2-Day Mayan Ruins Tour of Tikal and Yaxha from Flores

Great tour. Both guides very knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely bring hiking boots or very sturdy shoes. Pack a rain jacket too because it just sometimes starts to rain. The views from the temples and pyramids are spectacular Climb them all if you can. Bring a lot of water- two tall bottles each. The sites offer drinks and the prices are high. The hotel Villa de Maya is very nicely maintained with friendly staff. It is a bit secluded and not on the island of Flores. They do offer transport for a fee. The restaurant serves amazing food. I would take this excursion again.

I found myself in Antigua for work and decided to spend a few days exploring the country- I really appreciated the support and advice provided by Lorenn. She was efficient and responsive to my questions, and spoke very good English when we spoke via WhatsApp. She did all of the work that I did not have time to do- e.g. organize my trip in the limited time frame I had available. Thanks to Guatemalan Adventure and Lorenn, I was seamlessly transported from Antigua to partake in a day tour of Guatemala City (which I quite enjoyed). As the biggest city, it has more charm in my view than the guide books give it credit and we managed to take part in a tour of the National Palace- my guide for the day, Belisario, provided great insight into what makes Guatemala tick and I appreciated his candour and knowledge of the city. I was dropped off at my hotel in Zone 10 (Hyatt Centric, which I highly recommend). The next day I was picked up in time and transported to the airport for a two day tour of the Mayan ruins- specifically Tikal on day one and day two featured Yaxha and Topoxte. All worked like clockwork- in retrospect, I would have asked to stay an extra day to visit Uaxactun, which came highly recommended by the Yaxha tour guide. The Tikal tour consisted of 11 people and we comfortably fitted into the van- I did not feel that we were rushed from temple to temple and the guide gave us sufficient time to climb the temples when allowed to do so. As for the Yaxha and Topoxte your, we were only 5 people and the sites were not as busy- but certainly recommend if you appreciate the beauty and architecture of the Mayan civilization. Although Topoxte was less interesting, the boat ride across the lake to the site was memorable. A few words about Flores- it is a place not to be missed. Members of my tour (not organized by Lorenn and Guatemalan Adventure) were booked in hotels miles away in secluded settings. That, in my view, is a mistake. Flores is a lovely town set on the water, wherein ordinary Guatemalans go about their daily lives in a charming setting. I happened to be there on October 31 and witnessed from a restaurant patio the procession of motorcycles and cars celebrating what I think was Halloween/Dias de la morte in sometimes colourful costumes. The town was very safe (and things quoted down after 10 pm) and I walked from one end to the other both in the evening and early in the morning, and even fell across a local celebration in front of the town’s church. Again, an authentic Guatemalan town (granted, with some tourists) that is not to be missed. On the return evening flight to Guatemala City), wherein I was able to spend a few hours again in Flores (approximately 10 minutes from the airport), I was met and transported back to my hotel (Hyatt Centric) which was a mere 10 minutes from the airport. Lorenn had earlier communicated to me that the flights might be delayed, which I appreciated. In the end, only the return flight to Guatemala City was delayed and only by one hour. The last portion of my trip was a day tour to Lake Atitlan. I was picked up on time at the hotel by the guide (Davis). It was a thoroughly enjoyable day (I was the only person on the tour in that another couple cancelled at the last minute) and we visited Santiago Atitlan and Panajachel. The boat ride across the lake was magical. Davis was very knowledgeable about his country and adapted the tour when requested (I had a particular interest in the churches in both locations, and was particularly interested in how Mayan traditions were incorporated and modified by the Catholic Church). Davis dropped me off at the end of the day in Antigua and even helped me transport my luggage from one hotel in Antigua to another, which was greatly appreciated.

My husband and I had an amazing time visiting Tikal and Yaxha! Guatemalan Adventure organized all of our transportation in Guatemala, Henry was an amazing driver, our trips with him were just as much fun and as informative as the tours. Guatemalan Adventure also arranged the flights to and from Flores for us, we were met at the airport in Flores and taken straight to our accommodations. Our guide, Aquilino, met us the next day for the tour of Tikal. Tikal is stunning and we learned a lot! Aquilino was with us again the next day for the tour of Yaxha, which was beautiful. We had a delicious lunch at La Casa de Don David and then were brought straight to the airport for our flight back to Guatemala City. Everything was very easy and very well-organized. Our guide was amazing and super accommodating, he even took us to a great breakfast spot as we hadn't had time to eat before we were picked up. All of our questions prior to arrival were answered promptly, and they worked with us to help us plan the perfect itinerary for our trip to Guatemala. I can't recommend this company enough!