Introduction to El Peten
El Peten is undoubtedly a must in any visit to Guatemala.
There is of course the unforgettable Tikal, but don't just rush from the airport to Tikal and back the same day. Take your time, there's much more:
The first day we arrived, we went to Flores and stayed at Tucan hotel which is lovely. From there, go to the Mirador on the other side of the lake from where you have a nice view over Flores.
Also the region around Sayxche is worth a visit.
Nowadays, it's also possible to go to Sayaxche and take a boat to the Mexican border. If you have plenty of time and an adventurous mind, hop on some cargo boats going from Sayaxche to Benemerito. You can also rent your private boat, but this will be very expensive, count on at least 300 US$.
Getting there
I wouldn't hesitate and take the plane, especially if you want to skip Livingston. Still, the road from Guate to Flores is now paved all the way. A good car can do the distance Guate-Flores in about 6 hours. A first class bus costs 200 Q one way (12/99). The trip from Rio Dulce to flores takes 2.30 hours. There was a safety question with buses (especially night buses) being robbed once in a while.
There are several options flying:
- Either you take the more expensive one from Aviateca. This is an international airline with a good reputation. They have 3 flights a day (6.30 am 9.55 am and 6.15 pm). They are the most expensive (+/- 90 US$ single flight) and you can book this one from anywhere in the world. However, I strongly recommend NOT to take the 9.55 flight, because there are only few tourists on it (most passengers are Guatemalans flying further on to Cancun), and this means that at the airport in Flores, you'll be very few or even none to share a taxi to Tikal, and all the public minibuses have left already. (This is what happened to us).
- The best option nowadays is Tikal Jets. They are affiliated with Aviateca, but they are cheaper and still offer good service. They have a plane at 6.30 am. Prices are 74 US$ single ticket or 107 US$ return, return trip at 4.30 pm (12/99).
- The cheapest option is Racsa a bit less reliable. They have 30-seats propeller planes and charge 59 US$ single trip and 87 round trip, return trip at 4.30 pm (Price Ecovision tours Antigua 12/99).
- When comparing prices, always make sure the 20% tax is included.
Getting out to Belize/Mexico
Westward
By road
Either you take the public bus to Melchor de Mencos. Border crossing is pretty straightforward. On the other side, there's a bus waiting which will bring you to Belmopan, there you need to change buses Belize City (6 B$). Or else you can hire a taxi to San Ignacio. If you take public transport, you can still make it to Caye Caulker the same day, since speedboats leave till 5 pm (2/2000). &n
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Either you take a tourist bus (20 US$ 10/98). They leave very early at 5 am, so you arrive in Belize City after 4 to 5 hours, and they connect with the speedboats going to Caye Caulker.
Or you can take this tourist bus all the way to Chetumal in Mexico. This trip takes about 6 hours and costs 40 US$. From Chetumal you can take a public bus to Cancun (7 hours). However these buses to Cancun are often full, so you might have to wait a bit for a next bus.
By plane
There are frequent flights to Belize City (100 US$) and Cancun (150 US$).
Eastward
By road
This is an increasingly popular route which was only for the very adventurous a couple of years ago.
There are different possibilities:
The most adventurous way is to take the early morning bus to Sayaxche, and from there try to get a boat to the Usumacinta river and further to Mexico. On the way you could try to visit Bonampak and Yaxchilan. I wanted to do this trip in November 1999, but I found it very difficult to get info on this route. Guidebooks say a boat from Sayaxche to Yaxchilan takes 8 hours and costs about 300 US$. However, if you have time enough, you can jump on a cargo boat for much less then that, but then the trip can take 2 to several days depending on the luck you have finding a boat.
Another, less chaotic option which we did is to take a 5 am bus from Flores to Bethel (5 hours, 25 Q). There you will be met by the sharks of the "Cooperativa of Bethel". These guys have a monopoly on river transport, and they know very well you have only 2 options: either go back to Flores for 5 hours, either pay them whatever they ask. We were with 10 and finally bargained till 500 Q for 1 boattrip of only 15 minutes to cross the Usumacinta river. If you are with less, you could even end up paying much more (minimum price is 325 Q for a boat up to 6 people). You can also hire a boat to Yaxchilan from the Guatemalan side, but I advise against this, because it's cheaper on the Mexican side, and you can probably end up joining a group. Also accommodation is better in the Mexican side. For details on visiting Yaxchilan and Bonampak, look at this chapter at the Mexico site.
The easiest way is to do the above mentionned trip in a tourist bus. They charge 30 US$ for the whole trip. This looks a lot, but it includes the expensive ferry. Don't think it goes that much faster then the public bus, we even passed this minibus once with the public bus. In fact it drives slower, but you win time because it doesn't stop along the way.
By plane
There is a plane from Flores to Palenque with Aerocaribe, but it's not very reliable, and I've heard reports of people being put in a minibus without any refund. Price is about 105 US$ for a single flight + 20 US$ departure tax. 3 flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Go to Flores
