Tikal Sunrise Tours
Hours, prices and access verified by the Tikal National Park Tours team — last checked 2026-09-10
A Tikal sunrise tour gets you onto Temple IV before the sun comes up over the Petén canopy. You need a guide to enter before 06:00, and every tour here brings one. What changes is the fare, and what it covers. The lowest leaves the park and sunrise tickets to you; the highest includes both.
Sunrise tours of Tikal
Best seller
★★★★★ 5.0 (376 reviews · 6 hours)
5 h in the parkFrom Flores or El RematePark + sunrise fee extraMax 9Breakfast + lunch
Breakfast at the top of Temple IV, lunch later, and nine people at most with a bilingual guide. Pickup from Flores, El Remate or the park hotels, then five hours in the park. Park entry and the sunrise fee are yours to buy.
From $98 per person
The From price is the lowest pickup option; the fare varies with the pickup point you choose.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Lowest fare
★★★★★ 4.6 (53 reviews · 8 hours)
7 h in the parkFrom FloresPark ticket extraMax 15
The lowest sunrise fare: a 3:00am pickup in Flores or Santa Elena and about seven hours in the park, from Temple IV to Temple V. No meals in the fare, and you buy the park and sunrise tickets, Q250 for foreign visitors.
From $48 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★★ 5.0 (7 reviews · 7 to 9 hours)
7 h in the parkFrom Flores or El RemateSunrise ticket included
Both tickets are in this one: the sunrise entrance and park entry, plus snacks and an archaeology guide. Meet at 3:00am on Flores island or be collected in El Remate at 3:30am. Two travellers minimum, and about seven hours in the park.
From $230 per person (min. 2)
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pick your sunrise on Temple IV
Check the ticket chip on each card first: it tells you whether the Q150 entry and the Q100 sunrise ticket are in your fare.
Check Availability
What a sunrise tour of Tikal actually is
A sunrise tour is a guided visit that enters Tikal in the special window from about
04:00 to 06:00, before the park opens to everyone. You climb Temple IV, the tallest
structure at Tikal and the park's own viewpoint at sunrise. You watch the light come up
over the forest from the top. Then your guide walks you through the ruins for the rest
of the morning.
Entering before 06:00 takes three things: the regular park ticket, a sunrise ticket
and a guide authorised by INGUAT. Every tour here brings the guide and the transport.
Whether it also covers the two tickets is the question each card answers for you.
Pickups run from about 3:00am in Flores and 3:30am in El Remate. The park is some 64
km from Flores, and the sunrise window closes at 06:00, so the early start is the price
of being up there in time.
Why choose a sunrise tour
You cannot watch sunrise without a guide
The park admits sunrise visitors only with an authorised guide, so a tour is how you
get in. Between 06:00 and 18:00 you can walk the site on your own, but never before.
Temple IV before the sun
You are on top before the sun rises, all year. In mid-January it rises around 06:30;
in mid-July, around 05:32.
The coolest hours of the day
Highs at Flores average 29 to 36 °C through the year. A sunrise tour does most of
its walking before the heat builds, and you are done by late morning.
The forest at first light
Birding is best early, and the top of Temple IV looks across the upper canopy. Spider
monkeys, Yucatán black howlers and coatis live around the ruins, so keep your eyes
on the trees as you walk.
Sunrise tours vs sunset tours
Sunset is the other way to stay in the park outside regular hours. It needs the same
three things, with a sunset ticket in place of the sunrise one, and runs from about 18:00
to 20:00. Here is how your two options compare.
| Sunrise tour | Sunset tour |
|---|
| When you are in the park | From about 04:00 to mid-morning | The afternoon, until after dark |
| Pickup from Flores | About 3:00am | Around midday |
| Extra ticket | Q100 sunrise ticket | Q100 sunset ticket |
| The sun itself | Rises while you are on Temple IV, all year | Sets before 18:00 from about October to February |
| Pickups from Belize | Not offered | San Ignacio and the border |
| Price | From $48 per person | From $91 per person |
| Best for | Early risers, birders and photographers | Late risers and travellers based in Belize |
Check availability — From $98
On the sunset side you have the sunset wildlife tour, which
leaves both park fees to you, and the private sunset tour from Flores, which includes the
park and sunset tickets for $220 a person with a 12:30pm pickup. Choose sunrise if you
want the sun on the horizon between October and February. At that time of year it sets
before the sunset window opens.
