Driving to Tikal from Guatemala City
So you want to visit Tikal on your own? driving? excellent!! Renting a car or taking your own car on a trip from Guatemala City to Tikal is a great way to see the places around and visit several destinations keeping a low budget, better if you stay on cheap hotels or if you camp around.
If you don’t have a car you can rent one at the usual places (more info below, first let me tell you about the road and recommended places around on your trip to Tikal).
The journey begins early in the morning (4:00AM) to avoid the traffic, remember, part of the road to Tikal is also the road used for commerce.
Leave Guatemala City and head to the CA9, this road is locally known as “Carretera al Atlántico”. You’ll find the fork to Cobán (turning to your left) around km80. Stay on the main road, straight. Five minutes later you reach “El Rancho”. This is a very active market like stop filled with “fast-local-food” like chuchitos, chiles rellenos, tamalitos, tortillas, churrasquitos, coconuts, sodas and the rest…
Keep driving on the CA9 and you’ll reach the famous church of San Cristobal Acasaguastlán (visible from the road). A beautiful church with architecture style of the spanish colonization.
Stay on the CA9 and you will reach another fork, the turn to the right takes you to Zacapa and Chiquimula. Drive straight to stay on the CA9 following the signs to Izabal. You’ll reach another fork, take the turn to the left to the center of Izabal. Here you can visit beautiful places such as Playa Dorada, Playa Blanca, Paradise Waterfall and Castillo de San Felipe. You will reach the bridge of “Río Dulce”. Your journey to continues to Tikal after the bridge. You are half the way and now driving on the CA13.
Stops on your way to Tikal
You can stop where you want, I recommend you Izabal because there are many hotels for different budgets, also, there are different destinations near so you can take the most out of your stop making it worthwhile.
From this point things get better… the topography of the landscape changes a lot and now you are out of the mountains and curves on the road. From here there are few curves on the road, you are leaving the department of Izabal and entering Petén.
After an hour or so you’ll reach Poptún. Here there are few interesting attractions such as Ixobel. This is an ecologic hotel with horse rides, treks and caves. You can also visit Naj Tunich, a system of caves with maya paintings relating odd sexual behavior of this ancient civilization. If you keep driving you’ll reach Santa Ana.
After this point you reach another fork. To the left: Flores and Santa Elena with Lake Petén Itzá and several hotels. To the right the road to Tikal.
After 30 minutes approx you reach the last fork. To the right you get to Yaxhá, another beautiful archaeological maya site, and to the left the direct road to El Remate and Tikal. El Remate is a road next to Lake Petén Itzá with several hotels and restaurants (most of them with low prices and great quality). You also find stores with beautiful handicrafts. Straight ahead: Tikal, open from 7:00AM to 17:00PM. Tikal has hotels and restaurants inside the park, remember to bring enough cash as here you won’t find ATMS, also, there is no electricity, except from solar panels so different services depend on the hour.
Renting a car to get to Tikal
All the traditional rental companies are located in front of the airport. Cross the street and choose the one you like. Or choose directly here:
- Guatemala Rent a Car (www.guatemalarentacar.com)
- Alamo Guatemala (www.alamoguatemala.com)
- Tabarini Rent a Car (www.tabarini.com)
You can also get to Tikal by plane or taking a bus. Check our port about From Guatemala to Tikal for more information. God luck on your trip!.
