Make the most of your time at Tikal and stay at one of the hotels at the entrance to the site. Three hotels offer clean, basic rooms with restaurants. Power is supplied by a generator which is turned off at night.
For the budget minded traveler, there is a camp ground across the road with restaurants next door.
Flores, Guatemala, about 65 kilometers (39 miles) from Tikal, is a small, quaint town built on an island in Lake Peten . Narrow, cobblestone streets crisscross and circle the island and there are many shops showing off local handicrafts and artwork. Transportation to Tikal is available daily and lodging in the town is usually less expensive than the hotels at Tikal .
Tikal is a magnificent Maya site, covering an area of 16 square kilometers (about 6 square miles) with some 3000 various temples, palaces, shrines, ceremonial platforms, residences, ball courts, terraces, causeways, plazas and even a ritual sweat-bath. Excavations have revealed that the site was under constant construction for at least 1,100 years. The earliest records date to sometime before 600 B.C. until about 900 A.D. when Tikal was mysteriously abandoned.
Easily accessed from Belize , Tikal is a "must see" if you have the opportunity.
The karstic limestone formations of the Maya Mountains of Western Belize are particularly suited to cave formation. It is well documented that the ancient Maya used the caves but there are many mystifying questions that have gone unanswered. Only recently has light been shed on the relationship between the Maya and caves.
Besides being intriguing for their use by the Maya, the caves are beautiful with huge stalactites, stalagmites and flows that glitter with crystal formations.
Two Tank Barrier Reef Dive - this is a half day trip that includes boat, guide, tanks, weight and belts. You will do two dives on the barrier reef. The location will be determined by weather and visibility and your guide will find the best locations. Most of the diving on the barrier reef is spur and groove and dropping over the wall. There is an abundance of coral and sealife.
A full day diving trip to the South end of Turneffe Atoll. Most famous dive on Turneffe is the Elbow and you will begin your first dive here. This is a beautiful wall that the top begins around 60 feet and you will do this as a drift dive. You will follow the wall as it drops down deeper to the end. Watch into the blue because there are many pelagics here, turtles, sharks, rays and more. This trip also includes two additional dives on the south end of Turneff and the sites will be determined by your guide by visibility and weather. Included are boat, guide, three dives, tanks, weight, belt sand lunch.
It's off early morning (5:30 a.m.) to The Blue Hole located in Lighthouse Atoll. Belize has three of the four atolls in the Western Hemisphere . The atolls are very different from one another. Your two hour boat ride takes you out into the blue and through the northern part of Turneffe Atoll. This atoll has hundreds of mangrove islands and is the largest of the atolls. You will then go back into the blue and across to Lighthouse Atoll. Lighthouse atoll has only five islands on it, all palm and sand. The Blue Hole is right in the middle of the atoll. Your first dive is into the Blue Hole and it is a deep dive. After the Blue Hole dive, your boat will take you to Half Moon Caye, one of the most beautiful islands in Belize . This is a marine reserve as well as a sanctuary for the Red Footed Booby Birds, located in only two places in the world. Explore the island, climb the tower and watch the red footed booby birds at eye level. You will also have lunch on the island. After lunch, it's two additional dives at Lighthouse Atoll, some of the best diving in Belize and return back to San Pedro. You will have to pay a $30 entrance fee to Half Moon Caye when you go ashore. Belize offers near endless activities for everyone to do, such as scuba diving and fishing. Visit bzecotourism.org to know and discover more.