Which sunrise fare fits you
The three fares differ in what they put in your price. Choose by the line that matters
most to you.
| If you want | Choose | Price |
|---|
| The lowest fare, tickets bought yourself | The full-day sunrise from Flores | From $48 |
| Breakfast on Temple IV and a group of nine | The sunrise wildlife tour | From $98 |
| Both tickets in the fare, and snacks | The extended private sunrise | From $230 |
Check availability — From $48
What you get, and what you don’t
You get transport, a guide and five to seven hours in the park on every
sunrise tour here. The wildlife tour adds breakfast at the top of Temple IV, lunch and a
group of nine at most. The extended private sunrise adds snacks, an archaeology guide and
both park tickets.
You don’t get the park tickets on the two lower fares. On the
$48 and $98 fares, a foreign visitor pays Q150 for entry and Q100 for the sunrise
ticket on top, Q250 in all. Guatemalans with DPI pay Q25 and Q20, and children under 10
enter free. Bring your own torch for the walk up in the dark.
Planning a sunrise tour
- Price: $48 to $230 a person, before any park tickets you buy
yourself.
- Pickup: about 3:00am in Flores and 3:30am in El Remate, later from the
park hotels.
- Tickets: if your fare leaves them to you, buy before the day, online at
boletos.culturaguate.gob.gt or in cash at a Bantrab branch. The gate window is reported to
open at 06:00, after sunrise entry starts.
- Minimum: the extended private sunrise needs at least two of you; bad
weather or a missed minimum brings a new date or a full refund.
- Book: as soon as your date is fixed; every sunrise tour here refunds in
full up to 24 hours ahead.
- Bring: a torch, a refillable bottle, a rain jacket and your passport,
and check the Tikal weather for sun times by season.
Found your sunrise?
Check what the fare covers, then pick your date. Every sunrise tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead.
Check Availability
Who should choose something else
- Late risers. The sunset wildlife tour walks
the south and east of the city in the afternoon and stays past closing time.
- Travellers based in Belize. No sunrise tour here collects you in San
Ignacio; the tours from Belize do.
- Day-trippers from Guatemala City. The flights land after the sunrise
window closes; the fly-in day trips give you the
daytime park instead.
- Independent walkers. From 06:00 to 18:00 you need no guide at all;
visiting Tikal covers the entry rules and the minibuses from
Flores.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Tikal sunrise tour cost?
Fares run from $48 to $230 a person. On the lower fares you also pay the park fees yourself: Q150 for entry and Q100 for the sunrise ticket if you are a foreign visitor.
Do Tikal sunrise tours include the park ticket?
Only the extended private sunrise includes both the park and sunrise tickets. The $48 and $98 fares leave them to you, Q250 in all for a foreign visitor. Each card says which.
What time do sunrise tours leave?
Around 3:00am from Flores and 3:30am from El Remate. That gets you through the gate and up Temple IV inside the 04:00 to 06:00 sunrise window.
Can I watch the sunrise at Tikal without a tour?
Not without a guide. Sunrise entry needs the park ticket, the sunrise ticket and a guide authorised by INGUAT, which is why most sunrise visitors book a tour.
Where do you watch the sunrise from?
From the top of Temple IV, the tallest structure at Tikal, reached by a wooden staircase. The park can close the staircase for repairs, as it did on 7–8 April 2025.
Is sunrise better than sunset?
For the sun on the horizon between October and February, yes: it sets before the 18:00 sunset window then. For a later start,
the sunset wildlife tour stays past closing time instead.
Can I cancel a sunrise tour?
Yes, every sunrise tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead. Park tickets you buy yourself are never refunded, but an unused one stays valid for 30 days.