Tikal Transportation from Palenque to Flores Guatemala Tikal Ruin

Details, Money Exchange, Border Crossing,
Palenque Transportation reaches Flores
Guatemala for trips to the ruin of Tikal. This will
be a ten hour trip with a border crossing and
passage by boat on the Usumacinta River.

Zona Lacandona

When you go beyond the Bonampak crossroads you enter the Zona Lacandona and the town of Frontera Corozal
where there is a 15 Pesos entrance fee into the community park.
Have additional small change in Pesos; no one will have change to break anything over a twenty peso bill. Water,
food, and lodging are available in the area but this is a small village.
Lodging is available in Frontera Corozal       www.escudojaguarhotel.com

At the boat landing in Frontera Corozal you can find a boat for the trip up river to cross the border into Guatemala.
After a half hour boat ride you will land in the town of Bethel, Guatemala. From there, continue by van or bus on a mix
of dirt road and paved road to Flores, Guatemala and the base for trips to the Mayan ruin of Tikal.
Bus options from Bethel to Flores will be local bus running three times a day or the San Juan Travel vans that make
regular runs. You can book transportation with San Juan Travel through agencies in Palenque.
Flores will proved lodging options as does the ruin site of Tikal.

Palenque to Flores Guatemala
Palenque Colectivo Transportation reaches the village of Frontera
Corozal where you pass through Mexican Customs and then board a boat
for a trip to Bethel Guatemala (not Bethel on some maps)where you pass
through Guatemalan Customs and Immigration.
Boat, money, border crossing details below.

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Tikal Transportation from Palenque to Flores Guatemala for Visiting Tikal Ruin Site

For Independent Travelers:
Carry a good supply of small change in Mexico Pesos. US Dollars
will work also. You will pass through small villages where no one
will be able to make change for large bills. Also, carry mosquito
repellent for the ruins of Tikal.

From Palenque

From Palenque catch the White collective taxis (no frills vans) for 70-100
pesos that make runs to the village of Frontera Corozal.
For Bonampak trips the colectivo will drop passenger at the Bonampak
crossroads were colectivos make the 14 mile run to the ruin of Bonampak.
The van terminal parking lot in Palenque is just west of the Cabeza May, the white
sculpture at the head of town.

Frontera Corozal

The colectivo vans out of Palenque continue on from the Bonampak crossroads
to the small village of Frontera Corozal. In this village there is a Mexican
Customs station and a boat landing.

Mexican Customs and Immigration

You should pass through Mexican Customs on leaving the country if you will go on
to Guatemala.

At the boat landing you can find a boat to run down river to the ruin site of
Yaxchilan if you are including that in your trip. There are no roads to the
Yaxchilan ruin site. Don't go through customs if you are only going as far as
Yaxchilan, the Yaxchilan ruin site is in Mexico.

Travelers to Yaxchilan, a ruin in Mexico, and to Flores, Guatemala, for the Tikal Ruin,
board boats on the Usumacinta River at the Village of Frontera Corozal.

The boat drivers and van drivers communicate by cell phone. They arrange for your pickup on landing

Vans run by San Juan Travel operate
on the Guatemala side of the
Usumacinta River.
The vans run between Bethel boat
landing and Flores, Guatemala for the
trips to Tikal Ruin.

Guatemala Customs Immigration, Visas

There should be no fee on entering Guatemala for US citizens and others who will stay less then 90 days. The
customs official in Bethel might ask you to pay 60 Quetzals or about $5 USD on entering or leaving, however. This
varies depending on the official. You can dispute this fee and ask for a receipt, or you can just pay the $5.USD
and be on your way.   The San Juan Travel driver could help with this but they offer little information unless you ask.

Some advisories say that there is an exit tax when leaving Guatemala by air that is included in the airline ticket
price. There is also a fee when leaving by boat and perhaps that is what is at work here.

You should have at least six months of validity remaining on your passport and two empty pages for the visa stamp.

There will be a money changer at the Guatemala border station offering to exchange Pesos or US Dollars into
Quetzals, the currency of Guatemala. It would be good to acquire about 200 Quetzals, 25 USD, for bus fare, food,
and emergencies for the four hour trip to Flores.
Your destination will be Isla Flores, a modern town on an island in the town of Santa Elena where you will find
banks and ATMs.

The Island of Flores is located at Lake Peten Itza. Flores is popular with travelers because of the many hotels,
hostels, restaurants, internet cafés, and transportation options to reach the ruin of Tikal.

This is a difficult trip suited to independent travelers.   If you are not comfortable traveling independently, ( Know
some Spanish, know the money, can tolerate high temperatures and high humidity), go as part of a group tour out
of Palenque.
The rub here is that the group tours use San Juan Travel once you cross the border into Guatemala. San Juan
does a good job of transporting passenger but they offer no help in changing money or help with customs. They
just drive and they do a good job of getting you to the destination.
The San Juan vans are not air conditioned and this is a four hour trip from Bethel to Flores.   The drivers do have
cell and communicate over the wide network of roads to keep apprised of road conditions and their agent will
meet you in Flores to help with lodging and transportation to Tikal.

For group tours in Palenque
See OTC Tours and   Misol-Ha Tours    www.viajesmisol-ha.com.mx    and others, see details page

The boats on the Usumacinta River will take you from Frontera Corozal to the ruin of Yaxchilan or to the border town of
Bethel Guatemala. Watch for howler monkeys in the trees along the way.

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Up to Date Ruins Travel Information as of January 2012, Transportation Details For:
Tikal Flores     Frontera Corozal,   Tonina,    Uxmal,     Bonampak / Yaxchilan,    Palenque,    Chichen Itza,
Tu lum,      Merida      Va lladolid Cenote and Bus,