hotel and led us into the park. He expertly navigated tr...
Marlon and Iris were very responsive providing multiple itinerary options with quotes to my many inquiries. We settled on the Sunrise Tikal tour and we were fortunate to be the only two who booked for the small group tour. Marlon met us our hotel and led us into the park. He expertly navigated trails off the main road in the dark which added so much to the overall experience. Marlon spotted two types of toucans, different wood peckers and many other lovely birds. We were shown green obsidian, flint tools and pottery just off trails in the foliage of the park. He was able to inform where these originated and during what time period they were in use. He is obviously very passionate and knowledgeable of wild life, trees and plants in the park and the Mayan civilization having been Masters educated! His English is impeccable, in addition to being a great photographer, knowing all the best spots to capture great photos. We could quickly tell the difference between the photos we took with our camera and the ones he took of us. We look forward to returning to Tikal and hope we can add additional tours to Yaxha with Marlon. The tour guide definitely makes the experience!We had the tour (in spanish) by our guide Elías Castillo. He came to our hotel (Jungle Lodge) very early in the morning 4:30 am and then we went to the park to see the sunrise at Tikal. He has a lot of knowledge about archeology, animals, and the ruins because first he worked at the park and he w...
We had the tour (in spanish) by our guide Elías Castillo. He came to our hotel (Jungle Lodge) very early in the morning 4:30 am and then we went to the park to see the sunrise at Tikal. He has a lot of knowledge about archeology, animals, and the ruins because first he worked at the park and he was in the group of archeologyst from Pensilvania and Spain that helped with a part of the restoration process. We enjoyed and learned in our second visit as if it was the first one. We asked for a Tour guide, but aditional, we also had the best photographer. Very patient, we asked him a lot of questions, and very friendly. We had the best experience in Tikal. He gave us a lot of tips and recomendations for the rest of our days in Petén. I'm very happy we find this "GEM" of GEM Trips. An excellent customer service from the beginning when I talked with Marlon.I would highly recommend the tour and especially our guide Marlon for the following reasons: - He is very knowledgeable about the Mayan site, explaining everything in details and also patiently answered all our questions - He speaks great English - He is also a great birding guide (Tikal is a gre...
I would highly recommend the tour and especially our guide Marlon for the following reasons: - He is very knowledgeable about the Mayan site, explaining everything in details and also patiently answered all our questions - He speaks great English - He is also a great birding guide (Tikal is a great place for birding, and if you are a birder or like to photograph birds, a private tour would suite you better, which is what we did) - He is good at taking photos for the clients, particularly good at using the smartphone cameras