Trip review from Antigua to Tikal

Alma, Michigan
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138 posts
24 reviews
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Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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I made a quick trip to Tikal from Antigua. Tikal is a wonderful archeological to visit. I am really glad I made the journey. I purchased a packaged trip. I had choice bus or airplane. There are many choice of packages. I choose the bus because it gave me more time in the area. The plane trips begin at $280 for a one day trip. There many choices with the bus package. My trip cost $140. I left Antigua at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night for Guatemala City. Once at the bus station, I was given a voucher for my bus tickets. I was booked on the 9:30 first class (primera clase) bus to Flores. The bus was air conditioned, had a bathroom and the were comfortable. The bus was packed. There were very few foreign tourists on the bus. The bus stopped twice. Once for a mass bathroom break and once to let most of the passengers off at a city before Flores. We arrived in Flores at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. There were several vans and tuc-tucs waiting for the bus. Most the foreign tourists were picked up immediately. I was not but my itinerary said I was to be picked up at 7:00 a.m. So I did not worry. I found a bathroom and walked around some. There were many people up exercising and jogging- but not many Americans. When the van did not show up, I called the travel agent who sold me my tickets on her cell phone. She had promised to be available 24/7. It turns out, I was ticketed to the bus station even though the ticket said Flores. The bus station is on the mainland about ½ mile away. The agent called the driver who promptly picked me up. He had one other passenger. We went to the airport to pick up two more. For some reason the plane could not land (fog??). I was glad I had made the trip by bus. While waiting at the airport, we had breakfast.

Next we were off to Tikal. It takes about 50 minutes to the park. Our driver had a wealth information about the area. At the park, we met our guide and two other tourists. The guide spoke excellent English and he spoke Spanish slow enough for me to understand. The park is unbelievable. The ruins are truly awesome. We climbed both temple 7 and temple 5. If you climb temple 5 and your guide does not make the climb, I recommend leaving your backpack behind. It is very difficult to descend with your pack on. Most put their packs on their front. Both climbs are strenuous. There are other ruins to climb if you desire. Our guide knew the history of each structure, the names of the kings and the numbers times it was rebuilt. He also understood the social structure of the Mayans. He made a point of looking for and pointing out wild life such as monkeys and birds. He knew which plants were endangered. Our walking tour lasted four hours. It was busy and I wanted more (more is available but I was worried that four hours was too long).

We had lunch in the park. We left about 3:30 p.m. On the trip our driver picked up some local people trying to get to the city. I thought that was a nice gesture. It would have been difficult to them to get to the city without his help. Once we returned to Flores, we walked around and about the island, visited Internet Cafe, watch kids swim on the docks. We had dinner and a beer. At 8:00, our driver picked us up and took us to the bus station. We were booked on the 9:00 p.m. “lujo clase” bus. Lujo clase is much nicer than primera clase. They provided a sandwich and a can of pop. There was also a movie and the seats were much better designed. The shocks on the bus were more comfortable. It turns out lujo costs about $5 more than primera. I highly recommend the lujo clase. We arrived in Guatemala just before 6:00. My shuttle to Antigua arrive at about 6:20. I was back in Antigua by 7:00 a.m.

My recommendations:

If you afford it, go or upgrade to lujo clase.

Make sure you know where you are suppose to get off the bus.

I would have enjoyed more time in the area

The guide was very helpful and I enjoyed his commentaries.

Take water with you before you head to the park.

Insect repellent is useful.

Take a sweat shirt or jacket. The bus is air conditioned and they use it at full blast. It gets cool on the bus. Many of the locals knew and brought blankets.

Make sure you get the telephone number of your agent. I found it very helpful.

En route, few people you encounter will speak English. Some knowledge of Spanish was very helpful.

Overall, it was a great trip and I would do it again.

Port Richey, Florida
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2,546 posts
11 reviews
19 helpful votes
1. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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Hi there. Thnaks for sharing your experience and providing excellent tips on that kind of quick trip to tikal. I've always recommended to people without enough time in the country that, it can be done that way. And not only that, you save yourself two hotel nights. I hope you can come back and give us the name of the bus line you used. Unfortunately to really explore the park you need at least two days. But any way one day is better than going to guatemala and completely missing tikal.

NYC
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639 posts
53 reviews
33 helpful votes
2. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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Hi, thanks for the report ...... what was the name of the bus company?

San Juan, Puerto...
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3. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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I would do the trip via bus but i'm kind of scary about security during night trips. Did you felt secure. What do you think about taking my two daugthers with me. An my father, who is 84. I know is sounds weird, but were are a group and the other choice is to make them wait for me in Antigua.

Santa Cruz La...
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for Lake Atitlan
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4. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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I have much experience with the overnight bus, and it is perfectly safe. I have been assisting travelers in Guatemala during the 4 years I have lived here, and I recommend the overnight bus as the best (inexpensive) way to go. Of course if you have the budget, then you have the option of flying.

As you have read, the buses are clean, comfy, and efficient. If you need a great English speaking guide, I highly recommend Francisco Florian Escobar. You can contact him in advance at florianfrancisco@gmail.com. He has been studying and guiding throughout all the Mayan ruins for his entire 35 year career.

Happy Planning.

Port Richey, Florida
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2,546 posts
11 reviews
19 helpful votes
5. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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I agree with #4. It is perfectly safe. And say that because I check guatemalan newspapers on line every day to stay on top of safety issues. And I've never read or heard of any safety issues because, the bus lines that service this route exercise security measures that deter and makes it harder for armed robberies to happen. For instance as opossed to chicken buses, tickets on these three bus lines are a whole lot more expensive. These bus lines are not colocated. Each bus lines operates its own terminal with a waiting area restrooms and cafeteria. They don't let non-passensegers to be loittering around the terminal. You have to buy your ticket before boarding. So, that right there stops the criminals on their tracks, because let me tell you, average guatemalan criminals are not going to invest $15/20 dollars to get on the bus and take a chance to rob passangers once the bus has departed the bus station. They also do a security check padding you and using a metal detector as you board the bus. In addition to do that they don't make any stops along the route to pick up more passengers. So, that's the reason why you don't hear of this type of buses suffering armed robberies the same way chicken buses do. These are some of the bus lines that service the route from guatemala city to Flores/Tikal www.adnautobusesdelnorte.com.gt www.autobusesfuentedelnorte.com.gt www.lineadorada.info Now if you think an overnight eight hour ride is too much for you then you could break up the trip with a stop over in the rio dulce area www.mayaparadise.com and www.litegua.com offers hourly service on double decker buses. You should be fine. Good luck

Edited: 10 years ago
Alma, Michigan
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138 posts
24 reviews
13 helpful votes
6. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal
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I was on the Linea Dorada bus line. I felt very safe. They do have some limited security screening before you get on the bus. The passengers purchase tickets. The bus driver does not carry cash. The problems with buses in Guatemala City are not this type of bus. The time inside Guatemala City is very limited. I would feel comfortable taking family with me on the bus trip to Flores.

7. Re: Trip review from Antigua to Tikal

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