Tikal Ticket Prices, and What a Tour Costs Once You Add Them

Two prices meet at Tikal: the park's own ticket, set by law in quetzales, and the tour fare, set by each operator in US dollars. Here are the park's fees, how to buy them, and what every tour fare leaves you to pay at the gate. The park's fees are printed in quetzales, exactly as the ministry sets them.

How much is the Tikal entrance ticket?

Q150 for a foreign visitor, per day. That is the regular park ticket, valid for the opening hours of 06:00 to 18:00. Every other ticket the park sells is bought on top of it, never instead of it.

These figures have not changed since at least September 2021. The park quotes no price in dollars, so any dollar figure you see for the ticket is somebody else's conversion.

How much does the sunrise or sunset ticket cost?

Q100 for a foreign visitor, on top of the Q150 entrance, so Q250 in all. Guatemalans pay Q20 on top of Q25. The same price applies to sunrise and sunset.

A special visit also needs a guide authorised by INGUAT, and the tickets do not include one. On a tour the guide comes with the fare. A sunrise ticket can be switched to a sunset, or back, only with authorisation from the ticket platform's support team. Sunrise tours at Tikal sets out what each dawn fare includes.

Do children, students or seniors pay less?

Only children. Anyone under 10, of any nationality, enters free and needs no ticket. From their 10th birthday they pay the full price.

There are no discounts for seniors, students, disabled visitors or groups. The prices are set by law, and the park makes no exceptions.

Do Central Americans pay the Guatemalan rate?

No. The park sells two kinds of ticket: national, for Guatemalan citizens with a DPI, and foreign, for everyone else with a passport. There is no Central American rate.

A foreigner who buys a national ticket is refused entry at the gate, so buy the foreign ticket even if the national one is offered to you. You show your passport or ID with the ticket when you arrive.

What does a family pay at the gate?

Count the people aged 10 and over, and multiply. The park charges per person, per day, and only children under 10 go free.

A museum visit adds Q30 for each foreign visitor who goes in. On a fare that includes the park ticket, the entry lines above are already paid, and the museum is the only thing left to buy.

Where do you buy the ticket?

In one of three official ways. There is no ticket office at the ruins themselves.

• Online at boletos.culturaguate.gob.gt, up to 30 days ahead, by Visa or Mastercard. Foreign cards pay a 2.30% surcharge. The ticket arrives by email as a PDF.
• At any Bantrab branch in Guatemala, in cash, including the branches in Guatemala City, Antigua, Santa Elena and Melchor de Mencos.
• At the Bantrab window at the outer gate, in cash, on the day. It is the only way to pay at the park.

Banrural does not sell Tikal tickets any more; that agreement ended on 17 January 2025. For a sunrise visit, buy before the day, since the gate window is reported to open at 6:00am, after the sunrise entry has begun.

Can you get a refund, and how long is a ticket valid?

No refunds, under any circumstances. A ticket is valid for up to 30 days after you buy it, whatever date it shows. Once it is scanned at the gate it is used up for that day, so each day at the ruins needs its own ticket.

That makes an online ticket safe to buy a few days early and risky to buy weeks early for a fixed date you might miss. At the gate you show the PDF and your ID, and you get a wristband to wear all day. Screenshots and bank receipts are refused.

What do the museum, camping and Uaxactún tickets add?

Each is sold on top of the park ticket, never on its own. The museum ticket costs Q30 for foreign visitors and Q5 for Guatemalans. It covers the museums by the Visitor Centre, which open 08:00–16:00 every day, and it is not part of the entry ticket.

The camping area costs Q50 for foreign visitors and Q10 for nationals, again on top of the park ticket. Uaxactún, a separate archaeological site, has its own ticket at the same Q50 and Q5. The museums page covers what the museum ticket gets you inside.

Do you need a ticket to stay at the park hotels?

