Tikal is spread out. Your ticket is checked at a gate about 17 km before the ruins, the road ends at the Visitor Centre, and the temples stand in the forest beyond it. Here is how the park fits together, how far each part is, and where each tour meets you, from a Flores hotel lobby to San Ignacio for the Tikal tours from Belize.
Tikal National Park
Flores, Petén, Guatemala
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On the Great Plaza, the centre of the ancient city, between Temple I and Temple II. Zoom out to see the road south to El Remate and Flores.
06:00 to 18:00 every day of the year, holidays included. Sunrise entry is about 04:00–06:00 and sunset entry about 18:00–20:00, with a guide.
Online, at any Bantrab branch in Guatemala, or in cash at the window at the outer gate. There is no ticket office at the ruins.
The map opens on the Great Plaza. Everything else in the park is measured from there or from the Visitor Centre, about 1.3 km away on foot.
From Flores you take the CA-13 towards Melchor de Mencos. At Aldea Ixlú you turn left, towards El Remate, and carry on north to the park. Tikal is about 64 km from Flores, roughly an hour to an hour and a quarter by road. Collective and private minibuses run the route every day.
Mundo Maya International Airport lies five minutes from Flores island, with flights from Guatemala City. By road, Guatemala City is 484 km away, a nine-hour drive by the ministry’s figure. From Belize you cross the border at Melchor de Mencos and join the same road.
Every visit passes the same points in the same order: the town you sleep in, the outer gate, the Visitor Centre and then the ruins on foot. Here is how far each one is.
| Place | What is there | Distance to Tikal |
|---|---|---|
| Flores | The island town, hotels and most tour pickups | About 64 km by road, 1–1¼ h |
| Mundo Maya International Airport | Flights from Guatemala City, about an hour | Five minutes from Flores island |
| El Remate | A village on the road in; sunrise pickups | About 34 km |
| Melchor de Mencos | The Guatemalan border post with Belize | About 100 km |
| San Ignacio, Belize | Pickups on the tours from Belize | About 114 km |
| Belize City | The coast of Belize | About 226 km |
| Guatemala City | The capital; flights and buses to Flores | 484 km by road, about nine hours |
| The outer gate | Ticket check and the Bantrab window, cash only | About 17 km before the Visitor Centre |
| The Visitor Centre | Two museums, three hotels, the camping area | Where the road ends |
| The Great Plaza | Temples I and II, the two acropolises | About 1.3 km on foot from the Visitor Centre |
| Temple IV | The sunrise and sunset viewpoint | About 0.7 km west of the Great Plaza, in a straight line |
| The Lost World and Temple V | The oldest complex; the second-tallest temple | South of the Great Plaza |
All road distances are approximate. For the drive from Belize, bring your passport, and carry cash for the exit fee Belize charges at the land border.
The outer gate, called Garita Socotzal, is where your ticket is checked. It stands about 17 km by road from the Visitor Centre; the ministry rounds it to about 20 km. Show your PDF ticket, printed or on your phone, and your passport or ID. You get a wristband, and you wear it all day.
The gate is also the only place to pay on site. The Bantrab window there takes cash only, and there is no ticket office at the ruins. For a sunrise visit, buy before the day: the window is reported to open at 06:00, two hours after sunrise entry begins. Signal inside the park is weak or absent, so download your ticket before you set off.
The road ends at the Visitor Centre, and this is where your walk begins. The Museo Sylvanus G. Morley, with its ceramics, and the Museo Lítico, with its stelae, both stand here. They open daily from 08:00 to 16:00, and a museum ticket costs Q30 for foreign visitors.
Three hotels stand beside the Visitor Centre: Jungle Lodge, Tikal Inn and Jaguar Inn, about ten minutes on foot from the Great Plaza. The camping area is here too. Food is not allowed in the archaeological zone, so eat at the camping area, at Rancho Tikal or at the Uaxactún car park before you walk in. In March and early April, look for the ocellated turkey by the car park.
From the Visitor Centre the path runs through the forest for about 1.3 km to the Great Plaza. Allow time for monkeys on the way. Once you are inside the archaeological zone, carry only a reusable bottle, with no food or single-use plastic.
The plaza is the fixed point of the city. Temple I stands on its east side and Temple II on its west. The North Acropolis, the royal burial ground, closes the north side. The Central Acropolis, the palace complex, runs along the south. The guide to the ruins describes each one.
