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Hola...

I am planning to be in Tikal area in March of 2004 and I am having a lot of
trouble booking hotels.

I know there are only three hotels in the Tikal area but I am having trouble
with all of them....

The Jungle Lodge only will book me a package deal with transports, meals,
guide, etc....for almost 400 DOLLARS for two nights....thats a lot of money for
Guatemala.........they wont just give me a room...it must come as part of a
package.

The Jaguar Inn confirmed my reservation....and then emailed me back to let me
know that a tour group booked the entire hotel and they cancelled my
reservation ....

The Tikal Inn wont return my emails or faxes.....

What does a guy have to book a room in Tikal...???

I'm really sorry to vent my frustration....but is it always this difficult to
book a cheap room in Tikal??

Thanks for listening...

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I've heard that those lodges prefer tour groups and that the only way
sometimes to stay there is to be a part of a tour... If you're going to
visit Tikal multiple days, it would probably be great to stay at one of the
lodges... But for a single day visit, you could certainly stay in Flores. I
met people there last week who were happy lodging in Flores.

At Tikal, according to the Lonley Planet, the Jaguar Inn has campsites (w/o
equipment) and dorm beds... So maybe there still is an option with them. But
might want to check the temps for March -- it probably is getting hot by
then.

San Juan Hotel provides bus service from Flores to Tikal for $5 USD
roundtrip, departing on the hour from 5AM to 10AM. Telephone: (502)
926-2146, 926-0562, or 926-0042. I am trying to remember how long it took on
the bus, but I can't... Maybe 2 hours. We stopped many times at we got
closer to pick up locals who were going to Tikal to work. The hotel is on
the right side of the road just before you cross the bridge from Santa Elena
into Flores. A family I met in San Ignacio recommended I stay at the San
Juan Hotel, but I arrived late in Santa Elena, arriving by collectivo (cost
is only 15 Quetzales or about $2USD) from the Belize border near Benque. The
driver dropped me off at the Santa Teresa hotel (Q50 for basic room with
private bath and COLD water from a pipe) in San Benito, so I stayed there...
But this I regretted as in the morning I walked over to Flores and found it
much more accomodating for tourists. I am pretty sure I was the only
foreign tourist in San Benito! I had found a bite to eat at a comedor (Q10
for nice meal of tortillas, beans, cheese, creme freche, and coffee) nearby,
and the very friendly mother and her abuelita running the establishment were
very concerned about me walking only a block at night back to the hotel, let
alone walking before dawn to the bus station 3 blocks away...

So.... if you can't stay at Tikal, a good option would be to find a place in
Flores. The hotel can call San Juan Hotel and Travel and arrange for the
bus to pick you up at your hotel in the morning. Or of course, you could
stroll across the bridge into Santa Elena and catch the bus at their office
where it leaves on the hour.

Tikal is magnificient!!! In addition to the ruins, you'll see spider
monkees and white-nosed coatis. http://www.tikalpark.com/residents2.htm

Tour guides are available for $40 USD. I've heard they can be very
informative... I started to join a group and share the cost, contributing
$10 USD. However, there was a mother and her son who immediately started
whining and asking if they would have to walk much... So I abandoned the
group. The best price I could find for a private guide was $30 USD, which
was more then I had brought with me... But going on at my own pace and
stopping to soak up the ambiance and the sun was most enjoyable.

Some potentially helpful links:

http://www.passplanet.com/Guatemala/flores.htm
http://www.gocityguide.com/city/Cen...ala/Flores.html
who recommend against San Juan Travel, but don't say why... Again, I had no
problems.
http://www.lacasadedondavid.com/slocate.html

Wish I were going back soon.

--Dayle


"NYCutler" <nycutler@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031226144858.14277.00001853@mb-m28.aol.com...
>
> Hola...
>
> I am planning to be in Tikal area in March of 2004 and I am having a lot
of
> trouble booking hotels.
>
> I know there are only three hotels in the Tikal area but I am having
trouble
> with all of them....
>
> The Jungle Lodge only will book me a package deal with transports, meals,
> guide, etc....for almost 400 DOLLARS for two nights....thats a lot of
money for
> Guatemala.........they wont just give me a room...it must come as part of
a
> package.
>
> The Jaguar Inn confirmed my reservation....and then emailed me back to let
me
> know that a tour group booked the entire hotel and they cancelled my
> reservation ....
>
> The Tikal Inn wont return my emails or faxes.....
>
> What does a guy have to book a room in Tikal...???
>
> I'm really sorry to vent my frustration....but is it always this difficult
to
> book a cheap room in Tikal??
>
> Thanks for listening...
>

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The last time I was there,we were staying in a liitle hotel in Machacilar
and asked the owner to book us a room in Tikal. We are on pretty good terms
with this man, and he called and booked us a room for the nights that we
wanted and we paid him the wholesale cost, which was around $65/night. That
was in March, and only a couple of days before we were going to be there.
You should be able to do the same thing when you are in country by going to
one of the travel agencies that are in the major tourist areas of Guatemala.
Lacking that, you can always just show up and get a room just outside the
park.






