[lovefamily]

Has anyone taken one of the Tikal Tours?

It's a day trip from Guatemala City, they fly you to Tikal for the tour and then they fly you back. I know it's beautiful there, but I wanted to make sure it was safe for my daughter to go.

[karen nickols]

It is very wam and jungly (?). Lots of walking and climbing. Our guide gave us a lot of historical information. Not sure how old DD is but she may not find it interesting but fun if she likes hiking.

[krafmatic]

I took an overnight tour...flew there one morning, had lunch and then the tour. A little down time before dinner. In the evening we went to a lecture of sorts about the Mayan math system...a bit dry but interesting. We left the next morning.

Safety was not issue.

I did wish we had brought extra Quetzales as there was no opportunity to get more once we landed in Flores. Between the craft stalls at Tikal and the "gift shop" we stopped at between Tikal and Flores we ran out of cash. The pottery was the best we had seen in Guat and the prices were good as well. That was where we stocked up on gifts for people...as well as some things for us.

FYI - just as you can't get money, you won't be able to get extra supplies like diapers easily...make sure you have enough before you fly out

[krafmatic]

FYI - we LOVED Tikal. I'm so glad we went. Our guide was very interesting and I left with some solid knowledge about Mayan history

[ej-momtobe]

We loved Tikal. We stayed overnight instead of doing a 1 day trip.

I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but I don't know that it is the best place for a very young child. IMO Tikal is best seen with lots of hiking (dirt, not stroller friendlly) and climbing the temples. So if your DD is too young for this kind of activity, it might be best to go to Tikal before pickup.

[ej-momtobe]

We loved Tikal. We stayed overnight instead of doing a 1 day trip.

I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but I don't know that it is the best place for a very young child. IMO Tikal is best seen with lots of hiking (dirt, not stroller friendlly) and climbing the temples. So if your DD is too young for this kind of activity, it might be best to go to Tikal before pickup.

[whereintheworld]

Hi,

We did a one day trip (from Antigua...where I was living)....it is a LONG day. We left Antigua at 4:30 in the a.m. and didn't get back until 8 pm. We did probably 3 or 4 hours of walking while there...some of it on less than ideal paths (washouts, not level surface, etc). It's warm and rains frequently (although sometimes only for short periods). It's a fascinating place and we loved it. But, I am not sure I would take a child, unless I felt that the heat, long walks and other conditions wouldn't add up to an upset kid.

[beverlyanderic]

tikal is great. my wife and i spent 2 nights in the park and did a couple tours. an early morning one (popular one to experience the wildlife awakening) and a night hike (not popular and done on the side with one of the guards- pretty cool to be the only 6 people in the park around midnight).

i highly recommend checking out tikal. it was one of the coolest places i've ever seen and i've been to many countries.

as others have said, it depends on how old your daughter is. i wouldn't bring a child there under 7 or 8 years old- they can appreciate it more then and can actually walk up the ruins (close to their parent of course).

there have been some not so safe experiences there over the past 6 months- not many but a couple robbery/assualt type things. that shouldn't deter you though since it is extremely rare and can be avoided if you stay with groups.

if you go on a day tour from guatemala city, it will be a very long day. even walking around tikal takes a ton out of you- especially if its this time of year- humid and hot and rainy.

if you go, you won't regret it; however, to get the most out of it, i would recommend staying in the park one night (or at least in flores for one night).

enjoy!
eric

[WVUMom418]

I sent by brother on this trip while I was visiting my daughter in Antigua, as others said they leave Antigua about 4:30am and don't get back until rather late.

A lot of the ruins that you can climb are very steep and there are no handrails. While my brother was there a man fell from almost the top of one of the ruins, my brother and another gentleman tried CPR (there are no hospitals or emergency services nearby) but the man did not survive his injuries. Otherwise my brother enjoyed the trip but he did say it was a lot of walking and climbing and he needed to be careful.

[azguatemom]

I rely a lot on the Longly Planet forum a lot for good, up to date advice on travel in Guatemala. Go to lonelyplanet.com, click Thorn Tree Froum and go to the Central America/Guatemala section. There is always tons of stuff on Tikal: how to get there, where to stay, eat, etc. I haven't been able to work it in yet, but it is a definite for our next visit.