Temple IV stands at the west end of the Tozzer Causeway, about 0.7 km from the Great Plaza in a straight line. The path is longer. It is the tallest structure at Tikal, and its wooden staircase takes you to the sunrise and sunset viewpoint.
The causeways carry the names of explorers: Maler, Maudslay, Tozzer and Méndez. The Méndez Causeway runs about 1.3 km from the East Plaza to Temple VI, the Temple of the Inscriptions. If you come for sunrise, you walk out to Temple IV in the dark with your guide.
South of the Great Plaza lie the Lost World (Mundo Perdido) and Temple V. The Lost World is the oldest complex in the city, and you can climb its Great Pyramid, about 31 m high. Temple V rises to about 57 m, the second-tallest temple at Tikal.
Put them on the same loop as the Great Plaza and Temple IV. That loop is a morning on foot, so start early and carry water.
The meeting point is the most useful line on any tour, because Tikal is an hour or more from where you sleep. Here is each one, with the time it gives you in the park.
| Meeting point | Tour | Time in the park |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel pickup in Flores and Santa Elena, 3:00am (be in the lobby 15 minutes before) | Full Day Tikal Sunrise Tour from Flores and Archaeological Tour | About 7 hours in the park, from before dawn |
| Hotel pickup in Flores (be in the lobby by 7:45am), or 7:30am at the cafeteria of Mundo Maya International Airport | All Inclusive Tikal Tour from Flores or Mayan World Airport | About 4.5 hours of guided stops, plus a 2-hour lunch at the park restaurant |
| Hotel pickup in Flores, Santa Elena, San Benito, San Andrés, San José, El Remate or Tikal's hotels, at the Belize western border, or in San Ignacio, Belize; the fare varies with the pickup point you choose | Tikal Full Day with Dedicated Exploration of the Archaeological Monuments. | About 4.5 hours in the park |
| Hotel pickup in Flores, Santa Elena, San Benito, San Andrés, San José, El Remate or Tikal's hotels, in Melchor de Mencos, or in San Ignacio, Belize; the fare varies with the pickup point you choose | Tikal SUNSET, Archeological focus and Wildlife Spotting Tour (South and East) | About 4.5 hours in the park, until after sunset |
| Hotel pickup in Flores, Santa Elena, San Benito, San Andrés, San José, El Remate or Tikal's hotels; the fare varies with the pickup point you choose | Tikal SUNRISE, Archeological focus and Wildlife Spotting Tour (North and West) | About 5 hours in the park, from before sunrise |
| Hotel lobby pickup in Flores, 8:00am; hotels outside Flores may pay an extra transport fee | Tikal Private Day Tour Maya Adventure from Flores | About 5 hours at the temples and plazas |
| 12:30pm at the Yo ❤ Petén monument on Flores Island, or 1:00pm outside Hotel Las Gardenias in El Remate | Private Tikal Sunset Tour from Flores | Sunset from Temple IV; time in the park not stated |
| 3:00am at the Yo ❤ Petén monument on Flores Island, or 3:30am hotel pickup in El Remate | Private Extended Sunrise Tour Tikal From Flores-El Remate | About 7 hours in the park, from before dawn |
| Hotel pickup at most Guatemala City hotels, 4:15am | Tikal Day Trip by Air from Guatemala City with Lunch | About 4 hours in the park |
| Hotel pickup at most Antigua hotels, 3:40am | Tikal Day Trip Including Round Trip Flights from Antigua with Lunch | About 4 hours in the park |
Most tours collect you from your hotel in Flores. Some sunrise and sunset tours meet at the Yo ❤ Petén monument on Flores Island or in El Remate. The fly-in days collect you in Guatemala City or Antigua. If you are coming from Belize, choose a tour that sells pickups in San Ignacio or at the border.
Hotel pickup in Flores, or 7:30am at the cafeteria of Mundo Maya International Airport, with the park ticket and lunch in the fare. About 4.5 hours of guided stops.
From $78 per person · park ticket included
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Hotel pickup in Antigua at 3:40am, the flights from Guatemala City to Flores, the park ticket and lunch. About four hours in the park; non-refundable.
From $465 per person · park ticket included
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Pickups from Flores and El Remate to Melchor de Mencos and San Ignacio, Belize, and the park until after sunset. The park and sunset tickets are extra.
From $91 per person · lowest pickup option · park + sunset fee extra
Check AvailabilityThe route, the gate and how to pay are the ministry’s own. Check them before you travel.
Tickets and opening hours sit on visiting Tikal, what to do at each stop on things to do, and every tour on Tikal National Park Tours.