Located in Guatemala’s Petén Basin, the Maya ruins of Tikal can be quickly reached via land transportation from the Belizean border. This is how I did it.
The famous jungle stronghold of Tikal may be in Guatemala, but it’s easier to get to the massive former Maya city from the neighboring country of Belize than the capital of Guatemala City. Including my custom map of the northern Petén Basin, this is how I made it from the international border to the ruins:
1. Exchange your currency before going through Belizean immigration
The international land border between Belize and Guatemala can be easily reached from the east by public transport, rental car or taxi from the Caribbean tourist hub of Belize City. Click to read my travel guide “How to Get to San Ignacio from the Belize City Airport” for steps on how I made it to Guatemala from the Belizean coast.
Before you depart Belize through the immigration office, make sure to exchange your currency to Guatemalan quetzals (GTQ), saving $40 Belizean dollars (BZD, equivalent to around $20 USD) for the country’s mandatory exit fee. Money changers will be standing outside the facility.
If he happens to be working upon your arrival, look for an older gentleman wearing a New York Yankees cap. His name is Raul, and he will give you a fair exchange rate for BZD, USD, and Mexican pesos to GTQ.
2. Proceed through the departure lane
Follow the sign to the departure lane for Belizean immigration. Unless you arrive when a tour group is making their way into Guatemala, this should be quick and easy. Once you have paid your exit fee (first window in the departure lane) and have your passport stamped (second window), proceed into the area between the international borders.
3. Find the Guatemalan immigration office
Like flipping a switch, the signage turns to Spanish once you have cleared Belizean immigration, and there is also little direction in terms of where you should go next. Just continue west toward the Guatemalan border city of Melchor de Mencos, walking past the automobile disinfectant stations (shown in the photo below) and the more distant vehicle checkpoints.
As you finish covering the few hundred yards that are essentially a no man’s land between the two countries, start looking for a walkway to the left that’s adjoined to a building: This is the way to the Guatemalan immigration office.
4. Make sure to get your passport stamped
Once you arrive at the walkway, there will likely be at least a few individuals claiming to be associated with Guatemalan immigration. They are most assuredly taxi drivers, as you will find out as they continue talking. Take the walkway toward the building and follow it to the right toward a nearby door; it leads to the office where you will get your passport stamped.
The process took me less than a minute, but it’s critically important not to miss this step: It goes without saying that things could quickly get complicated when you try to leave Guatemala if there’s no record of your entry.
5. Find a ride to Tikal
Remember those taxi drivers who were masquerading as immigration officials? This is the point where I made them useful. It was mid-afternoon by the time I made it through Guatemalan immigration, so I was pressed for time to make it to Tikal before nightfall. With public transportation likely taking too long to get me to the park, I elected to work one of the drivers down to a reasonable price.
As I was leaving the immigration office, one of the same gentlemen at the beginning of the walkway latched himself to me. He started at $700 GTQ ($90 USD), which is on the high end of the $70-$90 USD you should expect to pay for the two-hour, 61-mile trip via taxi ride to Tikal (shown in the map above). I kept walking. He quickly dropped to $600 GTQ ($77 USD).
If you are against the clock like I was, you could take a similar price and feel good about it. However, I decided to test my luck. I told him I would just take the bus, and he lowered his fare to $500 GTQ ($64 USD).
While I managed to get a good price for a taxi to Tikal, you can do much better if you have more time; the fare prices for public transportation will be only a fraction of the money I spent. It will take some planning, though. There is no direct public bus service to Tikal from Melchor de Mencos, so you will first have to get off at El Cruce (shown on my map above). The small city is also called Ixlú (pronounced “ish-loo”) by the locals in reference to the nearby Maya archaeological site.
Once there, it will be up to you to find a ride north. Public buses (known locally as “chicken buses”) departing Flores/Santa Elena and heading to Tikal go through El Cruce, but I am uncertain whether they make a stop at the fork. You may have to walk a mile or two to nearby El Remate (shown to the north of El Cruce on my map) to board a public bus to the park.
6. Arrive at Tikal
The location to purchase entrance tickets to Tikal is at the main gate. This is a full 10 miles from the park village, so you will want to buy all passes that you will need during your stay (i.e., sunrise, sunset, and day passes) before proceeding to your final stop.
This panoramic video of Tikal’s Gran Plaza sequentially shows Temple II, the North Acropolis, and Temple I. The Maya ruins are in the Guatemalan rainforest. Click the icon in the lower righthand corner of the player to expand the video.
7. Read my guide for the park
Once you have cleared the park entrance, it’s only a short drive to the village area at Tikal National Park. Click to read my travel guide “A Visitor’s Guide to Tikal National Park” to learn about where I ate and stayed along with tips on taking a self-guided tour of the massive Maya ruins.
Related Content
– Click to read my feature article “Tikal: The Day the King Died” about how Mesoamerica’s most mysterious metropolis altered the course of Maya civilization on one fateful day.
– Click to view my high-resolution photo collection from Tikal National Park.
– Click to view my high-definition video of the Gran Plaza at Tikal.