1 668 2019
"NYCutler" <nycutler@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031226144858.14277.00001853@mb-m28.aol.com...
>
> Hola...
>
> I am planning to be in Tikal area in March of 2004 and I am having a lot
of
> trouble booking hotels.
>
> I know there are only three hotels in the Tikal area but I am having
trouble
> with all of them....
>
> The Jungle Lodge only will book me a package deal with transports, meals,
> guide, etc....for almost 400 DOLLARS for two nights....thats a lot of
money for
> Guatemala.........they wont just give me a room...it must come as part of
a
> package.
>
> The Jaguar Inn confirmed my reservation....and then emailed me back to let
me
> know that a tour group booked the entire hotel and they cancelled my
> reservation ....
>
> The Tikal Inn wont return my emails or faxes.....
>
> What does a guy have to book a room in Tikal...???
>
> I'm really sorry to vent my frustration....but is it always this difficult
to
> book a cheap room in Tikal??
>
> Thanks for listening...
>

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nycutler@aol.com (NYCutler) wrote in message news:<20031226144858.14277.00001853@mb-m28.aol.com>...
> Hola...
>
> I am planning to be in Tikal area in March of 2004 and I am having a lot of
> trouble booking hotels.
>
> I know there are only three hotels in the Tikal area but I am having trouble
> with all of them....
>
> The Jungle Lodge only will book me a package deal with transports, meals,
> guide, etc....for almost 400 DOLLARS for two nights....thats a lot of money for
> Guatemala.........they wont just give me a room...it must come as part of a
> package.
>
> The Jaguar Inn confirmed my reservation....and then emailed me back to let me
> know that a tour group booked the entire hotel and they cancelled my
> reservation ....
>
> The Tikal Inn wont return my emails or faxes.....
>
> What does a guy have to book a room in Tikal...???
>
> I'm really sorry to vent my frustration....but is it always this difficult to
> book a cheap room in Tikal??
>
> Thanks for listening...

This will be ambiguous because I don't have my map in front of me...
I stayed in the small village located about 1 km from the intersection
of the road to Tikal and the main highway from Santa Elena to the
Belize border. (The map would tell me the name of the place)...but
this place offers 3 or 4 small hotels at reasonable prices. Buses and
taxis can be gotten to Tikal, about 30 km away, throughout the day.
And of course, you can return from a day at the ruins in the same
manner. If you are at all interested in camping, there is a large
grassy field complete with restrooms, showers, etc. adjacent to the
main visitor center, comedores and the lodges you mention.

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Theodor,
That village is El Remate. It is only twenty minutes from Tikal and arguably
the best place to stay. You can swim in the clear green lake and its hotels
range from the beautiful El Pajaro Y Serpiente, the reliable Casa de Don
David to the economical and no less comfortable Mirador Del Duende. Just
show up in El Remate and you will find a place to stay and a lot of good
food.

The three lodges in Tikal Park are expensive dumps for the exclusive use of
tour group addicts. They overcharge like crazy and rarely respect individual
reservations. Moreover their food is the pits and you are much better to eat
at the comedores near the park entrance, which are good and cheap. The one
and only reason to stay there is the off chance of seeing sunrise from the
top of temple IV ---If there isn't the usual morning fog! The other option
for staying overnight in Tikal is the campground on the old airstrip. I hear
it is OK and cheap but maybe you want to make sure you have a good supply of
Deet.

If you absolutely need princely accomodation and advance prepaid
reserevations (for your own peace of mind) stay at the marvelous Camino Real
Tikal, on the remote shore of lake Peten Itza, a few miles away from El
remate. I suspect they have a high speed cat boat from either the airport or
the town of Flores. And the service is impeccable, worth every penny I am
sure.
I can't wait to go back.
Cheers,
Louisg


"Theodor Grossman" <theodor_grossman@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7864c93f.0312280826.8f03bec@posting.google.com...
> nycutler@aol.com (NYCutler) wrote in message
news:<20031226144858.14277.00001853@mb-m28.aol.com>...
> > Hola...
> >
> > I am planning to be in Tikal area in March of 2004 and I am having a lot
of
> > trouble booking hotels.
> >
> > I know there are only three hotels in the Tikal area but I am having
trouble
> > with all of them....
> >
> > The Jungle Lodge only will book me a package deal with transports,
meals,
> > guide, etc....for almost 400 DOLLARS for two nights....thats a lot of
money for
> > Guatemala.........they wont just give me a room...it must come as part
of a
> > package.
> >
> > The Jaguar Inn confirmed my reservation....and then emailed me back to
let me
> > know that a tour group booked the entire hotel and they cancelled my
> > reservation ....
> >
> > The Tikal Inn wont return my emails or faxes.....
> >
> > What does a guy have to book a room in Tikal...???
> >
> > I'm really sorry to vent my frustration....but is it always this
difficult to
> > book a cheap room in Tikal??
> >
> > Thanks for listening...
>
> This will be ambiguous because I don't have my map in front of me...
> I stayed in the small village located about 1 km from the intersection
> of the road to Tikal and the main highway from Santa Elena to the
> Belize border. (The map would tell me the name of the place)...but
> this place offers 3 or 4 small hotels at reasonable prices. Buses and
> taxis can be gotten to Tikal, about 30 km away, throughout the day.
> And of course, you can return from a day at the ruins in the same
> manner. If you are at all interested in camping, there is a large
> grassy field complete with restrooms, showers, etc. adjacent to the
> main visitor center, comedores and the lodges you mention.

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I went to Tikal in June of 2003... It's a brilliant place. re accomodation, don't worry too much about pre booking. The whole of the area is well catered for backpackers and you just need to turn up and find somewhere. We ended up hitching our hammocks at
the jaguar Inn (there were rooms though too!). I'd recommened basing yourself in Flores (on the lake) and going at about 4.00pm to the ruins, finding a place to stay then entering the ruins, climb one of them to watch the sunset. Then you can do it prope
rly again the next morning before it gets hot and the other tourists arrive.
Hope this is of some use.
Oh yer, also, they cahrge lots of money for food, drinks etc within the park of Tikal, so think about bringing soem stuff from flores like bottled water etc.

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I would recommend this site on Tikal it has soem great 360 virtual
tours on Tikal and Travel resources around Tikal.
http://www.destination360.com/tikal.htm

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