Yes. Jungle Lodge, Tikal Inn and Jaguar Inn stand beside the Visitor Centre, inside the park, and you pass the outer gate to reach them. A guest needs a park entry ticket to get through, even arriving in the evening.

After that the usual rule applies: each day at the ruins needs its own ticket, and a sunrise from the hotel needs the Q100 sunrise ticket and an authorised guide as well. The one-day-or-two itinerary shows how a night in the park fits between a sunset and a sunrise.

Which tour fares include the park ticket?

Here is every fare, lowest first, with what a foreign adult still pays at the park. Children under 10 pay nothing on any of them.

The fares are in US dollars and the park's fees in quetzales, so add them as two separate sums, not as one figure. No fare includes the museum ticket.

What does a $48 fare cost once you add the tickets?

This is the sum the price sort hides. The Mayan World sunrise costs $48 a person, and you buy the tickets yourself: Q150 entrance plus Q100 sunrise, so Q250 at the park. Its fare quotes the two together as Q250 and asks you to buy them the day before.

The Mayan World all-inclusive day costs $78, and the park ticket is in the fare. You pay nothing at the gate. So the gap between the two fares is not $48 against $78; it is $48 plus Q250 against $78 flat. The first is a sunrise with seven hours in the park. The second is a daytime visit with lunch and a four-and-a-half-hour walk.

Neither is the better deal in the abstract. If you want the dawn and do not mind buying tickets, the lower fare still buys a lot. If you want the price on the card to be the price of the day, take a fare with the ticket inside.

What do the private and fly-in fares include?

More, and the ticket is in all of them. The Maya Adventure private day, from $209 a person, includes your own vehicle and guide, lunch, and the entrance fees. The Tikal Expedition sunrise, from $230, includes the sunrise entrance and the park entrance, with snacks; it runs for two or more. The Tikal Expedition sunset, from $220, includes the sunset ticket, the park entrance, lunch and water.

The fly-in days, from $448 from Guatemala City and $465 from Antigua, include the return flights, hotel transfers, the park ticket, a guide and lunch. They are non-refundable, with a change fee. Tours from Guatemala City covers the flights and timings.

What else is not in the fare?

• Tips for the guide and driver, on most fares.
• Drinks: soft drinks, alcohol, or both, depending on the tour.
• The museum ticket, Q30, on every fare.
• A torch on the Tikal Expedition sunrise and sunset; bring your own for the walk in the dark.
• Breakfast on the Tikal Expedition sunrise, and dinner on its sunset; the fares include snacks and lunch.
• A higher pickup price on the Gem Trips tours if you are collected further out, such as in San Ignacio.

How do you compare two fares fairly?

• Add the park ticket to any fare that excludes it: Q150 by day, Q250 at sunrise or sunset, for each adult.
• Keep the currencies apart. Compare the dollar fares with each other and the quetzal fees with each other.
• Compare hours in the park, not the length of the day.
• Check the pickup price, since some fares rise with the pickup point you choose.
• Check the refund terms. The park ticket never refunds; most tour fares refund up to 24 hours ahead.

The guide to choosing a Tikal tour turns those figures into a decision, and every fare is compared on Tikal National Park Tours.

Frequently asked questions

Three fares, three ticket arrangements

All Inclusive Tikal Tour from Flores or Mayan World Airport

Collected from your Flores hotel or the airport, four and a half hours of guided stops, then a long lunch at the park restaurant. The park ticket is in the fare.

From $78 per person · park ticket included

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Full Day Tikal Sunrise Tour from Flores and Archaeological Tour

The lowest fare to the sunrise: a 3:00am pickup in Flores or Santa Elena and about seven hours in the park. You buy both park tickets yourself.

From $48 per person · park ticket extra

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Tikal Private Day Tour Maya Adventure from Flores

Your own vehicle and guide from your Flores hotel at 8:00am, about five hours at the temples and plazas, with the park ticket and lunch in the fare.

From $209 per person · park ticket included

Check Availability